musings . . .

I’ve never been one of those people to censor myself or not talk/write about something that’s sensitive.  But some things truly are very private.  So this post is difficult to write, due to its private, sensitive nature.

PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is typically caused by an imbalance of hormones.  This usually means that the woman has elevated testosterone levels and low estrogen levels (which is a dream to some men, as it can increase the sex drive intensely).  This disrupts the menstrual cycle and forces small cysts to form on the ovaries, preventing ovulation.  Symptoms may include: irregular or absent menses; numerous cysts on the ovaries in many, but not all, cases; high blood pressure; acne; elevated insulin levels, insulin resistance, or diabetes; infertility; excess hair on the face and body (hirsutism); thinning of the scalp hair (alopecia); weight problems or obesity that is centered around your mid section.

As a teenager I had some of the symptoms, but they were easily explained away by varying amounts of exercise, stress, and the teenage body getting used to adult hormones.  At age 16, though, I started taking birth control pills to regulate my cycle.  Thanks to the birth control pills, all the symptoms I was having went away because my hormones went back to levels much closer to normal.  I stayed on hormones (birth control pills) until March of 2007, when my husband and I decided we might want to try to start a family.  We never really even started trying because, very quickly, I began having symptoms.  We couldn’t figure out what was going on.  First, I was gaining weight, despite eating well and exercising.  Then I was sweating profusely, much more than ever before.  My cycle was completely irregular.  Sometimes I would go two months without menstruating, other times it would last up to two weeks.  My skin broke out in all sorts of acne – the kind I haven’t had since I was about 13.  I was depressed, because nothing I tried (and believe me, I tried everything I could do) helped with my weight, my cycle, or my acne.  When I got the first black hair on my neck, my world crumbled.  I was in such a dark place.  It was so embarrassing.  I pulled it and hoped it wouldn’t come back.  When it did, I began to think that maybe everything that was going on with my body was related.  I researched my symptoms on the Internet and decided it was time to go to the doctor, even though we didn’t have insurance.

I went to the doctor and she examined me.  The ultrasound revealed a whole bunch of cysts on my ovaries.  The blood test came back and my level of testosterone was at the level where my estrogen was supposed to be.  And I had as much estrogen as I was supposed to have of testosterone.  Both these things combined indicated PCOS.  So I began my new regimen of birth control – Yaz, for its unique properties.  It’s now four months later and my acne has cleared up, my little black hair is gone, and my cycle is regulated.  It seems like I am still having trouble losing weight, but that will come with time.  And I have to learn to manage the other things going on in my life.

PCOS affects between 6-10% of women in their childbearing years and awareness of this condition is minimal.  The lack of awareness contributes to many women’s confusion when they are experiencing these symptoms.  It may also be difficult to diagnose, because not all doctors are familiar with PCOS.  For more information, please visit http://www.pcosupport.org/ or http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/964648419.html.

I was recently visiting Wally World with my mom who has some pain issues and likes to take one of those “PM” versions of a pain reliever to help her sleep. We’re trying to figure out what’s cheaper and I happened to take a look at the ingredients listed on the boxes. I used to do this all the time, since I worked in a pharmacy in HS and learned a lot about over-the-counter (OTC) drugs from the pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. But I had never looked at the sleep aids, because I never bought them.

When I read the boxes, over and over again, the drug listed was diphenhydramine hydrochloride, AKA Benadryl. And in each pill the dosage is 25 mg, the same as one Benadryl pill. When I explained this to my mother, we found the biggest box of Benadryl to buy (because the stuff is dirt cheap compared to sleeping aids) and now she has it for sleeping and allergy purposes.

Everyone knows that Benadryl has the potential to put many people to sleep, but I also know that there have been times where it gave me an energy boost. Since it, first and foremost, is an allergy medication, shouldn’t the labels on the sleep aids carry some kind of disclosure revealing this to people who aren’t familiar with the chemical names? And shouldn’t that disclaimer state something like “Though diphenhydramine HCl has been clinically tested and proven to relieve allergy symptoms, the success of the drug as a sleep aid may vary from person to person.” Or something like that. It seems completely misleading to market an allergy drug as a sleep aid without some sort of disclosure on the packaging, because people are spending a lot more money for a few sleeping pills than they would if they bought the same thing packaged as allergy pills.

For more information on how this allergy medication can help people sleep, please visit this page: http://healthblogonline.com/sleep-problems/insomnia-sleep-aids-and-medications/.  The explanation is in the seventh paragraph and you will probably need to scroll down a bit in the page to read it.

And a small note pertaining to drugs and pricing – if cost is an issue, please try the generic store brand. It is a lot cheaper and contains the same active ingredient(s) in the same dosage and proportions as the brand name. The inactive ingredients may differ, but this will not affect the drug’s performance or effects on most people. It can, sometimes, produce an allergic reaction or other effects that the brand doesn’t, but most of the time it won’t produce these effects.

There were a few sleep aids that contained another ingredient, doxylamine. It is the only alternative to Benadryl we could find in the sleep aid section. It seems to be only on the market to help people sleep, as far as I can tell. I say try the Benadryl first (it has the added benefit of helping with allergies in case that’s a concern, and it’s cheaper) and move to the other sleep aids only if the Benadryl doesn’t work.

And keep your eyes on the medicines listed on the boxes you buy. You never know what they’ll use to make your next box of pills.