Arabella Chi has revealed she has been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). She has opened up about a secret miscarriage, cystic acne, hair loss and debilitating period pain.
The 33-year-old Love Island star posted a candid video to Instagram for her followers on Friday in which she detailed her symptoms and admitted her confidence had been affected.
She explained that she had been diagnosed two days earlier, after she had been in so much pain during her last period that she thought she would have to call an ambulance.
PCOS is a common condition in which the ovaries do not release eggs regularly, become enlarged and may contain small follicular cysts.
The ovaries also produce excess androgen, which can lead to irregular menstrual cycles, excessive hair growth, acne, and infertility.
Arabella Chi has revealed she has been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), opening up about a secret miscarriage, cystic acne, hair loss and debilitating period pain.
The 33-year-old Love Island star posted a candid video to her Instagram on Friday for her followers, detailing her symptoms and admitting her confidence had plummeted
While she added that she had suffered a miscarriage in September last year, just a few months before moving into the Love Island All Stars villa in January
Arabella started by saying that she wanted to use her massive platform of 1.3 million followers on Instagram to talk about the things she’s concerned about now that she’s announced her diagnosis.
She added that she had suffered a miscarriage in September last year, just a few months before moving into the Love Island All Stars villa in January.
She said: ‘I was recently diagnosed with PCOS. I am now 33 and have been on the pill for about 15 years, until August last year.
‘I had an unplanned miscarriage last September and after that I thought I would stop taking the pill, because at 33 I thought I had been taking the pill for so long.
‘I actually started on the pill when I was 13 and I actually went on it originally for my skin and because I had really painful periods. At the time I just thought it was an easy and convenient way to regulate my periods and look after my skin. Then I moved onto Roaccutane.
Arabella then described her struggle with acne in her youth and spoke of the pain and depression she went through.
She said: ‘I’ve always had really bad acne, off and on. I even had childhood acne, so bad you couldn’t even see the skin on my face.
‘When I say growing up, I literally had times in my life where I wanted to rip my face off, my pimples were so painful and I was so depressed about my acne.
Arabella started by saying that she wanted to use her massive platform of 1.3 million Instagram followers to talk about things that are troubling her now that she’s announced her diagnosis
Arabella then described her struggle with acne in her youth, recalling the pain and depression she went through
‘But of course I started using Roaccutane and it did go away while I was using it, but then it kept coming back.’
She then described how her body reacted after she stopped taking the pill last year, describing the “agonizing pain” of her period.
She says: ‘Of course my acne got better as I got older, but when I went off the pill last year my hormones went through the roof.
‘Although I was actually happier, my hormones were definitely not happier. I literally got acne on my face again, when I get my period I can’t move for a whole day.
‘I’m in really terrible pain, so much so that the last time, a month ago, it was so bad that I thought I had to call an ambulance. And then my mother said to me, “You really need to go to a doctor and get this sorted out.”‘
Arabella continued: ‘One of the side effects I had was that I actually started losing my hair. I got cystic acne and painful periods.
‘When I was diagnosed with PCOS I knew there was no cure. That’s also why I jumped on here, because it’s a great platform to talk about things that are personal to me and I’m sure there are people out there who suffer from it too.
‘That’s why I want to open my Instagram and invite you to take this journey with me and give me advice that I can then hopefully share with you.
“This is a realistic story because I feel like I’m not really talking about my personal side of the matter here.”
She stepped closer to the camera to show off her skin, saying, “As you can see, I’m struggling with pretty bad acne right now. My skin is definitely not perfect.
‘And I think the job that I have definitely affects my confidence as well. I’m a confident person, but especially when I’m in the gym all the time, I’m not someone who wears a lot of makeup, so it’s definitely something that I want to look at.
‘I suffer so much from acne and hair loss. That’s why I’ve had extensions put in. As a woman, hair loss is not ideal at all.’
Arabella concluded by asking followers for advice and messages. She said, “I know you can balance PCOS with diet, so if any of you have any advice, I’m open to DMs because this is something completely new to me.”
It comes as Arabella is making the most of her single life after it was reported in April that she had signed up to dating app Raya (pictured on Sunday)
She also denied rumours of a short-lived romance with Premier League footballer Vinicius Souza, amid claims they have split (pictured)
The reality star captioned the candid video: “A little real talk for y’all. One thing I’ve always said is I want to use my platform to help other people and now that I’ve recently been diagnosed with PCOS, I feel like this is the perfect time to do it.
‘It’s new to me and because I have a mostly female following, I’m sure there are girls with PCOS who can tell me what they’ve found that helps, so I can spread the knowledge I have and hopefully help other people in my situation.
‘I was diagnosed 2 days ago and am also looking into endometriosis as one of my biggest side effects is my periods which I unfortunately have.
‘I would like to hear from you guys if anyone has it or if anyone has it and knows about it. I will make a video in due time with all the advice I get so I can share it with you all.
‘I look forward to sharing this journey with you all and trying to make something positive out of it lots of love Arabella xx’.
This comes as Arabella makes the most of her single life, after it was announced in April that she had signed up for celebrity dating app Raya.
A source told The Sun: ‘Arabella has been loving her new single status since leaving the Love Island villa and has been meeting up with friends in the capital.
‘She also hopes to go on a few dates while she’s in the UK and hopes to find someone through the app who can thrill her.’
She also denied rumours of a short-lived romance with Premier League footballer Vinicius Souza, amid rumours they have split.
In March, it was reported that Arabella was dating 24-year-old Brazilian athlete Vinícius, just two weeks after she split from her Love Island All Stars co-star Adam Maxted.
The reality star was spotted grabbing coffee with the Sheffield United midfielder in late March, but later denied any signs of a relationship after The Sun reported they had already split.
A source confirmed the couple were not in a romantic relationship when contacted by MailOnline.