Sasha Pieterse speaks candidly about PCOS causing weight gain at 17: ‘Disheartening’

Actress says she saw ‘over 15 gynaecologists’ before diagnosis

Pretty Little Liars alum Sasha Pieterse has revealed that undiagnosed PCOS was the reason why at 17 she experienced a weight gain of 70 pounds.

Pieterse, now 27, spoke candidly about her experience on Wednesday’s episode of The Squeeze podcast, hosted by her former Shark Boy and Lava Girl co-star Taylor Lautner and his wife, also named Taylor Lautner. The actress told the pair that she was ultimately diagnosed with PCOS, also known as polycystic ovary syndrome, after visiting “over 15 gynaecologists”.

Initially, doctors found her weight gain of 70 pounds within a year perplexing, and they weren’t able to give Pieterse a definitive answer, the actress said. This was despite the fact that the Geek Charming actress had repeatedly detailed to doctors that she “never had a regular period,” one of the most common symptoms of PCOS.

At the time, her doctors dismissed her concerns that the weight gain belied a more serious issue: “I was just always told by gynaecologists that I was just young. Like: ‘Don’t worry, it’ll regulate.’”

With little to no information on what exactly ailed her, Pieterse said she felt at a loss, calling the experience “frustrating” and “disheartening”.  She went on to explain: “No matter how great I treated my body, things were actually getting worse rather than better. It was very, very confusing.”

Pieterse was finally diagnosed after being recommended to an endocrinologist, who properly diagnosed the actress. When she first learned of her diagnosis, she said she had never heard of PCOS before. Upon learning more, she found out that it was an incurable disease that could be dormant in some people, but said that’s not what frustrated her the most.

She explained: “The most frustrating part about this is that it’s fairly easy to diagnose. It’s a hormone imbalance. It’s a hormone disease, and it’s so easy to see because your testosterone or your oestrogen will be really high, you’ll have really low vitamin D levels, you’ll be deficient in a lot of things.”

The actress continued to say that while she had “outward symptoms that everyone could see,” oftentimes, others exhibit their symptoms differently. According to the CDC, PCOS symptoms can vary from weight gain to changes in hair growth, gastrointestinal issues, or painful ovarian cysts.

Another symptom that many with PCOS experience is infertility. When Pieterse was able to get pregnant with husband Hudson Scheaffer, she said she was overwhelmed with relief.

“A lot of women have infertility issues and so we were expecting more difficulty, so it’s been an absolute blessing that we were able to just get pregnant by ourselves,” the actress told People in 2020.

Amid her ongoing hormonal issues, Pieterse said she was overjoyed to be a mom and welcomed her son, Hendrix Wade Scheaffer, on 9 November 2020.

"I wanted to be a mom my whole life," Pieterse gushed at the time. "The fact that it’s finally here - it’s a crazy, crazy time, but a beautiful time. In the midst of everything happening, it really is the silver lining for us."