A few years ago my old gynecologist told me that she suspected I have PCOS because I have all of the symptoms, facial and body hair, 4 periods a year when I'm not on birth control, periods that last for 2 or 3 weeks when I'm not on birth control, difficulty losing weight, the inability to get pregnant (back when I was young and wanted a baby, luckily I didn't get pregnant as I wasn't truly ready!). She told me there was no point in finding out if I really had it as I wasn't trying to conceive. She put me on Ortho Trycylin Sept (the highest dose of birth control!) to help with the periods and that was it.

Then I went to a different gyno the next year and got the same speal. I was told to do the South Beach diet and lose weight and then get tested when I wanted to have a baby. So then I went to ANOTHER gyno. She listened a little better, she at least tested my thyroid levels. But they came back normal, so no further testing was needed. Is there anything I can do? I'm tired of looking in the mirror every day to pluck the black hairs on my chin, cheeks, and lips. I'm doing South Beach, but when I've done it for a month and only lost 5 pounds, I get discouraged and quit. I'm back on it now and have lost about 4 pounds so far. Is there really nothing they can do until I'm ready to have a baby? It's so frustrating!

I would definitely recommend paying a visit to an endocrinologist as PCOS is not just gynocological, it is hormonal as well. Sometimes if you see an endo they can prescribe certain hormone treatments or put you on metformin which is technically a diabetic drug but is also used in PCOS therapy. What the metformin does is that it lowers the levels of androgens (male hormones) that cause the symptoms of the facial and body hair, irregular periods, etc. And depending on the person it can also help in weight loss. So far all my weight loss you see on my ticker is actually from having been on the metformin and very small tweaks to my diet mainly because if I eat certain foods with the met I can feel awful. Well, I hope what I've said helps and you can get into see an endo. I can speak for myself in that seeing my endo has really improved my quality of life. If there is anything else I can help with let me know! Good luck!!!!! <3

I had the same issue. I went back a year later and insisted that they test me, so they did an ultrasound. If you have decent insurance, this should be covered. The ultrasound goes in through the vagina and looks directly at the ovaries to find the cysts. Also, there's more blood tests they can do besides just checking thyroid levels (I forget what else they check, but I know they checked other things for me).

There are lots of other disorders that can cause facial hair/increased testosterone, so they really can't refuse you if you demand they check.

Good luck!

I had an MRI done for something unrelated, but it showed cysts on both ovaries. I thought that would be enough to make them want to help me out, but just the same old thing. It's nothing to worry about unless you are trying to get pregnant. I will definitely see if my insurance would cover a trip to the endocrinologist. I have BlueCross BlueShield. I just feel awful, I gained almost 100 pounds in 5 years with no changes to my diet or anything. I just started ballooning up and never stopped. I'm worried about diabetes as well, since all my uncles and my grandfather on my mom's side have type 2. I want to get all of this under control before something bad happens. Being able to conceive in 7 years or so would be a great side effect though!

My OBGYN did not diagnose me and even told me that Metformin was not used to treat PCOS. I was diagnosed by my family doctor, who is a great doctor.

I would try to get in to see an endocrinologist. It is unfair of them to tell you it is only a concern if you are trying to conceive. Having PCOS puts most of us at higher risk for diabetes & for some, heart disease. This means we need to be actively taking care of our health at all times - not just so we can get pregnant.

Staying on top of our weight is important overall for our health. And 5lbs in a month is good weightloss! It is generally more difficult for those of us with pcos to lose weight but whether it is dropping as fast as you would like or not making the healthy changes is still benefitting your health.