12:27 AM
Anonymous
Every morning before her husband Bill wakes, Marianne Ponsonby-White leaps out of bed and rushes to the bathroom to scrutinise her face in the mirror.
She isn’t looking for spots or wrinkles but for unwanted hairs.
‘Every morning, without fail, at least a dozen thick black hairs have appeared on my cheeks and chin,’ Marianne confides.
The 30-year-old sales and marketing manager from Buckinghamshire has polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal imbalance in which women’s ovaries produce excessive amounts of the male hormone testosterone.
This results in the formation of small harmless cysts as well as symptoms such as excessive hair growth (known as hirsutism), baldness, erratic periods, weight gain, acne and fertility problems.
The condition, which affects one in ten British women, should not be confused with polycystic ovaries, which merely describes the appearance of small cysts on the ovaries. (Roughly 20 per cent of women have this condition with no effects at all and no problems conceiving.)
Women with PCOS have both the cysts and the symptoms caused by excess testosterone.
While Marianne is fortunate to have few of the symptoms, she is blighted by excess hair, which she says makes her feel utterly unfeminine.
‘As well as waxing my face every fortnight, I use an epilator on my abdomen,’ she says.
‘If I didn’t, the hair on my face and body, which is thick and very dark, would be grotesque.
‘Bill is sweet and maintains he doesn’t notice a thing, but it’s impossible for him not to see the hair growth.
‘I hate it. I’m fighting what feels like a losing battle against hair sprouting in places no woman should have it.’
The condition can run in families and Marianne believes a great-aunt had it.
‘She didn’t have children, and I remember her whiskery chin very clearly,’ she says.
Polycystic ovary syndrome can be devastating to women’s self-esteem, says Rachel Hawkes of Verity, a support group for sufferers.
‘I have had members contemplating suicide because they simply can’t cope any longer with excessive hair or the constant struggle with weight.
'One poor woman has to shave three times a day. She takes her razor to work so she can shave at lunchtime.’
Polycystic ovary syndrome affects around three million women, but some experts say GPs fail to take it seriously and that there should be more help available for sufferers, including counselling.
‘The condition can have serious repercussions in terms of mental health,’ says Professor Helen Mason, an endocrinologist who specialises in PCOS at St George’s Hospital Medical School, London.
‘I have come across women who simply refuse to leave the house.’
Despite its prevalance, there are issues with underdiagnosis.
‘Some GPs are unwilling to diagnose it because they worry that patients will panic about infertility,’ adds Professor Mason.
‘But it is better for women to know that they have PCOS because there are steps they can take to alleviate their symptoms.
‘Lots of women just put up with very irregular cycles, bad skin and excess hair — but missing periods is not normal, and if your cycle hasn’t settled down by about age 16 and you have at least one other symptom of polycystic ovary syndrome you should ask your GP to check for the condition,’ she emphasises.
As well as underdiagnosis, lack of help is another problem. Verity says 75 per cent of sufferers are offered no help with hair removal on the NHS.
‘For a woman, growing a beard and moustache is absolutely devastating — this is not a cosmetic condition,’ says Rachel Hawkes.
‘There is almost no NHS-funded treatment for hair removal.
‘It’s wrong that women should either have to pay for treatment themselves or just put up with it.’
Vaniqa, a prescription cream which inhibits hair growth, is available in some areas.
But at £57 for 30g, many primary healthcare trusts do not fund it.
There is a similar postcode lottery for laser hair removal.
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