meliann

I've been overweight since I was about 6 - but when I turned 13, it was like my body went crazy. I started gaining a lot of weight, very fast. I also started noticing more facial hair. I'd had the peach fuzz over my lip for awhile, I can remember in 5th and 6th grade asking my mom why I had it. But when I turned 13, hair started growing on the sides of my face, my chin and down my neck. It seemed like it happened overnight too. My mom noticed it and took me to my regular doctor, who referred me to an endocrynologist (sp?). That doctor was horrible - she was convinced that my weight was due to me eating too much, and several times told my mom that I had to be lying about how much I ate (I wasn't). She made no attempt to hide that she was disgusted by my weight, and pretty much made me feel like I was a disgusting person.

She put me through several blood tests, a couple of 24 hour urine collections, and that was about it. No official diagnosis was ever made, but she did put me on BC pills, which never helped. I eventually refused to go back and my mom didn't fight me.

When I was 20, my mom was going to an endo for another reason, and I started seeing him as well. He at least took me seriously about the weight issue. He agreed with me that going by how much I ate, I shouldn't have a weight problem. He did many blood tests, 24 hour urine collections, and had me go in for an ultrasound and another test that I don't remember what it was (I had to drink some awful stuff, and then was on a table that slid into a machine). Again, nothing conclusive. I was always borderline on all results, so he never offically diagnosed me. He did put me on spiro, which I eventually stopped taking because it wasn't helping and I was getting a period every 2 weeks while on it. He also prescribed vaniqua, which did seem to help a little, but not enough to justify the cost and what it was doing to my skin. At my last appt with him I asked what was causing me to be so hairy, and his response was, some people are just harrier than others. It was then that I realized I was pretty much wasting my time, he had exhausted all tests and that was the best he could come up with. So I stopped going.

I recently went to my GP doctor for a physical, and asked her about the facial hair then. She gave me an Rx for Vaniqua, which I haven't filled yet and I'm not sure that I will. Her suggestion was that I look into laser hair removal, which I'm leaning towards, but I was so frustrated that she wasn't willing to do any tests.

So, that's where I am. I've been dealing with the facial hair for 17 years now. I have my moments of why me? Why do I have to deal with this? Sometimes the thought of having to deal with it for the rest of my life is very upsetting. For years I removed the hair by getting waxed at a salon. Way too much $, and it was starting to damage my skin. So now I shave every day or every other day, and let it grow out and wax it myself every couple of months. I feel like my life revolves around it - I plan social activities around whether or not I'll have waxed around that time. I'm tired of it, and I'm really hoping that laser removal works for me.

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