Beginning Electrolysis and spironolactone/BCP

[inukchuck]

Hi there

So here is a brief summary of my experience with hair removal:

-F/partial middle eastern decscent

• Very unclear if I have PCOS- normal periods, normal ovaries, normal weight, history of acne and dandruff and hirsutism
  -Total T (when it was tested 2 years ago when I had not taken any BCP ever) was 67 (“normal range” or not, depending on the standard of “normal”)
  -started with electrolysis on chin for over a year of regular treatments (before taking any medications) and had no results (very dissapointing).
  -Made the mistake of getting laser on my face, experienced induced hair growth (extremely distressing).
  -While taking a substantial dose of spiro and yasmin, started electrolysis again, this time with better results. I felt that my chin hair was GONE (finally!) and some of the IHG was improved.
  -After a year off of treatment and spiro, the hair seems to be returning.
• I have started birth control again (yasmin) and I am on my second month. I want to start electrolysis again to help deal with this embarassing problem. I have jet black hair and pale skin so it really shows.

Questions:

I don’t really want to take spiro again. I don’t feel like taking it forever is a great option, especially considering that my problem (now at least) is not severe. I am ok with taking birthcontrol long term. I know you can’t tell me if that will be enough or not. Should I wait a while to start or should it be effective still if I start now? I don’t know what exactly went on with this hair growth- when I started electrolysis last year, I only went for about 6 months (I had to move) and I did see some results but I realize the job was never ‘done’. I also realize I may have some new terminalization, and the IHG was never sorted. All this is to say I don’t know how to assess whether electrolysis will be futile without dealing with my free T issue.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

[cheshirecat]

Hi there. I am in a similar position to yourself. Pale skin/dark hair, undiagnosed PCOS due to tests coming back normal and attempted laser (to no avail). Dermatologist recommended spiro and yasmin, of which the yasmin worked fairly well in reducing the rate of growth (I’d say could see 50% less hairs whilst taking it). Never took the spiro due to it being a diuretic/lots of side effects. Also, the long term effects of taking yasmin every day I don’t believe can be great.

Anyway, the advice I’ve received and which seems to make sense is that if you want to get permanent removal of all the hairs, this will be more successful if you aren’t taking meds to reduce hair growth. If hair growth is being inhibited temporarily whilst you are having electrolysis you will not be able to tackle all the active follicles and once you stop taking the meds these hairs will grow back. Although it will bring you short term relief taking the meds, I personally would rather deal with more growth for now to ensure all the hair is gone eventually.

I’m not sure what you refer to when you mention ‘T’ and ‘IHG’ but if there is an underlying condition causing the hirsutism, spiro and yasmin will not be tackling this, just the symptoms i.e excess hair. Electrolysis is said to take anywhere from 9 months to a few years depending on the person, so you would need to spend a few more months than the 6 you previously spent.

[LAGirl]

• How old are you? This is important. Most women will be developing new hair into late 20s, spiro or not.

• If there is something in your body producing new hair and it’s not controlled by medication, unfortunately touchups will be needed later in life. However, in this case, it could be just an issue of your age and it may stop in a few years.

• What type of electrolysis did you have? For how long in total? How many electrologists did you check out? Are you sure they were killing hair?

[miss_m]

i’m thin, have pcos and so-called “normal” hormone levels. my total testosterone is low, and my free testosterone is VERY low. yet i’m hairy, have had acne since 10 years old, and my periods had never been regular- which condoned a diagnosis, which an ultrasound confirmed.

the key to my bloodwork was my LH (lutenizing hormone) which my gyno overlooked, my LH ie.11, FSH 7. if your LH is higher than your FSH this is highly indicative of pcos, and in any case, shows that those 2 hormones are out of balance with each other. i would ask for print-outs of any previous blood work to check for yourself, ‘experts’ can be really lazy/uneducated, especially in this field.

i’m in my late 20’s and yup, my face is getting somewhat hairier. racing against the clock here.

i’ve been having electrolysis for 9 months on really coarse hair- i’m only just seeing real results now.

have you been tested for your TSH? to rule out any thyroid issues.

i didn’t go down the spiro route as i was warned “it’s not effective enough”. my endocrinologist suggested a high dose of cypretone acetate (the stuff found in dianette BCP- which i definitely do not recommend!!) along with said dianette to reduce hair growth and regulate periods.

after 1 clueless session of IPL years ago, i had to sign a declaration that i was not on dianette/cypertone acetate- so being me i abandoned LHR and tried dianette bcp- which was disastrous for my acne (which it is prescribed to treat), moods, dandruff, peroids- i ended up bleeding for 3 years with literally just a handful of days without bleeding in that time. in the netherlands organizations are trying to get women off it and take that stuff off the market.

bottom line, stay away from cypretone acetate/dianette(is that yasmin??)/spiro if you are getting any form of permanent hair removal. it will hamper the process and waste your time, pain, money, therefore you let it all grow out for nothing.

what is handy for pcos ladies is metformin- it gets a handle on our insulin resistance and often regulates our periods. i may have read some random ‘article’ about it helping to curb excessive hair growth (please don’t quote me on that). it sure has helped me keep my hormone levels somewhat stable.

also important for pcos ppl is keeping a low glycemic diet (one recommended for diabetics). if we eat well and excercise 30 minutes a day, fat or not, we help improve our condition and push our hormones in the right direction.

good luck.