I already can’t deal with all this hair as it is and now ive been rapidly growing new hair - i cant keep up with it emotionally or financially with electrolysis…i used to have no hair on my face now im getting hair on my chin and i have to wax my upper lip because it got so dark and i cant afford electrolysis for it and now on top of this i have been getting horrible chest hair- some of it very coarse and black some finer but still black or dark brown…i have to wear turtlenecks every damn day im so sick of this…im already have electrolysis on my breasts, stomach, and used to only need a minute or two for stray hairs on the chest or face and now its getting out of control. i was planning on starting to treat my feet/toes in the next month but with all this new growth and a short term low paying job this wont be possible. i cant take this anymore its ruining my life…ill probably lose this crappy job because i havent been showing up or if i do its late because i dont want to leave the house im too depressed and this fight seems endless and nothings working. when will i be normal and live a normal damn life??? i hate waking up in the morning i hate this pathetic existence. i used to take acting and painting lessons and stopped that because i cant be near or in front of people with this hideous bizarre hair problem. i have no friends anymore, i lost my boyfriend…its only going to get worse as it has. This is taken away the “real me”…I don’t want to be this version of me anymore. i feel like im living in a cage!!!
Hi Wildebeest
I suggest you get your hormones checked.
yasm- I have about 2 years ago. 2 doctors said they were fine and one said my prolactin levels were slightly high but he kept emphasizing how minute it was. I was told I have idiopathic hirsutism and it was just genetic. I find it hard to believe that I have no real hormonal issues because I have had pre-milk discharge from my breast…as if I were pregnant (I wasn’t nor was I even sexually active). I was supposed to be tested again by another doctor but canceled my appointment because theyd just put me on medications either way and im not willing to take spiro or anything because i want to permanently remove the hair- i cant stay on spiro forever, it would just be postponing dealing with hair. I just started birth control for acne and im actually worried that it will effect my hair because i dont want it to. I want the hair to just come out and finish sprouting in bizarre places already so i can treat it and move on with my life.
I would go and get medically checked again. It was 2 years ago and you said the proloactin levels slightly high but not enough for doctor to worry about back then. If something was wrong things might really show now. The fact that you are seeing an increase in hair recently and pre-milk discharge tells me something is not quite right.
Nobody here is able to give you a diagnosis because I do not think anybody is a doctor, however, we have seen so many women with medical problems who think it is genetic or just tough luck. That is not true. Go see another doc. Preferably a doc who is a woman and an endocrinologist. She should be more empathic in situations like yours. It is worth a try.
IF you have ANY symptoms (You do NOT need to have ALL) you have to get an answer as some of these problems are evidence of a more serious problem later. If you live near a medical center or medical school they have a hospital affiliated with them. I would go there first. They like difficult cases in order to learn from them. Your local gyne may just order birth control pills and drop it there. What city do you live in? Do you have any stmptoms that are related to a hormone imbalance? Periods are the best way to tell. Irregular or skipped periods are the most common one. Others are scanty flow, or heavy flow. These are all caused by hormonal imbalance irregularities. Please check it out. There is a limit as to what I can say but if you look up <polycystic ovaries.com > there are women who you can talk with and they can tell you what happened to them. Good Luck
Let us know what happens. <lefty2g@gmail.com>
Reproductive Endocrinologist
Chiming in with “Lefty,” (in my customary long-winded way), I am continually struck by the reluctance of patients with potential hormone imbalances to seek qualified medical evaluation. Furthermore, as Lefty explained in an earlier post, too many physicians are dismissive with their female patients and are inept in diagnosing and treating the underlying causes of hormone-related symptoms. It’s frustrating for electrologists that, having years of observation, can sense when “something is not right.” This is especially true when we see multiple symptoms (more than hair growth), e.g., a particular body shape and weight gain.
A true pioneer in the field is Dr. Ricardo Azziz who, at one time, spoke extensively to the AEA. He now lives in Los Angeles. He recommends that a woman with “these symptoms” seek a reproductive endocrinologist. He stated that these physicians are more versed in the specific issues related to PCOS and similar difficulties.
I have two women right now that probably have PCOS (my guess, of course). They have seen their family physician that pronounced them “just fine!” What I don’t understand is that these women seem content with this half-baked pronouncement, even though their hair growth is heartbreaking and “the biggest issue in their lives.” I can’t get them to the right doctor! Indeed, they can easily go to Azziz, but are not making the effort.
As Lefty says: “[the patient must] make the effort! Do your research and do not be content with a “faulty” diagnosis. You must see the right physician! Here’s a link to start you on your quest. Contact Azizz and get the right reference in your area. Please know that Azizz is a very kind and concerned man. (He even came and spoke to a group of only eight interested electrologists!) It’s not just the hair; it’s your health (and the health of your male babies, should you have one*).
*A very good friend is the male child of a woman who had PCOS. He is part of a national study, because PCOS has an effect on the health of male offspring.
Very nice information Mr. Grove and Michael.
It is difficult. In the UK, your GP must refer you to an endocrinologist. Our GP has been supportive with my sister and ordered extended tests that must be done before further referral.
When she was having her ultrasound done, the lady doing it asked her why she was having it and then told my sister she was crazy.
It’s this kind of treatment that puts women off pursuing a proper diagnosis. When medical professionals don’t take hirsutism seriously and make patients feel worthless for trying to find out what is wrong with them.
Back to my GP, she was very interested in electrolysis to recommend to her patients. I gave her the info for the HairTell forums to pass on to her patients.
Hi Wilde. Since you are in NY, see if Dr. Redmond can help you out.
I have worked on his patients.
Interesting thread.
How many people are there just in the United States alone who have too much hair in places where they don’t want hair? I have heard that nine out of ten people, both men and women, want to get rid of hair somewhere.
I think the UK has it right. The first step starts with your primary care physician or nurse practitioner, the gatekeepers of the system, who actually can order the same tests that a reproductive endocrinologist can. The up-to-date protocols are written and they are accessible to all physicians online or on hardcopies. There are not enough reproductive endocrinologists to diagnose and treat all the women who have too much hair. If there are signs of PCOS, other physicians can get the ball rolling with tests and then decide to refer to an reproductive endocrinologist, if necessary.
Second point - just because a doctor is a woman doesn’t mean she will be sympathetic. Off the top of my head , I can think of several women that have given me feedback about how their FEMALE physicians ( gynecologist, family doctor, endocrinologist) dismissively declared them healthy in accordance to all the testing, and said they are just genetically hairy. Men physicians can be more sympathetic than women. It boils down to the person, not the sex of the person.
It is true, that many women are very healthy, but have idiopathic or a genetic characteristic where they have body and facial hair like their father. There are not enough reproductive endocrinologists to take care of the hairy that want appointments, so it is helpful to get the proper hirsutism workup by their primary care giver, BEFORE, they move to the next step with a sub-specialist.
So to be pratical, in an imperfect world, consumers should not think other non-reproductive endocrinologists physicians are incapable, inept and unsympathetic at approaching patient complaints about too much hair everywhere. The gatekeepers are trained to know when to refer based on testing in compliance with an up- to -date protocol and personal conversation with their patient.
Lastly, advising a client to follow through on testing can be frustrating. Yes, they go to a physician that specializes in PCOS, but then they are reluctant to take the medication or reduce their weight or whatever else that is asked of them. Then they go to a naturopathic doctor or a pupil reader or even a personal guru to try a more natural approach. So, the compliance factor is hard to get to for some people and the complaint list gets longer and remains unresolved.
Thanks for everyones replies…I rescheduled that appointment with the endocrinologist and to get a sonogram again…i feel that there’s still no point because even if i have something, i dont want to take medication for it that will just suppress the hair and ill still have to deal with it down the road. I want it rid of now. Im even reluctant to start my birth control (i just did for acne) because i actually dont want it affecting the hair growth. So my reluctance to take medicine, plus all these doctors sort of blowing me off is what was putting me off going again. Arlene, I will probably eventually make appointment with Dr. Redmond as well.
In terms of male and female doctors- Most males have just blown it off as a no big deal so you’re really hairy sort of thing. But I have had female doctors just give me that “it doesnt matter what’s on the outside anyway, its the inside that counts” spiel. Yeah say that when youre growing dark coarse black hair all over your body and now growing it all over your face. They don’t care.
by the way I also have had a sonogram in the past that showed no cysts and my periods are regular and come exactly every 30 days although i do suffer from extremely bad cramps when I get it. This was blown off by the doctors as well who told me to just continue taking advil.
They also think it’s hereditary because my family members have excess hair. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have pcos too. While Ive only in the last year gotten thicker and darker upper lip hair and stray black hairs on my chin, my other sisters (and my twin sister) have beard like growth which im terrified im getting now. I had always said that although my body was covered in this hideous hair at least my face wasnn’t…and now it is- and its happening rapidly.
anyway, sorry for the long rants.
Sounds like your doctors think you are a healthy woman with too much hair caused by your genetic make up. What is your ethnic background, if I may ask? Do you know what your testosterone level is? Okay, your prolactin level is slightly raised. Could be for various reasons. Stress can cause this or again, it could idiopathic, not having a cause. Hopefully, you can come back to get that prolactin level evaluated again, soon.
No need to apologize for a long post. It is good for you to say what is on your mind. Most of us have been where you are, so we understand what is going on here. Hugs to you.
Thanks dee- my mom is english and my dad is German Jewish…another gyno i saw actually told me that my hirsutism cant be genetic because i wasn’t greek or italian or any ethnicity or background that is generally considered hairier. So even though other members of my family have beard growth and body hair, she ruled out genetics because of my ethnic background which to me makes no sense on various levels. She told me to get more tests then but those are the ones i had ended up canceling.
Oh, dear. I don’t agree with her ethnic analysis, but okay.
Are you going to get more tests now?
It’s been a long time since you posted your original post here. I hope you have found the answer to your problem. I had a young lady who was an RN at Univ. of Massachusetts MED SCHOOL HOSP She was secreting milk. She had a pituitary tumor that caused her to make too much prolactin (the hormone to make milk). The treatment FOR HER was bromocriptine. No surgery was needed, however, each patient is different and ONLY a caring knowledgable doc can help you (preferably an ENDOCRINOLOGIST who is connected with a medical school as they are on the lookout for unusual cases). Try GOOGLE for bromocriptine and read up on it. Your problem is very serious and nobody can tell you what is going to happen next because all patients are different.I have some knowledge about hormones because I used to sell them with a major drug company for 30 years in the Boston area You need a doc with a lot of hormone experience, preferably a female. If you are close to the Mass. Gen’l Hospital they have an excellent endocrine dept. They are a division of Harvard med. school and know what they are doing. Other teaching hospitals also can be relied on but the average doc will not be “bothered” because they are not adequately trained for this. Ethically, all docs are honor bound to refer you to another doc if the problem is beyond their knowledge. This is the only help I can legally offer as I am NOT a doctor. Good luck.