If laser hair removal is available on NHS for transgender, it should also be available for women?

[Sowhatifisaycunt]

I have a problem with facial hair and have had for years. For a long time I tweezed but this became untenable as the volume of hair increased. I now shave my face every morning and on those rare occasions when I go somewhere in the evenings, I need to shave again.

Obviously, DH is aware of my problem but such is my embarrassment it is a completely taboo topic. My professional and social life is also affected as I’m always cautious when talking to others in case they notice breakthrough hairs, pitting from years of tweezing and shaving, or a general 5 o’clock shadow. I fucking hate it!

I tried electrolysis years ago to no avail. I asked a gp about laser treatment about 10 years ago but was told it wasn’t available (Wales). She did prescribe vaniqua cream but my skin became so dry and sore I stopped using it.

A couple of years ago I bought a groupon voucher for laser hair removal but I couldn’t afford to continue the sessions after those covered by the groupon ran out. I simply can’t afford laser treatment.

However, I understand that M2F transgender folk are able to get NHS laser treatment. Is this actually true? If it is it is mightily unfair that a biological male gets access to a treatment to feminise them that isn’t available for women.

I don’t know what I want from this thread. On one hand it feels like a dirty confession but if anyone has any knowledge or experiences that may help I’d be very grateful.

Sorry it was so long. I am a long time lurker and occasional poster and I namechanged for this.

It's available up here but only via Fertility clinic and only above a certain grade of hair (I have a full chin/neck/cheeks of dark thick hair) and I passed.

I shave and wax, destroying the hair root is best way to go from what I've heard so far.

I'm currently a year into having a gastric sleeve and it's helped the pcos but zilch for the hairy bits - I have been told that if I want skin removal then I need to document two years worth of skin infection at GP with photos and diagnosis from dermatology (already done as have Intertrigo for 5+yrs) but also know that TG men will get a full body work up within a year once they sign documents.

I won't use the skin removal as I know gym and bands will help me but I will use the derm clinic for facial hair.

@susurration if you can bare to let it grow through for a couple of days, I found waxing has aided it greatly. You have to be more vigilant every 2 weeks when they suddenly sprout back but it does save so much hassle in the inbetween.

@gryffen I think you need to contact your local health authority as my friend had her tummy tuck on the NHS about 2yrs ago. She'd lost 8 stone at slimming world. Had the surgery about 6 months later. (Then put all the weight back on )

YANBU

Sowhatifisaycunt www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/int-gend-proto.pdf

Hi Romeo

I'm still under surgeon care and our area are incredibly tight regarding their criteria for weight management surgery and any cosmetic surgery after that which is deemed needed (loose skin unless infected and monitored/controlled for 2yrs is not meeting criteria)

I'm in Scotland though so rules are different up here - good thing is I'm 65kg down since April!

Electrolysis didn't get rid of the hair on my lip or stomach. Thinned it for a couple of years but it all grew back. And it hurts.

bluelonerose

I definitely think there's something wrong with me hair wise and not pcso (No smyptoms other than excess hair) coz if I shave my legs at 8am by 3pm they're bristly

Me too, but make that midday. It's insane. It's why I (half) joke that I should have been born a man. I'm sure it's not normal for a woman (no offense to anyone).

i have chin hair that sprouted when i turned 40 5 years ago.

I have it waxed every 4 weeks PITA.

There is an MNer who has lost 20 stone. NHS wont remove her loose skin despite the fact she keeps getting infections in the folds. Shes been told that she must lose another 3 stone to get within the BMI range.......................but the loose skin weighs 3 stone....................

i found a very similar case in the press of a bloke going through the same.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-37409500

OP I have PCOS and symptoms too. Laser doesn't work I went private and the doctor advised of it's hormonal and the underlying issue persists it will come back. I know someone who went ahead anyway spent thousands and it grew back. I guess the difference with transition is they undergo hormone therapy so it gets rid of what is there and then won't grow back. I genuinely understand your pain because I experience exactly the same thing

Have you tried Inositol? It has completely cleared my PCOS-related acne and softened other symptoms. I don’t have hirsutism, but I believe it helps that as well.

This might seem a silly question but if they can treat men with hormone therapy why can't they do the same with women suffering from pcos?
My sister has it and she's received no treatment really, just a case of off you go and get on with it!
I just don't think enough research is done in order to treat women with these kinds of conditions.

The standard advice is to control your insulin with a low carb diet. Pcos is a hormonal condition and leads to insulin resistance; if you can control your weight through a low carb (ideally low sugar or Sugar free) diet, then that will have the knock on effect of reducing the other hormonal imbalances.

I’ve been sugar free/low carb since January, I’ve lost nearly 2 stone but I’ve reduced my erratic periods which are now regular, and I am starting to notice a small reduction in my facial hair in combination with Philips Lumea too. It’s a slow process but controlling it through diet appealed to me far more than with additional hormones. I need to be fully diagnosed again due to a mistake in my notes so it will be interesting to see if the changes I’ve made have actually made any difference to the hormone levels and cysts.

The standard advice is to control your insulin with a low carb diet. Pcos is a hormonal condition and leads to insulin resistance; if you can control your weight through a low carb (ideally low sugar or Sugar free) diet, then that will have the knock on effect of reducing the other hormonal imbalances

Yes and no

I'm lean PCOS and whilst eating low GL is recommended by my consultant gynaecologist, I'm underweight as it is so have to be careful about losing any weight

Classic PCOS is much more likely to respond to diet and weight loss

Lean PCOS is (so my gynaecologist says) more difficult - I've eaten low GL and been on inositol and metformin which made absolutely no difference to my acne or menstrual cycles (or lack thereof)

My consultant dermatologist says that whilst diet does help skin, when it comes to lean PCOS that metformin and inositol have limited effect on hormonal acne - and really you either need an anti androgen (pill or spirolactonone) or acne treatments

Banana that’s interesting. I didn’t know there were 2 types, I suppose because I’ve never needed any further treatment (such as fertility or dermatologist). Everyone I know who has pcos has basically been sent away with instructions to control their weight, but very poor guidance about how to do this. And not even mentioning the fact that it’s incredibly hard to do so when you’re insulin resistant. It’s a Vicious circle.

It just shows more contempt and an underlying misogyny towards women.

Thenewaveragebear When I was diagnosed I was pretty surprised too! The consultant said to me 'I know lots of people think that they can't have PCOS because they're not overweight and hairy, but lean PCOS is much more common than many people realise'. Even my GP said they hadn't heard of someone being underweight and having PCOS!

My gynae said lots more lean PCOS women ended up at the IVF stage, because they can't regulate their cycles by losing weight, and lean PCOS women are much more likely to respond poorly to ovulation induction (often all or nothing - more likely to be either Clomid resistant, or to over respond). Classic PCOS is much more likely to respond to diet changes, weight loss and insulin sensitisers like metformin and inositol - and women with classic PCOS are much more likely to respond well to simple ovulation induction

My fertility issues were / are much more severe than the PCOS (that actually helped once it came to IVF, because I was such a high responder and made lots of good embryos), but now we've finished treatment, there isn't much I can do for my cycles (metformin had bugger all impact, I still don't ovulate so only get a period every few months). It was also difficult to maintain my weight, because metformin can help with weight loss -which when you're low BMI is pretty much exactly what you want to avoid! Dermatologist said as it was unlikely to make any difference to my acne, she didn't see any benefit to staying on it either.

If it's available to men then it should be available to women, it doesn't matter what gender you call yourself.
I too suffer and before I go to work have to pluck for about 30 mins, I too can't afford expensive treatments, nor even to buy the gadgets when they are on sale.

I cba to get embroiled in another transgender debate but FFS op, stop shaving your face.

Wax or veet but shaving is the worst you can do.

The problem with waxing though is that you need a certain length of hair to be able to do it. If I left my very dark hair to grow to even 1mm long to wax it, I would actually have a visible shadow of hair across my whole face.

Veet only removes hair from the surface, not the root, so is basically shaving, so I’d have to do it every day. Expensive, time consuming, chemically. Shaving is, for many pcos sufferers, the only way to keep on top of the hair. Yes it may grow back coarse, but I can do it several times a day if I need to.

I'm told by friends that this Spring hair removal tool is bizarre but effective for facial hair

Agree that Veet is hopeless. It still grows back very quickly.

Laser for pcos sufferers is available on the NHS in my area but you have to have at least a normal BMI to qualify - as hair growth can get worse with obesity.