Bake Off host’s struggle with
In a new doco, Hayley Sproull reveals her battle with PCOS, a condition that affects one in 10 women, but is not often discussed. Britt Mann reports.
From the age of 16, Hayley Sproull’s mum was convinced her daughter was pregnant. Months would pass between Sproull’s periods, and that seemed to be the only explanation.
‘‘I’ve peed on so many pregnancy test sticks – you wouldn’t believe,’’ the Great Kiwi Bake Off co-host says.
It wasn’t until four years later, when Wellington born-and-raised Sproull was living with friends from Toi Whakaari Drama School, that an alternative theory was mooted.
‘‘My flatmate was like, ‘I think you have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome’,’’ she says.
‘‘I went and got all the tests, and it was.’’ Polycystic Ovary Syndrome – known as PCOS – affects up to 10 per cent of pre-menopausal women. It is characterised by a hormonal imbalance during the ovulation process, which causes eggs to become trapped in fluid-filled cysts that, over time, can cover a woman’s ovaries entirely. Oft-cited sideeffects include irregular periods, hairiness and infertility.
Sproull was diagnosed with PCOS via an ultrasound and blood tests eight years ago. She says the doctor explained the condition was the reason for her infrequent periods, and why Sproull had sported a moustache throughout her teens that she was occasionally teased about.
‘‘And I was just sort of sent on my way.’’ Sproull, who is known for her role on
Bake Off and appearances on shows such as Funny Girls and Jono and
Ben, has been on something of a personal journey over the past four years, learning as much as she can about PCOS and its management.
Now 29, she understands an array of seemingly unrelated symptoms are associated with the condition, whose cause is unknown, and cannot be cured.
Stubborn fat around her midsection, fluctuations in her weight, acne, moodiness and the hair on her head falling out ‘‘like crazy’’ are among what Sproull terms the ‘‘cosmetic’’ side effects of PCOS, that had gone unmentioned when she was diagnosed.
‘‘But for me, cosmetic things are the things that you live with every day. And it’s horrible.’’
Sproull’s documentary Cystic Sisters begins streaming on TVNZ today, depicting the experiences of other Kiwi women living with PCOS who also work in the entertainment industry.
‘‘I was looking at these people I considered to be
friends going, ‘woah, we’ve never talked about this’,’’ Sproull says of the film-making process.
‘‘Just hearing these really varying degrees of symptoms and coping with it – from people who were just like, ‘nah, f... it’, to people who were like, ‘it’s really ruining my life’.’’
‘‘A couple of them had never spoken about it publicly before, cos they still held a lot of shame around it. I felt really like, blessed, that they felt comfortable to share that with us.’’
Speaking to Stuff at her Mt Albert home, Sproull stresses she is not an expert in the condition.
‘‘I’m just saying, ‘this is my experience of it, here’s some people’s opinions on how to help manage it, and maybe after watching it, you might go and investigate for yourself.’’
The documentary, made by an almost entirely female crew, also features an endocrinologist, naturopath and nutritionist, who maintain
‘‘We can share these things, we can talk about them... and actually, you know what? Sometimes having a moustache is funny.’’