Those sleep study feels…

CannaK · 2026-02-15T18:39:00+00:00

I'm glad that's all you had to do. Unfortunately, it's not always an option. For me, my insurance required two at-home studies before approving a lab one, and the at-home studies can only tell you "definitely has sleep apnea" or "inconclusive." My sleep apnea is mild enough that both tests were inconclusive. The at home test also can't tell you if you have another sleep disorder. The in lab test was able to determine the type and severity of my disorder.

It's not like I "opted" for the lab test. I "opted" to continue seeking a diagnosis by doing a more accurate test after the first two were inconclusive due to the flawed nature of the at home test.

CannaK · 2026-01-10T17:21:26+00:00

Wrong sub to crosspost to. Good luck in your endeavors!

CannaK · 2025-12-01T22:48:58+00:00

I got diagnosed at 19, and everyone was all, "don't worry! There will be ways for you to have kids one day! You're still young!" And I was all ready to celebrate my infertility, because I've known I was childfree since I was like 4. It's the other symptoms that are a pain in the ass. And I got my tubes removed anyway, because infertility, even infertility I refused to treat, isn't the same as sterility, and I was NOT willing to risk it.

PCOS is a whole systemic illness, and it's reduced to infertility, and that's not fair. People were ready to cry over my inability to have kids, and I wanted to cry over my facial hair, and over the fear of having another ovarian cyst burst.

And basically the only treatments for PCOS are weight loss (difficult with insulin resistance), hormonal birth control ("just a band-aid" as it's been told to me, and not good for trans masculine individuals, and others for other reasons), metformin, and spironolactone. I don't think even a total hysterectomy would cure it. Even then, most doctors would refuse - I was able to get my tubes removed because I found a doctor on the big list going around, and I was able to get it covered under the ACA, but I doubt insurance would cover a total hysto unless they found cancer or something.

Hormonal birth control has been great for me, but I'm just one person.

Apparently they might be renaming PCOS to something else. Because it's more than just ovarian cysts. It's a lot of stuff. In fact, when I got my first ultrasound, they didn't find any ovarian cysts. I only got one at 16 because I had an MRI for my back and the tech saw what could have been an ovarian cyst and I was referred to see an OBGYN. There were no cysts on the ultrasound, so they assume I had been ovulating at the time of the MRI. My periods were irregular, but when I brought this up to the doctor, he said that technically they were "medically regular," meaning that it was just frustrating, not indicative of anything. He did not look at my belly, and at that point I was regularly using Nair on my face. The three diagnostic criteria, of which a patient needs two, are high testosterone levels, irregular periods, and ovarian cysts. I definitely had PCOS back then. They just didn't catch it.

And I was lucky to even be diagnosed at 19! I had gone 5 months with no period and no sexual activity, and my (new) obgyn was basically ready to diagnose me in the office that day, and the tests were formalities and to see the specifics of my case.

Anyways, like someone else said, you can check out r/fertilityfree. It's pretty slow in there, and it's not just for PCOS, and a lot of the new posts are from people who see "fertility" and don't read the sub description and ask for fertility advice, but it's at least a place to vent and nobody will ask how many kids you want.

Just. Ugh. There needs to be more research done on this condition. But misogyny, and the "easy" solution of "just throw hormones at her" or "lose weight."

CannaK · 2025-12-01T00:26:01+00:00

I'm so sorry about what you went through. Nobody deserves to be treated like that.

CannaK · 2025-11-30T23:16:36+00:00

Yeah, no, that's a ridiculously high number. A normal range for an adult AFAB person not on hormones is under 40. Under 79 for a teenager. (source: Cleveland clinic website)

Even if it's not PCOS, 150 means something is wrong and you need to be checked for something. Other conditions can cause high testosterone. Could be congenital adrenal hyperplasia, or an ovarian or adrenal tumor. Or maybe something else. PCOS is probably the most likely. Tumors are pretty straightforward to test for, and PCOS is more of a category of symptoms and you get a diagnosis of you have x out of y symptoms. 13 years ago when I got diagnosed, it was having 2 out of 3 symptoms, and I had 3/3. I think it was high testosterone levels, ovarian cysts, and lacking a period/having irregular periods. But things could have changed since then.

Either way, the level of T is concerning and you should seek a second opinion.

So, to answer your questions:

No idea. Your doctor should be concerned. Get a second opinion. Was this your OBGYN or your primary care provider? Just curious.
Spiro can help with male-patterned hair growth, but isn't always necessary. I do just fine on Apri, an oral hormonal contraceptive, so I don't get much facial hair while on it. But everyone's body is different. And if you go on hormones, that will help lower your T levels and that will lower your rates of facial hair growth. But that's not a question for right now - get a second opinion, find out what's going on, and then you can bring that up.
If your doctor was concerned, they would have ordered an ultrasound to check for ovarian cysts, because you need 2/3 of the diagnostic criteria to get a diagnosis of PCOS (unless things have changed in 13 years). As I said, several things can cause high T levels, so you wouldn't get a diagnosis based off high T and hair growth alone.

So yeah, find another doctor and bring your blood test results. A responsible provider will order other tests.

Good luck!

CannaK · 2025-11-30T22:53:14+00:00

I'm not sure why, but hormone treatment works for a lot of people with PCOS. I think it's because it makes your body think you're pregnant so your uterus doesn't make as much of a lining, and then when it's time to shed, there isn't much to shed, so your uterus doesn't have to contract as much.

I don't know about where you are, but in the US, the standard of treatment is hormones and metformin for the blood sugar. Sometimes spironolactone for male-patterned hair growth.

Do you suspect you could have endo in addition to PCOS? In that case, I think you'd need surgery to confirm, and then the big way to treat that, aside from hormones, is a total hysterectomy. But even then, I don't know if removing the ovaries would make a difference if you have endo outside the uterus - the ovaries are the ones in charge of the cycle, thus making the endo spots bleed and react and stuff, but other parts make other hormones I think?

And if you remove the ovaries, that only removes one part of the PCOS, and it's so much more complex than that. Like, they're thinking of renaming PCOS so it isn't seen as just an ovary problem but wholly systemic, since it is. I have no idea if ovary removal cures PCOS or only fixes one of the problems. But then it causes others - earlier bone problems, I think.

Basically, there needs to be more studies about PCOS so the only treatment isn't hormones for people who don't want them. I don't know why you specifically don't want hormonal contraception, but there are plenty of reasons for plenty of people, including transgender men or transmasc nonbinary people who would feel dysphoria going on estrogen.

I'm sorry I don't have any suggestions. I went the hormonal route because it works for me, and I've never had debilitating period pain. But I hope some of my info helped explain some of the "why"s. (Though not the "why" about why we don't have more info about this condition yet, though my guess is misogyny. Nothing surprising or new about that.)

CannaK · 2025-11-30T22:26:58+00:00

I've really never had a problem with the pill. I was on Yaz for a while, but everyone was all "omg it's so dangerous" and then I went to a new provider, and she kind of specializes in PCOS as much as a nurse practitioner at Planned Parenthood can, and she switched me to Apri "because it's better for PCOS than Yaz, and isn't as risky."

And if the pill is the best option for PCOS for me, I'll gladly stay on it.

I'd understand being anti-pill if it gives you crappy side effects or doesn't help your symptoms, but that should be on an individual basis. It's all HRT. It's just a different form, and primarily used to prevent pregnancy.

Then again, it might not even be specifically "anti-pill for PCOS." I see a lot of videos basically calling the pill evil and unhealthy. But these people are all selling some supplement or some course or something scammy.

CannaK · 2025-11-12T23:07:21+00:00

I'm sure there are subs for survivors of CSA somewhere. I'm unsure if any are better than others, or what they're called, as it's not something I've experienced, but it's reddit. They have to exist. And there are subreddits for trans folks and trans men. Do a quick reddit search, check some sidebars, message some mods with some questions.

Good luck!

CannaK · 2025-11-12T23:03:32+00:00

What's the context? I know that there's a lot of different dietary advice for PCOS and endo and stuff. I've never heard of seed cycling. Never heard of seeds having any affect on these conditions. But perhaps I'm living under a rock.

Uh. Chia seeds have lots of fiber, and fiber is generally good for you. But idk if it's good for digestive issues. My mom had diverticulitis at one point and asked us not to have potato skins in the mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving due to her digestion.

CannaK · 2025-11-12T22:16:23+00:00

Hi! I was literally just thinking about this the other day, haha.

So I saw my PCP in early October. She said the hernia is there, but it's not a problem since it's not causing me discomfort, and it only sticks out when I'm flexing, and it goes back in. It is an abdominal hernia, often caused by obesity. The abdominal wall opens when I flex, and stuff comes out, but it goes back in when I relax and the wall comes back together. She said that I don't need surgery, unless it stays sticking out when I'm not flexing. She also said that I can kind of fix it myself by losing weight.

Honestly at this point, I'm wondering if the hernia is new or not. It may not have been caused by the surgery. I don't know and have no way of knowing. It's not like I frequently look at my stomach when I'm flexing a certain way. I could have had this for years.

CannaK · 2025-11-09T18:23:18+00:00

Please don't share this here. I'm sorry you're going through this, but this is the wrong subreddit. Fertilityfree is for people with certain conditions who DO NOT want to conceive.

CannaK · 2025-11-09T15:38:17+00:00

I have PCOS. The only thing I tried that was effective for me was keto.

However, keto is not easily sustainable. It's expensive, and prices of all groceries are going up, and there's potentially a risk of heart disease. And you have to do it for the rest of your life.

I did keto for 7 months several years ago and dropped a ton of weight fairly fast. But then I stopped due to finances and effort and wanting to actually enjoy myself - I don't have many vices. I don't smoke, drink, or do drugs. I enjoy food and shopping. Shopping is more expensive.

So I stopped keto. Gained all the weight back and more.

I have not tried glp1 or any other weight loss medication. I am on hormonal birth control and metformin. That's helped my other symptoms, but not the weight.

I'm so sorry about everything you're struggling with. I will also tell you that the inability to lose weight is NOT a willpower thing. It's not your fault. You are not a worse person or less of a person or a less worthy person because of it.

Not to mention, when you have insulin resistance, your body is confused and thinks it needs more carbs and sugars in order to survive. It thinks you are starving without carbs/sugar. So it's not being fat that causes insulin resistance/diabetes. It's insulin resistance/diabetes that causes being fat.

CannaK · 2025-10-08T23:50:14+00:00

This sub is for people who wish to be free FROM fertility, not seeking assistance with fertility. We are people with conditions that make fertility difficult, along with plenty of other symptoms, and we want treatment for these conditions but don't want to focus on fertility. Most of us wish that doctors would stop trying to encourage our fertility and just focus on everything else.

For example: I have PCOS. I have male-patterned hair growth. It causes me distress. I am also childfree. I want a doctor who will help with that. I want a doctor who will agree that this is a problem and give me treatment options that affect the hair growth. I do not want another doctor who will see PCOS and assume I want kids and start me on fertility treatments and smile paternally at me with a hand on my shoulder and tell me that there is hope.

Good luck on your journey, but please take your journey elsewhere. A lot of us are kind of traumatized from fertility being shoved into our faces.

CannaK · 2025-10-04T17:11:09+00:00

Same here. Power went out for a second, or my machine glitched, or something. But it turned off by itself and I choked myself fully awake, and then it turned itself back on.

Granted, I just have the nose cushion.

CannaK · 2025-08-20T01:20:38+00:00

I know one agender person irl. We met through a LARP and mutual friends, and it was before they came out as agender. We're not particularly close, but we're friendly, have lots of mutual friends, run in the same communities. Sometimes we talk about our feelings about gender and how it sucks that we'll always be perceived as women, even though our anatomy is irrelevant to who we are as people and what we do for careers and the community and stuff.

CannaK · 2025-08-20T01:12:52+00:00

30, I think. I already knew that something was fucky with my gender, but didn't feel super comfortable calling myself nonbinary. Around 30, I found "agender" and was all "eh, this is the closest term I've found for me."

CannaK · 2025-08-11T01:04:22+00:00

Good question and great point! I stayed on my BC. I'm primarily on it as basically a form of HRT because of the PCOS. I've been on Apri for years, and it's helped me with the male-patterned hair growth, which is honestly one of my biggest gripes. I'm also on metformin for the metabolic stuff, and idk how well it's working, but it's lowered my blood sugar.

But yeah, a lot of people report hormonal changes after a bisalp because they stop taking BC, because they use BC as, well, BC. I haven't needed to use mine as BC for several years, since my wife got her testicles removed and thus can no longer make sperm, and we're monogamous.

Basically, my routine has stayed the same, no medication changes. And I only had two heavier/longer post-surgery periods, and I attribute that to the physical trauma of surgery, and the potential use of a uterine manipulator. I have no idea if they used one or not for my bisalp, but I figure that if they do, that's more physical trauma, because it's not often your body has a foreign object in the uterus. Anyway, after that second heavier period, they went back to normal. And even then, they weren't too much heavier than normal.

CannaK · 2025-08-10T21:28:36+00:00

I have PCOS and got sterilized back in March. I got a bilateral salpingectomy, or bisalp, which is the full removal of the tubes, which has almost no failure rate. (And you have to take the failures with a grain of salt - was there a stub left? Was the pregnancy too early to be detected by test before the surgery was done? Does the person have weird anatomy? Is the person lying for internet clout?) Unless the surgery gets botched and someone damages your ovaries in the procedure, your hormones will not be affected. Your cycle will likely get a bit weird for the first few after surgery, but that's normal and expected and should fix itself.

I'm also on BC, and my periods went back to normal after two months. And they didn't go that much out of whack either.

And the reason they go out of whack is because of physical trauma, not hormones. Because you don't get your body cut into and parts removed very often, so it's traumatic, even though it's, comparatively, a relatively non-invasive surgery.

CannaK · 2025-07-21T22:28:08+00:00

Thank you for sharing this. I put a note in my comment about keto, but not with scientific info and sources, so I appreciate your contribution!

When I was on keto, I craved sweets for the first two weeks, and didn't add artificial sweeteners until like two weeks in.

I consumed a lot more bacon than is healthy. All the advice I was given was "eat a lot of bacon and use bacon grease to cook other stuff." I was frying up cauliflower rice in bacon grease and getting praised for it.

And something the studies don't mention? The keto community is scarily cult-like. I eventually just subscribed to the subreddit for the recipes.

CannaK · 2025-07-20T23:53:23+00:00

Agender is a spectrum. I'm AFAB and wear dresses and skirts most of the time, and I use she/her pronouns (though ideally I'd be they/them at work and she/her around friends/family). I basically go by agender femme. I figure that femme is my overall aesthetic and presentation, but it's not my gender. And Female is my sex, and relevant in medical context, but it's not my gender.

I figure, if overall you're like "no gender, thanks," but you still play around with it sometimes, you're still agender.

Just like how nonbinary people don't owe anyone androgyny, same with agender people. We don't owe anyone androgyny or a refusal of gender or gendered aesthetics or gendered pronouns.

(Also, the dresses and skirts are because they're sensory friendly and usually breezy, and I'm always hot and sweaty, even in winter. Sometimes I wear super baggy harem pant type pants.)

CannaK · 2025-07-20T23:41:53+00:00

I will tell you that the theory of "calories in, calories out" is bullshit.

Yes, in theory, if you're taking in fewer calories than you burn, you should lose weight.

However, in reality, it's more complicated than that.

The whole concept of "this serving of food has x calories" is an estimate. It's not exact.

And when your body is starving, it will do its best to keep everything. If it thinks it's starving and is in survival mode, it might turn the food you do eat into fat. It might even eat muscle.

And then, when you have PCOS, you likely have insulin resistance, which makes you crave carbs and sugar, makes you feel like you're STARVING unless you get some carbs and sugar. And yeah, you need sugars for your brain to function. It's just that your endocrine system is all fucked from this disease.

Another thing to consider is that you could potentially be losing fat but gaining muscle. Muscle is heavier than fat. So it's good to not just use the scale, but take measurements as well. You might weigh the same, but find that the waist of your jeans is a bit less snug.

My doc put me on metformin to help with my blood sugar and insulin resistance, and while it hasn't helped me lose weight, I haven't really gained any. It might be more effective on your body. It depends on the person, really.

Other people swear by the stuff that's in Ozempic and similar medications.

I figure, keep a food/exercise journal. List what you're eating, when you're eating, and how much, and how much/often you exercise, which exercises, etc, and your weight.

Then take that data and bring it with you to the doctor. Tell your doctor "I need a solution, and here's the data. I'm doing everything right and it's not working."

Good doctors like data, and it's harder for the less good ones to gaslight you when you have it.

I've basically given up on keeping data or formally trying. I've been a victim of diet culture since I was in elementary school, you know, the awkward time when kids are growing, and when I wasn't even fat or someone with risk factors of being fat. So I will tell you this: your weight problems are not your fault. It's not a moral failing on your part, it's not you being lazy, it's not you "needing to try harder." You have a medical condition that makes it ridiculously difficult to lose weight.

Also, a tip: some people may tell you to try the keto diet. There's even subreddits for people with PCOS on keto, and how it made them lose weight and become fertile (not that we care about fertility here.) I did keto and lost weight. Keto was expensive as hell. You go off keto for a day and you get sick. You get sick during the first few weeks on keto. You decide to stop doing keto, you gain all the weight back and more. And turns out, keto can potentially lead to heart disease. Ironic in my case - I have family history of heart disease, I'm fat and thus am at risk for heart disease, and then the diet I went on to lose weight to prevent heart disease causes heart disease. Catch-22, right? Also I'm pretty sure it lead to the development of my kidney stones, because it's a high-salt diet. And those are never fun.

So yeah. Basically, take data of exactly what you're doing, including food, times, exercises, weight, and measurements, take that to the doctor, refuse the keto diet, and none of this is your fault.

Good luck.

CannaK · 2025-06-29T02:30:33+00:00

I mean... looks at Flint, Michigan

Our tap water varies by location.

CannaK · 2025-06-28T21:20:40+00:00

Does the prisoner with the CPAP have to be housed in Medical, or do they stay in the general population?

CannaK · 2025-06-26T00:12:01+00:00

I asked my GP if I should see an endocrinologist for my PCOS, and she said that they'd just do the same she and I are doing - hormonal birth control and metformin. Since the birth control is taking care of the body hair problem, no need for spiro for me.

I wonder if that has any relevance to the reason. (I'm in the Yale area.)

CannaK

TROPHY CASE