Sunday, January 15, 2012

PCOS

Like most mornings, after Subuh, I will log into Facebook. Most of the time, I have maybe 2-3 notifications, but today none. However, I found a rather 'interesting' wall post on a 'magic cream' which can help with PCOS, period irregularity and infertility. Hence, this wall post and this blog entry;


I had problems with my period since my early teens, and it became worse when I reached 20 years old, which led to a meeting with the GP. The doctor prescribed me with a 'drug' which would help with my period. The medication helped, but it also came with drastic weight gain. That was then. Apparently, my period became normal again for the next 5 years. I had the problem again when I reached 25, but this time I refuse to go to the GP and decided just to deal with it without doing anything about it. Then I got married at 26, and obviously we wanted to have kids as soon as possible. At that point, my period only come every 4-6 months. Finally, I decided to seek professional help. I didn't want to face the long waiting list in government hospitals, so I went for Pusrawi Jalan Tun Razak. I went to the appointment counter, and asked if I can make an appointment with any female OB/GYN in the hospital. They recommended Dr Adilah Ahmat, and booked my first appointment on the following week.


On the day, I had to wait for 4 hours for my appointment. I found out that Dr Adilah had almost 30 appointments just for that morning, and I was the 26th to check-in (I came at 9am as my appointment was at 10am, but apparently it didn't mean anything, as other patients were already there as early as 7.30). I discussed my problems with her, and she did a quick scan and almost immediately,I was diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome). She booked me another appointment (longer session) to do further examination. On my next appointment, she did another scan, and she confirmed that it is PCOS, and then we talked about the best way to alleviate the problem. She recommended laparoscopic procedure called "ovarian drilling", and that was in February 2008, which meant nothing if I didn't have to fly to UK on the following month for my PhD. Hence, she booked me the next available 'surgery' which was Tuesday of the following week. 


The surgery went well (they even provide me with the video recording), and I had to go for 2 more appointments before my flight. I also had to go for a scan to determine whether there is any other complication and was prescribed Clomiphene to help with ovulation. On my second cycle after the surgery, I was pregnant with Mawaddah. Alhamdulillah. Allah has answered our prayers and blessed us with a healthy child.


Since I had Mawaddah, my period cycle is now normal and regular as it should be. Alhamdulillah.


I am no expert, and that was why I went to the people who ARE the experts. I just hate and disgusted by the idea of 'magic' creams/pills without any suggestions to seek professional help before you opt for so-called 'magic' solution. Personally, I would rather spend my money on a medically-certified procedure conducted by people who actually know what they are doing than some cream/pill promoted by people who don't have the slightest idea on what they are selling/promoting. 

I hope this entry will help those who are facing the same problem as I was. Insya-Allah. To others, I hope you will do the right thing when you have any form of medical/health problems. 

Till next entry. 

Thursday, January 05, 2012

Pengkritik tak bertauliah & berlesen

Akhir2 ni, suka pulak tonton drama/filem Melayu. Walaupun jauh beribu batu dari Malaysia, being a TV junkie since forever, I would say I'm well in touch with the current tv/movie scene in Malaysia. Aku takde la tgk semua, lagi2 slot akasia yang at least 24 episod tu. I think the only drama series yg aku mmg tgk dari episod 1 sampai habis was Nora Elena. Lepas Nora Elena, aku dh x follow sgt, kebanyakannya aku tgk episod awal (1-5) then 2-3 episod terakhir. Asal faham cerita, cukup. Tentang Dhia was no exception. I watched, probably the first 8 episodes, then decided to skip the remaining episodes until the last 3. I just didn't like the idea of watak baik asyik kena buli dgn watak jahat, dan yg baik ni selamanya naif dan defenseless, smpi tak ambil apa2 tindakan. I mean come on! Aku rasa dalam hal tu, ramai dah komen dalam facebook. To dwell on this matter would be simply pointless and redundant.




Dari segi filem, I think many would agree that Ombak Rindu is the most anticipated film of 2011. Aku rasa dari bulan 7 tahun ini, orang dah mula bercakap tentang filem ini, lebih-lebih lagi sebab Aaron Aziz yang akan bawa watak Hariz (thanks to Seth Tan in Nora Elena). I have my doubts on Maya Karin as Izzah. Sebabnya, dalam Ombak Rindu, Izzah adalah seorang gadis kampung Melayu, and obviously Maya Karin is far from Melayu (no offence to her fans). Selepas menonton lakonan Maya dalam Ombak Rindu, terbukti telahan aku benar. Izzah dalam filem adalah seorang gadis kampung yang memang asal usulnya di kampung, tapi bahasa Melayunya agak canggung, ada slang. Nonetheless, she did well in the film, lakonan Maya sebagai wanita teraniaya memang boleh dipuji. Lisa sebagai Mila, aku rasa ok la. Lagipun dalam Ombak Rindu, watak utama adalah Hariz dan Izzah, jadi sesiapa yang boleh bawa watak perempuan antagonis, boleh bawa watak Mila dengan berkesan. It seems that 2011 is Aaron's year; orang masih terkenangkan watak Seth Tan dalam Nora Elena, and I believe this has worked perfectly for Ombak Rindu with the growing pool of Aaron's fans. Aku pun minat Aaron dalam Nora Elena, tapi aku rasa ada lagi pelakon yang lagi bagus cuma mungkin kurang 'handsome' kalau nak dibandingkan dengan Aaron Aziz. Aaron sebagai Hariz, boleh lah. Macam Maya, Aaron berjaya bawa watak Hariz, Hariz dari Singapura (if you know what I mean). Dalam Nora Elena, Seth Tan adalah lelaki berketurunan Cina, jadi gaya percakapannya masih diterima, because it is expected that Seth Tan akan sedikit pelat dalam berbahasa Melayu. Hariz on the other hand, is totally a different character. Apa2 hal pun, apa yg penting tahap ke'handsome'an dan ke'macho'an lebih utama untuk menzahirkan watak Hariz. I think. Aku paling suka watak Bront Palarae. Lakonan Bront belum pernah lagi mengecewakan aku. Dia memang pelakon berbakat, walaupun dia taklah se'macho' atau se'handsome' Aaron Aziz. Nonetheless, aku tak sabar nak tgk filem Bunohan.


Apa yang membuatkan aku agak meluat dengan Ombak Rindu, ialah scene sensual yang aku rasa tak perlu pun elaborate sgt. Aku rasa penonton boleh faham tanpa dizahirkan perlakuan yang sememangnya tak berapa sesuai dipertontonkan sebegitu rupa. Penonton Malaysia dah biasa tgk filem Hollywood, and I believe they can understand simple gestures or body language leading to coitus. Let me put it this way, aku sebagai penonton boleh faham apa yang akan jadi seterusnya, bila lelaki & perempuan or suami & isteri pegang tangan, sengih2, malu2 beruk, lps tu masuk bilik tutup pintu. Tak perlulah sampai nak tunjuk baring atas katil, dengan kurang pakaian, peluk2. Seriously, these things yg merosakkan cerita. Perasaan cinta bukannya terbatas dengan sentuhan atau perlakuan fizikal. Aku rasa cinta tu lagi berkesan dan berbekas kalau digambarkan dengan kata2 dan perbuatan yg tak melibatkan sentuhan. Ambik cth Nora Elena. Hubungan Nora & Seth sebagai suami isteri pada aku tak menjengkelkan. Just enough to make us all drool for Seth and wish that all men/husbands can be like him. Tak perlu scene sentuhan kulit ke kulit. Hanya dengan mainan kata2 dan lenggok badan. I've read the novel more than once, dan apa yg membuatkan aku sukakan novel Ombak Rindu sememangnya bukan sebab babak-babak ranjang, dan mungkin ramai yang bersetuju.


As suggested by the title of this entry, I am pengkritik tak bertauliah & berlesen. Mungkin ada yang bersetuju, dan mungkin ramai jugak yg tak bersetuju. By all means, you are entitled to your opinion and maybe you can write about it sometime.


Until the next entry (entah la bila pulak nak update).