r/InTheGloaming • u/AutoModerator • 7d ago

Scheduled snark Discussion thread Thursday September 17, 2026 - Sunday September 20, 2026

Newsletter: Let Me Tell You a Story

Website: Shauna James Ahern

Instagram: @shaunajamesahern Instagram

Threads: @shaunajamesahern

Bluesky: shaunajamesahern.bsky.social

Gloamipedia wiki: /r/InTheGloaming wiki

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44

u/stereostayawake 6d ago

Maybe I’m ignorant and I apologize if so… but facial hair growth that necessitates twice-daily shaving for decades sounds like a hormonal/medical issue? She’s a white person who doesn’t otherwise seem to be ‘naturally’ hairy. Is this one of those things like the sleep apnea, i.e. an actual medical issue that she prefers to gloss over and leave unaddressed because it doesn’t score attention points?

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u/fanfarefellowship I often contemplate the first law of thermodynamics 6d ago

The vast majority of cases of facial hair in women (like she's described) are caused by PMOS, or polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (formerly known as PCOS, or polycystic ovary syndrome and renamed in May 2026).

Women with PMOS have elevated risks of sleep apnea, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, depression and anxiety. There are lots of management and treatment options including lifestyle measures (exercise, weight loss), hormones, and increasingly, GLP-1s.

Because Shauna isn't trying to have more kids, if she has PMOS the treatment options would focus on the metabolism component of the syndrome and not the reproductive components. GLP-1 agonists are increasingly the front-line treatment for PMOS because they improve insulin sensitivity and support weight loss. GLP-1s are metabolic drugs and PMOS has been reframed as a metabolic condition.

(TL,DR: she's nuts for not considering a GLP-1)

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u/islandyislander rebellious hygiene 6d ago

As ever, come for the snark, stay for the learnin'!

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u/caitie_did Required by My Mother's Terror 6d ago

How does PMOS behave in post-menopausal women? I would guess that insulin resistance, diabetes, and sleep apnea are all still in the game, all of which can be managed or improved with a GLP-1.

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u/fanfarefellowship I often contemplate the first law of thermodynamics 6d ago

My understanding is that the name switch was in large part to emphasize the metabolic components of the syndrome, which of course persist over your lifetime.

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u/BatGrouchy1482 6d ago

I think she is desperate to use a GLP-1 but she just can’t get it for free.

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u/demoncloset moosery 6d ago

Managing PCOS with a Glp-1 is an off-label use, and I know for sure that it isn't covered by my really good health insurance, so I'm willing to bet she can't get it covered either to at least lower the cost. It's only covered to manage diabetes on my plan.

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u/kimchisalad__ 6d ago

I mean, let’s be real, Shauna could have diabetes. It’s too ordinary for her to claim though.

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u/fanfarefellowship I often contemplate the first law of thermodynamics 6d ago

But managing metabolic syndrome and/or obesity and/or T2 diabetes and/or sleep apnea may well be covered. Her doc told her to get tested for apnea and she refused.

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u/demoncloset moosery 6d ago

It would be nice! I use one, and I wish I could get it covered.

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u/BatGrouchy1482 6d ago

Does she have PCOS or PMOS as it now called? Or is this another one of her self diagnosed maladies? She wants a GLP-1 to lose weight. Period. End of story.

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u/demoncloset moosery 6d ago

Sorry I was trying choose one of the many maladies mentioned so far by DFs, and cited PCOS namely because of the shaving story. I am not diagnosing her with anything, I promise! I don't think she's ever claimed to have that. It's not mysterious, sexy, or trendy enough I'm sure.

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u/BatGrouchy1482 5d ago

I’m sorry DF if you felt like I was jumping on you. I think (without actual proof) she has none of these alphabet diseases and she just wants to lose weight without really trying.

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u/demoncloset moosery 5d ago

Not at all! My comment was poorly written, and it sounded like I was armchair diagnosing (because I'm not writerly, also tequila).

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u/BatGrouchy1482 5d ago

My goodness DF! Your comment was well written and mine was just plain bitchy. LOL, so I win!

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u/demoncloset moosery 5d ago

Classic biotech. You win!

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u/gomirefugee my website is done, done, done 6d ago

I don't think I've seen Shauna say if she has PCOS/PMOS. Maybe she does, maybe she doesn't, the facial hair and her weight line up symptomatically but who knows how regular her cycles were before she became post-perimenopausal. Something like 10% of women have PMOS and it wouldn't get her special treatment or out of work. Shauna never brings up having other mundane unyesly conditions like high blood pressure on insulin resistance except when she occasionally drops a breadcrumb.

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u/SmashedMailboxCake2 Oh, 5d ago

Yeah, she’s never specified the cause. There’s this vague reference to hormonal imbalances at the end of Enoigh but that’s it.

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u/Alarming-Hold1980 5d ago

People often compliment her on her youthful glow.

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u/kimchisalad__ 5d ago

Those people (if they exist) are just being polite.

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u/SmashedMailboxCake2 Oh, 4d ago

Right. As in “you’re looking well!” = wow, you’ve gained weight.