question for the ladies please

ksh123

My teenage daughter suffers from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and one of the side effects is excess body hair.
This causes her a lot of distress and she is constantly shaving or waxing in a bid to stay smooth skinned. All of this is taking its toll on her skin which is becoming hypersentive and very uncomfortable.
As PCOS is pretty common amongst young women I wondere if anyone has experience of dealing with this particular side effect?
Its so demoralising for a teenager to have this problem when self-image is all important (course we know it shouldn't matter so much...........).
Given that waxing, shaving, creams and bleaching are not satisfactory we are now wondering whether laser treatment is the only method left. But its horribly expensive so if anyone knows of anything else with a smaller price tag we'd be very grateful
Thanks, and sorry for the long post.
ksh123

PinkLipstickBabe

Hello ;D

Sorry to hear of your daughters anguish. It must be difficult for her. I personally don't have this problem but I believe it to be reasonably common, just not talked about.
I did watch a very fascinating documentary on the issue last year and I do remember that the best option for permanent removal of excess body hair is without a doubt laser treatment. It is the only permanent method of removing body hair. Quite often several treatments will be required for complete hair removal with no re-growth.
It may be worth asking your GP. Quite often, when a 'condition' is affecting someone's emotional and mental health (by that I mean stress, distress etc.) the necessary treatments can be performed on the NHS. I would suggest your daughter may qualify for this help. You pay your taxes, go and ask, what have you to lose?
In the meantime, the best alternative to laser is waxing. Although uncomfortable, it is the most long-lasting...providing hair free skin for up to 6 weeks with regular use.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, give your daughter the reassurance she needs and go with her to see her GP. It may be the best visit to the Doc you ever make!
Good Luck!

td

Hi,

I looked into this a not that long ago. The success rate with laser depends upon the type and colour of hair: if the hair is thick and dark then laser treatment is more successful. Your daughter would probably need a top up about once a year. Things to check for are how qualified the people are who are doing it - really it is best if they are qualified to nurse equivalent. There are different types of laser treatment too as the methods are improving.

As with other things like this it is cheaper to go abroad to have it done but this would involve a few trips but might be an option if you regularly go to the same place.

An alternative and cheaper option might be to go to a beauitician training college to have the waxing done for her rather than do it herself which may make the effects on the skin less severe. I go to one in Huddersfield which is great, but they are all over. They also do electrolysis which might be an option for permanent removal of facial hair.

And just to cheer her up she could book in for a facial, a massage or her nails doing as treatments often get cheaper the more of them you have in a day.

HTH

td x

ksh123

what lovely people you are! thank you so much for your kind and informative replies.
Our GP knows all about L's hair growth, and especially about her low self esteem, but she has never suggested hair removal could be available on the NHS. However we will definitely go back and ask about it, so thank you.
I also read the thread Sheel suggested and that was very encouraging so maybe it would be better to pay for some lazer treatments than keep spending on waxes, shavers, oils etc etc. I guess if I added up what I had spent so far it would probably equal a lazer appointment!
I will also tell her that getting the waxing done, rather than doing it herself could be less painful - but the problem there is that it grows back so quickly - from smooth to hairy within 3-4 days! so again could be very expensive.
anyway lots to think about and again I am grateful for your your help. thanks everyone!

mrsmoneyspender

i also suffer from pcos and have had this for 20 years but did not get it diagnosed until this year
i know how awful and embarassing this is
it is recognised as a medical condition while years ago it was known by doctors but ignored(i was told it was commen and adviced to use creams or razors)
how insensitive they were!
in fact there are medical problems which can come with pcos ie diabetes , problems concieving, weight gain and more.
go to your doctor you can be given a hormone tablet called dianette
also i would advise you to buy the book PCOS DIETBOOK by colette harris and visit the web site https://www.verity-pcos.org.uk
it gives you advice and help with diets to overcome this problem
as this is a hormone problem diet and exercise does help a lot and can actually reduce the hair growth
i feel much better now that i have read and understand what the problem is and how to cope with it
i have used razors,creams, waxing and electroylsis and none have been very good. I have been on the dianette drug for two long now and have had to come off it for a while
i have asked for laser tratment on the nhs but have been refused three times so i now go privately to a clinic run by doctors and nurses
this is £75 per go for hair removal from my chin,neck, lip and sides of the face i know it is expensive but it outweights the anxiety i feel when i have facial hair it is nothing HONESTLY!!!
ask your doctor to recommend a clinic
good luck and please do encourage your daughter and give her loads of support in what ever she decides to do

ksh123

Hi Mrs money spender
Thanks for your reply. I am sorry you have had such a protracted time with PCOS. It took us 2 years to get M diagnosed and that was bad enough so it must have been terrible for you.
She does indeed have the added complications of diabetes and weight gain which, because of the hormone imbalance is all around her middle and has been very upsetting for her to deal with.
After much pushing and shoving from me we got our diagnosis and she now takes metafornin which is prescribed to diabetics but can also help with PCOS. there has been some small improvement, but its agonisingly slow.
We have indeed got the book you mention and have visited the website you refer to. In addition M has stepped up her exercise and that is having some good effect too. Of course another of the symptoms of the condition is extreme fatigue and that makes the latter doubly hard to achieve.
I will definitely follow up on the laser/GP inquiry, thank you.

Poppy9

I do not have PCS but have a tendency to grow large cysts frequently. Any cyst on the ovary produces a hormone imbalance. After suffering from the age of 13 with very heavy periods, in frequent or frequent bleeding & infertiliy. I finally discovered a supplement: Agnus Castus. This has had a dramatic effect in reducing these incidents and has even gone some way to regulating my cycle.

I recommned Quest Agnus Castus - available from Health food shops. Costs about £7 for a bottle of 90.

There have been rave reviews in the Daily Mail from PCS

Greenstuff_2

Hi,

I'm so sorry to hear of what your Daughter's going through, I too have suffered since puberty and have looked into all ways to cure/deal with it. I have tried the pill and Metformin, kept it under control but in the long term actually made it worse.
What I have discovered is that it is actually a form of insuline resistance that causes it and some of the other symptoms such as weight gain around the middle, and not as is sometimes thought the other way round.
It seems it runs in the family, the male symptoms is early male pattern baldness, I have a lovely family full of shaven heads! (and thats just the women - no sorry it's not funny).
The very best solution I have found is diet, basically keep well away from processed foods, sugar and bread is a no no, very unfortunate as the condition causes unstable blood sugar levels so cause sugar and carbohydrate cravings.
Since Mr. Greenstuff and I have been trying for a mini Green for years I was told to put on weight as was under the reccomended weight to conceive, we are all naturally skinny in my family so was really hard, I started eating stodge and it was the worse thing I could have done.
The weight went all to my middle, my cycle went completly up the spout, PMT was horrendus, my hormones went through the roof and all the other symptoms such as tiredness, depression and excess hair got loads worse.
I did have lazer hair removal and it was fantastic by the way.
Believe it or not - and keep an open mind, someone suggested to me the Atkins diet, I thought it dangerous but when I bought the book (special offer in ASDA) done properly it is actually very healthy and perfect for PCOS sufferers.
If you read it, it explains all about insuline sensitivity, why it causes PCOS etc., and why the diet is so good for it.
If she eats sensibly say, eggs for breakfast, salad for lunch, and a piece of meat and steamed veg for supper, she will get a balanced diet.
If she includes carbs in the form of fruit that will also help, the book will show what fruits have most carbs and sugar so to be eaten sparingly and which ones have less so can be eaten liberally.
I am on a healthier diet than ever!
Drinking loads of water is vital, hot or cold with a slice of lemon will also act as a liver clense thus aiding the removal of excess hormones. Vitamins are really important, get good quality ones - yes agnus castus is brilliant too, she will almost certainly be lacking in B's.
A possible cause could be high homocysteine levels, these can be tested by her Doctor, if you have an open minded one, this is simply treated by B vitamins.
https://www.thehfactor.com is a good scource if info, the H factor book is a very informative read.
I see a Kinesiologist who has been a lifesaver, she is in London, if that's nowhere near you, you can find a local one through the association of Kinesiologists, make sure you get one who's registered.
I have found gentle natural remedies far more effective, I hope you do too.

The best of luck,
V

jellyhead

if you've read reviews that make the atkins diet sound scary, there are other low carb diets that are gentler. the south beach diet is one alternative. just cutting down on bad carbs will help. even small changes like using granary bread or even wholemeal instead of white and making porridge with large flakes instead of buying sachets of ready-mix. you could only eat bread/pasta/rice with one meal per day instead of with all three meals. eggs are great for breakfast, you don't get the low energy slump an hour or so later that you get when you eat cereal for breakfast. small changes might be easier than going on a diet. crisps are the worst thing ever, by the way. i always fall asleep after eating crisps or bakes potatoes. unfortunately i get horrible cravings at certain times and i desperately need chips lol!

collette harris wrote a book about PCOS, as well as a diet book. apparently exercise is great for helping with symptoms but you have to expect to have to do 4 times as much exercise as people without pcos to get the same results.

i've only had pcos for 4 years, i got it suddenly at the age of 28 having always been thin and having no problems at all, i even had a 4 year old child and gained no weight, going back down to my correct weight afterwards. all of a sudden i went from a size 10/12 to a size 20 and am now obese. exercise helps with acne but i get lots of pain around my ovaries and womb. i'm not allowed dianette for health reasons but everyone else with pcos in my family takes it and it's been great for them. i take metformin and after a year i can say it's helping a great deal with the acne and facial hair and i don't get hot flushes anymore. dianette helps my sister with her facial hair. it's a contraceptive pill but it has an added anti-androgen ingredient. my hair used to fall out all over the place but taking zinc has stopped the hair loss, it also helps with moods. i also take a multivitamin that has extra vitamin B (to help with my PMS!), omega 3 to help with memory and concentration, and evening primrose oil to help with sore breasts. i'm 32 now and an added bonus has been that in the year i've been taking these supplements my facial wrinkles have gone - i was starting to get wrinkly but now they've dissappeared - bonus :-)

ksh123

so much interesting stuff here - thanks to everyone who has taken the time to write
I'm going to print all this off for my daughter to read, and me to digest and take some action.
Does anyone know if dianette can be taken in addition to metafornim or is it one or the other only?
once again, many many thanks everyone.
ksh123

Greenstuff_2

Hi K,

You are most welcome, glad we could help, it is a horrible illness, I don't know what the worst part of it is.
The acne and hair is bad enough, but the tiredness is incredible, as you dont look ill it is hard to have sympathy, I hated being called lazy, I really wanted to do stuff but was just too tired!
It wasn't until I read the book Jellyhead mentioned that I realised I tiredness was a symptom.
It sounds as though the support you are giving your daughter is fantastic, she is very lucky to have a Mum who understands.
I second what Jellyhead said, the book by Colette Harris & Dr. Adam Carey is a must read, Dr. Carey has a practice in Harley street, I haven't seen him as I found the natural route suited me better but a friend did and said it was very thorough, which gave me a thought.
Martin did an article on healthcare cash back schemes, most of these have an exemption for existing illnesess - but not all, so maybe you could sign up for one of those and get her private treatment that you would get most of the money back for? most cover children for free too.
If you find that medical treatment isnt effective enough or the side effects too harsh and decided to go down the natural route some therapies are covered too.
Dianette is a contraceptive pill, it's active ingredient is cyproterone acetate which stops the male homone from binding to the receptors thus making it inactive. Metformin is oral insuline, it's given to patients with mild diabetes, it keeps down the blood sugar which is what causes PCOS, so I would imagine they could be used together, whoever is prescribing should know - one would hope anyway!
Good luck

Greenie