r/LeanPCOS

I haven’t had a period in over six months. I was working with a dr to induce one last week but i ended up getting one yesterday morning. I’m happy BUT IT HURT so incredibly bad. I do not know what to do anymore. I’ve taken advil and tylenol double dose and it helped but it still hurts so bad 😭 I don’t really want to go the rr because I doubt they’d do anything

hi everyone! im a huge hypochondriac and just have suchhh bad health anxiety so im looking for some advice!

i haven’t had my period in 5 months. my periods have always been irregular (i’ve had them 5 years now), though last year they were PERFECT.

i was really undereating in february/march/april/may of this year and i haven’t had a period since january.

i’ve been in recovery for the past month so ive been trying to get my period back that way. but im scared that maybe theres an underlying cause like PCOS (which my mom has).

do you think it’s ok if i wait until october to schedule an appointment? i really don’t want my parents involved and that’s the only time ill be able to do it without them (ill be in college).

also i’m only 18 so the risk of things like endometrial cancer is slightly lower. i’m really prioritising calcium and vitamin d for bone health too. i’m trying to be as proactive as i can so that maybe i can get a head start.

i really appreciate any advice you might have! thank u

Hello! I’ve been told my entire life I have PCOS and recently i changed my gynecologists. She asked me to do some blood tests. Here are the results:

HbA1c: 4.3% (which means average glycemia around 77)
Fasting blood glucose: 90 mg/dL (after a bad night sleep, but usually it’s 78-80)
Fasting insulin: 3.5 µIU/mL
HOMA-IR: 0.78
SHBG (Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin): 119 nmol/L (at the higher limit)
DHEA-S (Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate): 331.8 µg/dL
LH/FSH ratio: <2 but >1
Progesterone and estrogen: within normal range
Testosterone: 94.46 (measured at ovulation); 79.49 (measured on the first day of the menstrual cycle)
Height: 164 cm
Weight: 54 kg
Body fat: 21%
Prolactin: within normal range
Irregular menstrual cycles (every 70-80 days but sometimes sooner sometimes later)
Ultrasound findings consistent with PCOS
Normal thyroid function
Normal liver function

I clearly have no insulin resistance at all. I alao don’t have acne, no hirsutism, normal bloodflow, my libido is average/high, my energy levels are alright… But I can’t seem to understand why my menstrual cycles are all over the place in terms of duration. I also do sports and I have pretty good muscle mass.

It doesn’t look like IR or adrenal…

I’ve always been this way also! In fact when i was little my periods were even later than now (once it happened after 10 months)

I have my appointment in one week. But I wanted to ask for your opinion as I’m new to this. I haven’t done research about this before. I just took it as it is.

Im 5’4 and weigh around 53kg.

When I first started my period, it was regular. After a couple years it became irregular (generally a period every other week - one week period, one week off) and I started getting a lot of hair on my face (upper lip but mostly jaw) and body. I also had acne but this was not as severe.

Taking birth control and spironolactone regulated my period and worked to decrease the hair. After many years I started to feel really horrible (physically) taking the pills so I stopped. I changed my lifestyle but my period is still every other week and the hair has come back full blown. Soearmint tea slows the growth but it’s still very much there.

I recently got labs tested and my A1c (5.0%), fasting glucose (4.6 mmol/L) and insulin (41 pmol/L) are normal.

My total testosterone (3.3 nmol/L) and DHEAS (11.2 umol/L) and LH:FSH ratio (4) are high.

I’d love for any advice. I’m considering metaformin but not sure if that’s a good idea either.

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Just found out I have PCOS and I was doing a bit of research and everything that I hear is confusing.

First I heared about IR and thought I must have it but then I saw some people don't have it and now idk if that is because it just hasn't showed up yet but it will after PCOS gets worse because the hormone imbalances cause you to be IR or smth?

Then I am wondering about getting fat. Will this happen at some point or can it be avoided?

For reference I was diagnosed because I had high androstenedione and cysts on my ovaries. I have regular periods and I am very lean and in my 20s. No other symptoms that I am aware of.

I have PCOS, but all of my blood tests are normal (fasting glucose, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, HbA1c, testosterone, DHEA-S, SHBG). The only test I haven’t done is an OGTT with insulin measurements. My doctor prescribed metformin because of my PCOS and binge eating episodes. Has anyone with normal labs still seen a significant improvement in hormonal acne from metformin? How long did it take?

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I'm really confused about what's going on and wondering if anyone has had a similar experience.

My ovaries were "polycystic" on ultrasound. However:

My testosterone is normal. SHBG is normal.

My fasting insulin was only slightly elevated (10). Prolactin very slightly elevated.

I've been a normal weight my entire life.

I've strength trained for 8 years and have a decent amount of muscle mass.

My OB-GYN advised me to lose weight to improve my symptoms. Even though I wasn't overweight, I intentionally started losing body fat.

Since then, things have actually gotten worse.

Before this, my menstrual cycles were like clockwork (around 31 days). Now I've completely missed my period for two months, and my chin hair has become the worst it's has ever been. I'm also experiencing significant vaginal dryness, a loss of libido and random joint pain.

My doctor assured me that losing weight would improve PMOS symptoms, not make them worse.

Has anyone with PMOS (or anyone who was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries) experienced something similar? Did anyone end up finding out it was something else, like hypothalamic amenorrhea or another hormonal issue?

I'd also be interested to know what blood tests or specialists helped you get to the bottom of it.

I'm obviously planning to follow up with my doctor, but I'd love to hear if anyone has had a similar experience or has any insight.

Hi everyone, just done my first letrozole cycle (2.5mg) and didn’t achieve ovulation. I have non insulin resistant PCOS and I do eventually ovulate CD40 onwards. They are increasing my dose to 5mg but I’m scared it’s not going to work. I know I’m getting ahead of myself, but I just worry there’s a bigger problem. Has anyone with lean PCOS had letrozole achieve ovulation? If so, what dose? Thank you 🫶

If you have PCOS, you know a very specific type of exhaustion. You stand in front of your doctor, they look at a flawless lab report, and they tell you your results are perfectly "normal." But your everyday life feels like a constant battleground.

You leave the clinic with a clean bill of health, only to go home to the exact same frustrating reality: a scale that won't budge, energy that is totally non-existent, and a sink that runs pink when you brush your teeth.

As a clinician (I’m an endodontist) who spent years analyzing systemic inflammation before transitioning into health research translation, I need to tell you something: your blood work is a crooked corporate audit.

‼️long post‼️

Hello beautiful ladies, I’m 28f and I’m currently TTC with lean PCOS.

Iv been TTC for roughly 8 years, now I know that seems like a really long time with no success and that my chances are probably slim. However I think I should explain a little bit of my past and how horrible I was treating my body. Which I hope attributed to me not being successful in the past.

Around the age of 18, I was in a committed long term relationship (still with the same man, and married now) I always wanted to be a mother so it didn’t matter to me when it happened. I wasn’t actively trying outside of unprotected sex. During this time I started to drink a lot, which turned into a 9-10 year battle with alcoholism. I have since quit drinking and I’m proud to say I am 14 months sober.

Back in 2023 I was trying to get serious about conceiving so I set up an appointment with a fertility doctor. I did a HSG procedure and was finally diagnosed with PCOS. My tubes are open but both ovaries are polycystic. The only real information that I got from the doctors is that I was anovulating. I was put on letrozol for I would say roughly 3-4 cycles. However I was still battling my alcoholism during this and wasn’t taking this as serious as I should have. I stopped taking the letrozol and doing all the blood test. Not only was I deep in my addiction but it also started to take a toll on my mental health, and to top it off my insurance went from great to really crappy. Blood test bills started to accumulate and I chose to stop.

My doctor never told me if I was insulin resistant, how I should change eating habits, or how to properly take care of my body to have a successful pregnancy. I started this roughly around September of 23 and she expected us to have a baby by the summer of 24. She really only seemed to care that I was a smoker. (I still am and eventually that will be another habit I plan to quit).

After I finally decided to quit drinking, I told my self to wait 1 year to focus on staying sober. To my amazement, I stuck with it and now I’m ready to put my focus on being healthier, treating my PCOS symptoms and eventually having a healthy baby.

In the past month Iv started drinking spearmint tea 2 times a day to help with my acne and testosterone levels. About two weeks after starting that I also added myo inositol & D chiro 40:1 ratio into my routine. I’m starting to eat healthier and more consistently. My exact routine on work days is immediately brew my tea, add my inositol. Wait roughly 30-40mins before having a cheese stick (to buffer the sugar) and my first cup of coffee. On my first break at work I eat a hard boiled egg, 1/2 a cheese stick, and some almonds. On my lunch break I have a mix of healthy fats and fruits and then for dinner I try to also have a well balanced meal. Finish my night off with my last cup of tea with inositol and my prenatals. On days I don’t work, my routine is a little different, but I’m still following the same rules as my work days. Making sure to eat two times in the morning, always buffering my foods, and eating healthy foods.

I currently weight 94lb and can’t seem to get my weight up. I’m 5” tall so yes 94 is slightly underweight but I’m not extremely malnourished. I just recently started to eat more regularly, about a month or two ago I was only eating a cheese stick in the morning, then eating dinner and piling my face with sweets at the end of the night. I’m still craving sugar like crazy, and not fully taking sugar away from myself. I always have a healthy fat/ protein before any sugar (almonds, cheese stick, turkey rolls) to help buffer the sugar spike.

My current journey is trying to take better care of my skin, trying to gain healthy weight, regulate my periods and stop having false periods, and the end goal is to conceive naturally and without medical intervention if possible. My current cycle is off and on, but most months I fall into a “regular” cycle pattern. However it’s not an actual cycle, it’s almost always breakthrough bleeding.

The last 3-4 months Iv been dealing with lots of medical bills because of a ruptured and very infected cyst on my elbow, this required 6 doctors visit, and 2 surgeon visit alongside the surgery I needed to get done. I have a bunch of medical bills that I’m slowly trying to pay off. So right now, medical intervention with my fertility is out of the question. Eventually when my medical bills are all payed off and if my attempts at conceiving naturally, doesn’t pay off then I will go back to the fertility specialist.

I’m new to trying to nourish and properly take care of my body, and I’m willing to be patient on this timeline as I know I’m trying to fix a lot of things at once. I’m just hoping maybe someone who’s been down this road and knows more about it, can tell me if I’m doing this right. Any feedback is good feedback to me, thank you all in advance. :)

I actually had my fasting insulin tested, and it was 12 pmol/L, which is on the low side. My fasting glucose was slightly high at 6.4 mmol/L, and my HbA1c was also slightly elevated at 5.7%.

I’m confused because I don’t seem to have typical insulin resistance. My fasting insulin is quite low, so I wonder whether this could still be related to insulin resistance, since I understand insulin resistance doesn’t always show up as high insulin levels. I’m also wondering if it could mean my body isn’t producing or responding to insulin properly, but I’m not sure.

I also don’t have many typical PCOS symptoms like excess hair growth. My main issue is irregular periods.

I’m trying to conceive, so it’s really frustrating because I don’t know what’s actually causing my irregular cycles or what I can do to improve them.

Hi everyone!

OBGYN is pretty confident that I have PCOS. They ordered more blood tests and here are the results:

Insulin 1 fast : 5.5

Insulin 2: 36.4 (one hour)

Insulin 3: 54.0

Shouldn’t it be trending downward?

I’m a 22 year old woman who was diagnosed with pcos quite early in my teenage years . Since day one of me starting my period very close to my 11th birthday I have always had pretty frequent periods , like 15 days in between . Pcos has caused so much damage to my emotional and physical state over the years . One of the gynaecologists I visited couple of years ago gave me Birth control , I made me feel worse .
I managed to find one who understood me and I started taking Insoitol like 2 years ago on and off . During my last period I started taking it regular (40:1-twice a day -4000 mg per day) . My cycle is longer and more frequently . I have been bleeding for 10 day rn and time between current and previous period was 10 days also .helpppp. What should I do ? Does this mean I am infertile or something?
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I’m a 22 year old woman who was diagnosed with pcos quite early in my teenage years . Since day one of me starting my period very close to my 11th birthday I have always had pretty frequent periods , like 15 days in between . Pcos has caused so much damage to my emotional and physical state over the years . One of the gynaecologists I visited couple of years ago gave me Birth control , I made me feel worse .
I managed to find one who understood me and I started taking Insoitol like 2 years ago on and off . During my last period I started taking it regular (40:1-twice a day -4000 mg per day) . My cycle is longer and more frequently . I have been bleeding for 10 day rn and time between current and previous period was 10 days also .helpppp. What should I do ? Does this mean I am infertile or something?

TTC for 2 years 26 y/o F. Started letrozole 3 months ago so this is my third cycle. I went in for my ultrasound today and I had a follicle that was 23.5 mm and my doctor wouldn’t give me the trigger shot? I feel bummed and like this cycle is over for trying. Anyone have a similar experience?

I’m already underweight but have PCOS - will inositol make me lose weight? I’ve been on a low dose for a few weeks and lost a pound but I’m not sure if it’s related or not. I don’t have insulin resistance in my bloodwork.

I was diagnosed with PCOS/PMOS last year due to having hormonal acne and irregular cycles. The gyno who diagnosed me just suggested birth control but I’m not keen on that because my mental health improved a lot when I stopped BC.

I had blood tests and an OGTT done through my GP and all my blood markers look normal (DHEA-S, androgens, estradiol, progesterone, prolactin, TSH, LH, FSH. cholesterol, HbA1c, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, CRP, ferritin, B12, VitD all normal!)

HOWEVER I had clear symptoms of hypoglycaemia after the OGTT test when I got home (around 2.5-3h after the glucose drink). Tremors, nausea and lightheadedness that went away after I ate.
My 2h glucose was 3.3mmol/L and my 2h insulin was 34.6mU/L. My GP wasn’t too concerned and said this can be a normal response after ingesting a 75g glucose drink as opposed to a normal balanced meal… but considering my symptoms, surely it’s worth looking more closely at this? How many people get hypoglycaemia after an OGTT?!

The other clues that insulin could be a factor are the fact that I feel so much better mentally when I reduce my carb intake. Even with an amazing diet of only consuming complex carbs in high protein, fibre + balanced meals, and regular strength training, 10k steps a day and 1-2h zone 2 cardio per week, when my carb intake increases above ~200g per day my mental health starts declining, I get brain fog, mood swings and sweet cravings. Just my general drive, focus and motivation tanks.

Another clue is that dairy is a massive trigger for my hormonal acne - I suspect from IGF1 which can spike insulin.

Should I just go ahead and try inositol (was thinking Ovasitol) and see what happens? Or should I push for more thorough testing first e.g. the Kraft insulin test which tests glucose and insulin response for longer than just 2h and may reveal a delayed insulin peak? I want to be able to tolerate more carbs, not just for food freedom but also to help with my performance in fitness and ability to build more muscle.

Would love to hear from anyone who experiences similar symptoms to me despite having ‘normal’ bloodwork!