[CLCSC145]

I'm not. You want to know how crazy I am? I haven't been to the gyno in forever. I have many, many of the symptoms of PCOS, but have never been officially diagnosed. Very weird cycles (if at all maybe 2 a year), facial hair, obesity, dark patches of skin, and just within the last 6 months, my bangs started to get thin. The last time I went to the gyno (years ago) I mentioned some of the issues I was having and she said, "you don't have to worry about it unless you want to get pregnant." I know now after doing research that that isn't true. I know I need to go back to the doctor, but I'm so scared and embarrassed by my body. Plus, I need to change insurance by January 08 and I'm afraid of getting turned down if I have any diagnosed pre-conditions. I know they could deny me for my weight, so I'm working on that and my depression meds and doctor's visits I never ran through insurance. So then I start to think, what's more important, treatment for this non-life threatening thing or getting insurance? What a crappy choice to have to make.

[witchyonadiet]

Hugs to you - I know how you feel. It is very difficult to point some of these things out to a doctor. First of all - it makes it more real to YOU. Second - many doctors are NOT well versed with PCOS and give ignorant responses like yours did. Third - going on new meds and treatments is scary and difficult - side effects and all. Kudos to you for trying to take control by losing weight !! You may want to look at some homeopathic treatments - since you are not on meds for it. I know cinnamon is now thought to help with insulin resistance. I believe salicylic acid can help with the skin - although you may be the only one that notices it- depending on where it is. Exercising will help lower your blood sugar tremendously. Now even when I do "cheat" - my blood sugar stays pretty even because I do the treadmill everyday. I know with the hair loss - the sooner you start trying to fix it the better your chances are of making any progress. I hope it is due to weightloss or stress but you may want to try some other things in the meantime.

I believe new research shows that PCOS can include or lead to other issues that may be life threatening. Heart disease, diabetes etc and your depression issues may be related as well.

Insurance is a whole other issue. Insurance companies are now acting like doctors - denying tests or treatments - and changing meds at will solely based on costs. I understand your fear about coverage being denied. You may want to contact your state health department and find out exactly WHAT insurance companies can and cannot do. If the insurance company can get away with something they will try - assuming the consumer may not know any better.

[CLCSC145]

Thank you so much for the advice, Witchy!! I will definitely look at the homeopathic treatments. I got my hair cut/colored today and my hairdresser noticed the thinning bangs and suggested the Nioxin vitamins and their products in general.

On the insurance issue, I just read an article that listed all the things that insuance companies have legitimately turned people down for in CA: if you had one borderline high blood pressure reading several years ago, jock itch, yeast infection, acne, varicose veins... It's a wonder anyone gets insurance!

[witchyonadiet]

If you decide to go with the Nioxin products - you can order them WAY cheaper at hello-gorgeous.net - and a flat shipping rate of $ 4.95. I bought the starter kit #1 at a local salon and am adding the Follicle Booster - since I understand that is a big help. I've only used it once but I LOVE it and the starter kit is fairly small so I'm going to order more now. There is a scalp treatment in the starter kit that I will not buy again and use the Follicle Booster instead - I can only spend SO much before cutting into my sons food money !!! As far as the vitamins go - I would check whats in them and see if you can find a "store brand" alternative or combination. Sometimes you pay more for the name.

It's nice to have people to talk to who understand. I have a fairly new girlfriend who I am SO close to (first truly close girlfriend in my whole life - how pathetic am I ?????) - but she just doesn't understand some of this stuff.

Don't know how you manage the doctor and meds for the depression on your own. My bi-polar and anxiety meds ALONE are over $ 600./month. If I didn't have health insuarance through the state I would be screwed.

[endlessly]

Find a good midwife! Seriously.They are not just for pregnant women and they can be your best advocate! Drs tend to blame your weight for everything..."oh, you broke your nose..its because you are fat"..blah.
i hate that!

Midwives are the best.

[Sugarplumpfaery]

I am struggling with extreme hairloss too, that is what started my whole venture into the "medically unknown" about myself. I have been diagnosed with PCOS, wich can lead to excess testosterone (wich my dermatologist determined that I have). That alone can lead to hairloss on the scalp and abnormal facial hair. Doctor just took some blood today to determine wether I am insulin resistant or not. In the meantime the dermatologist prescribed Locoid Scalp lotion and Dovonex Scalp lotion for my hairloss. Maybe you should enquire with your doc about that? Another interesting thing that I have been reading about is a disease(?) called estrogen dominance. Maybe you should google it, the stuff I found was quite eye opening and really informative.

[witchyonadiet]

Sugarplump - I'm sorry you are struggling with hairloss as well. It really sucks !!! Unfortunately, both of the products you mentioned are for Psoriasis or other scalp inflammations. They are not for hair loss or hair regrowth. Do you have scalp problems ?? If not - your dermotologist may be less than knowledgable about hair loss or may be trying to placate you with treatments. Hopefully your test results will shed some light on the problem (no pun intended).

[Snowbunny]

My hair thinned out 20% when I started to gain my weight back.
I hate pcos!

[witchyonadiet]

OK - having a bad night - it doesn't take much to set off my anxiety. My hair has thinned out quite a bit as I mentioned above. I do NOT see it coming out in massive amounts now....there is some in the drain but not tons - don't see a lot come out when I comb. I started Flutamide a week ago and am using Nioxin. A couple of days ago a friend who is a hairdresseer said she says new growth (I am not convinced). I am noticing when I empty the dryer that there are balls of hair wrapped up with lint. I'm not talking tons - maybe one or two - and I know it looks like more than it is because I have long hair - but I am freaking because I didn't really notice this before. Does anyone else notice this and NOT have hairloss. I've been hoping its from the weightloss (my overall thinning) but I honestly don't know when it started - I have been so out of it for such a long time - between the depression (bi polar) , anxiety etc. I guess I am just looking for some reassurance that someone else notices the hairball thing.

[KathrynRose]

I have hairloss, my friend does not, she has thick luxurious hair. Her house is covered in hair, her dryer trap is full of hair. She has to vaccuum a couple of times a day because of the amount of hair she loses. Her hair is not thinning, she just loses a lot each day because she has a lot to lose.

Me, I feel like throwing a funeral for each hair lost.

[commit2it]

I started having very significant hair loss from taking birth control pills continuously to stop my periods. One thing I had to do was take a good Vitamin B supplement cus the BC interfere with that. But that was not enough. Finally, from doing research on the net, I found a shampoo called NISIM. It removes a hormone called DHT that binds with the hair folicle and kills it. It worked so good I had half the hair loss after the first use and then it got better and better. Within a week I had hardly any hair loss.

NISIM is similar to Nioxin (I think they both remove the DHT) But I have not tried Nioxin. You can do a search on the net for it. I got it from a company based in Virginia. It was the solution for me. I have been telling all my DR as this could help alot of people like it did me.

'