Do any of you have any suggestions of meds or treatments for my increased facial hair? Have been using hair removal creams for years now, and am just tired of them. Hair appears back the very next day sometimes... Thank you all for your input.
I have Spiro for my 'hair'. I take 100 per morning, it takes a few months to show a difference, but now mine isn't so bad. Still, there though...........
Eva
__________________ Age 35, dh 30, married 8 years, one son 5 years old
DX pcos Jan 2001
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Hidradentis Suppurativa
(lumps)
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Loads of meds - too many to mention!!
"She is buffeted by the waves but she does not sink"
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Spiro seems to be the most popular, but have you considered trying to find out what is causing the hair problem? Taking Spiro will reduce the hair but won't solve the problem that's causing the hair in the first place. If you work on balancing your hormones it should help reduce all your PCOS symptoms, not just the hair (assuming that's not your only symptom).
Christa
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Quote:
"Everything is okay in the end. If it's not okay, then it's not the end." -Unknown
Also consider looking into electrolysis and laser hair removal (I've had both and they've helped a great deal).
And I agree with getting some hormone tests done, if you haven't already.
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Not everyone can tolerate Spiro. I had horrible horrible dizziness on it and had to stop. Probably the diuretic properties - I'm very sensitive to meds' effects.
If you can't take Spiro, hang in there! I'm on Yasmin now and seem to be doing fine, and it's totally my imagination that my hair is slowing after four days but positive thinking does wonders.
Wendy
__________________ PCOS since '98
IBS since '01
Tried Ortho-Tri, terrible terrible. Mircette saved my life. Then tried Yasmin which was OK but had some side effects.
Now I'm back on Kariva (generic Mircette) with a low dose of Spiro. Ten bucks a month and I'm in a deliciously good mood.
I took that quiz and I'm Curry Flavored, how cool is that?
I couldn't take Spiro either, I had the worst blinding migraines. I moved onto Saw Palmetto and it is working for me.
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Maureen 36, DH is 35
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Improvement in hirsuitism and androgenic alopecia is greatly improved. AN and cystic acne are gone!
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Spiro is a bcp, is it not? What is done for women who won't take bcps? I refuse to go on them, but have facial hair. I am still waiting for an appointment with the specialist. What other options should I be prepared for? And can you tell me more about the Saw Palmetto? Can it be used with meds?
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Hi Ajani,
No, Spiro isn't a birth control pill, in fact you should make sure you don't become pregnant while on it as it can affect the unborn fetus (espcially males) Spironolactone is the generic form of Aldactone (I take the latter) and ia an anti-androgen, which means it stops your body from producing male hormones (testsoterone) and therefore the excess facial and body hair lessens (in most women).
BTW some women have problems with the generic Spiro but not with Aldactone, and for some Spiro doesn't work but Aldactone does. I guess it's all a matter of finding what works for you.
I'm on 200 mg of Spiro every day, and that did seem to stop the spread of chin/jawline hair that was multiplying on me overnight. My skin also cleared up. I had some headaches at first, but they did go away after a few weeks. Once my cystic acne started to clear from it, I figured I'd tough it out for a month and have been glad that I did.
I also have used Vaniqa cream. I've been terrible forgetting to apply it the last few months as a new Mom to two infants. (I'm lucky if I get to wash my face each night, LOL!). But before that, I was seeing a good improvement with how fine and soft the hair was becoming. If you can get your insurance to cover it because it's NOT a cosmetic thing; it's a direct result of PCOS, I'd recommend trying it, too.
So I still can't take it, since I want to get pregnant. Thanks for the heads up. Still wondering about Saw Palmetto, and if it can be taken with meds...
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I'm glad that everything went well with your pregnancy and that you had a lovely and healthy little boy, but I still think it's better to stop any drug if there is even a minute chance that it can harm your baby. I'm the sort of person who didn't even drink coffee or cola while pregnant because of the speculation of links between caffeine and birth defects (this was 15 years ago, I think it's since been debunked?). I figured that it took me 3 years of treatments to finally become pregnant and I would do my best to ensure everything went well. And I don't begrudge doing it.
As for Aldactone/Spironolactone, it stops production of testosterone, so there are valid reasons that it might affect an unborn male fetus. It's like smoking, if you smoke it's not certain that your baby will be born with heart and lung problems or low birth weight, but more likely. So why risk it?
meds for facial hair 
