Pesky side effects!

fattybattyy

I know it's fairly common but- EXCESS BODY HAIR?! So tired of it. Especially on my face. I'm just wondering if girls/women who have lost weight and/or taken medication (be it hormones or something else), did it help? I'm desperate.

UMDavies

Hey, I feel your pain with this! Mine has subsided a bit since I've started taking metformin, but I still have to get the hair removal cream out every few weeks for my moustache But before I was having to do my sideburns too!

KnitOrMiss

Spirolactone (sp?) is commonly prescribed for this, but it didn't work for me. Prescribed along side my metformin, I got severely dehydrated and had other issues. My understanding is that it is primarily caused by imbalanced hormones (too much testosterone, I believe), so hormone balancing supplements like Inositol and Vitex might help, but I don't know. For the face, most folks I've heard go with groupon coupons for laser hair removal...

jaims224

Yeah, I think once I get to my goal weight, if it is still there, I am going to try laser.

fattybattyy

Yeah my testosterone level was CRAZY high when I got tested...ugh. And if birth control and weight loss doesn't work I think I will try laser removal or something similar too.

MeepleMuppet

I am on Spiro now for this. My doc bumped up my dose at the beginning of the year and after about four months I really started to see improvement. I still need to pluck and shave daily, but the hair is much finer and less noticeable, and as a result, I don't feel the need to spend hours working on it like I use to. Like my doc said, it won't be a miracle, but it does make things manageable. And because it's a diuretic, I don't get the massive weight swings that use to plague me as well.

Supersallysunshine

I am so sorry you are dealing with the unpleasant side effect of pcos! I have it too:( I got a no no hair remover, and the metphormin helped while I was on it.

toadqueen

I used to have massive amounts of facial hair. I tried spirolactone but couId not tolerate it - huge mood changes and Vaniqa which had no effect. I shaved for years and then tried laser hair removal. I was also taking Metformin by then which I do not think had any effect on me. Laser treatment is only a temporary solution and most of it grew back. I had 6 sessions. At the end most of hair remained off but I still had a beard and mustache + more. I lost about 100 lbs and then tried electrolysis and would go for and hour treatment every month for the first few months and then less and less frequently and cut down to 1/2 hour. At the end we added eyebrow shaping because I had remaining time. I stopped going because I moved. I still have facial hair but nowhere near as much that I now usually control by shaving but sometimes get it waxed or removed by threading (ouch!)

I'm 53, not yet in menopause. I have been dealing with this for 30 years. My hormones are a mess. It is not considered medical treatment so any expense is totally the responsibility of the individual. I also eat mostly keto and that may also be helping keep the growth lower.