Hi Cathy!

Check out the LOCAH board, you’ll find you have a lot in common with some of us.  Of special interest is the last page, which was where some of the first posts are.  There is a thread where we compared symptoms. 

Although I had clear symptoms as a kid, I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 22, and then only because my menstrual cycles were getting really wacky.  Sometimes I would go two weeks, sometimes ten.  Still, that wouldn’t have been so bad except I’d get PMS on time and then just stay that way until I finally bled.  I can handle the moodiness for a couple of days, but sometimes it was more like 2 months!!!!  This is what sent me to my doctor.

I was initially diagnosed with PCOS, then my 17-OHP and my DHEA-S tests showed it was LOCAH.  Actually, my endo was a fertility specialist, as that was the best endo for women in my area at the time, and she said I probably have both.  My ovaries look normal too, although my left ovary does get pretty tender from time to time.

If I hadn’t have had the irregular menses, chances are that I wouldn’t have been diagnosed until much later either.  This even though my LOCAH is more moderate than mild (I was extremely hairy, had a furry stomach, had all my growth spurts by the time I was in fourth grade, had a racing heartrate, started menstruating when I was 9, an insatiable appetite, severe mood swings, etc). 

I refused steroids for the first ten years after diagnosis, and instead my endo treated my symptoms.  But things got worse a couple of years ago and I no longer really had a choice.  I feel a lot better since I’ve been on dex.

Welcome to the board!