POLYCYSTIC ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects one in five women and is a condition that affects how the ovaries work.
Symptoms of PCOS include irregular periods, facial hair and difficulty getting pregnant.
It’s not clear what causes PCOS, but it’s thought to be linked to hormone problems.
One woman that lives with PCOS, Zoe Antonia, has taken to TikTok to share her experience of living with the condition.
She has 78.8k followers and over 426k likes on the popular app.
Zoe uploaded a video to her account with the caption ‘PCOS looks different on everyone. It will get better, we got this cysters’.
In this video, Zoe shared what “life with PCOS” is like for her.
Zoe goes through the symptoms that she experiences on a regular basis, including: “Checking your unwanted hair growth everyday.
“Constantly trying to find ways to get rid of it.
“Easily prone to bloating.
“Covering up cystic acne.
“Googling and researching to try and find answers.
“Going back and forth with doctors not knowing what’s going on.
“Worried you won’t be able to conceive one day.
“Not wanting to get into a restrictive mindset with food but knowing certain foods with make your symptoms worse.
“Uncontrollable cravings after eating anything sweet.
“Telling and believing in yourself that it will get better.”
In the video, we see Zoe having the hair on her neck removed by multiple processes – threading, using tweezers and by a laser hair removal machine.
The video got 424.6k views, 22.4k likes, 499 comments and 630 shares.
In another video, Zoe shows what it’s like to have hair constantly growing on your body.
She uploaded the video with the caption “When you think you've just about got it under control. Can anyone else relate?”
She said: “When you do hair removal techniques for your PCOS hirsutism and you see dark hairs sprouting back up after a few days.”
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Many people were quick to comment on Zoe’s videos to commend her bravery for being so open and honest about her experience with the condition.
One person said: “I’ve never seen anyone post openly about PCOS before! Hopefully it helps more women and normalises it” to which Zoe said “Yes, hoping we can normalise women having facial hair like we have with cellulite and stretch marks, so we don’t feel so much pressure to…”
Another added: “I’ve been waiting for this video to show up and help me feel not so alone. Thank you.”
A third commented: “Thank you for posting this! Many women suffer in silence and this is so normal.”
Another said: “The rawness of this video lets me know I’m not the only one. I’ve always felt like less of a woman because of this” to which Zoe said “Noo never think that! Society has made us believe that women are meant to be completely hairless and smooth! It’s just a sign of hormonal imbalance..”
Many other TikTok users took to sharing their experiences of living with PCOS.
One person commented: “After a few days!?! Mines back every morning.”
Another said: “I’m so embarrassed by it I literally shave it off and pluck every day.”
A third added: “Feels so good to not be alone! I’ve always felt so embarrassed.”
Meanwhile, I found out my man was cheating when I took a STI test and it came back positive for chlamydia.
Also, I’m a size 8 model and am told I’m too fat because I put on weight – fashion bosses said they want to see my bones.
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