Hi Beth
Thanks so much for your post. I do have an ovarian cyst but no doctor has ever referred to it as PCOS or suggested any solution to the facial hair, head hair loss and acne. Also my abdomen seems distended. My hormones have been tested and are supposedly ok. I do take Synthroid for my thyroid. When you had the hysterectomy were your ovaries removed? (I may be having that same surgery down the road with ovaries removed). Were you put on Spironolactone for blood pressure or hair growth etc.? I would appreciate hearing back from you.
Ainsleigh

Getting to my PCOS diagnosis was a long hard journey. I knew that I was having issues but getting to the right diagnosis took a while. At my PCOS support group, that was one of the biggest issues. So many women are not diagnosed for a very long time (if at all) and after many visits to the doctor and usually multiple doctors. I only had one ovary removed which I felt was causing me the most pain (there was much debate on that but I insisted). When the surgeon told me that I would still have PCOS even though I was having a hysterectomy, he specifically told me that would be the case if even both ovaries were removed. I left the one ovary because I was still on the young side and have not gone through menopause yet. The journey to Spironolactone was not very direct either. All my life I have had really good on the low side blood pressure. Then I was in a research study for those of use considered insulin resistant (which seems to be a part of PCOS too). I was chosen to be one of those that rode a stationary bike 5x/week while having my heart rate monitored and kept at a specific level. I was to do this for 12 weeks. At the end of the study, I had gained over 10 pounds and I now had high blood pressure for the first time in my life (with the exception of my difficult pregnancy). After a year of voicing my concerns to my physician they finally put me on blood pressure medicine and it took me several options before I settled on one that I could tolerate the side effects. Then one day (about 2 years ago) I was reading an article about PCOS and recent research and learned that Spironolactone, which is a blood pressure medicine, can be used to help with the hirsutism. I talked with my newest Primary Care Physician about switching and she felt it was a good idea, so I switched. I wish my other physician would have picked this first instead of having me try all those other one. It would have saved me a lot of time, trouble, and money. There are some side effects as most medication do but so far nothing that has affected me. I notice I have less chin hairs to pluck. My slight mustache is much slower to grow in. The look of a side burn growing in has gone away. I have also found that my hair on my head is starting to grow back in and get less thin. I doubt it will ever be as full as it was when I was in my 20s or when I was pregnant. I have never been able to grow my hair very long either and I now have hair down to the middle of my back.

When I look back, I was having issues as a teenager. I was not given a PCOS diagnosis until I was 36. At 39, I was put on metformin which is used for those of us with PCOS. I was not put on Spironolactone until I was 54.

Another thought too with the excessive facial hair, have you ever tried getting waxed? There is also an option now days called threading. My daughter likes the threading to manage her thick eyebrows. They do have options to do the whole face. I did try waxing above my upper lip for a while and that was a good option. Both are way cheaper than electrolysis.

Unlike other diuretics, Spironolactone is potassium-sparing. It does not get rid of potassium. It can actually cause potassium to build up in your blood. Please have your doctor check your potassium levels. Too much potassium can cause problems with your heart, such as a very slow heart beat, a thready pulse and weakness. Also, make sure the lab draws two tubes. The first one is a throw-away after the tourniquet is removed. The second one will be sent for analysis. If the lab draw is not done accurately, you could get a false-positive since potassium can leak into the blood because of the tourniquet. Good Luck!