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It'll Grow Hair on Your Chest
Feb. 19th, 2007 09:52 pmToday I learned more about polycystic ovary syndrome because (at least) a second person I know has now been diagnosed with it. In order to get this exotic diagnosis, you need at least two of the following three symptoms:
* an extremely long time between periods or no periods at all - periods may still time themselves to occur every time you are camping
* cysts in ovaries - when eggs start maturing but don't quite mature enough to run off on a sperm quest, you stop calling them eggs and start calling them cysts
* high levels of androgens - you get to grow beard hair instead of head hair
The problem is that your female hormones are all out of whack. The reason you don't want this, even if you wish you were more manly, is that it puts you at greater risk for other nasty diseases--the same ones associated with being overweight, and in fact, polycystic ovary syndrome and extra weight often go hand in hand.
There are two basic treatment strategies. If you don't want (more) kids, you go with the birth control pill treatment. If you do want to get pregnant, you get to take lots of hormones at carefully timed intervals. There is no known cure.
Six to ten percent of women of reproductive age get this, though many women don't realize they have it. And, based on my um, somewhat nonrandom sample of two, even when they do begin to suspect, it may take many more years to convince their doctors.
Blog entry of the day - 6 Personal Finance Tips for Living in Japan by Sista in Tokyo - this has good ideas I never thought of for handling your finances while on a long stay in another country. (Not that I've ever thought about the logistics of staying long in another country.) "Know the rules and regulations regarding international wire transfers and deposits with your American bank before you leave. It's always important to develop a good relationship with the people in your local bank branch. Before I left for Japan, I spoke with the local branch manager and asked a few questions about my account, international transfers, and the like. I informed the manager that I would be away in Japan and that I planned to make periodic deposits from Japan to my American account. (I attempted to see if the $10 international wire fee could be waived but ummmm, that didn't work) I also asked questions about writing checks from Japan via internet and whatnot."
Recipe of the day - Jack's Artery Blockade (brown-sugar-glazed pork) at Sucky Blog. I admit I don't plan to make this (though it doesn't sound all that unhealthy to me). But I am a sucker for a recipe with a picture and a long funny story. "Don't even ask me about portions and cooking times . . . just use The Force when you cook, like my grandma."
* an extremely long time between periods or no periods at all - periods may still time themselves to occur every time you are camping
* cysts in ovaries - when eggs start maturing but don't quite mature enough to run off on a sperm quest, you stop calling them eggs and start calling them cysts
* high levels of androgens - you get to grow beard hair instead of head hair
The problem is that your female hormones are all out of whack. The reason you don't want this, even if you wish you were more manly, is that it puts you at greater risk for other nasty diseases--the same ones associated with being overweight, and in fact, polycystic ovary syndrome and extra weight often go hand in hand.
There are two basic treatment strategies. If you don't want (more) kids, you go with the birth control pill treatment. If you do want to get pregnant, you get to take lots of hormones at carefully timed intervals. There is no known cure.
Six to ten percent of women of reproductive age get this, though many women don't realize they have it. And, based on my um, somewhat nonrandom sample of two, even when they do begin to suspect, it may take many more years to convince their doctors.
Blog entry of the day - 6 Personal Finance Tips for Living in Japan by Sista in Tokyo - this has good ideas I never thought of for handling your finances while on a long stay in another country. (Not that I've ever thought about the logistics of staying long in another country.) "Know the rules and regulations regarding international wire transfers and deposits with your American bank before you leave. It's always important to develop a good relationship with the people in your local bank branch. Before I left for Japan, I spoke with the local branch manager and asked a few questions about my account, international transfers, and the like. I informed the manager that I would be away in Japan and that I planned to make periodic deposits from Japan to my American account. (I attempted to see if the $10 international wire fee could be waived but ummmm, that didn't work) I also asked questions about writing checks from Japan via internet and whatnot."
Recipe of the day - Jack's Artery Blockade (brown-sugar-glazed pork) at Sucky Blog. I admit I don't plan to make this (though it doesn't sound all that unhealthy to me). But I am a sucker for a recipe with a picture and a long funny story. "Don't even ask me about portions and cooking times . . . just use The Force when you cook, like my grandma."