This is my first-ever post. (Diagnosed PCOS about 10 years ago but most of my treatment has been to ignore it.)
I have to shave 2x a day-- facial hair is a nightmare for me. Black hair, fair skin.
Q: Anyone have good laser treatment in the D.C. area? I'm living here temporarily and at my wit's end.
Welcome Slowrunner
I know someone fitting your skintone/hair color who got their's done at Alase with good results. I don't remember where their office(s) is/are located, but I do know it's within the beltway. Their number is 1-877-55-alase. I just hope they are still in business (this was a few years ago)!
Dana
__________________ Me (33)/Michael (3o) Together for almost nine long, happy years!
First PCOS dx: 1989 Supplements: One A Day Weight Smart, B Complex, Biotin, Pantothenic Acid (B5), B12, Saw Palmetto, Vit C, Vit D3, NAC, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Chromium Piconolate, Cinnamon, Magnesium, EPO, Zinc Gluconate, Green Tea Diet: "Modified" Zone plan
"You don't love a woman because she is beautiful, but she is beautiful because you love her" -Anon.
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Abumpygal: Is it ok to take those supplements in combo w/ Metformin & Clomid?
I'd ask your doctor(s) to make sure Carrie, especially since you're TTC. I've gotten most of my info on NAC and other PCOS supplements from "Mary's PCOS Treatment FAQ": http://members.aol.com/marykateroget/#NAC
NAC does increase your body's sensitivity to insulin, so I'd think that would at the very least mess with your Met dose.
Dana
__________________ Me (33)/Michael (3o) Together for almost nine long, happy years!
First PCOS dx: 1989 Supplements: One A Day Weight Smart, B Complex, Biotin, Pantothenic Acid (B5), B12, Saw Palmetto, Vit C, Vit D3, NAC, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Chromium Piconolate, Cinnamon, Magnesium, EPO, Zinc Gluconate, Green Tea Diet: "Modified" Zone plan
"You don't love a woman because she is beautiful, but she is beautiful because you love her" -Anon.
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I used to have to that; but I was able to save up and go for electroloysis; I highly reccommend it; since it is permanent if you have a good tech. doing it who really knows how to destroy the follicle. I think laser isn't as effective and in the end who wants to keep paying for laser? If you can afford to save up and get elecroloysis; it permanently destroys the follicle so it doesn't come back (according to my doctor anyways...) but.... I was wonderin - has anyone had electroloyis and have the hair grow back? just wonderin....... cuase I haven't had any problems...... so far.... but i am still on my meds and everything and my diet is pretty strict....
__________________ Erin
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so weird, I as well get those two patches on the sides of my chin, and kinda up the sides of my mouth. Its all blonde *knock on wood* but very course, so I shave once or twice a day. I take saw palmetto extract and havent seen a diffence, maybe I will try the berries..Dana is NAC really good for excess hair?
I want to know what is up with those two patches! Both my sister, mom, and PCOS best friend (in other words, all the women I know who have hair issues and I know them intimately enough to have seen them hairy) have it there in varying amounts. Mine started out as a few pluckable hairs and then *wham* goatee
Mine's blonde too... well, blondish-red. Coarse though, like you said. I'm thankful, oh so thankful for it being light colored. Poor SIL is half Italian and has black hair with pale skin. You can see her hair before it's even grown above the skin... poor girl.
I've never tried the oil, just the berries. I'm doing GNC brand right now and they just don't seem to work as well as the Target generic 'Origins' brand, ironically. I take a pretty high dose though (1080mg 2x daily. Recommended dose on the bottle is 540mg daily. Shyeahright!!). The Saw Palmetto helped, but I was more impressed with its ability to sop up my oily facial skin and help my PMS breakouts than the hair effects, to be honest. It did fill in an inch square bald spot on my hairline that I'd had for a while thanks to traction alopecia and make my head hair grow like nobody's business, so I guess I should be thankful for that! I thought I'd have that bald spot forever. All these hair effects didn't really kick in until the third month of consistant usage though.
Now when I added the NAC was when the miracles happened. Seriously. Saw Palmetto allowed me to make it to shaving once a day, every other if I was lucky and didn't mind a bit of stubble. With NAC I now shave every THIRD day. And this is with an electric shaver. Yes I have stubble by then, but it isn't really visible or anything. I just prefer a smooth feel, myself. That was within one week of taking the stuff! Now I'm taking 1800mg (my goal dose) and as I said, that bald patch is growing and it seems as if the hair might actually be becoming finer. I'm hoping that's not my imagination! I'll know more in a few days or so... improvement is that quick with this stuff.
I'm not having to pluck my eyebrows nearly as often to maintain them either. Plus my leg hair seems to have stopped growing, even though I know it can get much longer than this (bad me hasn't shaved in a couple of weeks).
That's just the hair effects. This stuff seems to be helping my PCOS as well. I actually ovulated last month Yes I'm on BCP, but I ovulate on them more than I do off. It's good, in a way, that I ovulated as that means the PCOS is getting better, but not only am I not TTC but I CANNOT GET PREGNANT ON THE MEDS I'M TAKING! So it's celibacy for us until we can figure out what to do that's foolproof. I'm also losing tons of water weight, which is good as at least one of my meds has given me a little edema problem. I actually get hungry like a human being (I have problems with that). It's easier to stick to my diet and eat the many tiny portions a day I'm supposed to eat. No carb cravings! Not even during PMS or AF!! NAC just rocks! It even cured my two month long bout of bronchitis and my partner's month long bout of the same (it's used medically as a mucus thinner). My lungs no longer rattle or wheeze! It's amazing really. Next to chromium this has made the biggest difference in my life. I just feel SOOO much better when my blood sugar isn't swinging hither and yon.
I buy mine at GNC, but online is probably cheaper. Plus GNC was out when my partner tried to pick me up some last week. The thought of going without this stuff scares me now!
Learn more about NAC and other goodies at "Mary's PCOS Treatment FAQ": http://members.aol.com/marykateroget/#NAC
I cannot recommend this document enough! Whoever Mary is, I owe her tons!!
Didn't mean to ramble at ya like that... but I can't impress upon you just how amazingly this stuff has affected my facial hair growth. It doesn't seem to have impacted the growth of hair on my head either, which is still going like gangbusters thanks to the Saw Palmetto.
If you give this stuff a try, I hope it works as well for you as it has for me. I know how happy that would make you ((((hugs))))
Dana
__________________ Me (33)/Michael (3o) Together for almost nine long, happy years!
First PCOS dx: 1989 Supplements: One A Day Weight Smart, B Complex, Biotin, Pantothenic Acid (B5), B12, Saw Palmetto, Vit C, Vit D3, NAC, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Chromium Piconolate, Cinnamon, Magnesium, EPO, Zinc Gluconate, Green Tea Diet: "Modified" Zone plan
"You don't love a woman because she is beautiful, but she is beautiful because you love her" -Anon.
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the hair on my face is terrible!! I hate it! Arthur is setting in to my hands and I can tweeze like I use to, so I shave and the hiar is very noticable! I HATE IT!!! *xoxoxo*
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Carey(31) To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Paul(43)
Married 7-25-02
PCOS Diagnosed Nov 02'
Bi Polar Diagnosed Feb 08'
Current meds~ Lithium&Celexa
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::Hugs:: to you sweetheart! I know exactly how you feel. I have struggled with the excess body and facial hair for a long time now..and it has dampened my self esteem greatly. I have been trying to accept it and not let it bother me, but it has been hard. I wax and sometimes use Sally Hansons Facial depilatory..and I think that has helped. Also, you may want to trim some of the hairs..if they are soft and they are long.....that way they dont grow back, and they look a lot less noticeable. You are not alone sweetheart....::Hugs::
__________________ Your friend and cyster,
~*Katrina*~
Pre-medical Student/Medic
22 Years old
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To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. DOING THE BIGGEST LOSER WEDNESDAY!
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Girls- we are cysters by chance but friends by choice. I love you girls so much. You give me strength,courage, guidance, support, and friendship
Hello!
I got the last of five lighsheer lazer treatments on my face in March because I used to have to shave my chin, neck, and sideburns every day, I still shave my sideburns now because I'm paranoid but they are thin and I think that what I have is normal for a woman because I see thin sideburns on most other women I run into. As for the thick hair I had on my chin I only have to pluck two or three thick ones out once a month now. The lazer wasn't the perfect solution to my problems, but combine with the birth control pills, spironolactone, and a low carb diet it helped to improve my appearance by 90%. I wish I could get lazer on my happy trail and bikini area too but it's pretty expensive and now the hairs there are quite a bit thinner than they were before I started taking the meds. I guess I just have to be more patient and just wait for them to stop growing in on their own. Anyway, hang in there girls. The more you fight against your PCOS with your diet, meds, and whatever else the better things will be in the future.
I know how everyone feels. I have to shave 2 times a day in the morning and at night time. It is really disgusting exspecially if people notice it. So I don't wear my hair up so nobody can see my face.
When I shave I use the schick quattro for a nice close shave. Been shaving for 28 years now, long story so I won't repeat it as I have written it in other shaving threads, but I am comfortable with my excess hair and only shave if I am going to see my parents/family and when I have hospital appts.. God knows what will happen when I get back in the workforce, cant see them liking my beard or goatee but I will cross that bridge when it happens. You are not alone with the shaving problem, and the majority of us on here have to do something about it.
__________________ -------------------------------------------
45(feels like 99 some days)
Dx - pcos 1982
Dx - diabetes 2 1999,
Tx - metformin slow release 2000mg. Insulin 5 times a day
Loads of other medications.
------------------------------- What is a friend?A single soul dwelling in two bodies.
Aristotle...
Get laser hair removal or electrolysis. Both worked wonders for me. Granted, I still have to shave every few days but I have at least a lot less hair than I used to.
__________________ Kati (29)
DH Vince (27)
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Never TTC -- Straight to Adoption
DD Yuna
Born in the USA 10-01-06 -- Finalized 4-12-07
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i finally went to the salon today. I had my appointment moved because i just couldn't take it anymore! when she was done waxing my face i felt so horrible..it felt as if someone just sat there and slapped my face a million times over...but i'm so so so glad it's over. I wish it would last forever. I still have a little bit of stubble..but it isn't noticable, which is wonderful. I just hope it lasts until after my vacation. I really dont' want to have to worry about shaving!
Me too.... I pluck away every day at my chin and two patches either side of my mouth, and the random hairs on my cheeks and chest -- and four dark little buggers on my upper back (?!!).
4 Years ago I did a weekly electrolysis for about 4 months with a salon called Lucy Peters in New York. I think they have branches around the country though. I would highly recommend them. It really worked for me. It's traditional electrolysis, but they claim they have a special technology with their needles that send more of the shock directly to the follicle root, and less to the surrounding skin. At the time I had a lot of hair on my neck, upper lip and sideburns. I was able to go for about 2 years after that with nothing more than the occasional bleach.
Now though my chin hairs are out of control and some of it has come back on my upper lip and sideburns -- but the areas that were treated have a lot less then they did before.
__________________ me (robyn): 32, DH (carlos):42
dx 2003
ttc:2002
Yeah! Finally have good health insurance. Starting with a new doctor in my new country in January! Praying for a BFP in 2006!
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Well, my electrolysis was only $50 an hour. Granted, that's quite a bit, but I started with a FULL BEARD of hair -- I literally had more area on my face covered by hair than my husband's beard covers. I did about 30 hours of it and it is probably 90% gone. I've also had some laser which was more expensive but does also work. I had to save up for quite a while to afford mine but I did. And I had the electrolysis at a time when I was making about $650 a month. That meant NOTHING extra or fun for MONTHS, but it was SO worth it -- I would totally do it again.
I would think almost everyone could find a few dollars here and there to shave off their budget -- if it's to go toward something they really want.
__________________ Kati (29)
DH Vince (27)
Married 1-29-05 To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Never TTC -- Straight to Adoption
DD Yuna
Born in the USA 10-01-06 -- Finalized 4-12-07
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Still hoping and praying to adopt #2 someday... To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
just wonderin....... cuase I haven't had any problems...... so far.... but i am still on my meds and everything and my diet is pretty strict.... 
Yes I'm on BCP, but I ovulate on them more than I do off. It's good, in a way, that I ovulated as that means the PCOS is getting better, but not only am I not TTC but I CANNOT GET PREGNANT ON THE MEDS I'M TAKING! So it's celibacy for us until we can figure out what to do that's foolproof. I'm also losing tons of water weight, which is good as at least one of my meds has given me a little edema problem. I actually get hungry like a human being (I have problems with that). It's easier to stick to my diet and eat the many tiny portions a day I'm supposed to eat. No carb cravings! Not even during PMS or AF!! NAC just rocks! It even cured my two month long bout of bronchitis and my partner's month long bout of the same (it's used medically as a mucus thinner). My lungs no longer rattle or wheeze! It's amazing really. Next to chromium this has made the biggest difference in my life. I just feel SOOO much better when my blood sugar isn't swinging hither and yon.
