Anne stops: ‘We don’t know what to expect’ | Columns & Opinion

My last column… So, the high word is out! And what a difficult choice this was. As you may have noticed in the past few weeks, I’m not a star at making choices. And especially not when they also affect others. In the past months I have experienced that writing my column has not only been an outlet for myself, but has also given support to others. Mainly the recognizability in situations I described has helped women to feel less alone. And of course this also ensured that I found recognition in the stories of these dozens of women. And I am very grateful for that!

hair loss

Only I noticed in recent weeks that it is more difficult for me to write about my alopecia, since I am in a somewhat calmer waters around this subject. My hair loss has normalized and my hair is slowly growing back. Of course this does not take away my concerns about the future and the side effects of the drug that causes the hair growth are also not nothing, but… after writing about both twice, it is what it is.

Another topic to write about is my PCOS trajectory. PCOS stands for polycystic ovary syndrome and in my case means that I am not ovulating at all. My partner and I currently want to have children and this means a hospital journey. Step one is taking pills (a kind of hormones) that are supposed to stimulate ovulation. The hospital visits per month can currently be counted on one hand, but after six months it could be a completely different story. And since no one has ever been able to predict a pregnancy, we don’t know where we stand and how long this process will take.

PCOS

I don’t find it difficult to write about my emotions as you have noticed. But in this case I am not only dealing with myself, but also with my partner. We go in and on this journey together. Neither of us know what to expect and how we will be in the game in a few months. In addition, I also believe that it benefits our trajectory if I can let it go as much as possible. With the weekly ‘pressure’ to write about it, I can imagine it getting complicated for me.

Whether I will share my experiences via my Instagram account, I don’t know yet. The focus here remains on alopecia and my new lifestyle. The large group of new followers on this account found me through my column.

I feel grateful to write about an unknown topic that concerns far more women – and men too – than we think. A subject of which we are ashamed and which makes us insecure. I hope that my column has removed a little bit of that shame and I keep my fingers crossed that in the future there will be more and more room for research into alopecia and especially for good solutions.

Thank you for your listening ear! Love, Anne

Continue to follow Anne? You can do this via IG @hairtrouwdmetanne

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