Hi, I am Trixia Rubillos. I am a 24 years old woman with PCOS, Endometriosis and Adenomyosis.  I believe that people who suffer from these chronic illnesses deserve to be classified within the PWD category and be acknowledged for what specific disorder we have. Our journey into finding peace and the cure itself should be a good enough reason for us to be part of PWD. We have a growing bill of expenses for medical attention to a disorder that has no cure yet. Let me tell you why we are deserving of this category. I will share my personal journey. 

Growing up, I was told by everyone including medical professionals that having irregular periods was normal. Given that, I believed that 9 months - 1 year period delays were normal. I even saw it as a  blessing since I didn’t have to worry about getting pads or just dealing with the monthly mess in general. 

It all seemed harmless until I developed and was diagnosed with a growing cyst in my ovaries at 14. The cyst was successfully removed leaving my ovaries intact. However, at the age of 16, I was diagnosed with medical depression & anxiety. Despite my best efforts to heal, I still had trouble understanding what I was going through. I then abruptly gained weight and started having hormonal acne at 20. I got bigger despite how much I tried to stay fit, eat less and eat right. At 21, I decided to get myself checked after having severe cramps without the periods coming. I was officially diagnosed with Polycystic Ovaries Sydrome (PCOS) . When I was first educated about PCOS, everything made sense. It explained a lot about what I went through growing up. 

I thought that since we finally know what’s wrong with me, the healing would just take a few medicines until I’m better. Little did I know that this disorder has no cure yet and once you have it, it's for life. On top of that, this journey turned out to be a journey filled with multiple consultations with different doctors due a lot of misdiagnosis. There was a time where I was given the wrong medication which made my PCOS worse and may be the reason I developed this other painful disorder called Endometriosis, and 3 months later I developed Adenomyosis. I took that prescribed medication for six months. Fast forward to now, I am a 24 year old diabetic still doing her best to manage her disorders.

So because of this journey, I decided to self educate and advocate for PCOS, Endometriosis and Adenomyosis. It is now my purpose to spread awareness and help the PCOS community in any way I can. 

The main lesson I learned is that PCOS, Endometriosis and Adenomyosis symptoms have been normalized growing up all because PCOS is one of the most COMMON yet grossly UNDER RESEARCHED disorders in Women’s Health. 

Chronic Illnesses such as PCOS, Endometriosis and Adenomyosis is a very common disorder amongst women. 

What is PCOS?

PCOS or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is a hormonal disorder that affects a woman’s  reproductive, metabolic, and mental health. This disorder affects 1 in every 10 women of child bearing age (14+). Having PCOS could also give unwanted changes such as body hair growth, depression & anxiety, hormonal acne, hair thinning, insulin resistance and more. Overtime, a woman with PCOS  could lead a life with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular problems and in my case, Endometriosis & Adenomyosis.

According to the World Health Organization, they revealed that PCOS has affected 116 million women (3.4%) worldwide in 2012. Yet it is still not perceived as an important health problem in the world, even if it  affects 4%–20% of women of reproductive age worldwide.

PCOS Symptoms:

• Irregular or prolonged periods,
• Excessive cramping & bloating during period. 
• Rapid weight gain 
• Psychological stress & depression 
• Hormonal acne & other skin problems
• Excessive body hair growth 
• Ovarian cysts & Polycystic ovaries
• Hair loss / Thinning Hair 
• Fatigue 
• High testosterone levels

What is Endometriosis?
Endometriosis is a painful disorder in which the tissue that normally lines the inside of your uterus, the endometrium, grows outside your uterus. When blood touches the endometrium, it causes inflammation and irritation, resulting in pain. 

Endometriosis Symptoms:

• Pain, especially excessive menstrual cramps that may be felt in the abdomen or lower back
• Pain during intercourse
• Abnormal or heavy menstrual flow
• Infertility
• Painful urination during menstrual periods
• Painful bowel movements during menstrual periods
•  Other gastrointestinal problems, such as diarrhea, constipation and/or nausea

 

What is Adenomyosis?
Adenomyosis is another painful disorder that occurs when tissue that normally lines with the uterus (endometrial tissue) grows into the muscular wall of the uterus. 

Adenomyosis Symptoms:

• Heavy or prolonged menstrual bleeding 
• Severe cramping or sharp, knifelike pelvic pain during menstruation (dysmenorrhea) 
• Chronic Pelvic Pain
• Painful intercourse (dyspareunia)

Personally, Endometriosis & Adenomyosis pains are so paralyzing for me. When the pain starts to flare up, its predominantly in my naval region; my insides feel like they’re being stretched, twisted and pulled and there's this constant stabbing pain as it happens.

Whenever that starts, my lower back and my legs start to hurt. It feels sore, as if I did an intense leg workout. Most of the time I pass out especially when the pain is too much.

Take note that this is for life. This is my norm. I am definitely not the only one going through this. I need this to be a category. I need to see the words “Polycystic Ovarian Cyst”, “Endometriosis” and “Adenomyosis” in the selection under “Chronic Illness”.  It’s important to me because I fight this every single day. At least when the worst happens to me when I’m out and about, people will know what I have when they see my PWD card.

Hopefully now that you know the basic knowledge of PCOS, Endometriosis and Adenomyosis, you wouldn’t normalize any of it. I encourage every woman to get themselves checked.

As mentioned earlier, there is still no cure yet. The current medicine that helps is birth control. There are many brands of birth control and each has a different hormone that would help your PCOS. Unfortunately, so far (based on experience) there is no test that could figure out which type of hormone you are missing. So from my experience, doctors will prescribe different birth controls - 1 brand at a time which you have to take for 3 months to see if it works. If not, on to the next brand. This is apparently the only way to see what works best for you. It’s quite the process. I haven’t found mine yet which is EXHAUSTING. I’ve tried around 4 brands already: Diane, Liza, Cerazette (this made my PCOS worse for me) and Yaz.

Right now, all I can say is that I am doing my absolute best to be better. I’m praying I could be a mum someday even if I have low chances given my PCOS, Endometriosis and Adenomyosis.

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD! Thousands of women with PCOS, Endometriosis and Adenomyosis will truly benfit from this.  If you do know anyone with PCOS, please show them your utmost  support even if it’s just for today. Thank you for reading and stay amazing everyone! ���