How It Crept Behind My Back | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Health and Wellness

How It Crept Behind My Back

My Diagnosis Story

19
How It Crept Behind My Back
Self

I have always been teased for being a “bigger” child. Whenever I would visit my doctor’s office, my weight chart would always be under the label “overweight”. I ate healthy enough, but my mother blamed it on passing her sluggish metabolism. Over the years I knew it was my hatred of exercise of any form. To combat my weight, I did many extracurricular activities and I hated them all with a passion.

Each time I committed the grueling act of physical activity, I would be ridden with calves that would burn like the desert sun. My heart would thump at an astronomical rate. My chest was two boulders squeezing together my lungs. Sweat would flow out of my pores like a river. To put it bluntly, I was winded. After I complained enough, my parents unwillingly took me out of one activity and registered to another. This cycle went on for ages until in the seventh grade I was pulled from soccer. That was the last straw.

Two years have passed and now I am wrapping up my freshman year. I am at my heaviest weight yet, 172 pounds on a 5’1 frame. Hair and acne riddle my body. There’s an old adage- “your body is a temple”. I completely disagree with that statement. My body is a war zone. My insecurities and anxiety are winning the battle against my soul. My depression is stroking my neck, waiting for the right moment to aim for my jugular. My friends take advantage of my self hatred and would promise false claims of mutual support and care. I am in the bottom of a rut and I needed a ladder to escape.

The first rung was to drop my friends. The only way I do business is bluntly. After they crossed the line for not only lacking to support me but believing false rumors about my family, I dropped them like a sack of potatoes. I may have been lonely, but I lifted a weight off my chest. My fake smile was a little more real. I climbed the first rung.

The next rung was to see my pediatrician. I was determined to lose my extraneous weight. My doctor gave me a strict plan of frozen meals and *gasp* at least one hour of exercise daily.

As much as I despised exercise, it was a requirement for my health. My father surprised my family with admissions to the Color Run. My dread was mixed with excitement of powdered colors of the rainbow being cascaded onto my clean canvas of white clothing.

I may not have been that fast, but I ran. For the first time, I achieved an exhilaration in physical activity. Even though I was running with my family, I was running alone. No, I wasn’t running, I was flying through the course in my mind. Just me and the path to the finish line. I found physical activity that I enjoyed. I climbed several rungs that day.

That summer I lost over 20 pounds. I either went to the gym or ran on pavement. Each ounce I lost was truly rewarding. I not only lost weight, but I gained muscle and confidence. My acne left my body and my hair decreased its area slightly. My mental health was finally stable. Everything was great. I climbed all the rungs. I saw the light, but...

----

I thought I was the next Virgin Mary. I didn’t get my period for six months. My doctors blamed my weight loss, but my intuition told me something was very wrong with my body.

Once it was time for me to stay stable with my weight, I waited for my cycle to become normalized. It simply never happened. Body hair became weeds on my body. My acne came back. My mental health started to go sour. I fell into another rut. It was time to see the doctor again.

At first, my pediatrician recommended a dermatologist, a hormone specialist, and a psychiatrist, but fortunately, he thought of “a very improbable disease for my age”. This disease was named Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome(PCOS). Only five percent of women have this disease, but it is almost inconceivable to have someone as young as 17 to be diagnosed. Women who were in their late 20’s to mid 30’s were tattooed with this wretched disease. My pediatrician then went on to describe the disease.

PCOS is ugly. You are born with it and there is no cure. Most cases PCOS greatly affects your fertility negatively. Simply put, the female has no natural control over her testosterone production. Symptoms include unmanageable body hair(check), acne(check), irregular periods(check), and difficulty losing weight. I have three out of four symptoms; however, all of these symptoms can be attributed to other causes. Maybe the hair came from my middle eastern DNA. Maybe my irregular periods and my acne are caused by scholarly stress.

It’s always good to double check. One to take the blood test and have the slight odds of actually having this disease. The first results were inconclusive. The second results confirmed that I actually have the disease. My PCOS specialist said my case was the strangest he’s ever seen. I had the lowest count of immunoglobulin he has ever seen. In a normal sample, 40-50 globulins are expected. I had eight.

My doctors aren’t sure why my weight loss triggered all my symptoms to an extreme; However, I’m glad that I discovered my love for exercise saved me years of sour mental health. PCOS is manageable. I now take birth control to medically relieve all my symptoms. Exercise truly changed my life. Without it I wouldn’t know about my disease until years later. The physical activity that I despised for ages changed my life for better in an expected and unexpected way. I am continuing to climb my ladder, but now I know the climb doesn’t end. I think that’s okay because the ladder is life.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Featured

12 Midnight NYE: Fun Ideas!

This isn't just for the single Pringles out there either, folks

13528
Friends celebrating the New Years!
StableDiffusion

When the clock strikes twelve midnight on New Year's Eve, do you ever find yourself lost regarding what to do during that big moment? It's a very important moment. It is the first moment of the New Year, doesn't it seem like you should be doing something grand, something meaningful, something spontaneous? Sure, many decide to spend the moment on the lips of another, but what good is that? Take a look at these other suggestions on how to ring in the New Year that are much more spectacular and exciting than a simple little kiss.

Keep Reading...Show less
piano
Digital Trends

I am very serious about the Christmas season. It's one of my favorite things, and I love it all from gift-giving to baking to the decorations, but I especially love Christmas music. Here are 11 songs you should consider adding to your Christmas playlists.

Keep Reading...Show less
campus
CampusExplorer

New year, new semester, not the same old thing. This semester will be a semester to redeem all the mistakes made in the previous five months.

1. I will wake up (sorta) on time for class.

Let's face it, last semester you woke up with enough time to brush your teeth and get to class and even then you were about 10 minutes late and rollin' in with some pretty unfortunate bed head. This semester we will set our alarms, wake up with time to get ready, and get to class on time!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

2619
woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch
Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

1600
black marker on notebook

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments