22-female, recently diagnosed with PCOS...

Hello everyone,

I’m a 22 year old female and I’ve had hair problems (excessive male pattern hair growth on face, neck and body) for years. I’ve been recently diagnosed with PCOS which was (to be honest) a relief because it meant that the hirsutism I’ve been dealing with for years was not just hereditary and I can actually do something about it.

BACKGROUND:
I’ve been struggling with hair problems since I was about 13. It started with long dark hair on my neck and upon my mother’s suggestion I had laser treatment on that area (which, in hindsight, I wasn’t supposed to), but the esthetician we went to didn’t warn us and as you can guess, that made things even worse for me and stimulated hair growth on my face even more. I continued treatment on-and-off at various different places by people who didn’t know what they were doing for years. I knew that laser treatment wasn’t supposed to take this long, but my mom kept telling me that she had a similar hair growth pattern when she was my age, and that I should continue with the laser treatment. (I don’t blame her, neither of us knew any better.) But by the time I had stopped the treatment, it was too late. Now I have incredibly dark and thick hair on my neck (which has partly spread to my cheeks) in addition to the long dark hair on my chest. I don’t even remember the last time I wore a low neck top. :frowning:

NOW:
I’ve recently re-started laser treatment at a much more trustworthy place (face, neck and chest) and have been getting better results - albeit quite slowly.
I was also diagnosed with insulin resistance for which I’m taking Metformin and am on a strict diet regimen. I’ve already lost 8 pounds! :slight_smile: (I’m 5’7’’ and currently 159 pounds.)
My hormone tests came back normal except for DHEA-S which was 501.9. (The upper-limit is 407.) But my doctor didn’t prescribe me BC pills, because I have pretty regular menstrual cycles. But I was prescribed Spiro (100 mg/day) which I’ve been taking for about two weeks.

I just wanted to ask everyone’s opinion on whether I’m on the right track here. I’ve been misled so many times by doctors/experts (who allegedly knew what they were doing), and I don’t want to waste my time anymore. Although I trust my current doctor, and will follow her prescriptions, most people here really seem to know what they are talking about/have more experience with this issue, and I want to get as many opinions as possible.

Another thing I’ve been wondering is: I’m guessing that I will have to continue using Metformin all my life since my insulin levels will need constant regulating. However does the same apply for Spiro as well?

Thank you in advance. I will try to share my results here as soon as possible. I hope this will be helpful to others with similar problems as well.

That’s good that you are seeing some results. Stick to Alexandria or Yag lasers. Not go for IPL crap.They dont do any good at all.

Unfortunately, I cannot say anything about the medication matter as I not a professional.

More people than not report more hair growth on the face, in areas that were hairless before, after laser treatments. I wouldn’t recommend risking this with LHR on your face.