Hello everyone, I have a few questions
 

Hi I have had this problem for as long as I can remember. I was overweight since the time I was 2 or 3. I have never told ANYONE outside my family (other than doctors etc) about this problem so I have always felt very alone. I am now hoping that losing weight by eating low calorie, low fat and increasing veggie intake and fiber will help me through this. I have the ring around my neck, my armpits are pitch black and i have very black patches on my inner thighs, and around the vaginal and anal regions. It is really embarrassing. I am glad that I am not alone in this. I am 21 and I have never had a steady relationship or a boyfriend because of this. I am too scared to get naked in front of a guy. What if he doesn't want to touch me or what if he doesn't like me anymore? A guy that I have been dating (a purely non-physical relationship) wants to get physical with me and I am too scared to. He's the most amazing guy I have ever met and I love him very much. I learned something: when you love someone so much you want them to have the best and that means the best version of me. How can I allow him to settle for such an imperfect version of me? I am too embarrassed to let him even look at me with my clothes off. He deserves more than this and it breaks my heart that I can't give him that. I have been frantically looking for answers when I came across this a week ago and I am sure I have AN. I really hope that losing weight will work. I have a few questions: do any of you know of any makeup or cover up that can be used on this so I could possibly look normal for just one day or a few hours? I have tried dermablend which did nothing for me as my patches are WAAY too dark. The other question I have requires more thought: Do you honestly think that people like us (or just me) could ever have a normal lifestyle? I have had such a deprived life: I don't go swimming, I have never been to a beach, I haven't gone to homecoming or prom and I have never had sex or been intimate with a guy. I just want to be normal and have normal things like for once a special guy to share valentines day with. I truly believe that I will never have those things.

Like many others, I was glad to have found this site.

I'm 19 years old now, and I started getting a small dark patch on my abdomen freshmen year in high school. I didn't think too much about it, and I have always had a huge sweet tooth. I wish I had warning because I really believe I could have prevented it from spreading. Eventually throughout high school it spread to under my armpits, my thighs, and even further out on my stomach. I always lied and said I didn't enjoy going to dances, but the truth was that I was afraid to wear a prom dress. Being a shy person in general, and never really having had good self-esteem, this was definitely painful for me to realize that I could never wear a swimsuit again, a tanktop, or a sleeveless dress. I ran in my school track and cross country team, and I hated wearing the uniform on meet days because I'd be so afraid to raise my arms. I also hate that I can't enjoy good food, and i always cave into desserts and potato products and... carbs ><

I feel very depressed often and I also feel that I cannot tell anyone about it. I don't have health insurance and I'm afraid to get myself checked out because I'm horrifically embarrassed. I'm not overweight, but I have gained about 20 lbs over the last two years. I've had irregular periods since I first got them and my dad has diabetes. I don't know what to do because I could possibly have PCOS. life sucks. i just want to be normal. blahblahblah. :(

uhm...well anyways. it was good to get that off my chest.

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!
 

I just got on the internet to try to find out what this stuff was,and was VERY suprised to see that others suffer with the same thing...I have had these brownish velvety patches on my skin for years now.I have a son,who is just about to turn 5 months.My doctor thought that it was from pregnancy also,but i let her know that i had it before that,and she didnt have an answer...I have read through some of these replies to what you posted,and i see it is more common than what i thought.Thank you soo much for posting this to let other women know that they are not alone..But,i do want to know something??So,there IS a name for this??what is it called??If you can,tell me more about it,and if there is any way to get rid of it??i have it all around the back of my nect and under my breasts..if you have some info for me,please let me know on here,or you can email me at daniellelovesmonty~yahoo.com.Thanks-danielle

oh,i also wanted to say that unlike many ppl who have this condition,i am not overweight,so why would i have this???

I'm 18 years old and I have a very small brown patch of skin on my armpit and dark skin on the inside of my upper thighs.I noticed it about a year ago and didn't worry about it too much until it didn't go away and I went online to research it more. I looked into PCOS and don't have any of the other common symptoms..does this mean I could possibly get other symptoms in the future? I'm not perfectly fit but I'm nowhere near obese and I've had a fairly balanced diet all my life. This is a bit frightening.

I used to have these patches too! I had them right on my bra line under my breasts and in between them. My mom and I didn't know what they were (I had them in high school) and neither of us had really heard of PCOS before so we didn't think anything of it. They went away after a while, I think after I started birth control. I didn't htink about them again until I started reading about PCOS (after I was diagnosed a few days ago) and realised that I had it. I could have been diagnosed earlier! LOL

Serendip and danlovjay..

Just because you are not overweight does not mean you do not have PCOS. Being overweight (not just obese..) is just one of the symptoms and outcomes of having PCOS. It could also be possible that the condition hasn't gotten bad yet. Either way, you should get checked out if you realize you have more symptoms.

I see that this thread is active again - I posted on it a year or more ago. I have now lost the majority of my weight, and all patches are well and truly gone, along with many other PCOS symptoms such as skin tags, excess facial hair and irregular (or no!) periods.

A thousand blessings on low carb. :)

I've been watching what I eat lately, occasionally indulging in fatty foods or sugar because its difficult when your friends want to go out for ice cream or pie, and they jokingly make fun of me when I decline. I have been semi-consistent in working out. But as summer is approaching I grow increasingly depressed that I cannot wear a bikini or tank tops. I can barely even wear t-shirts, I always have to make sure I am not lifting my arms. I never thought something like this could make me so depressed. I want to get intimate with my boyfriend, but AN has pretty much scarred me from any intimate relationships. Even though I see there are many other people like me in these posts. I feel like there's no hope for me. I am too embarrassed to go to my mother and ask to see the doctor. I hate that this will probably be with me for life. and I think of silly things like , "wow, no one is ever going to want to marry me." gah. so right now...I feel like I'm in this horrible deep deep pit of , depression.

Somewhere between 15% and 30% of women with PCO are "lean PCO" - that is, they're not overweight or obese, but still have PCO despite their "normal" weight.

I don't think of myself as having PCOS but I find all threads in this forum interesting.

After reading this thread I look up AN and found pictures of the conditions which is attributed to AN. I noticed the dry elbow/darkening around the elbow. Immediately I checked my elbows because that's been a problem to me in the past. It was nearly gone. Today, the rough/dry patch is completely gone.

Apparently, AN can be caused by insulin resistance and the physical results thereof. I have been not cheating and low-carbing for about seven days now. Now, I have another real reason to believe this LC WOL is good for me. I no longer have indigestion and now the dry patches on my elbows are gone. Hopefully, the slight discoloration will also leave.

I had no idea those dry elbow patches were related to my metabolism. I just thought it was because they were used too much and dry.

My dry skin problems also seem to be correcting themselves on my legs and feet. I cannot say for sure after only a week, but the elbow situation is a for sure turn around in a very short (five day) amount of time.

I stumbled upon this side bar benefit and hope that you guys will be heartened and encouraged by my report. Good luck!

Wow, knowledge is a powerful thing!

I just found this forum and I can't tell you how badly I wish I had found it before. I am 25 and have had this problem for 20 years. I don't know what to do. I have seen several dermatologists and they have prescribed different things, always questioning what the previous Doctor prescribed. One presribed Differin, another Retina-A... although the Retina A was literally peeling my skin, I began to itch uncontrollably, and after a month of discontinuing it, I'm still itchy. I cry when I see that other pople have gone through what I have" dirty neck" things. It's comforting to know that people share my pain.

I have it too on the back of my neck, between my breasts and under my arms. It's actually caused by IR - a lovely symptom of PCOS. I have been taking metformin for a few months now and my boyfriend swears it has lightened up tremendously.

I don't understand the whole Metformin thing... are you diabetic, or does your MD just prescribe it as a weight loss pill?

Metformin is for PCOS.