To say my menstrual cycle is abnormal would simply be an understatement. Since the young age of 12, my period has been about as regular as a new season of Bridgerton, but the flop of season three is a story for another day. Women’s health is a deeply unexplored topic within the medical realm, and I have fallen victim to what I like to call the ‘just have a bath and a cup of tea’ debacle one too many times. Vaginal health is still such a deeply taboo topic and I can’t bring myself to understand why. From knowing something was wrong when I didn’t get my period for 6 months after first coming on at 12, to being dismissed by my GP at age 17, I finally have a PCOS diagnosis at 20. Shameful, to say the least.
my period and me
Starting my period in a Year 7 history lesson wasn’t one of my proudest moments. Still, I imagine everyone who has a menstrual cycle has a story similar to mine when it comes to the beginning of a period. From that moment onwards, I would never know peace if my period came, and I place extreme emphasis on the if. My most memorable period was when I was 14: my cramps were so intense I stayed home from school, threw up any food I ate due to the pain and cried for 3 hours straight over The Notebook. Cliche, but still heartbreaking, especially to a highly hormonal teenage girl. But, bleeding that much and being in such overwhelming pain is NOT normal. Despite every single one of my periods being similar to this one, I just hoped it would get better when I was older.
Alas, it did not get better, only worse. This was such an alienating experience for me, as everyone around me had these regular (albeit equally as painful) periods, and I didn’t. I felt like I wasn’t undergoing womanhood properly, and that scared me. That was when I finally decided to reach out to a doctor at 17 and was immediately met with a cold receptionist. I was told my issue wasn’t bad enough for an appointment, and that a warm bath and tea always helps. I began to cry and explain that something wasn’t right, to no avail. Thankfully, my Mum was able to get me an appointment by shouting at the receptionist which is a plus point for feminism in my opinion. However, I was swiftly put on birth control before I was legally an adult.
what do they put in microgynon???
The pill I was put on was called Microgynon, and for 2 years I experienced the weirdest periods and the worst mood swings. When I was sad, I was distraught, and when I was happy, I was like a kid on Christmas. My periods were still extremely irregular despite the promise of the opposite, so everything felt a bit pointless. I was extremely lost on where to go next, as I was on the path my doctor recommended but nothing was helping.
Now, this is the problem with modern-day medicine, and the world in general. Everything is tested on men, from the most commonly circulated medicine to car seat belts, hence why women are 73% more likely to be seriously injured in frontal car crashes and almost twice as likely to get trapped in the wreckage (according to Rochelle Beighton’s CNN article). There is no cure or genuinely helpful drug for PCOS, endometriosis, or ovarian cysts because there is no in-depth research on any of these topics. Women’s health is so blatantly ignored within the medical realm that, in recent years, most women have attempted to reverse their PCOS at home. However, this is not possible for all women, so what are we supposed to do?
the final decision
At the beginning of this year, I hadn’t been on my period for 4 months, so I decided to call the GP again. Upon being told my symptoms were normal, which they DEFINITELY were not, I begged for a scan. My doctor booked me in for a blood test and a transvaginal ultrasound, which sounds super scary and embarrassing but wasn’t and was something I 100% needed so, never be scared of “embarrassing” scans! My doctor told me in our first phone call that they would NEVER diagnose someone with PCOS at my age, because ovarian cysts are a common thing in young girls. Ironically, when they called me back, they told me my testosterone was higher than my female sex hormones and that this alone was enough to diagnose me with PCOS. Talk about unprofessional.
Polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS for short, is a hormonal condition that affects how a woman’s ovaries function and can cause cysts to develop on the ovaries. Some women are left infertile from PCOS, whereas other women just have irregular hormones. My possible infertility is a big question mark, as it is something for “when I’m older”. Upon diagnosis, I was told that the best idea would be to go back on the pill; but I explained how it never helped, never will and only made me stupidly sad. The other suggestion they had was exercise, which I have taken up because the looming side effect of PCOS that they felt the need to overexplain to me was the weight gain, which is exactly what young girls want to hear! I asked if there were any other solutions, and there isn’t. Birth control or exercise is the solution to PCOS in the UK. I know a lot of women in the US take a hormone-blocking medicine to “cure” their PCOS, but I haven’t had the time or energy to look into that option as I’ll likely be turned away because I’m “too young”.
As much as I wanted to use this article to rant about the lack of care for women’s health in the UK, I also want my main message to be that if something doesn’t feel right, physically or mentally, please get it checked out. Although it took me 3 years, I eventually found the label for my period problems, and have been working hard to reverse symptoms and get my period back (I say this like I’m not 2 weeks late). And, despite my nightmare story, do not be discouraged from asking for help, I think the receptionists at my GP just don’t like me…