The days were spent lying in bed and crying. In the end, the future looked so dark that Frida Linnea Dahl began to think about taking her own life.
– I was eventually admitted to the hospital in Sandviken, and the next day was transferred to the district psychiatric ward (DPS) where I stayed for a month, says Dahl.
The disease that made Dahl depressed is something 15 percent of all women of childbearing age have.
Didn’t understand what it was
– I had little energy, and no longer wanted to do things that usually make me happy. I no longer felt like myself.
For a long time she tried to push the dark thoughts away, but the condition kept getting worse.
– It became easier to deal with once I recognized that I was depressed. It also became easier to talk to those around me, and I no longer felt as pressured to entertain and be funny all the time. When I accepted the depression, I also realized that I had to do something.
Frida sought help, but was refused by DPS several times. She wasn’t sick enough. Only when she was hospitalized with suicidal thoughts did she get help.
– It is completely ridiculous that that was what it took to get help. I was just as ill as when I was rejected, she tells us with frustration.
– A relief
During a gynecological examination, Dahl received the diagnosis that was to change her entire life. She was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, also known as PCOS.
– The gynecologist said it clearly: You have far too many eggs in the ovaries, they are overproduced, but do not mature.
What is PCOS?
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by hormonal imbalance. This causes the egg cells in the ovaries to not mature properly, but become fluid-filled cavities (cysts) and ovulation does not occur.
(PCOS) is the most common hormonal (endocrine) disorder in women. The condition affects 10-15% of all women and can cause many health problems as a result of the hormonal imbalance. Women with PCOS can have a wide range of symptoms as a result of high androgen levels, insulin resistance and increased inflammation. The syndrome affects the sufferer endocrine, metabolic, reproductive and emotional.
Estrogens, androgens and progesterone are three types of hormones from the ovaries that are most affected. These hormones affect the body in several ways, including menstruation, ovulation, hair growth on the body and face.
We don’t know why some women get PCOS, but it seems to be hereditary.
Obtained from PCOS Norge and HealthNorway
Although the PCOS diagnosis was not what Dahl wanted, she had finally received an answer as to why she felt the way she did.
– It was a relief to get an answer, even though I had never heard of the disease before. Now I had something to blame. If I can stabilize the PCOS, I can also control the depression.
Increased risk of anxiety and depression
Jan Mellembakken is a gynecologist at Volvat, and an expert in infertility, PCOS and endometriosis. He tells Nettavisen that women with PCOS have a threefold increased risk of anxiety and depression.
– You don’t know the reason. Some can be explained by increased weight, increased hair growth and acne. But something can probably be explained by changed hormones.
He says that depressed women with PCOS will benefit greatly from conversations and therapy, but that specific problems linked to the disease must also be resolved.
– I have gone to talk therapy, but it didn’t help me much. There was nothing specific I was sorry for. It was a hormonal imbalance in my body that made me so sad and depressed, says Dahl
Need someone to talk to?
Is there an acute danger that you will injure yourself or take your life? Call 113.
There are also several helplines, chat services and support groups where you can share your thoughts and feelings completely anonymously, and get support, advice and guidance.
Acute but not life-threatening situations:
Your GP has an immediate help function during the day. The GP has information about various help services where you live, and can assist with making contact and sending a referral where this is necessary, this could be a psychologist or other treatment in the municipality or in the specialist health service.
When the problem is not life-threatening, but also cannot wait until you get in touch with the GP during opening hours, call the local emergency department on 116 117.
At the emergency room, you get in touch with health personnel who are trained to assess the seriousness and urgency of the situation. The ambulance service also has an overview of other relevant services in the municipality that can help you.
For children and young people:
Here you will find several helplines, chat services and support groups which can be helpful when you are having a hard time.
Source: Health Care
She has also tried treatment with antidepressants, which aim to stabilize her mood.
– It should sort of flatten the mood, and make you less sad and happy. I was never happy, so in a sense it helped me get away from the very sad.
Today she is doing better, but still struggles with depression. She is on sick leave from her job as a security guard, and receives work clearance allowance from Nav. Recently, she has started cognitive treatment with a psychologist, which she is enjoying so far. Stabilizing the PCOS has helped to get better.
Discriminated group
Mellembakken says that it is not just PCOS that can make women depressed. Endometriosis is also a women’s disease that is related to increased incidence of anxiety and depression, and reduced quality of life.
– Some women struggle with pain in the abdomen due to endometriosis or vulvodynia. They are unable to have sex, and some cannot become pregnant. I’ve had patients say: “I can’t be used for anything”. Then you become despondent and depressed.
– Women are a discriminated group in a research context. Knowledge among healthcare personnel is also too low. It is also a global phenomenon. This also applies to other diseases such as the risk of heart disease if you have had preeclampsia. Perhaps it reflects less interest in women’s diseases.
He describes the healthcare system as a “production company” where people are too concerned with the number of patients, rather than reading and building knowledge.
– The bathwater ran out after NPM (New Public Management) took over the entire healthcare system. Money controls everything. Have you heard the Minister of Health talk about professional development and updating? No. Have you heard her talk about money and the budget. YES.
– There should be more research into PCOS and other areas of women’s health. Now it’s the women’s turn!
Embarrassing symptoms
– It is not an illness that makes you feel very sexy, says Dahl.
The disease carries with it a number of other symptoms such as obesity, increased hair growth and acne.
– I feel like a hairy gorilla. It’s not cool to put on weight no matter how much you exercise and how healthy you eat.
Symptoms of PCOS
- Rare, irregular or scanty periods (oligomenorrhea)
- Enlarged ovaries with many small cysts/follicles
- Lack of ovulation (anovulation)
- Insulin resistance
- Excess weight (preferably centered around the abdominal region) and unexplained weight gain
- Increased body hair, especially on the upper lip, cheeks, upper arms, chest, stomach and back (hirsutism)
- Hair loss and thinning hair on the head
- Cravings/sweet tooth
- Acne and/or oily skin
- Tiredness/fatigue
- “Brain Fog”
- Various forms of sleep problems, such as insomnia and sleep apnea
- Anxiety and/or depression
- Involuntary childlessness and infertility
- Spontaneous abortion and late abortion
- Underdeveloped glandular tissue in the breasts
- Different forms of eating disorders
- Obsessions
- Low self-esteem
- Skin tags, teardrop-sized pieces of skin that can be the size of raisins that are usually found in the armpits or neck area (acrochordon)
- A skin change where the skin becomes pigmented and slightly thickened, most pronounced in the neck, groin, armpits or skin folds (acanthosis nigricans)
- Lack of libido
The consequences of PCOS can be many, and women with PCOS are at risk of many serious health problems:
- Diabetes type 2
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease and elevated cholesterol
- Gestational diabetes
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
- Migraines
- Asthma
- Uterine cancer
Obtained from PCOS Norge
Dahl himself has felt several of the symptoms for several years, without knowing what caused them.
– I have struggled a lot with fatigue during the day, difficulty sleeping in the evening. I have struggled to lose weight, and can gain five kilos in two weeks without eating anything very different. I also struggle with excessive hair growth. Hair grows on both the stomach and the chin. It’s not cool and I feel like a hairy gorilla.
She describes growing up with these symptoms as tiring, especially in the summer when people tend to wear more light clothing.
– I could spend the evening before we went out swimming to shave my whole body. The next day it had already grown back, and I could get comments like: “Did you forget to shave or?” followed by laughter. In addition, my skin reacted badly to the shave, and I got inflammation and red bumps.
Treatment
Improving hormone balance will help alleviate symptoms of PCOS.
- Lifestyle changes. The most important measures for symptom relief are done in everyday life. A healthy, balanced diet with a focus on clean food sources and balanced blood sugar can counteract unwanted weight gain. Daily physical activity, sleep routines and stress management can also be crucial, but are often forgotten in the big picture of treatment.
- Birth control pills. Can be used to relieve troublesome symptoms such as bleeding disorders, unwanted hair growth, acne etc
- Metformin. Helps reduce insulin resistance and keep blood sugar stable.
- Laser treatment. Used for unwanted hair growth.
- Spironolactone. Used for unwanted hair growth.
- Bleeding medications. In case of long-term missed periods, it will be appropriate to take bleeding-inducing drugs to prevent endometrial hyperplasia (preventing the lining from becoming too thick, which in turn can increase the risk of uterine cancer).
- Ovulation stimulating medications. Today, letrozole is the most commonly used preparation for fertility treatment. Most people who want to get pregnant but rarely or never ovulate try letrozole before more advanced and invasive fertility treatment.
- IVF (test tube treatment). Where ovulation-stimulating medication has not resulted in pregnancy, many will succeed with IVF treatment.
- Electrocautery (ovarian drilling / LOD). Surgical burning at points on the ovaries.
- Dietary supplements. Certain dietary supplements may be appropriate, such as vitamin D, folate, magnesium, zinc and inositol. Dietary supplements should only be taken in consultation with a doctor.
Obtained from PCOS Norge
– It would have been hypocritical not to share
Dahl is calling for more information about the disease.
– It sucks to have PCOS, and it sucks even more not knowing what to do about it. There is far too little information, and everything I know I have had to teach myself.
Dahl has over 42,000 followers and over 3 million likes on the popular medium TikTok, under the name @rarefrida. It became a matter of course for her to talk openly about both depression and PCOS to her followers.
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– I started to get a fairly large profile on TikTok, where I share openly about my whole life. I felt it would be hypocritical not to share what is difficult, so then it also became natural to share the reason when I found out about PCOS.
She has received an enormous response to the content she has created about PCOS, where she talks openly about what it is like.
– Many people have contacted me after I opened up about the disease. Many share tips and experiences, while others ask for advice. It seems like people are generally grateful to have someone to talk about it with.
2023-04-29 05:03:26
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