Relapse...

I am sorry to hear you had a set back. I have heard the pill helps some women due to hormone i get outbreaks just days before my monthly hate that over night they just appear.

 

Hi Shannon,

First off, sorry to hear about the relapse, and very sorry it's in your groin. Totally understand the pain and frustration in dealing with that. My hoohah is about as sick and tired of HS as I am.

My OBGYN stuck me on the pill years ago when my HS progressed to my girly parts, mostly because she believed it was connected to my PCOS (hadn't been diagnosed with HS at that point). Wish I could say that it helped, but it didn't. I tried all sorts of different ones, Orthocyclen, Dianette, Yaz and a whole bunch of others I can't remember the names of. Nothing worked. I have talked to some women who have experienced a remission of symptoms when they hit menopause, so maybe there is a hormone factor in all of this, and I know some people have had some minor success with a combination of a birth control pill and a testosterone suppressent called Spironolactone, but no complete remission. I tried it and not only did it not do anything for me, I had such horrible side effects with it I had to stop, I 'd put in the same column as Accunate, or Roaccutane.

The only thing that helps me keep my symptoms under control is my diet. I eliminated nightshades months ago and have been symptom free since, unless I accidentally ingest food that has some hidden nightshade in it. Gluten and peanuts also seem to be pretty common triggers for people with HS. If you haven't already, I'd suggest an elimination diet to find out if you do in fact have a food trigger.

Just remember, everyone with HS responds differently to different treatments. Even though the pill didn't work for me, doesn't mean it won't for you. You have to weigh the pros and cons of each treatment and decide if it's worth the possible side effects. Make sure you have an open, two-way conversation with your doctor about this. You should be doing most of the talking and she should be doing most of the listening. Do your research beforehand and ask tons of questions, if she can't or won't answer them, find another doctor who can.

The most valuable advice I can give you is make sure you that you stay in control of your healthcare decisions. Doctors are there to guide those decisions, but ultimately it's your body, you have to live with it and you're the only one who knows what's best for yourself.

Good luck!

So sorry to hear about your relapse. I have been on pill since after having my son six months ago and it doesn't seem to help.

One of the most horrible things about HS.is triggers seem to be different in all of us. Good luck finding out what your trigger is.

Hi I know just how you feel.  Aren't they awful?   I found my biggest trigger was stress and I could guarantee if I was stressed which was a lot of the time I would get a huge one somewhere nasty.   It is not easy to avoid stress but try as best you can.  It might help you too.

I am retired now (61)  and haven't suffered a huge one since I stopped work,  just minor ones and I have a lot less stress now than I did.  Coincidence?   Who knows?

Good luck  Bev x