I've had issues with heavy periods since I started at 13 (now 37). Despite scans showing multiple cysts on each ovary and blood tests showing raised testosterone - the gynae I was referred to basically said "even though you have PCOS, as you're having regular periods and don't want to try for a baby there's nothing we can do".

I have periods that are so heavy I feel sick, faint and am so exhausted I can barely get out of bed (I take naproxen but they won't give me anything else). I can't go on the pill as every time I've tried it it's ruined my MH and caused me to basically be on the verge of tears constantly. My blood tests show I'm borderline anaemic but because I'm (just, by .5) within the healthy range the NHS won't prescribe me anything and OTC supplements don't make any difference.

Are there any special catch phrases I can use to get some more help? I've finally persuaded my GP to get me another referral to gynae in December but they were so useless last time that I don't hold out much hope. TIA!

I live in eastern Canada. I have been trying for 15 years to get help with my suspected PCOS & have been dismissed so many times. Even told it was likely i could not conceive (with 0 testing, and i had my daughter 7 years ago so that was obviously not true)

First it was probably my diet, then it was that i was underweight, then it was my t1 diabetes that was causing my lack of periods. And yet here i am, 15 years later, perfect diet, perfect control, healthy weight, exercise & drink water often, supplement & still don’t have a regular menstrual cycle. Finally after pushing my doctor for THREE YEARS, to do a blood panel, it’s a routine A1c check and estradiol check, no testosterone check? And of course that comes back normal and he doesn’t want to follow up. Even though i tell him i get 2 periods a year, if i’m lucky.

So i beg my endocrinologist who mainly specializes in my type 1 diabetes to help me, but he says it’s not his “area of expertise” but he will send a note to my doctor saying i need a gyno referral. The thing i’ve already asked him for numerous times, but he says the wait list is too long and i could be waiting a couple years. OK! so put me on the list now!! If no one knows what to do, send me to someone that does! I’d rather wait two years and get someone that can help me than develop severe health issues because ya’ll don’t know shit about women’s reproductive health.

I mention i’m worried about cancer risk after years and years of missed periods and it’s like i’m being treated as if I’m hysterical. Me and my partner have been trying to have another child but obviously it’s difficult to plan, so i requested a referral from my endo to oversee me as a high risk prenatal patient with his team at the hospital, just so the OB there can maybe help me.

I have had ONE pap smear in my 31 years, haven’t had a mammogram EVER (& there’s a history of breast cancer in my family as well) have never even seen a gyno before in my life. Forget getting help with this..WTF is wrong with our healthcare system when it comes to women’s health?? I recognize i’m lucky i even have a doctor and endo considering most here do not, but it truly feels like I don’t even have one & that my GP’s incompetence & ego will be the death of me.

I feel enraged, terrified for myself, and also my friends and family that also cannot access timely care or be taken seriously. Any advice for someone in my position? Or am i doomed to lie awake every night fearing the worst?

I used to think exercise only counted for PCOS if it was hard, and if the scales did not move, it had not worked. Writing this post changed how I look at it.

The baseline that keeps coming up is about 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, plus strengthening on 2 days. For weight loss, the amount is often higher, around 250 minutes a week. That sounds a lot, but it does not have to be gym sessions. Brisk walking counts, and short bursts through the day add up.

A loss of about 5 to 10 percent of body weight is where many of the PCOS benefits start to show, for periods, insulin sensitivity and fertility, and no single type of exercise wins overall. Walking, strength work, yoga and short bursts all help in different ways, and the benefits can show even when the scales do not move much, in energy, mood, sleep and how your body handles insulin.

What helped me make sense of it was to stop chasing one perfect workout, and start with what I could actually keep doing: walk briskly most days, yoga three to four times a week, and sit less in between.

I am a pharmacist, and I write about PCOS in plain language on MedExplained. I put the full explanation, with the numbers and the different types of exercise, here:

https://medexplaineddotcodotuk.wordpress.com/2026/10/28/exercise-weight-loss-and-pcos-what-actually-helps-and-how-much-is-enough/

I love this community and I know we can't change the name bc PMOS is already taken, but I wish more people would use the official name for the condition.

Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS) is more inclusive of everyone and highlights the true nature of what we deal with on a daily basis.

My doctors and therapist are already in the habit of saying PMOS and I wish we as an online community would use it more.

Thankyou for coming to my ted talk 🫶

As the title says really. I've tried to wax myself several times and wax my own face regularly but I don't get hairless and then have to go in with a pair of tweezers, these hairs seem to have broken in the wax rather than be fully pulled out. I've just come out of a professional full body wax and have similar results with lots of broken hairs now too short to wax that I'll have to pluck. Do you get a completely clean wax? How much hair do you get up? I'd say both waxing myself and the professional wax got about 50% of the hair out on my face, and 75-80% on the rest of my body. Would you expect a professional waxer to go in with tweezers to remove any remaining hairs? I'm in the UK if this makes a difference. My waxer plucked remaining hairs in my mustache but not anywhere else.

Hey...can anyone suggest me some good high protein oats recipe but i have few conditions..

No eggs

No cottage cheese or milk products..i dont have fridge

No overnight oats

No protein powder..i cant afford.

Lastly cost effective as i am still a student and dont have much money..

Hi! I was diagnosed with pcos about a week ago. My past history: I had my last period in July, which my whole cycle was 47 days. I then proceeded to skip my periods for August and September. I got my period back on October 5th. Now I am having another period, which started on the 26th. Has anybody else had this happen after they skipped periods?

Hi! This might be the wrong forum because I’m convinced I don’t have PCOS (lol) but my healthcare providers keep talking about PCOS, so asking here. Basically: does this sound like PCOS to you?

Basically, my only symptom is very delayed ovulation / periods (aka secondary amenorrhea) for my entire pubescent life. I went to a gyno six years ago because I was concerned about it (kinda annoying to get random periods every few months) and she took bloodwork and did a pelvic ultrasound, and found nothing abnormal except a high LH to FSH ratio, which is apparently common with PCOS but not diagnostic of PCOS. Pelvic ultrasound didn’t show anything indicative of PCOS. I am lean, no facial hair.

I went on birth control after that appointment to regulate my periods and it was excellent, but I am pretty bad at taking a daily pill and wanted to try natural cycles + oura ring, so I recently stopped taking birth control. My first cycle took 51 days, and I’m now on day 55 no cycle. So I went back to the doctor, they took bloodwork again, and again, high LH to FSH ratio, everything else normal (except slightly low prolactin - apparently high prolactin can cause amenorrhea, so cross that off the list…).

Again, doctors keep talking about PCOS. But I’m convinced I don’t have it because literally the only symptom of PCOS I have is delayed periods. Anyone have any sense of why they keep bringing it up / thoughts? The only thing I’ve read which resonates is that PCOS (or now PMOS) might just be a catch-all name for various endocrine disorders and mine is just being looped in even though I don’t fit classic criteria.

Hello!

Ive had PCOS for many years now but always managed to deal with it via exercise and Metformin. Last year I ballooned up 40 lbs and my BMI is at 33 now. Im seeing my endo tomorrow and want to discuss GLP meds but from what I'm reading Zepbound/Mounjaro is more effective for PCOS

However, my insurance will only cover Wegovy for weight loss but not Mounjaro (needs diabetes diagnosis) and Zepbound is not covered at all by my plan for the time being.

I guess Im looking for positive experiences on Wegovy (especially weight loss!) And reassurance that Wegovy is still a good option. I know everyone reacts differently but I am feeling kinda bummed I can't access the "more effective" drug.

I know cysts aren’t a requirement for pcos but I do personally have cysts. I just returned home from the hospital with advice to rest and schedule a sooner visit with my OB for a closer look at smaller cysts. Hospital CT scans didn’t show any signs of appendicitis, ovary torsion, large cysts, or endometriosis. I’m kinda stuck at home now for the next 3 days to rest and relax… I dunno what to do to ease the pain though because it DOES hurt and it’s stabbing and random and I’m not able to be upright for long or very active…

Anyone have any lax advice on making my poor stupid ovary feel better? Id really like to get back to my normal again 😭

(The cyst that ruptured didn’t show up on the CT, it would’ve been more visible with an ultrasound but they didn’t want to over test me. This isn’t my first minor cyst rupture but this one is more brutal)

Because fuck that, it’s 2026.

Went to a new gyno today to establish care and do my annual exam. There was nothing wrong with my old gyno (Planned Parenthood), other than they canceled my appointment hours before on the day of and their next available was in January. I’ve been spotting since July while on Slynd and I was trying to come to a solution sooner rather than later.

Anyway, during my exam, we go over the fact that I had a Pap smear within the last 3 years and it was normal (therefore there was no need to do it today). I keep trying to bring up my concerns, but she just keeps circling back to irregular bleeding which I don’t necessarily have outside of being on Slynd. I have other symptoms like testosterone (hair growth), my hair is thinning, cystic acne, mood swings, painful periods (that I’ve had since I was 9).

I kept trying to explain that I had other symptoms, not irregular bleeding, but I can hardly get a word in and she’s just throwing information at me at a million miles a minute, not giving me time to process the information or ask questions. She said I could see a dermatologist (I have an appointment scheduled but couldn’t get in til February), regarding mood swings, she said my antidepressant that I haven’t started yet should help with it. Which is crazy, because my last one that I took with Slynd didn’t.

Then, she hit me with “you could try exercising 30 minutes a day.” I’m 27 and 265 pounds. I exercise 5 days a week, weightlifting 3 of those 5 days. She would’ve known that if she would’ve taken the time to hear my concerns or get to know me at all instead of rushing me in and pushing me out within 15 to 20 minutes.

And at the end of it all, I ended up getting a Pap smear anyway, that I didn’t even need.

I cried when I left the office and my entire way to work. When I got to work, I sent her a message in MyChart telling her my POV and that I hope she does better going forward, but I’ll be going somewhere else.

I made an appointment at planned parenthood again, and now we’re back to the drawing board.

I haven’t had my period in over a year. I don’t know what’s going on in my body but my hormones are wreaking havoc. I have male patterned baldness. I’ve opted into cutting my hair into a buzz cut. I have a pronounced apron belly. I’m on antipsychotics that made me gain even more weight. Which I know weight gain makes PCOS even worse. I’m wondering does anybody else deal with no having periods for a long period of time. I went to an OBGYN but lost my insurance and couldn’t continue. I plan on getting insurance through the market place once it opens back up. Maybe I can get this figured out.

I feel like so much PCOS advice assumes you can afford specialist foods, supplements and a completely different food shop. Not everyone can do that on top of their usual expenses!

What advice have you found hardest to follow because of the cost? And have you found anything that works for you without spending loads?

Hey all, last month I had a pretty heavy bleed after three months without a period. Doctor put me on ponstan forte and it eventually came to an end. Went to see my gyno who recommended me a three month plan of Provera. Basically i use it ten days every month to induce a bleed. Just did my first ten days and now I want to know what to expect. On my last ultrasound everything seemed fine, my lining was thin and i started the Provera only two weeks later- should I expect a heavy bleed again? My regular periods are normal 5-7 days and are pretty normal.

Hello ! I have PCOS with some insuline resistance (for now, not diabetic, but my mom is) and I have been trying to balance my meals better to try and fight the resistance. So, I'd like to know if this breakfast is alright or if I should add/take out some things because I often feel peckish at around 10-11am (to be fair, I eat my breakfast at 5 to 6am, so, maybe I should just add some kind of small snack).

I eat everything together in a bowl :

-greek yoghurt (one yoghurt)

-some muesli (currently oat, almond and chocolate. I usually take the one with loads of nuts instead cause I love nuts but it was out), I'd say around 50g? I don't measure it but the bag last me around 10 days (generally more but I don't really count either) and it's 500g

-a fruit (at this season, it's an apple cut in it with some cinnamon on top)

Maybe it's a bit too much sugar? Cause the greek yoghurt is not sugar free and there is already the fruit?

i don't have any particular diet restriction aside vegetarism, I am just trying to balance my diet to avoid the insuline resistance getting worse. I am slightly overweight, but nothing worrying. And nothing surprising as my insuline resistance was detected pretty late (after I asked the doctor to test me... more than a year after being diagnosed with PCOS AND having a diabetic mother who probably had PCOS too...) and I really love fruits

hey everyone! i’ve had symptoms for several years, and they’ve been dismissed by several doctors and specialists. i just went to a new OBGYN yesterday, who was able to diagnose me almost immediately by hearing my experiences and seeing my lab history.

this was an immediate relief, knowing that i was being heard and listened to finally. but a little sliver of me hoped my symptoms would be linked mostly to my persistent ovarian cyst (which we discussed surgically removing, another big win).

i think it’s been hard to process that what i’m feeling is something i’ll have to manage for the rest of my life. i wish i could experience life in my body without having to monitor it every single day.

more so, i’m not even sure where to start on this journey. do i start taking supplements? do i seek therapy? or should i tackle the cyst problem and see how i feel?

i have a feeling i’ll be lurking here for a while, so hello new friends!

I’m not asking to be diagnosed, I just want to know if my symptoms could potentially point to PCOS because at the very least I know there’s something going on with my body.
I’ve been gradually gaining weight over the past couple years and I thought it was just my activity level, but i’m heavier than i’ve ever been despite eating very little and I have a decently low calorie daily intake. I feel more in control of my eating than I ever was. This is what set off my red flag the most, but i’m still not sure if the weight gain is just from my metabolism depleting as I get older/am leaving my teen years. I’m a 23 year old woman, and my weight just doesn’t seem to want to move. I had dark velvety patches of skin on my neck and my underarms for a while a couple years ago, but they appear to have gone away.

I’ve never had excess hair, but I did have severe cystic acne when I was a teen. However, I did go on accutane and haven’t had many problems with acne since (I maybe get one occasional cystic pimple on my face now and then.)
Before I was on birth control I had an irregular period. It usually looked something like this: Period starts on the 20th of the month, the next month no period, the month after that my period starts in the first week. I’m on Slynd now and I skip placebo on BC, so I don’t have a period anymore.

Earlier this year I would also experience pretty extreme fatigue after eating in the morning (usually a cliff bar), and would feel exhausted. Like can’t think, struggling to keep my eyes open tired. This has faded in recent months though, especially since I don’t really eat breakfast, or if I do it’s just a nature valley bar (lower cal and sugar than a cliff bar).

The only other things going on with my body right now (not sure if they’re pcos related), are that my body gets really warm in the morning roughly an hour after waking up (my skin doesn’t feel warm, I feel internally hot, this is a symptom only developed in the past year.), General sensitivity to temperature (either feeling too hot or too cold, especially cold feet and hands), and I get persistent cysts that don’t heal fully or leave purple marks (especially on chafing areas).

The only abnormal thing about my lab work last year when I went to the doctor was I had slightly elevated liver enzymes. When I was called back in for another blood test, they were in a normal range. I know my symptoms are kind of all over the place and pretty broad, but did anyone experience something similar?

I was recently diagnosed with PMOS/ PCOS with suspected endo aswell, and I believe I'm having a flare up. And I want to ask if any of you have similar symptoms or anything or if I'm just imagining it.

Over the pasy week I have had horrible pain in my lower back, my pelvic/ uterus area and my joints below my pelvis. I've had some prerty bad period cramps, but nothing from before compares to this pain. It feels like someone is twosting my insides while digging my insides of with a red-hot spoon. Now, I have pretty strong pain meds (400 mg) yet it seems to wear off/ not even work. The pain makes me incredibly nauseous to the point of appetite loss (1-2 small meals a day) compared to my usual 2/3 meals a day. When I walk it feels my legs are going to give in. My period comes one day and then leaves the next day for a few weeks/ months (2 months) and then it's here for 90 days And the acne... it has lowered my little sense of self esteem I spent months building up.

My focus is difficult to maintain no matter how much I sleep.

I'm so sorry if the wording sounds gibberish, I'm not exactly fully awake right now.

Hi ladies,

I stopped birth control shortly after my wedding (today is my 1 year anniversary!) and had spotting November 7-9th then again had spotting December 7th through the 20th.

After about 90+ days of no period since then, I made an appointment. Despite asking, the OBGYN I had at the time, wouldn't do a progesterone challenge because I "was capable of bleeding while on birth control so we know you can bleed". There were times going up where my cycles felt really long but I never tracked them. Or, some that I didn't need to use a pad/tampon for. While on birth control (5 years) I had mixed results depending on my method. First was pills but was crap at taking it on time. IUD my body rejected twice. Depo shot first 3 months was fine. Depo shot next 3 months I had spotting every single day then got back on pills. In between depo injections I had gastric sleeve surgery and dropped 60 lbs. I met my now husband and gained it all back. While on my year of pills my placebo week periods became lighter and lighter and at the end I would spot only on the final day or two.

I have been told I have insulin resistance and I do have some physical symptoms (thin hair, apron belly, acanthosis nigricans) and now, period absence. In the past I was told I was pre diabetic, and for a moment I truly was, but a recent test shows my A1C is normal so I'm out of that range. I floated the idea of PCOS because an old blood test noted that my testosterone was a little elevated and she said blood tests and physical symptoms are not the way we diagnose. So I did an ultrasound. Thin lining at the time and no cysts found on my ovaries. She said I do NOT have PCOS. Ok. She referred me to fertility clinics. I was hesitant because I really wanted to address my period absence first.

Still no period a few week later so I got a second opinion through a program via my insurance carrier (2nd. MD) and they came to the same conclusion, fertility specialist or reproductive endocrinologist.

My goal has been to lose weight before TTC but ultimately we want a baby. Now I am on a GLP (ozempic) but have only lost 10 lbs and have been on it for 3 months..So FINALLY I see a new OBGYN, she says I hit plenty of symptoms to diagnose PCOS and she prescribed me progesterone so I can bleed. I also had a fertility consultation, they also suspect PCOS but do want to continue with other testing before confirming, and they were on board with me getting my period back and losing weight BEFORE fertility treatments. Awesome!

I finished my 10 day round of progesterone Oct 23rd and from the 26th to today I've had pink, brown, and red spotting with small blood clots but only on paper not flowing. Today I am definitely cramping and put on a pad just to see what happens as today it's mostly consistently red everytime I use the restroom but only when I wipe. I am hoping for a full blown period. They want me to call to do an ultrasound during my cycle but I'll be out of town this weekend.. Still I hope for a full period not just spotting.

So ladies, in your experience with progesterone: what did your period look like when you did a challenge to bleed? Has the challenge ever kick started regular natural cycles again? They did prescribe me a reoccuring dose and I know some of us have to rely on that.. I have never done this before so I am just curious.

Hi guys,

I’ve never posted on here before but I was just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience.

I was always a healthy weight as a child, until the age of around 12 when I just gained a crazy amount of weight, then at 14 I lost loads in about 4 months (Jan-April) without actively trying. I thought nothing of it and then I got my first period in that July. I then kept losing a bit more weight through a few minor eating issues and didn’t get another period until the December of that year. After that, I started to gain weight gradually, after changing nothing, and was getting 1-3 periods a year. I once went over a year without a period??

At 18 the weight seemed to pile on quite quickly and I reached my heaviest by 20. Then I turned 21 at the start of this year, in February got my first period since last September, and have had regular periods ever since.

BUT…
After the first 2 periods of this year, I ovulated for my 3rd cycle, and I hit absolute rock bottom. I can only explain it as feeling like I had VR goggles on. I’ve always been anxious, but never to the point where it was genuinely a problem. I was so anxious and depressed, I couldn’t leave the house for around 3 months, was signed off work, and just told I was having an anxiety episode. I knew deep down it wasn’t just anxiety, it had to be my hormones. My whole body felt unwell. I had numerous blood tests, and all were completely normal.

As the months have gone on, the fog has slowly lifted, and literally as my June period started, I was like a new person. Literally as if I’d ripped the goggles off. And now, I’m just as I was a year ago, but this time with regular periods.

Last year I ordered a home blood test and it showed I had high levels of testosterone, and was very likely pcos.

I’ve also lost 2 stone in the past year, without purposely trying. Is this normal?? I’m currently being tested for pcos and have my scans this week along with blood tests. But I’m just so nervous and scared. I knew pcos caused weight gain, as I’ve likely experienced, but is it normal for my hormones to randomly balance out, and as a consequence drop excess weight??

I have such bad health anxiety too so I’m just really worried, just wondering if anyone had experienced something similar…

P.S. so sorry for the long post😭

​

For context, I'm 16, never been with a man. My period have been very regular and according to my app (flo), I'm 6 days late. The thing is I was sick this whole month almost. My cycle is currently 42 days, in 6 months, my latest period before this one was 40 days. One of my friends has pcod and her periods are rlly irregular so it scares me lwk. Would appreciate some kind words

- horrible acne on my back, face, and chest
- a thick happy trail
- Lots of black hairs on my chin
- thicker, more public looking hairs starting to grow on my inner thighs
- No period for 3 months now, when I do have one it’s light and short

I’m 20 years old
, 5’2, and 120 pounds. I struggle a lot with bloating and I can gain a lot of weight in a short amount of time. I need to be very conscious about what I eat.
My gynecologist told me that I’m too young to diagnose with anything. She put me on birth control and my periods became regular but other symptoms persisted so I got off of it because I gained 15 pounds in a year
I’ve always had irregular periods and acne but the body hair is new. I’m so tired of shaving and plucking. It’s causing more irritation and acne. SOS

Hi everyone:)

I just wanted to ask some advice as I’ve seen a lot of good things been said about inositol especially for insulin resistance, so I’ve bought ovasitol. I have health anxiety and so I get quite scared about starting new things, and I have seen on here some people have not had good experiences with taking inositol. It has made me a bit nervous to try it.

I just wanted to see if anyone had any advice on how to start taking it to minimise side effects if I was to get any? Or to help with the nerves of starting it?

Thank you😊

Hi everyone!

We are Taylor Slavin and Zoe Verstraete, second-year Physician Assistant students at St. Bonaventure University. We are currently conducting research for our master’s thesis on an investigational endometriosis screening tool.

Our goal is to evaluate and work toward validating a screening tool that identifies common symptoms and risk factors associated with endometriosis. There is currently no widely used screening tool for endometriosis, and delays in diagnosis can be substantial. We hope this research may contribute to improving how patients at risk for endometriosis are identified and referred for further evaluation.

We are looking for adults 18 years or older, including both people with and without a previous diagnosis of endometriosis, to complete a brief online survey.

The survey:

•    Takes approximately 5 minutes

•    Is completely voluntary

•    Is confidential and does not collect names, IP addresses, or geolocation data

•    Includes an informed consent form before participation

•    Allows you to skip questions or stop at any time

•    Is for research purposes only and does not provide a diagnosis or replace evaluation by a healthcare professional IRB Expedited Review IRB Expedited Review

This study has been reviewed through the St. Bonaventure University Institutional Review Board (IRB).

If you have questions about the study, you can contact us at:

Zoe Verstraete: [verstrz25@bonaventure.edu](mailto:verstrz25@bonaventure.edu)

Taylor Slavin: [slavinth25@bonaventure.edu](mailto:slavinth25@bonaventure.edu)

Faculty Advisor, Dr. Keith Young: [kyoung@sbu.edu](mailto:kyoung@sbu.edu) | (716) 375-7890 

Thank you to anyone who chooses to participate! We greatly appreciate your time and your contribution to endometriosis research.

https://sbu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9SwnyFHejHH0ghU