Thursday, July 9, 2009

I always hated test days

So.

I've been seeing a new doctor. She's pretty nifty. I needed a new doctor because, with the move to the new city, and my turning the ripe old age of 24, I am soon to be kicked from my parents' insurance. And, you know, it's good to have a doctor in town, and not rely solely upon the student health center.

Part of the barrage of tests she ran about two weeks ago was a test for PCOS (and random more, you know, normal things, like thyroid, cholesterol, etc). I knew PCOS was a possibility, but the thought of it freaks. me. the. hell. out. There are a lot of complications that are possible -- an increased risk of heart disease. Diabetes. Infertility (dont' care about that one, as I don't want babies). Uterine cancer.

So, when I got a call on Monday to "come in and discuss my results" and then they scheduled my appointment for THREE WEEKS from the time of their call ... well, I freaked. Because SOMETHING is up, or they would call me and say, "You're good. Go about your life."

So, I fixated. I called back and left a message asking for my test results. No call back. I called again the next day. No call back. I finally called this morning and indicated that the results of my test could be, you know, IMPORTANT and I didn't want to wait three weeks to figure out if I was, you know, diabetic, or if I had scarily high cholesterol b/c my ovaries hate me. And that, if you could please take about 5 minutes, call me back like your pre-recorded message says you will.

A very nice nurse got back to me this afternoon.

I am not diabetic -- in fact, my blood sugar was at the low end of the range (74 after a fast) which, from waht I can tell from the internet, is DAMN SKIPPY. My thyroid is in the normal range. My cholesterol is good. It's still possible I have PCOS (really, quite probable -- the nurse talked about how there were "hormonal red flags" that she felt the doctor was more prepared to discuss with me). But at least I don't have any of the major complications a lot of women have. I may not be ovulating, and we may need to regulate my estrogen. But that's something I can handle. And I am no longer freaking out about every piece of food I put in my body, thinking I will go into a diabetic coma.

Yes, I know I am paranoid.

But that doesn't change how very real the fear felt.

So. On July 24th I will know.

And, I will tell all three of you who read this.

Until then, I will take comfort in knowing that weight loss and the low GI diet are actually great things for the PCOS, should I have it.

And Mar -- if you get tested, please don't freak out like I did. :) You're probably just fine.

3 comments:

  1. Waiting for test results suck. I'm the same way - so much so that I try to avoid the tests in the first place. Glad you're healthy.

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  2. fingers crossed for ya.

    after all of the medical problems i've had, and misdiagnoses, i've learned how to not freak out until you actually know what's going on.

    but it took a freaking long time to get this clarity.

    this is a stupid question, but how do you know so strongly that you don't want babies? i have a few friends who feel similarly. i've always wanted kids, because i feel like i'm supposed to want kids (and force them to take piano lessons and stay skinny), but as each year passes, and i see them screaming in supermarkets, i want them less and less.

    what was your process in arriving at your decision?

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  3. In case you check back here, Mar, I emailed you my answer. If anyone else is interested in this, I'll be more than glad to do a post on it. Just leave me a note. :)

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