[slbxo33]

hey all!

forgive me if this is longwinded but i've had a CRAZY last few weeks.

i've been diagnosed with IR PCOS, hypothyroidism, and hyperandrogen syndrome since 11/2009. to manage it, i was put on metformin, spironolactone, synthroid, cytomel, dexamethasone, and birth control pills. from 11/2009 to approx 6/2011 i took apri BCPs. my endo originally pushed me towards ocella (generic yasmin), specifically bc of the additional hormone benefits, but i was concerned about the side effects so she conceded to the combination of apri and spironolactone (generic aldactone.. an androgen blocker to help my crazy facial hair issue). my period came back fine on the apri, but i didn't see any help with the facial hair situation, so at my 6/2011 appointment, my endo again suggested that ocella would be more beneficial. i was desperate so i agreed to try it. once i did, i was shocked to see how quickly i saw results. i went from being a 5 o'clock shadow girl to shaving every 3ish days! all my hair from my chin to my legs got lighter, finer, and more sparse! i thought i found the miracle drug!

then on 8/28/2011, i had a stroke.

i spent 2 weeks in the neurological intensive care unit at our local stroke center, and was diagnosed with a venous sinus thrombosis. i had 2 bloodclots in my brain, but also a bleed in my brain. they put me on bloodthinners to break up the clots, but it aggravated the bleed which caused 4 seizures. my parents were told i had a 50/50 chance of making it. the docs added in a massive dose of anti-seizure meds so i could continue the blood thinning therapy and we seem to have found a happy medium and i am healing well. being only 24 years old (and by far the youngest patient in the stroke center) definitely helped me regain my strength and mobility quicker than my doctors expected. miraculously, i have no permanent damage.

what i'm wondering about now, is how to manage my PCOS with the new restriction that i cannot take ANY form of hormone-releasing birth control for the rest of my life. no pills, no patch, no shot, no nuvaring, not even mirena bc the implant still releases hormones. aside from the bummer of having to use condoms forever, i'm noticing my 5 o'clock shadow is back and worse than EVER. the neuro team could care less about my hairy chin (and rightfully so), and i don't meet with my endo again for 2.5 more weeks, so i've been trying to research this on my own but i'm getting no where.

does anyone else out there have similar restrictions or know a way to manage PCOS (specifically this godawful facial hair) without BCPs or the equivalent? i'm not even sure if i can get back on the spironolactone with my current medications (the above, plus coumadin & keppra now)

[Rana]

I don't take BCP for my PCOS health reasons too, but mine are related to damage to my gallbladder that Yasmin was creating for me.

I've been managing the symptoms through exercise and diet, which means that it's harder (no pills to fix things quickly) and it also takes some time and some patience to figure out what will work for you.

I am also taking other supplements, such as chelated chormium, so I don't take Metformin, and when I say I use diet and exercise to manage my PCOS, I mean, I really use it -- I exercise for 1 hour each day and I eat whole foods, low carb, never anything processed unless it's a special occasion.

I don't know if my plan will work for you, but I believe that food and exercise will cure most things if you treat them as medicine.

As for unwanted hair? Plucking and waxing are my friends.

[PageLynn]

I lost vision in my right eye overnight 3 months after having my first child. They never could figure out why so they rule it as an optic nerve stroke (they believe I passed a blood clot through my optic nerve to my right eye). With this I am not allowed any birth control hormones either as they are afraid of another stroke. I was given the choice of fertility drugs to help with monthly cycles and hormone issues, but I declined due to not wanting/needing any more children right now. I manage my symptoms through diet and exercise as well and waxing/plucking/shaving is my friend just like Rana.

[mzKiki]

I get good results just using the nair facial cream. Although I only have excess hair on my chin. Ocassionally I will wax either myself with the at home kit, or at the salon where I get my nails done It's about $7 and takes about 3 weeks before the hair grows back.
I also have an IUD which has no hormones. I opted not to get the Mirena as the hormones can cause weight gain (like I need that) The non-hormone IUD is good for 10yrs. You can ask your Dr about that if you're looking for an alternative to condoms.
I'm happy that there was no permanent damage and that you're doing much better.

[slbxo33]

the only non-hormone releasing iud i've heard about is paraguard and i'm allergic to the metal it's made of

i'm not allowed to get back to the gym for 3 more months bc of the whole pressure on the brain thing, but i could def work on my diet. i see the endo on thurs so i'll update if she has any creative ideas. i'd love to know if there's a trick to having your period while taking bloodthinners- holy crap that was quite an experience lol!

[Rana]

What metal are you allergic to?

[slbxo33]

the only kind i'm for sure not allergic to is yellow gold. i'm allergic to nickel, sterling silver, stainless steel, even surgical steel-- i had braces and my gums were red and swollen the entire 15 months! i don't know if i'm allergic to copper or not because i don't ever really come in contact with it so there was no reason to test it, but paragard's copper wiring is actually nickel coated with copper.