Bearded Lady Blues


For a woman, it's a most heart-breaking condition.

Stephanie, 35, has polycystic ovarian syndrome, a hormonal illness characterized by irregular or no periods, acne, obesity, and excess hair growth.

Women with PCOS are at a higher risk for obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and uterine cancer. There is no cure. Some women have just one or two symptoms.

Others, like Stephanie, have many.

It's the excess hair growth that has destroyed her young life.

Bluntly put, she has the kind of full beard you'd expect in a man.

"I feel like freak," she said in a softspoken interview at her grandmother's tiny Scarborough bungalow this week.

She's tried everything, she told me tearfully:

Bleaching, sandpaper buffer, shaving, and waxing. Nothing worked. And the last two left her sensitive skin bleeding and scarred.

"Waxing was the most painful thing I have ever experienced in my life," she said.

Even after she shaves, there is the shadow of a beard.

She would like OHIP to pay for laser hair removal. One estimate set the price at around $6,000. OHIP turned her down on the basis that the hair removal is "cosmetic."

She can't find work.

"Nobody is going to hire the bearded lady unless it's for a job in the circus," she told me.

Stephanie and her husband had jobs managing an apartment building. They had to give it up because Stephanie could no longer stand the stares of tenants who came to the door. When they lost that job, they lost their apartment and are now living in public housing, so $6,000 for laser hair removal is out of the question.

Stephanie doesn't want her last name or current picture used. She is fiercely protective of her young sons and won't go to events at their school for fear they'll be teased about her appearance. She rarely goes out. When visitors come to the door, she hides.

The condition worsened after the birth of her second son. Before that, she'd enjoyed coaching her older son's hockey and soccer teams. Now she won't even go to their games.

Stephanie played hockey herself for 17 years, but gave up when her appearance changed. Last year, she tried again but quit after three games. She thought the helmet would hide her beard, but found the dressing room with other women just too embarrassing.

A ministry of health spokesman said OHIP doesn't usually pay for such cases.

"Generally, OHIP does not cover the removal of facial hair," said ministry spokesman Mark Nesbitt in an e-mail.

He added there are circumstances under which an individual, with the assistance of a physician, can apply to the Medical Eligibility Committee for review of an individual situation.

"Each case is decided based on information specific to each individual situation," he said. Stephanie was turned down.

Her doctor says that in extreme cases, OHIP should cover hair removal.

"I think we should not underestimate the emotional suffering of someone with this degree of hirsutism," Dr. Krisanne Mendelssohn said.

At a time when the province is considering restoring funding for sex change operations, it's outrageous this lovely young woman is denied funding for a very real medical condition.

Stephanie is funny and warm and articulate. And she yearns to be part of society again.

And sure, it's not a life-threatening condition. But it's one that is destroying her.

"I don't want to look like a movie star," she says. "I just want to be normal."

I thought we lived in a civilized society that protected people like Stephanie, whose lives have been turned upside down by a disease over which she has no control. I thought that's why we paid our health tax.

I guess I was wrong.

6 grand?

Where the heck is she going. More like 1200 TOPS!
It was 99 a session, every 3 weeks for 6 weeks for me. I think OHIP should pay, however. It used to.

And uh, ya, there is a cure. It's called Low Carbing.
All my hormone levels are finally normal. NORMAL!

What hair I had I still have, but low carbing and laser tackled it.

she's in canada... so... I dunno, inflation of the loonie perhaps?

Could waxing your face be more painful than a bikini wax or a Brazilian, something that other women do on a regular basis?

yes, waxing your face, especially with that much hair can be. Ask any guy to wax his beard.

That said... I had a dermatologist do my laser treatments and I paid 450 a session and at laser centers it can be as cheap as 200.

I mean she could get it done for $2000 and even then she pays per session not all at once.

With waxing you have to grow it out enough TO wax, no way. Plus when I pluck it grows back in a few days anyways. I hope she finds something.

I've been on a course of spiro 100mg/day for almost 2 months and yasmin for about 7 months. Has anyone taken spiro and if so have you notice any changes in pcos symptoms, esp. facial hair? I haven't seen any improvements yet but I'm wondering if it gets better with time.

I feel her pain. I too had a full beard and chest hair thicker than my husbands. And no, losing weight does not get rid of the hair, it might make it thinner, but it is there forever.

Each of us with PCOS has the condition in different forms and with different symptoms, and one should never assume that just because something worked for one woman, it will work for another. I have met several women, who I might call 20 lbs overweight, who have more severe 'cosmetic' symptoms of PCOS than someone much larger.

In my case, my husband was extremely supportive and took money out of our 401K to pay for my hair removal. It was $2700 for six rounds. I am very satisfied with the results, and have no problem going out in public anymore without feeling like people are staring. Before, I knew they were staring, because they were looking at my chin/neck.

Do I still have a beard? Yes, but now its thin enough for me to pluck out the dark strays every day or two and shave the thinner strands once a week. The hair has now migrated up my cheeks to almost my eyes, but until it turns dark, I'm just going to pretend it doesn't exist.

I also still have hair on my chest, but I no longer allow it to control my actions. Instead of wearing shirts up to the neck, I can safely shave if I think necessary - but now there is not a 'five oclock shadow' on my chest. Someone would have to get very close, and I don't allow anyone to get that close! LOL Except the hubby of course.

I tried to get the services covered by insurance too, and was turned down many times due to it being 'cosmetic'. Even though I was suicidal at one point at the rapid expansion of the hair and other sudden changes to my body after the last pregnancy, the insurance companies did nothing. They can pay for Viagra, but not for hair removal. It isn't fair, and I consider it sexual discrimination.

Now when I see a PCOS woman with hair growth she obviously is trying to hide, my first reaction is to tell her about my experience. However, remembering how it felt, most of the time I do not say a word for fear of totally embarrasing the poor woman. Its hard enough being in public without someone knowing your hidden secrets, and it would have been mortifying if someone had ever approached me.

The treatments here are 350 a session for face/neck combo...she could pay by session and take the pills...even after one treatment i found a difference...i still need more but any bit helps for sure...now i don't feel as bad

i did laser treatments for my facial hair and tho it got rid of the dark ones, a million blonde coarse ones grew in their place. this is something i have been fighting since i was 16. my doc put me on some meds that are supposed to lower my high androgen levels and that is supposed to help. so far no dice. i shave every morning and u cant tell, but i let NOONE touch my face EVER. i hate it and wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy.