u/Hannahmariecarter

Mind you, my endo doesn't care about my PCOS at all. She literally told me that since I don't want to have kids and I don't need to regulate my period, there's nothing to be done. I feel like I have symptoms of insulin resistance and asked for more bloodwork because we only did my glucose and HbA1c which were normal. I just want to fully rule it out so I can move on to what ELSE could be causing my symptoms.

Here's what my endo said:

"Insulin level is not the lab test to evaluate for insulin resistance, the best way is to check for insulin resistance is a oral glucose intolerance test. You PCP ordered a HbA1c test to check for prediabetes or diabetes, your level was very good from 01/2026, it was 4.9%, it was normal."

It seems like she isn't even willing to do an oral glucose tolerance test because my HbA1c is normal. I've heard from countless people on here that HbA1c isn't a good indicator. Should I keep pushing?

So this is going to be a long post.

I dislike my nose. It's one of my biggest insecurities. (These pictures do it too much justice. It looks worse from just head on.) I have a deviated septum and nasal valve collapse on one side. I spent a long time debating whether I could handle surgery (I have a fear of anesthesia) and it took me a long time to muster up the courage to do this for myself. I picked an ENT who is also a plastic surgeon because while the deviation and valve collapse DO affect me functionally speaking, so does the appearance of it. I went into the appointment wanting to discuss a septorhinoplasty (which is an INCREDIBLY common procedure. It's almost impossible to find before and after photos online for just a septoplasty alone) and she pretty much immediately refused to do a rhinoplasty. She said my nose didn't look that crooked and that nobody's nose is perfectly symmetrical. I was kind of anxious at this point so I just shut down and didn't push on the rhinoplasty. But then she repeatedly emphasized that a septoplasty would be for functionality alone and probably wouldn't change the appearance. (Hence why I wanted a septorhinoplasty.) I left the consultation feeling defeated and confused.

I later asked her if I should find a different plastic surgeon who would be willing to do a rhinoplasty. She explained that one reason she turned me down on the rhinoplasty is because of how expensive it is. (I went into it knowing that rhinoplasties are very expensive. It's a huge investment.) I found that frustrating because that shouldn't be her concern? I appreciate her concern but it's my choice if I want to spend that money. She told me that because of the specific structure of my nose, the septoplasty would improve the appearance at least somewhat. I went ahead and scheduled the surgery and just told myself that I'd hope for the best. But then during our last visit discussing the surgery, she asked me to once again tell her what my goals are with the surgery and I answered something along the lines of "Well, I would like to be able to breathe better and in terms of aesthetics, I would like it to look a little bit straighter." She immediately started going on about how the surgery is purely functional and isn't meant to change the appearance. NO DUH. THAT'S WHY I WANTED A RHINOPLASTY. It feels like she's just going back and forth with me.

I have a septoplasty and nasal valve repair in ten days. I tried to accept that there's no guarantee that I'll be happier with the appearance of my nose after all of this is over but I'm realizing I don't want to accept that. Why should I have to accept that? It is perfectly normal to get a rhinoplasty with your septoplasty to improve the appearance. This is so important to me and I'm confused as to why I'm about to go through with something as serious as surgery when things don't feel 100% right.

Am I overreacting? Should I just go through with the surgery and then just get a rhinoplasty later on if I'm not happy with the result?

EDIT: In case I didn't make it clear, I do have functional issues. I have trouble breathing at night especially when I lie on my left side and I've stopped breathing in my sleep a few times. I'm not sure how often it actually happens. My doctors suspect I might have sleep apnea because of how much sleep I need and how exhausted I am all of the time. I also get winded very quickly when doing physical activities such as walking or going up stairs despite being a fairly active person.

My endo says insulin level is not the lab test to evaluate for insulin resistance