Mayan Lopez Gained 75 Lbs. in 3 Months and 'Became a Shut-In' amid Undiagnosed PCOS: ‘It Was Self-Hate’

• Mayan Lopez is sharing how symptoms of her then-undiagnosed PCOS — like facial hair and weight gain — led to "self-hate"

• The Lopez vs. Lopez star told hosts Dr. Thaïs “Dr. A” Aliabadi and Mary Alice Haney on the Feb. 11 episode of Dear Media's She MD that she struggled with disordered eating and "got really depressed"

• Dr. A, who treats Lopez, shared that the actress told her "I feel validated" when she was diagnosed with the disorder

Mayan Lopez is sharing how symptoms of her then-undiagnosed PCOS — like weight gain and body hair — led to “self-hate” and disordered eating.

After getting her period at age 11, the actress, who stars with her father George Lopez on the NBC sitcom Lopez vs. Lopez, shared that she had "excess facial hair" in adolescence.

"And then, as I started going into college, I gained 75 lbs. in three months,” Lopez, now 28, told hosts Dr. Thaïs “Dr. A” Aliabadi and Mary Alice Haney on the Feb. 11 episode of Dear Media's She MD.

Lopez — who is a patient of Dr. A’s — said “there was no explanation” given to her for her symptoms.  “I went to the doctor and they were just like, ‘Oh, you've had regular periods, like, just go on birth control, try to eat better and exercise.’ ”

Meanwhile, Lopez, who was 22 then, shared that she was working out twice a day and eating “really well,” but “my weight wouldn't budge.” It made her “really self-conscious,” she said, adding, “I just would look at myself and it was just self-hate — like just self-hatred. And I was already very self-conscious.”

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She described her early twenties as “a time where you're trying to explore,” but instead, “I just became a shut-in. I got really depressed and really upset and I didn't know why.”

“I was thinking of going and getting bariatric surgery. I have struggled with disordered eating and I thought, maybe it's that, maybe I'm not doing enough.” She shared that the beginning of a diagnosis came when a doctor referred her to an endocrinologist, who ran some tests and told Lopez, “You're almost metabolically in menopause, like you could have sex without protection and you wouldn't get pregnant.”

That was when she sought Dr. A’s help: “I sent my lab records and your office called me back right away, and they're like, 'How old are you?' And I go, '22.' And they're like, 'You're coming in immediately.' ”

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“And you were the first person to tell me that I had PCOS," she said. "It just changed my life — my whole life.”

PCOS is short for polycystic ovary syndrome, and it’s the leading cause of infertility in women. The genetic, hormonal, metabolic and reproductive disorder can cause irregular periods, acne, infertility, weight gain and excessive hair growth, according to the PCOS Awareness Month website.  Insulin resistance is a common symptom, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control explains, as women with PCOS can make insulin — but their bodies don’t use it properly.

“You told me I was insulin resistant. I had no idea what that meant or what that was,” Lopez said. As VeryWell Health explains, this means the body doesn’t understand insulin signals, causing it to store fat, mostly in the midsection.

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“I struggled with binge eating during my parents' divorce. I think that food was something that I could control, and when my world was, like, really falling apart and it was just a really great comfort and it was there for me,” Lopez shared. “And then as I got older … I would go with restriction purging.”

“There were years of my life where I just don't remember because I was just so depressed,” she said, explaining, “When you have PCOS, it's like your body doesn't understand.”

“I still remember when I told you [you had PCOS],” Dr. A said. “One of the things you told me is 'I feel validated' because you had been dismissed. [Lopez] walked in with every single symptom of polycystic ovarian syndrome. She wasn't missing a single symptom.”

Dr. A continued: “Every single woman on this planet would have had disordered eating or an eating disorder if their PCOS and insulin resistance would get dismissed the way hers was.”

New episodes of the SHE MD podcast premiere every Tuesday.

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, please go to NationalEatingDisorders.org.

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