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Acne And Excessive Body Hair

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(@irma)

Posted : 08/02/2013 3:29 pm

hi my name's Irma i'm 20 years old and i have had problems with Excessive body hair and severe acne on my face, back, chest,armpits from when i was 9/10 years old..it really has ruined my life..i gave up on so many things because of that..school, friends, social life...in the last may of 2012 i decided to finally go to the dermatologist...the acne on my face cleared up i just get some pimple every 2 months..but its always better than what was before.. in the last Jenuary i also started laser hair removal for my face it helped me a little bit.. every month i have to go to the dermatologist and it costs to my parents like 264 dollars because i do it on my chest too..i have a lot of long body hair on my breasts too its everywhere on my body it is really embarrassing and because of that and acne i don't really like summer and going to the beach..when i go i wear a shirt..i did the blood test to see if i had some hormonal problems but nothing..i don't have nothing..the dermatologist suggested me to use birth control pills but i'm scared that they will not work once again..i write all of that on here with hope..i hope someone will read this and help me.. i'm really desperate, so i was wondering if anyone has ever had a situation like me? sorry if i made some mistakes..

thank you.

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(@jfiligree)

Posted : 08/02/2013 4:18 pm

I am male but it sounds to me like you may have PCOS, which is actually quite common. Best of luck to you and try to stay positive!

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(@irma)

Posted : 08/02/2013 4:24 pm

I am male but it sounds to me like you may have PCOS, which is actually quite common. Best of luck to you and try to stay positive!

thank you for your reply but i actually have did the pelvic ultrasound and the doctor said that i don't have nothing :/

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(@moonlitriver)

Posted : 08/02/2013 4:25 pm

Hey Irma, even if your blood tests didn't show anything "abnormal" about your hormones it is still possible that they are out of balance. Mine are completely out of balance but my recent blood tests also came back "normal". I believe there is a range that is considered within "normal" but it sounds to me like you have too much androgen activity or your system is more sensitive to androgen activity (either of which might cause acne and excessive hair growth).

If this is the case, then birth control pills might be the best option for you. If your dermatologist can prescribe one with an androgen blocker in it then that should reduce the acne and hair growth if you give it enough time. It won't be an instant miracle cure but if this is what's causing your acne (which sounds very likely) then it is definitely a long-term treatment to consider.

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(@irma)

Posted : 08/02/2013 4:44 pm

Hey Irma, even if your blood tests didn't show anything "abnormal" about your hormones it is still possible that they are out of balance. Mine are completely out of balance but my recent blood tests also came back "normal". I believe there is a range that is considered within "normal" but it sounds to me like you have too much androgen activity or your system is more sensitive to androgen activity (either of which might cause acne and excessive hair growth).

If this is the case, then birth control pills might be the best option for you. If your dermatologist can prescribe one with an androgen blocker in it then that should reduce the acne and hair growth if you give it enough time. It won't be an instant miracle cure but if this is what's causing your acne (which sounds very likely) then it is definitely a long-term treatment to consider.

thank you so much for your reply, i really appreciate that you took your time to actually read and give a reply, my dermatolgist actually talked with me about that but my mom is scared that if a took birth control pills for a long time i will have problems in the future..i'm stuck..what if they don't work?

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(@moonlitriver)

Posted : 08/02/2013 5:20 pm

No problem at all! I've just started taking birth control pills myself (1 month ago) because I'm sure my acne is caused by my hormones being out of balance. I don't really know what happens when you stop taking them but for me it was the only thing left for my severe acne other than Accutane so I was willing to try them. Given your situation, I think that birth control pills are very likely to work for both of your problems. You don't have to live with acne and excessive hair growth and you don't have to be miserable because of it! If you went to a doctor about your problems I'm sure they would also prescribe a birth control pill for you. I think for you it's just a case of getting the right one. You might also be able to speed up the process by using a topical and/or antibiotics for your acne alongside the birth control (this is what I am doing). What treatments have you tried so far?

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(@like-moonlight)

Posted : 08/02/2013 5:29 pm

I also think you have PCOS. I know some women get testd for PCOS and the test has come back negative, later other get tested again and it's positive. Also if you have cysts on your overies the can come and go they aren't present at all times. Instead of seeing a dermatologist for your issues, I would recommend seeing a endocrinologist they are much more knowledgeable with hormones. Hormones are their jobs.

 

Also you could give spironolactone a go for your breakouts and excess hair growth. Spiro mutes androgens so your acne wont have much of a chance to form and the medication also helps with excess hair growth. It should work great for you!

Quote
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(@irma)

Posted : 08/02/2013 5:57 pm

No problem at all! I've just started taking birth control pills myself (1 month ago) because I'm sure my acne is caused by my hormones being out of balance. I don't really know what happens when you stop taking them but for me it was the only thing left for my severe acne other than Accutane so I was willing to try them. Given your situation, I think that birth control pills are very likely to work for both of your problems. You don't have to live with acne and excessive hair growth and you don't have to be miserable because of it! If you went to a doctor about your problems I'm sure they would also prescribe a birth control pill for you. I think for you it's just a case of getting the right one. You might also be able to speed up the process by using a topical and/or antibiotics for your acne alongside the birth control (this is what I am doing). What treatments have you tried so far?

thank you so much again for your reply..my dermatolgist said that i should start taking birth control pills this september..are there any side effects? for my face when i went to the dermatolgist back in the may of 2012 i used these creams and gels; dicarbex (really good detergent) duac (i really like this gel) aknicare(i didnt really liked this one) epiduo (it didnt really worked for me) and now my dermatolgist prescribed me skinoren (that i started using yesterday) i also used this integrator called peracnil..

I also think you have PCOS. I know some women get testd for PCOS and the test has come back negative, later other get tested again and it's positive. Also if you have cysts on your overies the can come and go they aren't present at all times. Instead of seeing a dermatologist for your issues, I would recommend seeing a endocrinologist they are much more knowledgeable with hormones. Hormones are their jobs.

Also you could give spironolactone a go for your breakouts and excess hair growth. Spiro mutes androgens so your acne wont have much of a chance to form and the medication also helps with excess hair growth. It should work great for you!

thank you for your reply, i actually have thought about going to one..but since my parents are spending so many money for me i don't want to go..i don't know..i will try to talk about this with my mom, thank you for your reply again.

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(@alenic07)

Posted : 08/02/2013 9:24 pm

I have the same thing, hirsutism. I have excessive hair growth all over my body and it's embarrassing. I sometimes get a pimple in my back, but it's not even moderate. My facial acne is another story. I started getting acne when I turned 18 and I just turned 20, so for two years I have had facial acne. I have horrible facial hair, like not peach fuzz but visible thick black hairs in my face and neck. I am planning to do laser hair removal for my body, but considering I am a college student I am going to try and start with face and neck.

 

Since I am moving soon, I will not be going to an endocrinologist where I live now. But as soon as I move I will certainly make sure to take all the tests to figure out if I have PCOS. I have regular periods, so lets see what happens. I still have two of the common symptoms, acne and hirsutism.

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(@moonlitriver)

Posted : 08/03/2013 4:49 am

No problem at all! I've just started taking birth control pills myself (1 month ago) because I'm sure my acne is caused by my hormones being out of balance. I don't really know what happens when you stop taking them but for me it was the only thing left for my severe acne other than Accutane so I was willing to try them. Given your situation, I think that birth control pills are very likely to work for both of your problems. You don't have to live with acne and excessive hair growth and you don't have to be miserable because of it! If you went to a doctor about your problems I'm sure they would also prescribe a birth control pill for you. I think for you it's just a case of getting the right one. You might also be able to speed up the process by using a topical and/or antibiotics for your acne alongside the birth control (this is what I am doing). What treatments have you tried so far?

thank you so much again for your reply..my dermatolgist said that i should start taking birth control pills this september..are there any side effects? for my face when i went to the dermatolgist back in the may of 2012 i used these creams and gels; dicarbex (really good detergent) duac (i really like this gel) aknicare(i didnt really liked this one) epiduo (it didnt really worked for me) and now my dermatolgist prescribed me skinoren (that i started using yesterday) i also used this integrator called peracnil..

>I also think you have PCOS. I know some women get testd for PCOS and the test has come back negative, later other get tested again and it's positive. Also if you have cysts on your overies the can come and go they aren't present at all times. Instead of seeing a dermatologist for your issues, I would recommend seeing a endocrinologist they are much more knowledgeable with hormones. Hormones are their jobs.

Also you could give spironolactone a go for your breakouts and excess hair growth. Spiro mutes androgens so your acne wont have much of a chance to form and the medication also helps with excess hair growth. It should work great for you!

thank you for your reply, i actually have thought about going to one..but since my parents are spending so many money for me i don't want to go..i don't know..i will try to talk about this with my mom, thank you for your reply again.

Birth control pills sound like a really good idea for you :) Personally I've not really had any side effects from them at all. I felt a bit sick after the first tablet but it only lasted half a day. I know some people find they affect your moods a bit but that hasn't happened to me. Hopefully if you find the right one for you then you won't really have any side effects either. It sounds like your dermatologist knows what they're doing with the topicals so hopefully the combination of that and birth control pills should work really well for you in the long run!

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(@maskedone)

Posted : 08/03/2013 7:32 am

Hey Irma, even if your blood tests didn't show anything "abnormal" about your hormones it is still possible that they are out of balance. Mine are completely out of balance but my recent blood tests also came back "normal". I believe there is a range that is considered within "normal" but it sounds to me like you have too much androgen activity or your system is more sensitive to androgen activity (either of which might cause acne and excessive hair growth).

I completely agree with this. I had the same thing. My results came back "normal", but I take two issues with that: (1) I was on birth control which can distort actual results and (2) My ratio of LH to FSH was off. That is what you want to look at as well. If you have your results look at that ratio. It should be 1:1, but my LH is higher than my FSH. It's not extraordinarily higher, but it IS higher.

Any doctor who makes a diagnosis typically has to have the patient meet strict criteria to officially have the "disease." In the case of PCOS, the patient has to present 2 of 3 symptoms (1) irregular periods, (2) Acne, excessive hair growth, and (3) ovarian cysts. This is stupid, imo, because patients can still present some symptoms but not meet all.

I know Wikipedia isn't considered The New England Journal of Medicine, but there's lots of information here.

As others have said, birth control and spironolactone may help, but also look into antibiotics. They can help in the short term until the hormonal treaments kick in.

You are not alone in this and do not give up hope! I know it's difficult. I'm struggling with it too.

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(@wishclean)

Posted : 08/03/2013 10:56 am

Irma, are you in Europe? European doctors use ultrasound to diagnose PCOS, whereas in the US they diagnose it based on blood testing and, more often, just by going over your symptoms. Both diagnoses have their flaws, and you really do need to look at the various ratios (e.g., LH to FSH as MaskedOne mentioned, estrogen to progesterone, testosterone/ free testosterone to estrogen, etc). The rations need to be balanced. The issue with birth control and spironolactone is that they come in standardized doses. With birth control, you not only get the hormone you need, you will most likely get other hormones too - for instance, if you are deficient in progesterone, you will most likely be prescribed birth control with both estrogen and progesterone. If you want to customize the type and amount of hormones you get, you will need to see a doctor specializing in bioidentical hormone therapy, which is expensive but it will give you the right amount of hormones for your body and you will be monitored monthly to adjust the dose.

Other things you can do to manage your PCOS: avoid dairy, follow a low carb & low sugar diet, get regular exercise, minimize your stress, get some sun/ vitamin D and a good multivitamin. You can keep it under control with a healthy diet. As for the body/facial hair, I used to get electrolysis, which works but it's slow, and I also tried laser hair removal but it can trigger dormant hair and eventually make the problem worse (this only happened on my face, the other areas I treated responded really well to laser).

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(@irma)

Posted : 08/03/2013 12:45 pm

No problem at all! I've just started taking birth control pills myself (1 month ago) because I'm sure my acne is caused by my hormones being out of balance. I don't really know what happens when you stop taking them but for me it was the only thing left for my severe acne other than Accutane so I was willing to try them. Given your situation, I think that birth control pills are very likely to work for both of your problems. You don't have to live with acne and excessive hair growth and you don't have to be miserable because of it! If you went to a doctor about your problems I'm sure they would also prescribe a birth control pill for you. I think for you it's just a case of getting the right one. You might also be able to speed up the process by using a topical and/or antibiotics for your acne alongside the birth control (this is what I am doing). What treatments have you tried so far?

thank you so much again for your reply..my dermatolgist said that i should start taking birth control pills this september..are there any side effects? for my face when i went to the dermatolgist back in the may of 2012 i used these creams and gels; dicarbex (really good detergent) duac (i really like this gel) aknicare(i didnt really liked this one) epiduo (it didnt really worked for me) and now my dermatolgist prescribed me skinoren (that i started using yesterday) i also used this integrator called peracnil..

>I also think you have PCOS. I know some women get testd for PCOS and the test has come back negative, later other get tested again and it's positive. Also if you have cysts on your overies the can come and go they aren't present at all times. Instead of seeing a dermatologist for your issues, I would recommend seeing a endocrinologist they are much more knowledgeable with hormones. Hormones are their jobs.

Also you could give spironolactone a go for your breakouts and excess hair growth. Spiro mutes androgens so your acne wont have much of a chance to form and the medication also helps with excess hair growth. It should work great fo

r you!

thank you for your reply, i actually have thought about going to one..but since my parents are spending so many money for me i don't want to go..i don't know..i will try to talk about this with my mom, thank you for your reply again.

Birth control pills sound like a really good idea for you smile.png Personally I've not really had any side effects from them at all. I felt a bit sick after the first tablet but it only lasted half a day. I know some people find they affect your moods a bit but that hasn't happened to me. Hopefully if you find the right one for you then you won't really have any side effects either. It sounds like your dermatologist knows what they're doing with the topicals so hopefully the combination of that and birth control pills should work really well for you in the long run!

thank you so much my dermatolgist talked with me about that i could have mood swings other than that she said to drink a lot of water (i already do haha) eat clean and doing some workout, thank you so much again rolleyes.gif

Hey Irma, even if your blood tests didn't show anything "abnormal" about your hormones it is still possible that they are out of balance. Mine are completely out of balance but my recent blood tests also came back "normal". I believe there is a range that is considered within "normal" but it sounds to me like you have too much androgen activity or your system is more sensitive to androgen activity (either of which might cause acne and excessive hair growth).

I completely agree with this. I had the same thing. My results came back "normal", but I take two issues with that: (1) I was on birth control which can distort actual results and (2) My ratio of LH to FSH was off. That is what you want to look at as well. If you have your results look at that ratio. It should be 1:1, but my LH is higher than my FSH. It's not extraordinarily higher, but it IS higher.

Any doctor who makes a diagnosis typically has to have the patient meet strict criteria to officially have the "disease." In the case of PCOS, the patient has to present 2 of 3 symptoms (1) irregular periods, (2) Acne, excessive hair growth, and (3) ovarian cysts. This is stupid, imo, because patients can still present some symptoms but not meet all.

I know Wikipedia isn't considered The New England Journal of Medicine, but there's lots of information here.

As others have said, birth control and spironolactone may help, but also look into antibiotics. They can help in the short term until the hormonal treaments kick in.

You are not alone in this and do not give up hope! I know it's difficult. I'm struggling with it too.

ugh i'm stuck i don't know what to think neutral.gif is there a possibilty that i have a lot of body hair because was just made like that? i remember when i was little i never had these kind of problems..they all came when i hit puberty..(i was 9 years old) right now i'm taking antibiotics for 10 days because i got a really big pimple under my armpit.. but i see nothing i keep getting them..thank you so much, stay strong rolleyes.gif

Irma, are you in Europe? European doctors use ultrasound to diagnose PCOS, whereas in the US they diagnose it based on blood testing and, more often, just by going over your symptoms. Both diagnoses have their flaws, and you really do need to look at the various ratios (e.g., LH to FSH as MaskedOne mentioned, estrogen to progesterone, testosterone/ free testosterone to estrogen, etc). The rations need to be balanced. The issue with birth control and spironolactone is that they come in standardized doses. With birth control, you not only get the hormone you need, you will most likely get other hormones too - for instance, if you are deficient in progesterone, you will most likely be prescribed birth control with both estrogen and progesterone. If you want to customize the type and amount of hormones you get, you will need to see a doctor specializing in bioidentical hormone therapy, which is expensive but it will give you the right amount of hormones for your body and you will be monitored monthly to adjust the dose.

Other things you can do to manage your PCOS: avoid dairy, follow a low carb & low sugar diet, get regular exercise, minimize your stress, get some sun/ vitamin D and a good multivitamin. You can keep it under control with a healthy diet. As for the body/facial hair, I used to get electrolysis, which works but it's slow, and I also tried laser hair removal but it can trigger dormant hair and eventually make the problem worse (this only happened on my face, the other areas I treated responded really well to laser).

yes i'm from Italy, i did the blood test 2 times the 1st one wasn't good..but i did one just now..in june and everything is normal.. i'm thinking about going to a endocrinologist in september. i always try to eat clean, i lost tons of weight in the last years because i thought that it caused my acne.. thank you so much

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(@wishclean)

Posted : 08/03/2013 1:37 pm

About the body hair, Europeans do have more body hair, especially ones with Mediterranean background. So yes, part of it is hereditary and based on ethnicity and genetics unfortunately, I have the same problem. The only thing that temporarily slowed down the hair growth was saw palmetto, but not by much so it's not worth taking it just for that. If you can afford electrolysis with a good and clean aesthitician, then go for it.

Quote
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(@irma)

Posted : 08/04/2013 4:35 pm

About the body hair, Europeans do have more body hair, especially ones with Mediterranean background. So yes, part of it is hereditary and based on ethnicity and genetics unfortunately, I have the same problem. The only thing that temporarily slowed down the hair growth was saw palmetto, but not by much so it's not worth taking it just for that. If you can afford electrolysis with a good and clean aesthitician, then go for it.

oh yeah, i know...but it makes me feel so sad looking like a man..i will try birth control pills and i hope i will get better,thank you so much for your reply

Quote
MemberMember
2481
(@wishclean)

Posted : 08/04/2013 7:18 pm

About the body hair, Europeans do have more body hair, especially ones with Mediterranean background. So yes, part of it is hereditary and based on ethnicity and genetics unfortunately, I have the same problem. The only thing that temporarily slowed down the hair growth was saw palmetto, but not by much so it's not worth taking it just for that. If you can afford electrolysis with a good and clean aesthitician, then go for it.

oh yeah, i know...but it makes me feel so sad looking like a man..i will try birth control pills and i hope i will get better,thank you so much for your reply

If you decide to try birth control, also ask for an anti-androgen like androcur to balance the estrogen and progesterone. And ask the doctor to check all your hormones, including minor ones and also your vitamin D levels and zinc. Very important for PCOS. If you are prone to depression, be careful with birth control because it can make it worse.

Quote
MemberMember
0
(@irma)

Posted : 08/10/2013 4:53 pm

About the body hair, Europeans do have more body hair, especially ones with Mediterranean background. So yes, part of it is hereditary and based on ethnicity and genetics unfortunately, I have the same problem. The only thing that temporarily slowed down the hair growth was saw palmetto, but not by much so it's not worth taking it just for that. If you can afford electrolysis with a good and clean aesthitician, then go for it.

oh yeah, i know...but it makes me feel so sad looking like a man..i will try birth control pills and i hope i will get better,thank you so much for your reply

If you decide to try birth control, also ask for an anti-androgen like androcur to balance the estrogen and progesterone. And ask the doctor to check all your hormones, including minor ones and also your vitamin D levels and zinc. Very important for PCOS. If you are prone to depression, be careful with birth control because it can make it worse.

it will work just for the time i will use it..right? then when i will stop everything will come back like it was before or even worse..id rather have it like it is now than have it worse, it will not work on me like every other thing i tried..the doctors i went to said that i do not have PCOS..i wish i had tho..id know the cause of all of that..

Quote
MemberMember
2481
(@wishclean)

Posted : 08/10/2013 7:46 pm

About the body hair, Europeans do have more body hair, especially ones with Mediterranean background. So yes, part of it is hereditary and based on ethnicity and genetics unfortunately, I have the same problem. The only thing that temporarily slowed down the hair growth was saw palmetto, but not by much so it's not worth taking it just for that. If you can afford electrolysis with a good and clean aesthitician, then go for it.

oh yeah, i know...but it makes me feel so sad looking like a man..i will try birth control pills and i hope i will get better,thank you so much for your reply

If you decide to try birth control, also ask for an anti-androgen like androcur to balance the estrogen and progesterone. And ask the doctor to check all your hormones, including minor ones and also your vitamin D levels and zinc. Very important for PCOS. If you are prone to depression, be careful with birth control because it can make it worse.

it will work just for the time i will use it..right? then when i will stop everything will come back like it was before or even worse..id rather have it like it is now than have it worse, it will not work on me like every other thing i tried..the doctors i went to said that i do not have PCOS..i wish i had tho..id know the cause of all of that..

Yes, for me it was the worst thing I did...it messed up my skin even more, and on top of that birth control gave me severe depression and anxiety. So, if you are prone to depression you will need to be careful. I also gained weight, especially around my middle, and could not lose it no matter how much I exercised and dieted. If you do not have PCOS and your hormones are fine, then check for vitamin deficiencies. You could be deficient in vitamin D, for instance, which is actually a pro-hormone, and D supplementation could be more effective than any hormonal treatment the doctors will give you. So, I would recommend getting tested for vitamin deficiencies and food intolerances (not allergies, because you could be sensitive to certain foods without being allergic).

Also, this is very important particularly for women who are already prone to facial hair. Try to limit your stress as much as possible. Elevated cortisol levels can cause more facial hair (google "fight or flight" and "hirsutism"), so that might be what is causing your hormonal imbalance. Doctors don't normally test for cortisol, so that might be another test to take in order to find the cause.

Quote
MemberMember
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(@irma)

Posted : 09/09/2013 6:55 pm

About the body hair, Europeans do have more body hair, especially ones with Mediterranean background. So yes, part of it is hereditary and based on ethnicity and genetics unfortunately, I have the same problem. The only thing that temporarily slowed down the hair growth was saw palmetto, but not by much so it's not worth taking it just for that. If you can afford electrolysis with a good and clean aesthitician, then go for it.

oh yeah, i know...but it makes me feel so sad looking like a man..i will try birth control pills and i hope i will get better,thank you so much for your reply

If you decide to try birth control, also ask for an anti-androgen like androcur to balance the estrogen and progesterone. And ask the doctor to check all your hormones, including minor ones and also your vitamin D levels and zinc. Very important for PCOS. If you are prone to depression, be careful with birth control because it can make it worse.

it will work just for the time i will use it..right? then when i will stop everything will come back like it was before or even worse..id rather have it like it is now than have it worse, it will not work on me like every other thing i tried..the doctors i went to said that i do not have PCOS..i wish i had tho..id know the cause of all of that..

Yes, for me it was the worst thing I did...it messed up my skin even more, and on top of that birth control gave me severe depression and anxiety. So, if you are prone to depression you will need to be careful. I also gained weight, especially around my middle, and could not lose it no matter how much I exercised and dieted. If you do not have PCOS and your hormones are fine, then check for vitamin deficiencies. You could be deficient in vitamin D, for instance, which is actually a pro-hormone, and D supplementation could be more effective than any hormonal treatment the doctors will give you. So, I would recommend getting tested for vitamin deficiencies and food intolerances (not allergies, because you could be sensitive to certain foods without being allergic).

Also, this is very important particularly for women who are already prone to facial hair. Try to limit your stress as much as possible. Elevated cortisol levels can cause more facial hair (google "fight or flight" and "hirsutism"), so that might be what is causing your hormonal imbalance. Doctors don't normally test for cortisol, so that might be another test to take in order to find the cause.

so there's nothing to do? try to limit my stress? thats is impossible :( i'm stressed everyday of my life..everyone in my family makes me feel like s*** every single day, my parents wont spend all of that money to find the cause of all of this..i'm not important :( i just want to give up, im tired..i want to be myself i'm tired of hiding myself...

thank you for you reply, it really means a lot

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MemberMember
2481
(@wishclean)

Posted : 09/09/2013 10:09 pm

About the body hair, Europeans do have more body hair, especially ones with Mediterranean background. So yes, part of it is hereditary and based on ethnicity and genetics unfortunately, I have the same problem. The only thing that temporarily slowed down the hair growth was saw palmetto, but not by much so it's not worth taking it just for that. If you can afford electrolysis with a good and clean aesthitician, then go for it.

oh yeah, i know...but it makes me feel so sad looking like a man..i will try birth control pills and i hope i will get better,thank you so much for your reply

If you decide to try birth control, also ask for an anti-androgen like androcur to balance the estrogen and progesterone. And ask the doctor to check all your hormones, including minor ones and also your vitamin D levels and zinc. Very important for PCOS. If you are prone to depression, be careful with birth control because it can make it worse.

it will work just for the time i will use it..right? then when i will stop everything will come back like it was before or even worse..id rather have it like it is now than have it worse, it will not work on me like every other thing i tried..the doctors i went to said that i do not have PCOS..i wish i had tho..id know the cause of all of that..

Yes, for me it was the worst thing I did...it messed up my skin even more, and on top of that birth control gave me severe depression and anxiety. So, if you are prone to depression you will need to be careful. I also gained weight, especially around my middle, and could not lose it no matter how much I exercised and dieted. If you do not have PCOS and your hormones are fine, then check for vitamin deficiencies. You could be deficient in vitamin D, for instance, which is actually a pro-hormone, and D supplementation could be more effective than any hormonal treatment the doctors will give you. So, I would recommend getting tested for vitamin deficiencies and food intolerances (not allergies, because you could be sensitive to certain foods without being allergic).

Also, this is very important particularly for women who are already prone to facial hair. Try to limit your stress as much as possible. Elevated cortisol levels can cause more facial hair (google "fight or flight" and "hirsutism"), so that might be what is causing your hormonal imbalance. Doctors don't normally test for cortisol, so that might be another test to take in order to find the cause.

so there's nothing to do? try to limit my stress? thats is impossible sad.png i'm stressed everyday of my life..everyone in my family makes me feel like s*** every single day, my parents wont spend all of that money to find the cause of all of this..i'm not important sad.png i just want to give up, im tired..i want to be myself i'm tired of hiding myself...

thank you for you reply, it really means a lot

Hi Irma,

I understand the difficulty of your situation. I also felt hopeless sometimes and ready to give up, but I beat severe acne many times in the past and I am trying to do it again without taking any medication, so it can be done you just need to be persistent and patient. Can you spend time doing things you like, like watching movies, going for a walk, or exercising? If you have hormonal issues, stress can make them worse. So you need to de-stress and relax, as difficult as it sounds. It takes a long time for your body to recover from stress, it could take a few months to see a difference but if you also have a healthy diet you will feel better. Since your parents can't help you with doctor's visits, why not listen to some of the advice people post on the Lifestyle forum on acne.org about helping your acne through natural treatments? Please don't give up, you are too young to feel hopeless. It will get better, you just have to be optimistic and start taking steps to improve not just your acne, but your outlook on life.

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(@eaziie)

Posted : 09/11/2013 5:30 pm

Hey Irma,it's kind of late reply but, I have a possible solution.

I have battled with really terrible acne before when i was about 14/15, it has cleared now.

I went to a beauty salon and had a glycolic acid peel, followed by some microdermabrasion facials (i now get like 2 of these a year), these were basically facials that removed/exfoliated the top layer of skin (which is also great for removing marks, and was painless), I reacted really well to it, there was hardly any redness or discomfort. Then i tried to use products from the dermalogica brand, but they're kind of pricey so after my first batch ran out I started using over the counter stuff, which has been doing fine in keeping the acne away now.

Also, the excessive body hairs, I started getting really thick hairs on my chest area and my stomach after i stopped taking hair growing supplements. I tried shaving but then it got worse and then I tried plucking and that gives me a lot of ingrown hairs. But recently I have been using a skin serum called Inhibitif and its supposed to reduce hair growth and thickness. I cannot swear by it just yet but so far I have already noticed that the hair on the areas that i apply has actually started to grow thinner. Some people notice results after like 3 weeks but I think it took more like 6 weeks for me to start seeing some improvements really, but it's a big bottle which cost £30/$60 but that's way better than the price for laser hair removal.

Hope this helps,

If you want to know more just let me know :)

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