Written by Melinda
Monday, April 28th, 2008
Since my ninth grade year, I’ve had a series of hormone problems stemming from PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) and Insulin Resistance/Metabolic Syndrome. At that time, doctors were not as up to date in their treatments as they are now. But one thing I was placed on was birth control. After all, the main thing was to get my cycles regular. I’ve had some gynecologists say that it did not matter whether or not I had a monthly period. Now to me, this is a big deal. I hate having them, but come on! That’s the way our bodies were designed by the Creator.
For many years, I did not pursue treatment. I felt like a guinea pig in my early twenties because the doctors tried so many different approaches. I just got sick of the medications (I had a medicine cabinet full!) and said “Forget it all.” I did not pursue treatment again until the past ten years. As a matter of fact, my mother and I diagnosed myself with “Insulin Resistance” after perusing the internet for signs/symptoms. The medical doctor I was seeing at the time did not want to diagnose me with that until running a couple thousand dollars worth of labs. I kept asking him “Can you do the test to show whether I have Insulin Resistance?” As a last resort, and him being stumped, he ordered the test. Guess what? I was right.
Several years back, I had two roommates, both guys. I decided to take an even further step in finally having my period. I didn’t have one for a few years at that point. I knew that as soon as I started any treatment at all, Lord everybody should watch out! I knew that it was about to unleash the most terrible little demon inside of me… moodiness, emotional outburst, frustration, PMS or heck on wheels, whichever you choose to call it. I advised my roommates, thank Goodness they were best friends, “Now when I start taking these little pills (Provera), everything is going to change!” Josh, one roommate said later that I had never spoken the truth so much in my entire life than I had on that day! Needless to say, I suffered greatly with PMDD (the worst PMS you could experience!). Instead of one week a month, it was reverse….. THREE weeks a month! It made me feel crazy!
I lay this groundwork to say that I’m having my periods every two weeks now. I called the gyn’s office and have a morning appt today. Not sure as to what he will suggest, but where I used to never have a period, now I can’t seem to get rid of them! And y’all wonder why I can be so irritable, frustrated, anxious! LOL… Give a girl a break!
Now there are certain birth control forms that are best for gastric patients. My doctor suggested Ortho Evra patch but it is now causing me some problems. He also suggests Mirena, which is a device inserted into the body. My health insurance does not want to cover. I work for a Catholic Charities facility and they view this for birth control purposes only. This means that I must write a letter of appeal, presenting medical records, doctor letters, etc. to prove that this is the best resort for me. The gastric bypass further complicates things because of the malabsorption problem, not to mention the fact that I have taken many birth control pills and they either make me sick or cause PMDD emotional upsets. It appears right now that it was easier to get my gastric bypass and tummy tuck covered than it will be getting this IUD covered! And it has nothing to do with birth control at all. Instead it has to do with my hormones and problems related to it. <sigh>
