How much hair is normal?
Apr. 6th, 2013 05:11 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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vaginapaginaHi guys,
I am wondering if my excessive (to me) body hair is 'normal' or related to PCOS.
I still don't know if I have PCOS or not. In 2009, I had an ultrasound of my ovaries to check for something else, and they found that my ovaries were polycystic. I wasn't at all surprised, as I'd had what I considered PCOS symptoms for years (acne, greasy skin/hair, thinning hair, facial hair, unwanted hair all over body etc). I went for tests and they found my testosterone was normal but my andro-something was high, so referred me to an endo in the hospital. It was so weird because I felt that from the moment I walked in, the endo had decided I didn't have PCOS at all. I was told all my tests from the hospital that morning were normal (when I asked about the ando-thingy test I'd had originally, she brushed me off) and then I had a physical exam. She told me my skin wasn't bad at all (it was the best it had been in a long time - typical!) and my facial hair was barely noticeable. She told me my hairy fingers and toes were most likely due to my Italian heritage. She told me I was very slim and basically that I had no symptoms of PCOS at all. Just that I was a bit hairy because I'm Italian, but perfectly healthy. My insulin resistance tests all came out normal. I was a little sceptical, especially of her motives (the NHS in the UK do not like to fund PCOS related issues and one of the reasons I wanted investigation was to possibly get some laser hair removal) and she basically made me feel guilty when in her words 'other women have much worse problems and have to shave every day' etc, but all in all, I felt quite happy that I didn't in fact have PCOS.
Well....a few years on, my hairiness is REALLY bothering me. I know it's really not that obvious to other people but I have a significant amount of hair on my upper lip which I Nair or get threaded every 2 weeks. A few years ago, I noticed some very light chin hair, only visible in certain lights, which I decided to leave alone in case I made it worse. When I started getting my lip threaded, the woman kept asking me if I wanted my chin threaded and I kept saying no. One day she was really pretty rude about it and told me the hair was pretty obvious (I doubt it, I'm obsessively vain and I could only see it in certain lights if I was really looking) and I basically gave in, feeling like crap, and asked her to thread it. I did feel happier that way, knowing there was nothing at all on my chin to worry about but it seems to have grown back thicker and worse, which is what I was afraid of. Instead of really light downy hairs under my chin, I now have quite a few thicker ones and they seem to be further up on my chin too :( Perhaps it was always like that and I didn't notice, who knows. I also have quite a lot of hair on my fingers and lots on my big toes.
So my question is...is this a 'normal' amount of hair for a woman or do I have hormonal issues after all? I'm not having to shave or wax every day or anything, but it feels like I spend a LOT of time removing hair from places I feel like I shouldn't have any. None of my friends seem to have these issues, but I'm too embarrassed to ask.
I am wondering if my excessive (to me) body hair is 'normal' or related to PCOS.
I still don't know if I have PCOS or not. In 2009, I had an ultrasound of my ovaries to check for something else, and they found that my ovaries were polycystic. I wasn't at all surprised, as I'd had what I considered PCOS symptoms for years (acne, greasy skin/hair, thinning hair, facial hair, unwanted hair all over body etc). I went for tests and they found my testosterone was normal but my andro-something was high, so referred me to an endo in the hospital. It was so weird because I felt that from the moment I walked in, the endo had decided I didn't have PCOS at all. I was told all my tests from the hospital that morning were normal (when I asked about the ando-thingy test I'd had originally, she brushed me off) and then I had a physical exam. She told me my skin wasn't bad at all (it was the best it had been in a long time - typical!) and my facial hair was barely noticeable. She told me my hairy fingers and toes were most likely due to my Italian heritage. She told me I was very slim and basically that I had no symptoms of PCOS at all. Just that I was a bit hairy because I'm Italian, but perfectly healthy. My insulin resistance tests all came out normal. I was a little sceptical, especially of her motives (the NHS in the UK do not like to fund PCOS related issues and one of the reasons I wanted investigation was to possibly get some laser hair removal) and she basically made me feel guilty when in her words 'other women have much worse problems and have to shave every day' etc, but all in all, I felt quite happy that I didn't in fact have PCOS.
Well....a few years on, my hairiness is REALLY bothering me. I know it's really not that obvious to other people but I have a significant amount of hair on my upper lip which I Nair or get threaded every 2 weeks. A few years ago, I noticed some very light chin hair, only visible in certain lights, which I decided to leave alone in case I made it worse. When I started getting my lip threaded, the woman kept asking me if I wanted my chin threaded and I kept saying no. One day she was really pretty rude about it and told me the hair was pretty obvious (I doubt it, I'm obsessively vain and I could only see it in certain lights if I was really looking) and I basically gave in, feeling like crap, and asked her to thread it. I did feel happier that way, knowing there was nothing at all on my chin to worry about but it seems to have grown back thicker and worse, which is what I was afraid of. Instead of really light downy hairs under my chin, I now have quite a few thicker ones and they seem to be further up on my chin too :( Perhaps it was always like that and I didn't notice, who knows. I also have quite a lot of hair on my fingers and lots on my big toes.
So my question is...is this a 'normal' amount of hair for a woman or do I have hormonal issues after all? I'm not having to shave or wax every day or anything, but it feels like I spend a LOT of time removing hair from places I feel like I shouldn't have any. None of my friends seem to have these issues, but I'm too embarrassed to ask.
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