PCOS (Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome) and being trans...

[HarryP]

Hi there

I have been out to my parents for just over a year and they are getting more used to it.  However, the thing that is really stopping them accepting that I am their son instead of their daughter, is that I suffer from PCOS.  Basically, some of the symptoms of the condition are having acne and sometimes male-pattern hair growth on your face and body (I got both of these).  My parents think that cos I had that all the way through my teenage years and got badly bullied at school about it, I have decided I am not a "normal" woman so may as well be a man instead.  They want me to get my GP to refer me to whatever type of doctor deals with PCOS and see if it's PCOS that I should be dealing with, not gender dysphoria. 

Argh! I know that I do not want to spend the rest of my life in this body, but I am worried that doctors would take my parents' view and try to give me counselling to help me accept myself as the woman I was born as... But if I don't go and see someone and rule it out, I am worried my parents will never accept me...

Anyone else had this problem? I'm sure PCOS and being trans can co-exist ...

H x

[Quicksand]

My parents were the exact same way with my PCOS.  I reasoned with them that I had been this way since I was a child, long before puberty starts and the excess testosterone kicks in, but they weren't buying it, so they sent me to a bunch of doctors who eventually got it through their heads.  Go see the specialist and try convincing that person instead. I have found doctors are generally more understanding, and knowledgeable enough to realize that regardless of whether or not you have PCOS, you're still trans.  I doubt the doctor will side with your parents, but even if he does if you keep raising hell your parents will keep sending you to specialists, and odds are good that one of them will eventually be able to get through to them.  Best of luck!

[lilacwoman]

is there a definitive test for PCOS? Blood or urine or anything?  Lots of GPs (UK speak for general practitioner i.e family doctor) have never met any sort of TS person so cannot really be expected to know the difference between PCOS and TSism but they can refer on to specialists for tests.

[elvistears]

That sucks.  When I was questioning, I was worried I might have pcos, because I have some of the symptoms - well, really just hairiness. My friend who thinks he's a doctor was diagnosing me with it as well and doubts my transness I think.

[Quicksand]

is there a definitive test for PCOS? Blood or urine or anything?  Lots of GPs (UK speak for general practitioner i.e family doctor) have never met any sort of TS person so cannot really be expected to know the difference between PCOS and TSism but they can refer on to specialists for tests.

My doc tested my testosterone levels in my bloodwork, since PCOS is basically just excess testosterone.  When it came back way too high for a chick she diagnosed me with PCOS based on that and my appearance, and that was all there was to it!  But definitely your testosterone levels are the biggest clue

[elvistears]

PCOS kinda intrigues me. It's really high in lesbians evidentally, which is interesting.

[Slasherations]

was wondering if t just makes pcos worse? hand how? i cant seem to find this anywhere else...

[MasonM]

I have similar issues to this with my husband when he has the occassional 'I'm not really gay!' moment.  We found out that I had PCOS about a year after we found out about my being Trans and sometimes he wants to think that I'm actually just a female with excess testosterone.  It's thankfully rare though (he was open enough recently to tell both his brother and his best friend that I'm actually a male), but when it happens it still gets to me.

Personally, I'm grateful for it in a way, since it means that I've been on T my whole life, just not at the same dosage as those taking the shots.

[Nemo]

Actually, T levels aren't as big a clue as you may think. I had PCOS, and the first time I got my hormone levels checked (almost ten years ago), my T levels came back normal. I came to Leeds, realised about being trans, and while waiting for the psychiatrist's appointment I insisted on a proper hormone check. T levels came back fine - it was the LSH levels that were screwed and pointing towards PCOS instead. Although by the looks of me (hairy legs and arms, bit of a happy trail), it seems LSH has its own masculinising properties, so I still got a head start ^_^

But yeah, I had that with Mum too. I guess it was wishful thinking on her part, that by curing the PCOS (not to mention removing the dermoid on the other one) I'd start feeling more like a woman again. I pointed out to her that if that was the cause of this conflict, there wouldn't be any FTMs since all they'd need is for their ovaries to be fixed I also told her it's far too common for the two to be related - it just so happens to be a common thing among FTMs.

was wondering if t just makes pcos worse? hand how? i cant seem to find this anywhere else...

It feels like it - at first, anyway. The ovaries may give you hell the first few days, until they get used to the new arrangement. What I've noticed though, is that the two seem to work together to up the amount of T in your system. This also serves as advance warning about hystos, by the way - pre-op my T levels were 30.2. Post-op they plummeted to 11.4, and I'd not altered my dosage in any way. And boy have I felt it - am still waiting for the endo's letter to arrange a switch to Nebido, unless he's sent it to the GP without copying me in

[emil]

as someone mentioned already, many ftms have PCOS. Aren't both linked to higher testosterone exposure in the womb? At least that's the current opinion when it comes to trans - that the brain was coined "male" before birth. So both may have the same cause and maybe a female-identified person with pcos may have had slightly different prenatal testosterone exposure than an ftm with pcos.
Some countries categorize pcos within the intersex spectrum, so i'd say it actually gives a physical "explanation" of "why" you're trans (that it's not just in your mind but that you were born intersex), i really don't understand how people manage to make it work against you.

Also, every transguy I ever talked to about T levels had high T levels before going on HRT. Again, this could be interpreted as physical "proof", but my mom likes to argue that my naturally high T levels made me become trans and if i took estrogen i'd feel fine being a girl...
(and i, too, knew i was really a boy way before puberty, but of course she refuses to believe that).

[Lee]

I have PCOS too, but the three other people I know with it are all cis gendered.  I think that about 10% of female-bodied people have it, so it's certainly not uncommon to find transguys with it.