Please, please help me - Hirsutism

[Hairyhelpme]

Name changed and posting here for traffic - sorry.

I'm 29 but have suffered with excessive hair growth for as long as I can remember. I have to shave my face every morning (and by the evening it's already stubbly), my chest and nipple area, belly, lower back is all hairy. Dark noticeable hairs. I'm actually so low about how my body looks and having to shave my face daily resulting in spots and the occasional cut. I have nightmares about having an accident which leaves me in a coma because I wouldn't be able to shave and my chin / face would become visibly hairy.

Does anyone else have excessive hair growth or Hirsutism and can advise me on what you've done? Is there anything a doctor would do? Can I be prescribed (even if it costs me) a hormone treatment that a transgender man would perhaps take to reduce the make hormone? I am literally desperate and the thought of shaving my face every day for the rest of my life makes me want to sob.

Sorry this is so long and thank you if you've read it all. I've never wrote it all out before and even though I've name changed and this is anonymous, I still feel a sting of embarrassment writing it. Please don't judge me. I'm disgusting and I know so. The mirror reminds me of that daily :(

I was just thinking this morning my Lumea has changed my life so much. This time last year I was in an awful state and very reclusive ........now I can wear my hair up.

Laser will sort it out.

You look pale and you said your hairs are dark, you are the best candidate for laser. Not IPL, proper laser treatment.

I have the lumea, it's ok, certainly wasn't life changing for me. Yes it slowed down hair growth in places, but it's slow and annoying to keep up with. It's just not powerful enough for me, it's using a battery so it isn't going to be that powerful, I zap and zap and the hair still grows back.

LAZER is life changing it's bloody powerful, it stings a bit, but it kills the follicle forever. Yes it's expensive, but I saved for it. Got both my legs done and cost about £200 a session and took 4 or 5 sessions. Hairless now and saving up for other areas.

Oh OP I feel for you. This has been my life too and it's awful how much it controls what you allow yourself to do. It's impacted on every aspect of my life since my teens. I lived in Australia for 6 years, I love the sun/adore swimming but not once did I allow myself to wear a bikini/swim suit. Such a waste!

In my case I've never found a reason why. I've been to GPs about it numerous times in the last 15 years or so but nothing's helped. They checked for PCOS but I don't have it apparently so that was that. I went on dianette, noticed a slight difference but it doesn't cause the hair to go away as such and I gained a lot of weight so it wasn't worth it for me.

I had laser done which actually made my face worse 🙈 I possibly should have kept going with the treatments but I was too scared that it would get increasingly worse and I didn't want to continue spending a fortune for the pleasure!

Since having my DC I've somewhat accepted it and it doesn't cause me quite the same level of intense shame it used to, but that's probably because I'm at home most of the time, not focused on my appearance and have no real life at the minute. I've heard of the philips thingy on here so will probably give it a go as I've nothing else to lose I suppose - besides the hundreds of pounds it costs

I know this sounds like a small thing but I was an ITU nurse and can I just reassure you I used to shave or tweezer my lady patients faces if it was clear they did, you can tell after a day or two. I also used to shave legs and armpits if it was clear they did. I did this as a not very vain 24 year old and upwards until I left as I realised I would be mortified if I woke up with hairy legs (and yes people do get upset about such things as the big thing of being critically ill is too big to contemplate) I was not alone in doing this.

You have no idea how cross I get when I watch soaps and a man is in ITU and the show them growing a beard whilst in as this never happened, and a man with a beard would have it trimmed.

when you make an appointment with the GP, if you're with a large practice, read all of the bios and make an appointment with the GP that has womens' health as a specialism.
May be a longer wait, but you're more likely to have soemone with more empathy towards the issues that you're having.

Absolutely there is! You do need to be checked to see if there is a medical cause, ie adrenal/pituitary issues or PCOS. The good news is that unlike me, you are not blonde and tan-skinned. You are a good candidate for laser treatment. The medication you are asking about is called Spironolactone. It is a weak diuretic which also has an anti-androgenic effect: it has medical side effects, so you can’t take it if you have kidney problems, low blood pressure, etc.... It is also a steroid. The anti-androgenic affect is what may help with hirstuitism, but it can’t target specific types of hair - meaning that it will potentially thin the hair on your head as well. Not ideal. It can be used as a treatment for PCOS, but obviously pregnancy is something to be seriously avoided while taking this medication due to effects on foetus. (However, if you have acne, oily skin, etc it might be what you are looking for.)

I'd mention it to your GP.

Hair growth is influenced by various things. With me, low ferritin (iron stores) caused massive hair loss. It grew back later, well, mostly, not quite a thick as it had been before.

Having too much or too little hair can be very distressing, and I think a good GP would want to find the cause and try to help.

I think too much hair / hair loss is quite common and the GP will have had patients with it before, possibly loads of times.

If you can afford it OP I’d opt for professional laser treatment for all your problem areas. Once it’s dealt with I’d buy the philips Lumea and maintain it. I really feel for you. So much hair to deal with xx

Can totally sympathise. I have PCOS and endo. If I were you, I would go straight for laser with a reputable clinic... not a beauty salon. I've had laser and the results were life changing. My chin is now clear and after only 2 sessions on my underarms, I haven't had to shave once! IPL is definitely not as effective. If you do see the GP, you could see if your area allows a certain number of laser treatments on the NHS. If not, I think certain clinics offer a discount if you have something like PCOS and it's confirmed by a Dr.

OP, if you are fair-skinned, laser would be the best option. Failing that, buy a small facial waxing machine and watch some You Tube videos on how to use it. Cheap and easy.

Just another PCOS woman here whole heartedly recommending the Philips Lumea. It’s a bit of an investment but the best purchase I’ve ever made, life changing!
I’m currently 17 weeks pregnant and tearing my hair out (hah!) because it’s not recommended for use when pregnant.

Hang in there, you’re not alone

I had a colleague who was transgender ( male to female). She had laser treatment which sorted out about 90 percent of facial.

OP, this warrants further investigation. As has been suggested, see your GP. You would benefit from some blood tests to check underlying hormone imbalance.

Vaniqa (Eflornithine) cream is considered effective, especially for facial hair. Many NHS areas don't allow it to prescribed however, so you may need to look into private means/online etc.

Good luck!

I too am very hairy. Never shaved as scared of stubble, and spent years waxing / plucking. Bought a cheap epilator about 10 years ago and it's honestly changed my life. Can now do half an hours worth of plucking in a minute or two, and noticing that regrowth is greatly reduced - so no longer a daily task but once or twice a week.

Glad you got some good advice here OP, I feel for you.

To the Philips Lumea recommenders is there a particular kind you recommend as there seem to be a few models?

You’re not alone. I’ve dealt with excessive hair all over my body all my life. I’ve just started using Vaniqa and I have to say it has changed my life already, it’s been 4 weeks. Thick black hairs on my neck and sides of my face are already half the strength. Please don’t get IPL - this made my facial hair so much worse. But Vaniqa works. Don’t beat yourself up. This is already tough to deal with. Take good care of yourself.