PCOS AND BEAUTY

[Anon6454]

Hi all.
I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian syndrome last year. I don't feel I have much of the facts and would love to know other womens experiences of it ...

Furthermore as ridiculous as if may sound I've noticed in the past year since becoming ,diagnosed my physical appearance is worse and I am genuinely less prettier /good looking than prior to diagnosis. Is this due to the hormones ?? Has anyone else experienced this ?

Eh, no, pcos does not make you less attractive. It definitely comes with its challenges, including difficulty with weight management, hirsutism, prone to hormonal acne and the hormonal fluctuations can definitely affect your mental wellbeing. Those can all influence how you feel about yourself but it doesn't turn you into a troll overnight with your diagnosis or progressively diminish your appearance. Don't underestimate the mental impact of the diagnosis as well, it's not a nice one to receive especially as most are discovered when women are TTC.

My best advice is the same my gynecologist gave me, focus on the medical management but nothing is quite as effective as keeping to a good pcos specific diet and exercise routine. As a bonus it helps you feel good about yourself and the achievement of your body, fostering a healthy relationship with it is a way you have some impact on how you feel about it rather than just being a hostage to your diagnosis, as well as actively help aid the management of your pcos.

It's just the hormones are impacting my appearance so much ! My hair is constantly greasy looking, my skin is constantly super dry and lacklustre making my face look tired, bad acne on back, overweight despite good diet, loads of noticeable facial hair on cheeks, chin and upper lip making me feel manly. "( eurgh ! X

Are you TTC ? If not, ask for a spironolacton prescription it'll help with hair, acne, and should regulate hair sebum production to an extent too. It all sounds like high androgen production side effects and spironolacton helps manage that.