Hormones Stink

One of the reasons I went through my WLS was to help assist my PCOS and my hormones get back to normal and leave that mean old PCOS behind. It has taken 16 months - yep it has been a year and half - but we are starting to see BIG improvements and BIG changes. Now hormonal changes aren't easy for me or for the hubs, but I have to admist my super cute husband is amazing with all of the change! He realizes for what it is often before I do and is able to say "honey it is just new hormones you aren't used to them." So we are both dealing with this new change :-) I had my first big annual exam post surgery where I could make changes to my birth control post WLS. I had been off birth control since surgery since complications with my Mirena IUD and then liver functions with fatty liver disorder. Now that my liver is leveling out and my hormones have found they way to this new norm functions my PCOS is also changing.

I saw the obgyn last week and here is a new report! First, no cysts. So yes, polycystic ovarian syndrome is often categorized by cysts, but not for me. No cysts = YAY! Second, fiboris tissue in the breasts. This runs in my family, but when I was overweight we didn't know if I had that or not. Not that I'm at a much more reasonable weight I have been diagnosed that I'm just like my mom in that area. It also explains that cyst that I had in March 2010 that we were unsure about. WLS has definitely helped in this area. Third, I am able to go back onto birth control. My liver levels have been stable and are in a normal range. I can now take birth control in a safe manner without worrying about possible issues occuring in the future with my liver functions. Finally, my doctor is willing to watch me to see if I am considered to even have PCOS now because one of the great benefits of the WLS has impacted me in a great way is that I can now cycle normally on my own. This never happened pre-WLS and it has never been able to a normal period ever so this is HUGE for me. It is one more step in being a healthier woman overall.

With this new normalcy come new hormones. My body is not producing estrogen and progesteron and is able to cycle in a "normal cycle" as my body figures out this new function. I'm excited to be at this point because this was a goal for me when I had the WLS. I wanted to reverse the PCOS. Overall the PCOS is not gone. I still have many of the symptoms like hirituism (though it is 1000 % better) and I have some anxiety and depression that could be caused by it as well. I'm dealing with a new pattern of anxiety that comes with hormonal influxes and I'm dealing with hunger cravings with the hormones. Something new and different for me and working through them to find a normalcy will be a challenge.

One of the challenges for me is finding a birth control that is absorbable. I am leary of the pill with absorbtion issues (even though I don't have any right now - that may occur in the future) so I'm searching for one that isn't a pill. The mirena IUD was out due to major complications, so going in to talk with the doc was a great opporutnity to find out some things. After much talk and figuring out where I need to go - I'm trying the Nuva Ring! I think it is unique and honestly I can't feel it, but still...I hear it is great. My doctor has alot of patients that have had WLS and they use it and liked it. She wanted to stear away from the implant, shots due to the same outcome for me with the Mirena IUD and she doesn't want to use the patch unless she has to - so I'm giving this a try! We'll see how it works and go from there.