Fighting Polysistic Ovaries

From the time i was a kid myself i would like to cuddle & play with smiling babbies for hours together but the moment they would start crying or throwing stuff i would dislike being with them. I somehow had decided that having kids was a big problem..afterall how could one manage a human being who was smiling one instant & crying out the very next

I got married 3 years ago after completing my MTech at the age of 26 years. We had planned to start thinking about the baby in a year or so but guess fate had its own plans as the recession hit the world just 3 months after the wedding sending the world into a downward tizzy. If that was not all last year i got diagonosed with polysistic ovaries( which many beleive to be the first sign of possible PCOD ).

The polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common disorders affecting women. It has been estimated that 20% of women have polycystic ovaries as detected by ultrasonography and that 10% of all women experience asymptom of PCOS

Imagine trying to have a baby for a few months & having no periods for 2 months & just when you expect the home pregnancy test to show a positive it shows a negative repeatedly with all signs pointing towards some problem in the horizon

For those of you who are not familiar with this term Polycystic ovary syndrome is a condition in which there is an imbalance of a woman’s female sex hormones. This hormone imbalance may cause changes in the menstrual cycle, skin changes, small cysts in the ovaries, trouble getting pregnant, and other problems I still rember my reaction when my doctor told me that the Trans Vaginal Ultrasound confirmed polysistic ovaries. I felt the ground slip from under my feet.

My doctor advised me to start Yasmin; an oral contraceptive to give the ovaries some rest  for about 5-6 months after which she wanted to do another ultrasound to see if the ovaries had healed or not. She found me to be of normal weight & said being just 28 the fertility window for me was large enough & everything would be just fine

Life to me seemed to be at a stand still. In a foreign land where you neither have your family nor your friends to talk to, sitting at home jobless after having peaked in your academic career with a possible first sign of PCOD seemed like the end of the road to me. Reading about polysistic ovaries or PCOD further preplexed me as the chances of conception with PCOD where bleak. I would cry endlessly & think of what life had to offer to me know. I would look at pregnant women & babies around me & would sigh at the thought of ever becoming a mom myself some day.

I felt like down in the dumps; overweight by about 6 kgs,jobless,hopeless & lifeless. I was in a state of complete denial behaving as if nothing was wrong with me.That is when my darling husband advised me to not give up on life. He researched for 2 full days online & found that Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a condition characterised by multiples cysts in the ovaries, &  the best diet, generally speaking, was one based on low glycaemic index (low GI) foods .The obvious logic being  that women with PCOS tend to be insulin resistant. So, if insulin isn’t working too well, it makes sense to avoid eating foods that cause spikes in blood sugar.

We came across the site http://www.the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods/ in which the foods where listed based on their GI values. From there my hubby charted out my diet plan specifying what i had to eat for breakfast,lunch & dinner. In short my regime started a fortnite after my diaganosis. Now for anyone on diet, life isnt a bed of roses initially.There are many temptations on the way-food which you wouldnt taste before seems all the more luring once you are on diet.But you look at yourself & you decide not to slip.

My breakfast would include chickpea bowl, wholewheat bread slice with peanut butter. I would drink apple juice with Hobnob digestive biscuits for lunch & dinner would consist of rice & vegetables without any curds. Mangoes, Bananas,Potatoes, Watermelon,Melon etc where out of question. Slowly i began monitoring my weight which started to decrease from 58.5 kg in july to 52.5 kg in november. In September i decided to fly home alone. I needed to be with my parents to get the much needed motivation. I stayed there till November & got an Ultrasound done. The results made me overjoyed

Both my ovaries where now completely healed. Thats when my mother( who is a gynaecologist herself) advised me to stop taking the OC. I returned back to my darling husband & we started trying for the baby now that everything appeared completely normal. 3 months passed without any result. Thats when my mother advised me to start taking Metformin.

Metformin is effective in reducing testosterone levels and in making the menstrual cycle more regular. While Metformin starts to improve the prospects for fertility .Women can find weight loss easier when taking Metformin even though it is not a traditional weight reducing agent. Mom had treated many PCOD patients with this & most of them had conceived within 3-6 months.

So on my mothers advise i started Metformin knowing fully well that if i did not conceive in 6 months( by august that is) i had to visist the infertility clinic in Dubai. In February i got a job in the government university as Adjunct Instructor in CAD.It seemed like a blessing in disguise for me & i put my heart & soul into the job. It so happened that in June when i least expected; the home pregnancy test came positive . It was the perfect end to the tumultous year that we had seen.

Now i am 15 weeks pregnant & so far everything looks bright. For all fo you who have polysistic ovaries dont give up on yourself; life is full of challenges–the point is how much can you handle 

Nature

Arab World

The Arab Dream

A tribal Gujjar Woman, Kashmir

Age is more than just a number. Its about what life has taught you , what you have learnt & how you dealt with it. This tribal Gujjar woman came begging to my door for rice or some money. I agreed to give her some money in return of a photo. I couldnt help but wonder how beautiful she must have been in her youth

Each line on her face seems to bear witness to the years she has lived. Smiling mouth with some sort of saddness in her eyes..A modern Monalisa’s smile indeed

Family

Arab women are often considered to be subjugated & opressed by the Arab males. This image seemed to truly break the misconception.

ADIA,Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) Headquarters 

Taking inspiration from regional elements such as billowing sails and shiftin

 

g sand dunes, the dramatic form of the new corporate headquarters for the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) transforms the city’s waterfront skyline.

The design emphasizes transparency and openness. In folding the structure’s vertical plane three times to create two outstretched “arms” in an inviting gesture.

This building proves that corporate buildings can boast sustainable elements even in the harsh environment of a desert.

The building’s plan has two finger-like wings, one aligned to the city’s street grid, the other pointing toward Mecca across the sea.

Designed to represent contemporary commerce and culture in Abu Dhabi, the ADIA Headquarters building also subtly echoes themes found in age-old Islamic architecture. Its slim stair tower creates a dialogue with the slender minarets of the adjacent mosque: an intriguing juxtaposition of modernity and tradition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Musandam,Sultanate of Oman

 The next day i woke up to the murmering of  adventorous photographers who where getting ready to capture the sunrise. It was just 6 am but the beach had started to buzz with excitement & positive energy. As i went out of the car i was in awe of the surroundings around me. The sky had a golden tinge which was reflected on the crystal clear waters of the beach. I truly realised then that the world is full of beauty-beautiful beaches, massive mountains & amazing sun rises/sunsets ; provided we make the effort to explore the world around us.

As the sun started to rise slowly,  I felt all my tensions ,anxieties & fears disappearing. It was like a natural healing process-God sent & God gifted. I  just simply gazed at the sparkling beauty that was surrounding me. I walked along the clean beach & found beautiful sea shells along its shore.Collecting the shells was so refreshing. The seemed untouched & pure-each one different from the other in shape,design & pattern. My gaze fell on the small mountain which was to my left. The sun’s rays reflected on it to the extent that the whole mountain seemed golden in color. The whole ambience of the place was blissful. That is when i realised that nature is the best healer of the mind, body & soul. The beauty before & around me was too breathtaking to describe in words; it left me speechless for a few minutes & when i gained some composure i was able to click some pictures with my DSLR camera. A picture is worth a thousand words indeed.

 At about 9 am when we where satiated with the beauty around we decided to grab some breakfast so off we went to Khasab Hotel again in the heart of the city. After having our stomachs filled to our hearts content, we decided to travel along the higher reaches of Musandam. When we looked for our GPS position, we found that we where in close proximity of Wadi Bih, located in   the Hajar Mountains, Ru’us Al Jibal range, east of RAK. Traditionally, wadis are a source of water for people living in rural areas, and most oases and villages have sprung up because of their proximity in addition to being  a travelling route, whether through d

unes or mountains, between towns and villages, or even between countries.

Some of the most scenic drives are through wadis. However when we reached the army check point, the army man enquired where we where headed to. I had the Lonely Planet guide about musandam in front of me which actually puzzled the armyman.He asked to see it & i simply gave it to him. When he was certain that it was just a book & not some sensitive information, he politely returned it to me. When we told him we where headed to Wadi bhi, he informed us that only 4 x 4 vehicles could take that route. He however told us that we could go upto straight & then turn left for some breath taking scenery. 

 We saw acacia trees on the road on both sides . I was reminded of my experience while on the road in Wadi Wurayah last year in Fujairah. Though it wasnt as scary but the feeling of being the only human’s around did strike me many times. The area might be used for mining as at many places i saw signs saying” dont touch anything “.We checked the map & came to know that the place we where in was Khor Najd ( or Khawr An Najd).   It has the distinction of being the only one of Musandam’s fjords ( a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity) that is accessible by road. At one point we could either go straight or go left onto a mountainious track which went all the way up . We decided to opt for the mountaneous track. As we began our ascent, we found it a good oppurtunity to stop the car & take some pictures. As we got down, we saw many Land Cruiser’s whizz past us with Sand scooter’s & small boats towed to them. These 4 x 4 vehicles where having some difficulty in negotating the curves of the road. This greatly disturbed us as we thought it wasn’t safe to take the risk of plying our car on a road on which even the 4 x 4 cars where having difficulty. So we decided to turn around & go back. However we did make a promise with the place, of returning again some time soon but with a 4 x 4 jeep & discovering the hidden & exquisite beauty of this fantabolous Wadi & many more Wadis like it.

 

 However our adventure did not stop here. As we got down the slope we decided to click some pictures with the acacia trees (after all seeing so many trees after such a long time in the wild in this desert was a treat to my sore eyes), we heard the car coming from the opposite side blowing horns. After some time it simply stopped behind us. A local man came out of the car wearing a kundoor & told us very politely that we couldn not take pictures of the mountain. Any pictures we wish to take would be away from the mountain. Saying this he left, but not without observing how we had taken his advice. I saw him wave to another local in a car that whizzed by. Thats when i realised that the mountain might be under the military & thus realised that though the military in the UAE isnt visisble much but its omnipresent even in the desolate Wadi’s of Oman. Truly having a polite & helping attitude towards your country men & tourists in addition to being honest with your job will do wonders for your country

 Now as we left the place to go back to RAK, my heart swelled with joy. The joy of having visisted Musandam & seen such unparalled beauty  was satiating to the core. As we drew back we saw such beautiful sights en route that i wanted to leave everything & settle down on the banks of the beach. But its easier said than done. So i just absorbed the beauty around & captured it on film for all times to come.As we drove along the sea, i saw at one point that the water was reflecting the image of the mountain so completely that it looked as if there .The Tibat beach is the last beach before the checkpoint to Ras Al Khaimah. As we halted for our last photo oppurtunity we where dazzled by the color of the waters . Truly Musandam qualifies to be heaven in the Gulf region hands down

 En route i chanced upon the reflection of a mountain which was so clear &  unwavered that it seemed as if there was a mountain under the sea, just below the one above ground level. I couldnt stop myself from getting out of the car & clicking the picture. I stayed there for about 10 minutes & thanked God from the bottom of my heart for bestowing me with all the good things in life. We always crib about whats not good with our lives or whats bothering us or even worse what we want in life but we seldom stop to take a minute from our busy cribbing to thank God that he gave us sight to see such beauty around us.I feel truly blessed to have been able to see beauty in the hot & burning desert of the Middle East. As we went along the way further i saw some beauty all around me. In the sparkling sea to my right, in the blue cloudless mountains, in the magnanimity of the towering mountains to my left. In short, everything seemed heavenly then.

 Indeed the trip to Musandam has been one that i wont forget easily. It has given me memories & photographs that have touched me & my soul. Everyone out there who feels that the Gulf is a boring place filled with buildings & skyscrappers only my advice is to go & visist Musandam. You will simply fall in love with the place

Till next time

Take care folks & enjoy the beauty around

 

Ras Al Khaimah & Musandam

                         

A common complain i hear from many expats living in the UAE is that here one has no places to unwind. There is desert & the sun all around. Something that i was positive about a year ago when i found Fujairah. Since then having been to Al Ain & Musandam i feel the desert has beautiful sights to offer provided we are on the lookout for it & exert a bit.

 I have been in the UAE for 2 years now. In addition to the usual discomfort of the hot summers & lack of natural beauty around i did find some respite in places like the al ain zoo, Jebel hafeet, the hot springs of Al Ain, beaches at Diba & the malls around. This Eid i decided to visit Ras Al Khaimah. Notably though the place wasn’t as developed as Dubai or Abu Dhabi, it’s the most northern of the seven emirates but due to the new emirates road extension one can travel from Dubai in less than an hour. Exploring this emirate was some sort of an adventure that we couldn’t let go, so off we went for RAK.

The meaning of Ras-Al-Khaimah means “Top of the Tent”. It’s the Northern part of UAE bordering Oman. The journey has the usual desert landscape on both sides of the road with an occasional camel being seen here or there. En route to Ras Al Khaimah we found some camel race tracks with many camels huddled together at some places. Some human settlement’s where also visible on both sides of the road. Camel racing is very popular here, as with all the other emirates. The camel race track at Digdagga is something one can stop at. The majestic Hajar Mountains rising just behind the city & the Arabian Gulf stretching out from its shores-Ras Al Khaimah offers the best scenery in the whole of UAE.

 The National Museum of Ras Al Khaimah was our first stop after entering the city. Though we were too tired to enter the building, however we did admire its architecture. It’s housed in an impressive fort which was formerly the house of the present ruler of RAK.Once we reached RAK we felt relaxed. The pace of life was slow & the traffic was less even though it was Eid. Finding the hotel we had booked on phone was tough as the GPS wasn’t able to locate the hotel. Somehow we found another hotel which looked good.It was next to the creek so we just went for it. The 3 hour drive was very taxing in the November sun. We had our Eid lunch in a way which we will always remember. We went to the nearby Thai restaurant & had a dish, the name of which i even can’t pronounce now. It comprised of noodles, prawns & tomatoes. Our waitress was an authentic Thai gal who was bubbly & ever smiling. After a quick snooze we went around to see the nearby attractions. The view outside the hotel room was so refreshing. The slow pace of life & the relaxed outlook of the people on the roads makes it an ideal get-away destination.

 I saw a boat being towed by about 10 people pass on the creek. But at that time i was too tired to grab my camera, so i thought i would click them when they return. Unfortunately they did not return & i missed a wonderful photo opportunity & also learnt a great lesson. When a good frame knocks at your door, dont let it pass unclicked. I learnt this the hard wayWe drove by the Manar Mall-a large shopping & leisure complex, housing cinemas, family entertainment centre & water sports area. Then we found a nearby beach. It reminded me of the beach in the Hindi film “Ek Duje Ke Liye“. The water was blue, the boulders near the shore where huge & the waves splattered water all along the low lying pavement. Unlike the beaches of Abu Dhabi, this beach had no island separating it from the main sea. It was wild & untamed. Witnessing the sun setting on the horizon while walking alongside was a wonderful experience. Who can imagine that a desert region has such beauty & grandeur of its natural water resources?

 The car wash there seems to be what might have existed in Abu Dhabi a decade ago. You won’t find any Adnoc outlets but a very basic form of car washing. The streets reminded me of old delhi.Flodded with shops of all shapes & sizes-as if fighting with each other for space & customers. The overall landscape gives a feeling of ease & comfort. We then chanced upon the “Cove Rotana“. This luxury hotel had a beautiful ambience around it.When we entered it, we found it to be comprising of  two & three bedroom villas stretching over 50 acres. What actually amazed me was that the private balconies offered views of the Indian Ocean; the two & three bedroom villas where equipped with a private plunge pool & the location was at Arqoob beach overlooking the Arabian Gulf. However due to the Eid rush the hotel was fully booked until next week.Anywyas, seeing the hotel was very pleasing in itself. We may well drop in next time. Who knows?

 Slowly the dinner time approached & seriously my stomach was asking for the usual meat & rice combo which it was used to. Plus the combination of Eid & meat are synonymous to me.So we decided to find the nearest Indian/Pakistani restaurant around. While GPS did give some nearby restaurants, finding them was quite a task. Being in a new place & slightly hungry makes restaurant hunting a bit difficult. Luckily, en route we chanced upon “Al Sehri Resturant“where we found quite a crowd of people eating, chatting & enjoying. So we decided to try it out. I must say it was a wise decision. Not only was the food delicious but the prices where reasonable. My stomach was delighted at the end of the meal.

With our stomach full, we went for a walk along the Ras Al Khaimah creek. We then returned to the restaurant. It was evening time & all the people had gathered around the nearby coffee shop to talk, drink coffee & smoke shisha. The whole surrounding was so relaxing. People mixing together at 9 pm over a cup of coffee & shisha on the garden overlooking the brightly illuminated creek with some football match about to start on the television–reminded me of the Italian phrase Dolce far Niente–the sweetness of doing nothing.

 The next morning we woke up at sunrise for the prayers & the view of the creek from the window was amazing. The whole horizon had turned golden. The water was reflecting the golden colour of the sun & the blue colour of the sky. Together it was giving an awesome ambience to the creek. Plus the birds singing on the palm trees & the morning breeze seemed to be having a symphony of their own. Truly if this is what we can experience on earth, it amazes me how heaven would be.After staring at this beautiful sunrise for 20 odd minutes i felt hungry. One thing i realised was that when you don’t have something you can eat around you, you feel hungrier than you would if you had say a pack of chips with you. Our hotel didn’t have room service so probably the anxiety of feeling hungry made me feel hungry earlier than i would normally—sounds confusing, doesn’t it

 As is customary, we decided to check out the places/sights around. On our travel guide book we found the Khatt hot springs to be nearby. But we decided to leave it for the evening as walking in the November sun felt draining to us. We decided to head to the ancient sites of Ghaliliah & Shimal. Ghaliliah is a small village located in northern RAK.In addition to finding the “ghalilaih type tombs (a large ovoid tomb type with a central, internal pier), remains of an iron age settlement have also been found here. Shimal is also located nearby. It’s the site of several hundred pre-Islamic tombs. It was here that for the first time significant quantities of pottery, stone vessels, bronze/copper weaponry &beads of 2000-1300BC were found in the northern emirates.

This was what the travel guide said about these two places. It seemed interesting so we headed for the sites, having tracked them on our GPS. As we went on the road, en route we saw the signs for Musandam. Having gone to Musandam via Fujairah, we had not been able to spend more than 2 hours at Musandam last year & had vowed to visit it within a year. This seemed like the ideal time to visit this place at ease. So off we went straight to the border check post for Musandam.

 However we were in the least prepared for what was awaiting us. As we reached the border checkpoint & entered the main building for getting our passports stamped we found an unending que of people waiting with family before 3 or 4 counters. In our excitement we had forgotten that on Eid the rush at these check points is phenomenal. Having come this far, we didn’t want to turn away empty handed so we waited for an hour & finally got our passports stamped.

Then the next formality was getting the insurance for our vehicle in Oman & getting entry stamp to enter Oman. There is where we felt exhausted. Standing in the que for an hour without any water bottle with me took its toll on me & i simply fainted, just near the counter & after having braved 50 minutes in the hot sun. Thankfully the people before me allowed me to get my passport stamped first & before i knew it, i was out of there. That’s when i realised why so many tourists have a water bottle with them all the time- the body gets dehydrated in the sun & needs fluids to maintain its composure .A lesson i learnt the hard way round.

 Having finally managed to enter Oman, the awesome & spectacular view of the sea to your left & towering mountains to my right where all i needed to bring me back to reality. It felt heavenly to the core of existence. As we went higher into the mountains, we could feel the beauty of the sea, the mountain & feel humbled by the magnanimity of God.Thats when i understood why it’s called “The Norway of the Middle East”. The jagged mountains cliffs plunge directly into the sea & the coastline is littered with fjords.

We drove right up to the Golden Tulip Resort. Its location was spectacular, overlooking the sea & elevated from the ground level. However it was fully booked for the week in view of the Eid holidays. Lunch seemed to be hard to get as all the waiters where over busy attending to the massive rush of guests. So off we went to the khasab hotel in the heart of Musandam.The food there was good & that’s when i felt the life coming back into me.It was nearly 5 pm & we had been unable to

Find a good hotel.Thats when we decided to camp on the Basa beach, near the Golden Tulip resort. We reached the beach & saw many people already camped there. Some with tents, Some with Sleeping bags & some with just their cars & family. We sat on the wild beach on our beach chairs & just relaxed. It was bliss to sit so close to nature yet so embedded amongst people. All people hailing from varied races, colors, ethinicities; irrespective of their differences where sharing the same space & celebrating Eid & togetherness with their family. It was a silent acceptance of how the whole earth is just massive land piece which we all can share amongst ourselves without fighting over.

After having our dinner, we decided to sleep in our car at about 11 pm. Having started from Dubai on the first day & spent it in Ras Al Khaimah, here we were about to end a wonderful day in Musandam. It felt like we had become major travellers. The next day had more beautiful memories which i will write about pretty soon

Flowers