I've just got back from the hospital where I had a scan which revealed I have PCOS. I am due to go for blood tests next week - apparently I should have had these first, but my GP had put me in for a scan thinking it would take ages, so in a way I suppose I'm lucky that I got a quick appointment. The nurse who did the scan said that while she couldn't make a diagnosis, the scan indicated there was zero chance I don't have PCOS. So maybe I am jumping the gun without a firm diagnosis, but she was pretty clear that it was PCOS and as I have some of the symptoms, I'm not surprised.
Actually, I am slightly surprised, and very angry. I went on the pill (Microgynon) at 16 or so for horrendous periods; contraception was a convenient extra. I posted on another thread about being scared that my periods would go back to being horrendous when I came off the pill a few weeks ago - so far, they're not too bad. However I've had a couple of the other visible, embarrassing PCOS symptoms, such as hirsutism, ever since puberty. I have mentioned these to various GPs over the years, usually at the same time as going for my pill prescription, and not once did anyone ever suggest it might be worth testing for PCOS, even when I hesitantly asked if it might be that, or that there was any treatment for the symptoms - I was basically expected to just deal with stuff myself. Which I have done - every single day of my life, because that's the kind of upkeep needed. I have the horrors about ever being in a situation where I can't nip to the bathroom first thing in the morning and tweeze my chin and upper lip. So I sat in the carpark and did a rough calculation of how much of my life I have spent doing nothing but dealing with hair - so far, a mere 2600 hours, give or take. This is what I'm so angry about - there is treatment for hirsutism available. Sure, it might not have worked - but if it had, I might have spent a couple of months less of my life on hair removal. Plus I've had some awful ingrown chin hairs, resulting in hideous spots. I've spent a considerable amount on things like laser treatment, to no avail. I used to get teased at school for my upper lip hair, before I started removing it. So it's not just the time; it's the cost, the hassle, the inconvenience, and the embarrassment.
This is turning into a bit of an epic rant... Of course I am concerned about the other implications of PCOS. The reason I had the scan is that I told my new GP a couple of months ago that I was considering coming off the pill to start ttc, and wondered if it might be worth revisiting the PCOS question. This GP, out of all those I've seen since I was a teenager, actually listened, agreed it was a possibility, set up the scan etc... He did say it was as much to set my mind at rest as to test for PCOS, but that if it did come back positive, then at least we'd know that before even starting to ttc. Which we now do so I suppose we can take action accordingly rather than finding out after a year of trying.
I called my husband and he was calm and ok about things, but I do feel I've deceived him and am letting him down - he has never made a secret of the fact that he wants children, and I've just told him that the chance of that has dropped - maybe only slightly, maybe vanished entirely - thanks to my slightly defective body.
So I suppose I'm asking a few things - has anyone been through a similar experience with disinterested GPs failing to diagnose the bleeding obvious, even when asked outright? Has anyone got stories of ttc with PCOS - good or bad? What, if any treatments have people had for PCOS symptoms, especially hirsutism and infertility? Did they work? Am I doomed to be hairy and childless?? Can I kick someone's ass for having needlessly wasted so much of my life bloody plucking and tweezing???
I have to say, I feel quite a lot better even just having vented on here, so if you're still with me, thanks for reading!!