PCOS testing

Has anyone been successful with getting diagnosed with PCOS either privately or on the NHS? I’m currently 24 y/o and have suffered the following “symptoms” since I was 11 y/o - excess facial hair (thick & dark hair that grows on my chin and neck) - excess hair on my chest, back and back of the legs/thighs - very irregular periods which are extremely heavy and painful when I get one - it took around 1.5 years of trying for a baby to fall pregnant and unfortunately that pregnancy ended in a miscarriage at 8 weeks. I did manage to fall pregnant again within 3 months after the miscarriage and I carried to term and delivered a healthy girl - I find it difficult to lose weight and when I do manage it, I find it even harder to keep the weight off - acne which granted, has gotten better over the last 2 years however it flares up regularly I have seen multiple GP’s who have all done blood tests which come back with high prolactin levels then a repeat blood test is done which without fail, comes back with normal levels of prolactin. Once the normal test results come back, the GP’s lose interest and refuse further testing. Most recently, I had a GP tell me that the excess hair on my body was normal despite it being extremely thick and resembling the stubble my husband has around a week/10 days post shave! I shave my face and neck at least 4 times a week and I have started to keep a small electric facial hair remover in the car because more often than not, I get caught out with surprise hairs when I go out. Does anyone have any advice on this? I’m at my wits end and getting absolutely no where with the NHS so I’m actually willing to pay for private help on this but I don’t know how to start with that option 😵‍💫

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Hey, I was diagnosed with pcos about ten years ago and I’m almost 26. From what I recall it was just blood tests they did for me and the solution was to go on the pill which I declined and they advised me to go back once I wanted to try for babies. I’ve been to the GP many many times now since the diagnosis and have stated I have pcos and they’ve never once disputed. I have very irregular periods and difficulty losing weight as well as problems with my thyroid. I now manage my pcos symptoms as best I can via diet and lifestyle x

Hey! I was diagnosed with insulin resistant PCOS. They put me on metformin and it worked so well I got pregnant within a month of being on it (I definitely wasn’t trying). I have very similar symptoms, I have facial hair, chin/neck/chest/belly hair, I had a couple of balding spots on my scalp. It comes in “waves” for me. My acne will get super bad and I’ll gain wait uncontrollably, I found with a super strict diet I was able to manage it on my own. But this last flare up was super bad for me. They ran blood tests and they seemed normal but they found cysts on my ovaries and found out I wasn’t actually ovulating. Still had periods and such but they were super painful to the point I was vomiting and would call off once a month. I went to the hospital and they kept saying I didn’t have it. I went to a private clinic for women and they ran their own test and they diagnosed me with it.

I’m 27 and was diagnosed at 17 due to rapid weight gain, irregular periods, and irregular hair growth. My doctor explained to me that PCOS is a diagnosis based on hitting certain criteria, not an actual test they can give. Unless you have polyps or cysts on your ovaries that they can see, but that’s not necessary for a diagnosis as you can have PCOS without having cysts. I’m sorry you’re having so much trouble getting a diagnosis, I hope you find a doctor who listens to you and can give you answers soon!

I'm in the US so different healthcare system but I was diagnosed in 2021. It took being dismissed by 6 doctors before one finally took me seriously and ran tests. I hope you get the answers you need soon because being made to think nothing is wrong when you know there is can be maddening.

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