Kobieta z hirsutyzmem

Gennevieve has suffered PCOS symptoms her whole life ONTARIO, CANADA THIS MUM-of-two who proudly wears the moniker of bearded lady has defied the medics who said she would never conceive by giving birth to her biological son. Women’s Empowerment Coach & Speaker Gennevieve Vaillancourt (39) from Ontario, Canada realised something was different about her when at 18 she had never had a menstrual cycle. She has always had thicker hair than others growing up, but at 14 she started to develop facial hair, it started with thick sideburns and a moustache, which over the course of about ten-years became a beard. Gennevieve was initially embarrassed by her hirsutism, because, she insisted, as a teenager it can be hard enough to fit in without the added pressure of facial hair. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a condition that affects how the ovaries work. Symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome include irregular periods, facial hair and difficulty getting pregnant. The main treatment for polycystic ovary syndrome is medicines for things like hair growth and irregular periods. Keeping a healthy weight also helps. It's not clear what causes polycystic ovary syndrome, but it's thought to be linked to hormone problems. She tried everything to hide the hair, shaving, waxing, plucking but the hair always came back and this caused Gennevieve to feel like she didn't fit in socially and isolate herself. It took years for Gennevieve to accept her hirsutism and what ultimately got her there was advocating for others with the condition. She met her friend and parenting partner Marty Robitaille (age 49) on a blind date setup by a mutual friend in 2007. They were married in 2010 and currently live as friends and co-parenting their children together so that they have one home base. They have an incredibly supportive relationship with one another. Gennevieve now proudly wears her beard and is raising two children, a daughter Emma (18) that she is a step mother to and a son Duncan (4) that she gave birth to, proving how she battled her PCOS to fulfill her dream of being a mother. “I’m not sure if you ever really “overcome PCOS”, once you have it, you have it but, I did learn how to manage it well, and I overcame fertility struggles related to PCOS,” said Gennevieve. “I did this by calming my nervous system to decrease stress, focusing on my mental health and using diet and exercise to help regulate my menstrual cycles, blood sugar levels and hormones. “I also shifted my mindset, to start believing that my body could conceive and carry to term a healthy child. I conceived my son via and at home insemination using donor sperm without the help of fertility experts.” PCOS and its side effects have plagued Gennevieve for most of her life, she noticed her first symptoms at 18. “The hair was the first symptom for me and the absence of my menstrual cycle until I was 18,” said Gennevieve. “After that I had maybe one or two cycles naturally a year, with some years having none at all. In addition to hirsutism, the symptoms I have experienced are weight gain, insulin resistance, mood swings, thinning hair and difficulty getting pregnant. “I was always a child with thicker body hair than others, and my facial hair started developing around the age of 14 or 15. “It started with dark sideburns and a moustache and progressed from there over the course of ten years. “When the symptoms began, I felt really confused and embarrassed. I was ashamed and angry at my body for growing hair. “I tried everything within my power to hide the hair and what was happening to my body which caused a lot of stress and anxiety for me for many years. “As a teen, I felt like I didn’t fit in with other girls and women who had smooth faces, so that caused me to self-isolate a lot.” Although she initially struggled with her symptoms, Gennevieve has learnt to manage her PCOS and even embrace her hirsutism. “The number one thing I do to manage my PCOS is minimise stress in my life. This has helped me to lower my cortisol levels, stabilise my blood sugars and have better mental health,” she said. “It also helped me to have a successful pregnancy. Some other things I do are; eat mostly low carb and high protein meals, limit sugar intake, get regular sleep to combat fatigue and prioritise my mental health. “I learned to embrace hirsutism by focusing on my mindset and bringing my awareness to the ways in which women are judged negatively for things that men aren’t judged for at all, especially related to our bodies and hair growth. “I thought about all the men around the world who wake up daily with facial hair and body hair and go about their lives, without it making much of a difference at all, and I considered all the women out there feeling ashamed, hiding their hair, spending hours a week and thousands of dollars a year trying to remove it “I let myself get angry about how much shame we carry as women aro