[daisydaffodil]

I've had, for a while now, excess hair growth (I think) in various areas of body.

It's particularly bad around my upper lip, chin and cheeks, either side of my face, the back of my neck, my lower back, my bottom (i.e. the outside and around my anus - sorry but ..) and thighs. I've also got some dark hairs (in a line kind of) on my tummy, and some darker hairs on my breasts, as well as my toes.

GP checked the hair a while ago and said there was definitely a lot, but not so much that she'd be very worried. She reffered me for a scan of my pelvis - which was normal. I've had two blood tests for hormones - one was normal, one showed an elevated level of "sex hormone binding globulin" but GP said that was normal in the abscence of elevated testosterone.

Was offered "vaniqua" cream but GP said to see if I can manage the hair by myself first..

Anyway - that was a year ago. Hair is still growing and GP doesn't appear all that interested or worried!

I also have odd periods, sometimes they are regular but in the last two/three months they've been happening all over the place, my last period was two weeks early, the period before that lasted eleven days, before that I had random spotting every few days..

Also suffer with bladder problems, acne on my face/shoulders/cleavage, problems with down below, IBS type issues, often suffer with tummy cramping.. I'm also quite overweight and have - despite walking a mile a day and cutting out snacks - been sticking at the same weight. Wii fit says my weight seems to shift as much as a stone overnight at a time - one day I lose eight or nine pounds, the next day I put nine pounds back on. It's all very odd.

So what do I do next? My mum suggested trying to see another doctor and asking for their thoughts, don't know if it's worth trying that? Have tried the webmd symptom checker which always says I have PCOS, tried a PCOS self test thing which said I had PCOS.. But then when they looked at my ovaries they said they were blimmin normal !

Just a bit fed up and wondering if anyone here had advice.

Have attached a couple of photos, of my face and back to give you an idea of what I'm saying.

[JustCharley]

My antibiotics that I took for my acne severely increased the amount of body hair I had. Switched to Dianette (contraceptive pill) for my skin and my body hair massively reduced. So maybe give that a try? Will also help massively with your odd periods and acne.

If you're removing the hair, WAX DO NOT SHAVE IT. Waxing makes the hair come back thinner and more sparce when done over a decent period of time. Failing that, maybe consider bleaching it. Or laser hair removal if it bothers you that much and you've got the money.

Veet make a moisturiser that minimises the appearance of hair regrowth, so use that if you are removing the hair. I've found it makes my hair thinner and more sparce when it grows back.

So yeah, a combination of all of the above should help.

[jenifer123]

To remove unwanted hairs effectively without any skin damage, you should try ipl treatment. Because it is painless and cost effective treatment.

[Anonymous]

I'm the same. I tried Dianette but it didn't work for me at all. I can't lose weight and I was checked for PCOS but everything was fine.

[Sean3000]

(Original post by daisydaffodil)
I've had, for a while now, excess hair growth (I think) in various areas of body.

It's particularly bad around my upper lip, chin and cheeks, either side of my face, the back of my neck, my lower back, my bottom (i.e. the outside and around my anus - sorry but ..) and thighs. I've also got some dark hairs (in a line kind of) on my tummy, and some darker hairs on my breasts, as well as my toes.

GP checked the hair a while ago and said there was definitely a lot, but not so much that she'd be very worried. She reffered me for a scan of my pelvis - which was normal. I've had two blood tests for hormones - one was normal, one showed an elevated level of "sex hormone binding globulin" but GP said that was normal in the abscence of elevated testosterone.

Was offered "vaniqua" cream but GP said to see if I can manage the hair by myself first..

Anyway - that was a year ago. Hair is still growing and GP doesn't appear all that interested or worried!

I also have odd periods, sometimes they are regular but in the last two/three months they've been happening all over the place, my last period was two weeks early, the period before that lasted eleven days, before that I had random spotting every few days..

Also suffer with bladder problems, acne on my face/shoulders/cleavage, problems with down below, IBS type issues, often suffer with tummy cramping.. I'm also quite overweight and have - despite walking a mile a day and cutting out snacks - been sticking at the same weight. Wii fit says my weight seems to shift as much as a stone overnight at a time - one day I lose eight or nine pounds, the next day I put nine pounds back on. It's all very odd.

So what do I do next? My mum suggested trying to see another doctor and asking for their thoughts, don't know if it's worth trying that? Have tried the webmd symptom checker which always says I have PCOS, tried a PCOS self test thing which said I had PCOS.. But then when they looked at my ovaries they said they were blimmin normal !

Just a bit fed up and wondering if anyone here had advice.

Have attached a couple of photos, of my face and back to give you an idea of what I'm saying.

This screams PCOS. I would definitely go for a repeat blood test. BTW you can have PCOS and have normal ovaries (without 'cysts').

[Persephone9]

It would be worth seeing another doctor if you're worried, as Sean3000 said your symptoms do sound like PCOS and you can have visibly normal ovaries in PCOS. Having said, could well be something else so I think you should speak to a doctor.

With the weight loss, maybe have a good look at what and how much you're actually eating, and the exercise you're doing. The NHS reckons the minimum you should be doing is the equivalent of 30 mins of moderate intensity aerobic exercise 5 days a week. Whilst walking a mile a day isn't bad for you, do you think it's enough?

With the hair, it's worth having a good go at removing if it's really bothering you, but you aren't actually that hairy. I seem to have inherited the hairy asian gene, but I'm mixed race with fair skin and dark hair, so my body hair is pretty visible and in the same sort of distribution as yours. I epilate some of it (bikini line, lower tummy if it seems particularly obvious), shave bits (underarms, legs), and veet my upper lip when I remember, but on the whole people really don't notice anywhere near as much as you'd think they might (not even when you're naked :P).