October 22, 2015

A patient’s success story regarding Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

A letter from one of Dr. Hu’s patient….
Dear Dr. Hu, Beginning at about 12 years of age, I had to deal with unwanted and serious weight gain along with irregular and horrible menstrual cycles. It was not until my mid 20s that a doctor finally told me why: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
The day that I learned this was both a blessing and a curse. I was happy to finally know why I could never lose weight despite every diet and exercise regime known to man. On the other hand, I was devastated when my doctor told me that there was no cure, that I would most likely always have serious weight issues, and it would be difficult to impossible for me to have children. I was put on medication and told to diet. This of course resulted in me gaining about 50 more pounds over the course of the next couple of years, despite the medications.

Finally, one day I faced my problems and began to read every single article or book published on PCOS. There was surprisingly little out there. And what was published all said the same thing that my doctors told me thereby giving me very little hope of change. One book however, mentioned acupuncture treatments that some women claimed to help with their symptoms but not cure them. So I did more research on acupuncture. About that same time, I was working as a psychologist with veterans dealing with chronic pain and decided to invite a guest speaker to one of my groups. He was a wonderful man who specialized in acupuncture.

During the talk, I volunteered myself as the pin cushion for his demonstration. He put one needle in my hand, looked at me and said, “Hm. You have a metabolic disorder and would really respond to treatment.? This was, understandably, quite shocking to me. I spoke with him after class and he suggested that I go find a specialist. A couple of months later, I was browsing on the internet and found you.I remember sitting in your office for the first time and all the things you said to me.
I felt honestly hopeful for the first time in a long time. I decided that day to trust in whatever brought me there to you, whether it was fate or luck. Those few months that I saw you were wonderful and to me, exotically different with the pills, tea, incense burning, cupping, and millions of needles. I always walked out of your office feeling rested and peaceful, and more than that, I felt like I was doing something for the first time to fight my PCOS.
After about three months of seeing you, I went to see yet another doctor about my PCOS. He decided that I needed to repeat some of my tests that I did so many years before. So I had pictures of my ovaries taken again, and to my doctor’s utter disbelief and to my great joy, I had only one small cyst! He could not understand why I came to see him claiming that I had been diagnosed with PCOS when it was clear that I did not have the cysts characteristic of this medical disorder.
I made him go back over my old test results so that he could see that I used to have rings of cysts around both ovaries. I remember him sitting there not knowing what to say. I told him that I had undergone acupuncture treatment over the last several months and that my doctor said that she could help me.To this day, I do not think my doctor believes that this is possible, but I am the proof! I no longer qualify for the diagnosis of PCOS. My ovaries are normal and healthy and my doctor said that there should be no reason that I could not lose weight or become pregnant. I do not think that it would be possible to express my happiness at hearing this. I had a renewed hope of having a better quality of life.
That day I started an intense weight loss program under his supervision. It was my hope that I could finally lose weight. And after much hard work, I lost over 100 pounds and am finally working on losing the last 30 pounds now. What before was never possible, suddenly was. I was losing weight, getting into great shape, and looking good! Additionally, the last time I saw you, you told me that I should go off my birth control pills to monitor my periods. Well, I am still off birth control and have had an unbelievably regular period every single month since then!
I do not know how else to say this but that you saved me. You changed my life. Because of you, I was given the chance of a better life. And I took it. Finally, I was able to lose weight, to feel good about myself, and to just feel normal. I am doing things that I never before would have tried. I am taking yoga, training for a triathlon, and don’t feel weird having people looking at me. I enjoy life so much more and I just want to know how much you were a part of making that happen.
These past two years since I last saw you have truly been a blessing.Now I apologize for the long letter, but I just wanted to tell you my story. It is my hope that in doing so, I am able to find a way to express to you the impact you have had in my life. You are my miracle. I will forever be truly thankful to you and will always keep you close to my heart.

Holly L
Nov. 2006