Oh I see! My Uterus & Ovaries

So! It's the new year and I couldn't have had a better start. Not talking about the makan frenzy with friends' and relatives' (although eating with people is always more fun) but I'm referring to my medical check up. Yah I know..so inauspicious to start the new year with a medical check up. Had no choice. My last appointment was whilst I was still stranded in Bangkok during their airport closure. The next available appointment was a month away.

So what I'm going to write about is a 'womanly' subject which is also relevant to any young girls who might be interested to know.


Here goes..........




Taa Daah! Pictures of my uterus and ovaries!








Not very clear but I sneaked in some shots of these prints before handing them over to the doc.
I do have two kids (the younger of whom is already 12) so do I have a fertility problem? Yes and No. It took us 3 excruciating years to conceive our first child, (a girl) naturally. The second (a boy) happened quite easily as soon as we began to try. Both Mike and I went for tests but there was 'nothing wrong' with either of us.


For as far as I can recall, I've never had a regular menstrual cycle. Prior to my pregnancies, it would arrive every month although I could never predict when. This never bothered me much. You don't miss what you've never had! I also happen to have a retroverted womb (that means it faces the opposite direction of how the majority of women's would face) but was informed that it was nothing unusual. It might have affected conception but it did not mean I was infertile.

Anyway, both kids were delivered via C-Section not because I didn't want natural deliveries but because both babies did not 'engage' (simplistically put, it means head sliding downwards to pelvic area) even in the last days before their due date. I suffered swollen fingers and feet and had slight pregancy induced hypertension and gestational diabetes (which went away after giving birth). Basically, preeclampsia set in.

My gynaecologist told me I had a choice to go through labour and wait till the eventual realisation that I would have to have a C-Section, or just skip the labour and go for the C-Section because he was pretty sure my kids would NOT go through the birth canal. I chose the latter. (Trust me, I still suffer from painfully stretched muscles around the scar area if I make any sudden movements or carry heavy stuff.)
(addendum 8 Jan 2009 ~ the scan technician commented that the width from my vaginal area to the cervix was very narrow and that may have accounted for why I had to have 2 C-sections! She also said I had an oddly positioned path - sort of curvy. I was like, what??? Got like that one, meh???)


With 2 babies conceived naturally, I can hardly call myself infertile. After the second pregnancy, my menstrual period went haywire. I missed it for months but attributed it to breast feeding. For many years after, it would arrrive once every few months. Sometimes, if my womb is in the mood, it'll arrive one month after the other. I've saved alot on sanitary pads of course and it really isn't so bad except when you start feeling really uncomfortable because your womb lining feels thick.


So, in the last few years, I've suddenly gained so much weight (10 kgs) even though I haven't eaten more or changed my diet radically. I have been going for my usual medical tests and my cholestrol and sugar levels are fine. My BMI is now of course questionable.

I sometimes believe that as soon as I know a bad diagnosis, I will lose my zest for life and it will be downhill from there. Thus, I've preferred not to know what the heck was going on in that uterus of mine. But I finally decided that at age 40, it was time to get off my butt and do the right thing.


I went to see a specialist and that's how I ended up with blood tests for my hormone levels, a transabdominal scan and an invasive pelvic scan.

The blood test results and scan reports came back and I have POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME. PCOS for short. A mouthful but basically the doc explained that I have hyperactive and hypersensitive ovaries. She said it was likely genetic (I got it from somewhere up the family line) and it was 'common'. . Don't worry, nothing you can catch.


I researched it abit and I think 5% of the world's female population is definitely not 'common'. I think many more women will never even know that they have it. I did have a clue that I had PCOS way before these battery of tests came about. But hey, I'm no medical expert so it only remained a suspicion because of all my symptoms.



The most important statement the doctor said was,
'and because you have this, it has also caused you to put on weight'.

What???? Say that again, pleeeeezzzz.....that is so music to my ears!
Oh rejoice! I DO have a reason for my weight gain! I say it again, I do have a reason for my weight gain!
I know it was only one of the reasons but I'm the type of person who likes to look for the root cause of things.

I had been really nervous during and after the scans because it took so long and also because the two doctors were hemming and hawing over the monitor (in front of me). They were also throwing around medical terms. I figured if it were just a routine scan and nothing was amiss, they wouldn't have had such a long discussion. I had called Mike and said it didn't sound good. I had to wait 2 hours before I could see the doc with my scan report and blood test results and it was a relief to hear that I had what I had.


'Anyway', the doc continued, 'you already have two kids, right?'. 'I don't think you're still trying for a third?'
So basically, there is something wrong with my ovaries and I'm being given a daily dose of hormone pills for the next 3 months (to see how it goes).


With POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME, you can expect to suffer some or all of the following common symptoms:

- Irregular or absent menstrual periods
- Infertility
- Hair loss
- Hirsutism (increased body hair)
- Acne
- Obesity
- Depression

I do not suffer all the above symptoms but hey, a few are enough.
So, it's a new year and I'm glad I finally know the root cause of my weight gain. The downside is the medication may cause headaches and water retention. Yes, water retention. I know, it's as good as saying I'll be putting on more weight. But at the very least, I'll know why.


Well, Mike and I have started going for our brisk walking a few times already since our last post. We're keeping our fingers crossed that we'll have the tenacity to carry on.