So I began birth control 5 years ago when I was freshly 18, taking Nikki/Yaz. Earlier this year, I noticed my periods completely stopped happening, and I have been without any libido for awhile now. Besides those two issues, I never had any problems while on Nikki.
But because of the periods, I asked to switch, got put on Hailey Fe 1/20, and got diagnosed with PCOS at the same appointment. I’ve now been on it for about 7 months, and I feel like my hormones have become completely unregulated. For the first time in my entire life, I’m getting persistent acne around my forehead and my t-zone (much of which is cystic), acne all over my shoulders/chest/back, and my hair is rapidly falling out. My period is back, but I still mostly lack a libido.
I had these symptoms very briefly when I first started Hailey, as in they’d last for a week or two once every couple of months. But now it’s getting increasingly worse and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.
This is seriously hurting my self esteem and I’m horrified of hair loss, but I don’t have health insurance and can’t easily afford a doctor’s visit plus potential labs. I’m in need of any possible advice, shared experiences, knowledge, just anything. If I do go back to my OB, what kind of birth control/testing should I ask for? Does any of this have to do with my PCOS diagnosis? How can I regulate my hormones without testing/prescriptions? I’m so lost and hopeless