Hello, everyone.
My name’s Leah…I’m a 25-year-old woman with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia. Naturally, I suffer from facial hirsutism because of these conditions. It wouldn’t necessarily be so bad; generally I don’t care much about how I look…except for the fact that I have a neurological condition called Asperger’s Syndrome, a kind of high-functioning autism. This condition generally includes some flavor of OCD–in my case, compulsive skin-picking. I ruthlessly attack any irregularity I manage to find on my skin, and the worst area of all is my chin, where I quite literally have a goatee. Coarse, dark Celtic man-hair. I spend hours and hours in front of mirrors, trying to get every last hair out with tweezers so I won’t spend all day mauling my chin with my fingernails, to little avail. My chin is scarred and discolored, and covered in ingrown hairs.
I take spironolactone, dexamethasone, and I wear the Ortho-Evra patch in an attempt to regulate my hormones…again, with less-than-stellar results. Medication to control the OCD has been an even bigger disaster, as I can’t tolerate most SSRI and TCA antidepressants (the usual treatment), and medications such as Risperdal mess with my hormones and blood sugar levels even more. Added to this problem is the medication I take to control seizures, which seems to lower the effectiveness of the spironolactone and the birth control. Sigh.
The only solution to this problem seems to be permanent hair removal. I live in San Francisco, and referrals to good electrologists or laser hair removal specialists would be much appreciated. The gentler the better, I might add…I live in terror of needles. It’s not an issue of pain; I hurt myself worse every day banging off every object within three feet of me. It’s about being pinned down and having someone do something to me without being able to do anything about it. But I’m getting desperate, and I’m willing to brave my fears to put an end to this particular compulsive behavior.
So, once again…if any of you know of electrologists in the SF Bay Area (doesn’t need to be in SF itself, I can travel the greater Bay Area public transit system as if born to it) that have good results and are good, gentle practitioners, please let me know.
Sorry about the overlong post…once I get writing, sometimes it’s hard to stop. Thank you very much for your patience!
Sincerely,
-Leah