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Hi Scarlett: Thank you for your post too.
To answer your question:
PART 1. In hindsight I think my symptoms started with irregular periods and difficulty conceiving about 15 years ago. It's hard to know what was going on before that because I was on the pill, which was regulating my periods. I managed to have my son, who is now almost 12, and after he was born my periods were still very irregular. I also started to develop some excess body hair which is a classic symptom of polycystic ovaries. At the time I was very overweight (18 stone), which is apparently common in cases of polycystic ovaries. My hormone levels were checked but the results were contradictory and inconclusive of being either polycystic ovaries or premature menopause for definite. At that time I wasn't getting any hot flushes, but my periods were becoming more infrequent. I was put on Dianette by my GP initially (a contraceptive pill proved to help with excess hair growth, which was my main concern) on the basis that without a lot of the classic symptoms of premature menopause at that stage it was more likely to be polycystic ovaries, especially given that I was barely in my mid thirties at the time. The Dianette helped to some extent, but not a great deal, so I was referred to the endocrinology unit at the hospital, where the consultant put me on a drug called Cyproterone as well as the Dianette, which did help to control the excess hair growth. By this time I'd also lost a considerable amount of weight, which I was told would probably also help if it was polycystic ovaries. I plodded along on my little concoction of medication quite happily for several years, having regular periods and no real symptoms of any sort any more, but when I saw my consultant for an annual check last year he said he wasn't happy leaving me on such high doses of hormones indefinitely now I was in my 40s because of the risks associated with it...