Am I wasting the GP’s time (pcos/prediabetes)

[lhw92]

if I go back for another appointment

I initially went to see GP for suspected PCOS. I have most symptoms (quite badly too) except for weight gain - instead I’m rather skinny BMI 18 - 18.5
Yet I have irregular periods, bad acne, greasy hair, acanthosis nigricians, and really quite severe hirsutism body and facial hair growth. If you were to google hirsutism most images are not as severe as my case.

I am part of a pcos UK Facebook group and most members symptoms seem milder than mine (less acne, and definitely less body/facial hair). These women have still been diagnosed (some with or without cysts from an ultrasound) and some have been referred to specialists or given medication such as spironolactone or finasteride
I’m aware that different areas of the UK may have more NHS funding and less waiting times

At my appointment the GP seemed polite but didn’t really say whether they thought I had pcos, but sent me to get blood tests (fair enough)
My blood tests came back and my GP said there was nothing wrong with my hormones although I did come back as prediabetic. I already follow a strict low carb diet (not keto but still low carb and honestly I never have refined high gi carbs, or processed things as I’m paranoid about my acne and hirsutism getting worse), but the only advice I was given by GP was to try laser hair removal and to cut down on sugar

They didn’t think it was anything serious (I completely understand it’s not life threatening) and so I haven’t been diagnosed with pcos. I’m still finding it really hard to cope with the fact I have full blown Male patterned facial hair, and my body is hairier than most average men I see.

Could that be another sign I may have pcos if I’m prediabetic despite being very slim or am I clutching at straws from what I’ve read online insulin resistance is heavily associated
I’m just desperate to find an answer to my symptoms...

(I printed blood results to check in my own time too. I did notice free testosterone levels hadn’t been tested for which I would have presumed to be relevant but I could be wrong.)

Sorry this was such a ramble, if I could afford to go private I would

You are not being unreasonable at all to go back. If you want to look into it more yourself then Thriva offer female hormone testing including testosterone from home. Not that you should have to, but it might be easier than trying to get a GP who is not that interested to listen to you. It's not super -cheap but much less expensive and quicker than going private to an endocrinologist, might be a good first step.

I was diagnosed without any abnormality in blood tests. My levels were normal however I was literally having like 2 periods a year and have the bad excess hair. They sent me for an internal scan and took photographs of ovaries etc which confirmed pcos so I would push for that. However a diagnosis feels almost pointless, so maybe just start researching how to manage it, as its basically go on a certain contraceptive pill and then come back when you want a baby. This was about 8 years ago and not been mentioned at rountine check ups etc since!