Getting to Know My Body

Hai semua! Kali ini gue mau berbagi sepenggal cerita tentang perjalanan mengenali tubuh gue lebih dalam. Karena dari pengalaman sebelumnya kalau post pakai Bahasa Indonesia lebih menjangkau para pembaca, jadi gue sediain dua bahasa disini. Bahasa Indonesia supaya pesan gue bisa tersampaikan dengan luas, dan Bahasa Inggris supaya kemampuan menulis Bahasa Inggris gue tidak hilang. Oh ya, gue akan menggunakan bahasa santai ya. Selamat membaca, gengs!

Sejak Maret 2020, gue work from home (WFH) sampai waktu yang tidak ditentukan karena pandemi COVID-19. Ketika pertengahan 2020, kondisi wajah gue memburuk, muncul jerawat di pipi, dahi, dagu, diatas bibir, di punggung. Karena waktu itu diberlakukan PSBB dan belum ada (belum banyak) klinik yang buka, dari E**A menawarkan konsultasi daring dengan dokter kecantikan. Agak aneh juga sebenernya, secara mereka tidak bisa detail melihat kondisi wajah kita. Gue foto kondisi wajah dari berbagai sudut, dan ada video call juga, saat itu melalui WhatsApp. Berikut foto kondisi wajah gue di Juli 2020.

Kondisi Wajah di Juli 2020

Hingga November 2020, sepertinya tidak ada perubahan signifikan dari krim-krim E**A. Cari-cari klinik lain, terpikat lah gue ke Z** Premiere, yang terdekat di Central Park. Z** Premiere ini punya dokter spesialis kulit dan kelamin. Singkat cerita, di Z** gue dapet perawatan suntik jerawat, ekstraksi komedo, peeling, dan laser Pro Yellow. Harga nya tidak perlu ditanya, cukup menyobek dompet anak fresh graduate yang baru kerja setahun. Dokter pertama yang menangani gue itu dokter Astr**, dipilih menurut hari saja karna bisanya hari Sabtu. Jerawat dan komedo jadinya keluar semua. 

Kondisi Wajah di Desember 2020

Cerita punya cerita, dokter Astr** ini uda ga praktek di Z** Central Park per Januari 2021. Nah loh. Bingung deh. Penggantinya adalah dokter Ari**, tapi baru mulai praktek di hari Sabtu nya bulan Februari. Setelah beberapa kali kontrol ke dokter Ari** yang dikasih antibiotik dan krim-krim juga, beliau tanya apakah haid gue lancar. Tentu saja gue jawab tidak! Haid gue ngaco deh kadang bisa 30-an hari, 40-an hari atau lebih. Sering nya sih 30 ujung dan 40 awal. Beliau menyarankan untuk cek ke dokter kandungan untuk periksa hormon dan lain lain. Karena gue awam, gue nanya ke beliau referensi dokter kandungan di RS Siloam. Dari situ gue memberanikan diri buat cek sendiri. Iya SENDIRI. Gue gak kasih tau siapa-siapa. Waktu itu posisinya belom lama setelah putus dari mantan yang sudah 7 tahun pacaran. Gue simpan semua cerita hidup gue sendiri. Rasanya di hati itu udah gak enak. Kayanya akan dapat kabar buruk lagi. Dan benar aja ketika di cek sama dokter kandungan, beliau menemukan kista cokelat dan memberi tahu bahwa biasanya akan punya masalah infertilitas. Sekali lagi, gue masih simpen cerita ini mungkin selama 2 hari hanya untuk diri sendiri. Di saat ini gue tahu kalau gue mau punya anak dan merasa sedih kalau gue gak bisa mengandung anak sendiri. Ditambah sedih lagi karena gue merasa sendiri dan gak tahu harus cerita ke siapa. Dua hari gue melewati ini sendiri, akhirnya gue cerita ke nyokap. Dia bilang kenapa sendirian, kenapa gak bilang-bilang supaya bisa ajak dia. Dia juga minta gue coba konsultasi opini lain ke dokter Sigit di RS PIK.

April 2021, ke RS PIK, ceritain lagi dari awal sampai akhir. Tapi beliau tidak bilang ada kista cokelat. Beliau mengatakan sambil menggambarkan bahwa kemungkinan PCO dimana sel-sel telur nya kecil-kecil. Setelah itu gue cek darah dan hormon, banyak deh yang di cek. Total biaya cek lab nya 4 jutaan. Setelah dapat hasil lab, ternyata hormon prolaktin gue tinggi 70ng/mL. Diberikanlah obat buat nurunin prolaktin yaitu cripsa, metformin, diane, dan vit D3. Dari dokter Sigit sudah memperingatkan bahwa cripsa ini efek samping nya mual banget, jadi beliau juga kasih obat anti mual. Dan efek samping nya di gue gak cuma mual, tapi juga pusing dan lemas. Alhasil seminggu itu kerjaan gue ga maksimal (untungnya masih WFH). Sebulan kemudian cek lagi prolaktin nya, ternyata sudah kembali normal. Cripsa nya seminggu aja, yang lain di iter 12x (1 tahun). Sebenarnya selama pake metformin, badan jadi lebih lemas dan pencernaan terganggu. Setelah 1 tahun, rencana nya akan lepas obat-obatan ini 3 bulan, lalu konsultasi lagi. Namun Tuhan berkehendak lain, dokter Sigit dipanggil Tuhan pada bulan Juni 2022. Oh ya, sampai lupa, wajah gue sudah jauh lebih baik selama konsumsi obat. Nih buktinya.

Kondisi Wajah di April 2022

Tapi mulai lepas obat, mulai kacau lagi haid nya. Dari sini gue mulai galau mau melanjutkan konsultasi kemana dan ke siapa. Sebenernya sudah dari lama gue tahu, harusnya ke subspesialis KFER (Konsultan Fertilitas Endokrinologi Reproduksi). Sedangkan dokter Sigit itu Konsultan Onkologi. Pilihan gue jadinya jatuh ke dokter Gita Pratama di RSCM Kencana. Cerita lagi dari awal sampai terakhir diagnosa dari dokter Sigit, hasil-hasil lab nya dan obat-obat nya kepada dr. Gita ini. Entah mengapa perasaan gue enak aja sama dokter Gita ini. Dia cek USG sambil jelasin ada sel telur yang membesar di kanan. Lalu yang kiri sel telur nya kecil-kecil dan banyak. Dari situ beliau minta cek hormon juga FSH, LH, TSHs, dan Prolaktin. Dokter nya baik dan berkharisma. Jadi gue ngangguk-ngangguk aja apa yang beliau jelasin, yaitu perlu cek lagi prolaktin nya karena kalau tinggi kemungkinan perlu MRI otak untuk cek apakah ada tumor. Beliau juga mengatakan tidak ada kista cokelat. Puji Tuhan!

Besoknya gue cek hormon di Bio Medika. Total nya 2 jutaan. Besoknya lagi langsung gue konsultasi ke dr. Gita karena kepikiran terus beliau bilang tumor tumoran. Meskipun gue uda googling sih tumor ini jinak dan belum pasti juga ada tumor, tetap saja hati ini tidak tenang. Oke jadi prolaktin gue kali ini 40ng/mL yang termasuk nya tinggi juga. Jadi diberikanlah obat untuk penurun prolaktin lagi tapi kali ini berbeda yaitu cabergoline. Karena kapok sama yang sebelumnya, gue tanya ini efek samping nya mual gak, katanya nggak, dan hanya di konsumsi 1 kali seminggu. Lalu setelah 4x atau 4 minggu, cek prolaktin lagi dan konsultasi lagi. Beliau juga mendiagnosa gue PCOS karena hormon laki-laki atau hormon androgen gue tinggi. Tapi gue masih bingung yang mana hormon laki-laki nya, ini jadi PR gue buat nanya di konsultasi berikutnya. Gue nanya juga titipan pertanyaan dari nyokap yang sebenarnya gue sudah tahu jawabannya, apakah PCOS dan hyperprolactinemia ini akan sulit untuk mendapatkan anak? Tentu saja dengan tenang beliau menjawab iya betul makanya diobatin, nanti kalau sudah menikah jadi langsung. Ngangguk-ngangguk lagi deh gue. Dan dia tanya pernah MRI gak, tentu saja tidak, beliau menyarankan nanti kalau ada waktu boleh di MRI untuk cek. Karena hormon itu yang mengatur dari otak. Okee siaap dok! Cukup sekian cerita dari gue karena hari ini masih minggu pertama konsumsi cabergoline dan sejauh ini tidak ada efek samping! 

Waduh lumayan panjang juga ceritanya, versi Bahasa Inggris nya menyusul yah!

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Hi Folks! I would like to share my journey of getting to know my body deeper. I created 2 language versions to reach broader readers. Happy reading!

Since March 2020, I have been working from home due to the COVID-19 Pandemic until further notice. In mid 2020, my face was terribly inflamed, acnes on my cheeks, forehead, chin, philtrum (midline groove between upper lip and nose), around chest, and my back. Back then the Social Distancing Policy was very strictly applied, not many clinics were open. ERHA offered online consultation with aesthetics doctor. It was a bit weird because they cannot observe our skin condition. I sent pictures of my face from various angles and they initiated video call consultation afterwards on WhatsApp. Here is my face in July 2020.

Face Condition in July 2020

Up to November 2020, it seemed there was no significant changes from ERHA topical creams. I was looking for another clinic and interested in ZAP Premiere. The closest from my place is ZAP Premiere Central Park. The Premiere clinics have dermatologists that I think my condition requires more expertise. Long story short, at ZAP I had acne injection, comedones extraction, peeling, and Pro Yellow Laser. The price is undoubtedly high, it rips my wallet as a fresh graduate who had just worked for a year. The first doctor that treated me was dr. Astrid. I basically chose her just because the time matched my schedule. Acnes and comedones were breaking out.

Face Condition in December 2020

Funny, dr. Astrid was no longer practicing at ZAP Central Park as per January 2021. Ergh. Dazed. The substitute then came to dr. Arini however she started practicing on Saturday in February. So I waited. After several consultations and treatments with dr. Arini, she asked if my period is regular. Of course I replied “No“, my period was irregular (and still is), sometimes 35+ or even 40+ days. She suggested to check with an OBGYN for hormones. As I am not familiar with this kind of thing, I asked her for an OBGYN reference in Siloam Hospital. Then, I ventured to check by myself. Yes, ALONE. I didn‘t tell anyone. At that time I recently just broke up with my 7-year relationship ex. I kept it all to myself. From my deepest heart, I didn‘t feel so good, I thought bad things are going to happen, again. And yes, my intuition was right. The OBGYN said I had chocolate cyst. Not the type of chocolate that people want. He told me that people with this condition is often infertile and hard to conceive. At this very moment, I knew that I wanted children of my own. I was somber. To add insult to injury, I felt all alone and didn‘t know whom to share this. I kept this all to myself for 2 days until I told my mom. She said why I went alone, why didn‘t I told her so I could ask her for a company. She also suggested to look for a second opinion to dr. Sigit in PIK Hospital.

In April 2021, we went to PIK Hospital, telling the story all over again. Dr. Sigit told us there was no chocolate cyst. He explained with drawing that I might have PCO (Polycystic Ovaries), which means I have many immature eggs. After the consultation, I was ordered a blood test and hormonal tests. There were many to check! The total cost of the lab test was around 4 million rupiahs. One week later, the test result came out. My prolactin (hormone for milk production) level was high, 70 ng/mL. This should be low for people who are not breastfeeding. I was prescribed cripsa (bromocriptine) to lower my prolactin level (1 week), along with metformin, diane, and Vit D3 for the PCOS (iteration 12x). Dr. Sigit warned me that cripsa has nausea (so bad) as a side effect. He prescribed me with anti-nausea meds. The side effects on me was not just nausea, but also lightheaded and fatigue. That made my week to underperform at work (thankfully I was still working from home). After one month, the prolactin level was checked again. It went back normal. During metformin medication, I experienced fatigue and my digestive system was disturbed. The plan was to be off these meds after a year, 3 months with antioxidant and Vit D3, and another consultation to go. However, God has His own plans. Dr. Sigit went to heaven in June 2022. Oh I almost forgot, my face has got far better during medications. Here is the proof.

Face Condition in April 2022

Sadly, when I was off the meds, my period went back irregular. I didn‘t know where and who to continue my treatment. I actually knew long before that I should have visited a Fertility & Endocrinology Reproduction speciality. While dr. Sigit was an Oncology Consultant. My final choice is dr. Gita Pratama at RSCM Kencana. Telling my story in short version, until the latest treatment from dr. Sigit along with the meds and lab results. I don‘t know why, I felt really comfortable consulting with dr. Gita. He was doing a USG and explaining every detail to me that I had an egg maturing on my right ovary. On the left, there were many eggs and they are immature (little eggs). He then ordered hormonal tests for FSH, LH, TSHs, and Prolactin. He is very friendly and charismatic. I was just nodding for what he said, which he told me the prolactin level was needed to check because I might need an MRI if it went back high to rule out tumor. He also told me there was no chocolate cyst. Thank God!

The next day, I went to Bio Medika for hormonal tests. Total cost was 2 million rupiahs. The day after that, I went back straight to dr. Gita coz I was uneasy about the tumor he said. Though I did my research online that the tumor is benign, and there‘s no certainty every hyperprolactinaemia is a tumor. I just couldn‘t keep calm. Okay so my prolactin level this time was 40 ng/mL which is also considered high. I was prescribed medication to lower prolactin level but this time was different than I had had before, it was cabergoline. Since I learned the bad side effects the last time, I asked him if there would be any side effects. He said no and I only consume it once a week. After 4 weeks, I needed to check the prolactin level and visited him for another consultation. He diagnosed me with hyperprolactinaemia and PCOS. I also asked a question from my mom, whether people like me would be hard to conceive. He answered calmly that yes that’s true, that’s why we are treating the condition so when I get married, I can jump right off. Haha I was just nodding. Since I have never done the MRI, he asked for a MRI if I have the time because the hormones are regulated from the brain. Okay doc! That’s the end of the story coz today is the first week consuming cabergoline and so far no side effects!