r/PCOS

I have PCOS/PMOS in every aspect, except since losing some weight on ozempic, my periods are pretty regular, so there’s that. I have the balding, excess body and facial hair, bad skin, and dear lord my body odour in my armpits is AWFUL. I’ll still smell after a shower. I’ve tried so many things which initially work then stop working, including:

- glycolic acid
- dial gold bar soap
- hibiclens antibacterial soap
- benzoyl peroxide wash
- clove and star anise tea
- extra strength chlorophyll
- regularly exfoliating my armpits both with a chemical exfoliant peel and sugar scrubs

Right now I’m finishing up hibiclens. I also have to stay on top of my chlorophyll twice a day or else I DEFINITELY notice my armpits start to smell more rank. I also use a clinical strength antiperspirant (persipirex) but WOW does it irritate the hell out of my pits and make them itch! I don’t know what else to do as I feel I’ve exhausted all my options 🫠.

I’ve never been on any birth controls and my doctor recommended slynd, she gave me a few days to think about it and honestly I’m scared. I’ve only heard a few good things about it everything else I’ve heard hasn’t been great. I’m worried my symptoms won’t be fixed but will just be replaced with more.

I’d love to hear your guys experience with birth control and specifically slynd! Hopefully some good things!

I started metformin on Monday (Thursday now) and I am now feeling the side effects. I’m nauseous, vomitting and diarrhoea. I was eating 3 meals a day since Monday and it was all fine and I tried to have dinner today and I couldn’t stand the smell or the look of the food. I ate a bit to have something in my stomach so I’m not going to bed with an empty stomach but now I’m just very nauseous and trying to not puke.

How did you guys through the first three weeks? I’m currently on just 500mg and should be on 1000mg next Tuesday. I can’t go to work with these symptoms, I work in hospitality. I just need some advice, I feel lost and alone in this rn.

Thank you :)

Update: I’m on the extended release pills. Thank you all for the advice ❤️ I’m going to curl up in bed and see if it passes.

Hey guys,
I was diagnosed with PCOS last year and honestly have done nothing to negate it until now. My doctor was hyper focused on me losing weight and didn’t go into the other parts of PCOS or weight-loss specific for PCOS. She recommended an expensive liver fast that I never did. Before I start the program talked about in this book, I’d be interested to know if anyone else has done it and thoughts about it.
TIA!

My insurance refuses any and all weight loss medications unless you have diabetes or heart disease.. I know there are compounded glp1s for cheap, but I'm in a bad financial place, idk how cheap it can be for me to even be able to get it month after month and year after year. But Im at a place where I have no choices anymore. I'm very depressed as I also have Hidradenitis which a GLP1 would help, but its off-label. It's just sad... what is the cheapest you have managed to get on it??

I have tried everything... My parents and sibling are on a GLP1 and it greatly helps them. Obviously horrific metabolism runs in the family. So unfair

I'm 21 years old and have PCOs, my main symptoms are horrible hormonal acne that nothing can seem to get rid of and irregular, painful periods, mild hairloss on temples. I've been hearing a lot of good stuff about Inositol and seen PCOs "influencers"?/lifestyle coaches recommend Myo-Inositol specifically, have any of you tried it and seen benefits, especially in regards to hormonal acne and if so what brand do you vouch by? If not what other PCOs supplements have you seen good results from? Thank you!

i’m struggling out here

Hi everyone. I’m 24, South Asian, 5’7”, and around 86–87 kg (190–192 lbs). I was diagnosed with PCOS at 15, and I honestly feel like I’m at a point where I really need advice from people who understand what living with PCOS is actually like.

I was initially put on birth control, but I reacted terribly to it — anxiety, nausea, and generally feeling awful — so I stopped. Since then, my periods have remained extremely irregular/absent. In almost 10 years, I don't think I've ever had a genuinely normal cycle, maybe once.

Weight has always been one of my biggest struggles. I carry most of it around my stomach, which is also my biggest insecurity. I've gone to the gym before and actually love working out. I gain strength and muscle relatively easily, but fat loss — especially belly fat — feels incredibly difficult.

A few months ago I was walking around 6,000–7,000 steps most days, but recently I've become much more sedentary and I know I need to change that.

I've also tried metformin XR. I was okay-ish on 750 mg, but when my doctor increased it to 1000 mg, I developed significant nausea, couldn't really eat, and constantly felt sick. I'm currently not taking it.

Right now, I'm taking inositol (40:1) and planning to start magnesium and berberine gummies. I also have IBS, which makes figuring out food and supplements even more complicated.

The reason I'm posting now is because I'm getting married in a few months, and my body image is probably at its lowest point ever. I know my worth isn't determined by my weight, but I also can't pretend this isn't affecting me. I want to feel beautiful at my wedding and look at my pictures without immediately focusing on my stomach.

I'd love to lose around 10–15 kg (22–33 lbs) over the coming months, but I don't want to crash diet or spend the next few months starving myself, obsessively weighing myself, hating my body, giving up, and starting again. I want to do this sustainably.

I also live in a Desi household, so completely separate meal prepping isn't always realistic. Family food is family food 😭. I'm happy to work around it with portions, more protein/vegetables, modifying meals, walking, strength training, etc.

I've also just finished my master's and am currently looking for a job, so I'm not completely financially independent yet. That limits some things, but I also don't want to keep waiting for the "perfect" circumstances to start taking care of myself.

So, if you were me, where would you start?

I'd especially love to hear from women who have dealt with very irregular/absent periods, stubborn abdominal weight, IBS, metformin/birth-control intolerance, or losing weight while living in a South Asian household.

What actually worked for you? Walking? Strength training? Higher protein? Calorie counting? Lower carb? Inositol? Berberine? Something I haven't considered?

And if you started somewhere around my size (5'7", ~86–87 kg), I would really love to hear your experience.

I'm not expecting Reddit to magically fix almost a decade of PCOS. I'm just overwhelmed right now and could really use some direction, personal experiences, and honestly, a little kindness from people who understand. ❤️

Any advice, experiences, encouragement, or questions are welcome. I'm an open book.

I hate the thick hair, i hate not being normal, i hate the balding, i hate praying to every god under the sun that i could have a normal cycle instead of whatever the fuck i currently have.

I feel so stupid ranting too cause like writing this aint gonna change anything. Idk i just feel so like isolated

Despite eating healthy every day, exercising, and doing all the things and PMOS is really to blame?

Just really discouraged that people just assume that when they look at me and then are so surprised when they find out I do all the things and still look the way that I do.

I’m sharing my experience to hopefully help raise a discussion around what environmental and lifestyle factors might aggravate or improve PMOS/PCOS symptoms. I am fully aware that this pesky (at best) and debilitating (at worst) syndrome exists everywhere - I’m just excited to share what’s felt miraculous in my own symptom management, and curious to hear what major differences in environments have done for others with PMOS.

I’m a 30-year-old woman, born and raised in the U.S., and I moved to France nearly 5 years ago. My mom is French, so I’ve been coming to Europe every summer since I was a kid. Since the onset of puberty and throughout my teenage years, I always noticed feeling better in my body when I was here: less bloating, losing weight without making any major lifestyle changes, and feeling like I could eat and drink anything (the cheese! the milk! the wine! the pastries!!!!) without feeling like I was completely upending my system.

I was diagnosed with PCOS/PMOS at 16, and was immediately put on the pill after my OBGYN said there was no other way to manage or cure my symptoms. I stopped birth control around age 22 because of all the nasty side effects, and got a Mirena IUD around 24.

Throughout my twenties, I tried pretty much everything I could find to manage my symptoms “naturally”: strict diet management (low FODMAP, keto, Mediterranean, low carb, calorie-restrictive, name any diet under the sun I’ve tried it), regular exercise and weight lifting, walking over 10K steps a day, supplement regimens, acupuncture… My weight was NOT budging - if anything, I was constantly gaining more pounds, thick hair on my chin and neck, adult acne, and my period was simply nonexistent for many years. Constantly dealing with major anxiety and depressive disorders. I was hopeless and never found a single bit of relief until I moved out of the country.

Within a year of moving to France, my period started coming back! It was light, but the sight of it nearly made me cry. Even though this can be related to hormones from the Mirena starting to wear off, I hadn’t had a period in the years before the IUD, so seeing my body start doing something normal for the first time in my adult life was just incredible.

I maintained a consistent exercise schedule, mainly focusing on weightlifting, and finally saw pounds just shedding off for the first time in my life. I was still eating a relatively balanced diet, but I wasn’t depriving myself of the food and drink around me. I was eating bread, cheese, dairy, pastries, drinking wine …. bless up, foods I had spent years needing to restrict because of PMOS. 

My skin cleared, and even my hair became less brittle. A few years on, and my period is regular, I’ve lost 40 lbs and stabilized my weight around 140, my recent ultrasounds no longer show polycystic ovarian morphology, and my hormone/metabolic labs have also normalized. I know that having normal ultrasound/bloodwork doesn't mean my PMOS is “cured”, which is why I steer towards calling this symptom improvement or remission. I still deal with anxiety and depressive episodes, and have felt bloating/GI problems and acne come back during stressful periods. 

So I’m curious about others’ experiences. Anyone else with PMOS experienced significant changes in their symptoms after moving to another country or radically changing their environment? For those who’ve spent time in the U.S. and abroad, did you notice differences in your PMOS symptoms, weight, insulin sensitivity, periods, mental health, acne, etc.?

I’d love to know whether people think this could be related to ultra-processed food, environmental exposures, endocrine disruptors, stress levels, or any other ideas….. 

**Severe Hair Loss with PCOS — 19F, Need Advice**
I’m 18 (almost 19) and I’ve been dealing with progressive hair loss for years, and I honestly don’t know what to do anymore.
I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was around 12, and ever since then I’ve gradually been losing hair. At first it was subtle, but over the years it has become extremely noticeable. My part has widened significantly, my overall hair density has decreased a lot, and I have very little hair left compared to what I used to have. It has affected my confidence so much that I now have to rely on hair fibers to hide my scalp.
I assume the hair loss is related to PCOS, but I obviously can’t say for certain.
I’ve tried spironolactone, but I haven’t noticed any significant improvement from it. I also used minoxidil consistently for around 8 months. I know it can take time to work, but I never saw the kind of progress that I see other people posting after 6–8 months. I eventually stopped for about a month, and I’ve now started using it again because I feel like I have no other options. I’m currently going through the increased shedding phase again, and it’s honestly really difficult mentally because I’m already losing so much hair and I haven’t seen meaningful regrowth.
I’m also taking Diane-35 for my PCOS. My insulin levels are normal and I don’t have insulin resistance. My iron and ferritin levels are also normal. I’ve lost a significant amount of weight as well, because I’ve repeatedly been told that losing weight might help with PCOS-related issues, but unfortunately I haven’t noticed any improvement in my hair loss.
At this point, I’m completely dependent on medications just to try to maintain what little hair I have left, and I’m terrified of what will happen if I stop them.
I’ve also looked into things like PRP, but I’m unsure whether it’s actually worth it. My biggest concern is that even if PRP helps me grow some hair, what happens afterward? If the underlying hair loss continues, wouldn’t I just lose that hair again?
I know people often recommend oils, rosemary oil, supplements, etc., but I honestly feel like this is probably something internal rather than something that can be fixed by oiling my scalp. I’m not against trying anything, but after dealing with this for years, I’m really looking for something evidence-based that could actually address the cause.
**Has anyone here had severe PCOS-related hair loss like this? What actually helped you?**
If you have a similar experience, I’d really appreciate hearing:
What was your actual diagnosis?
What treatments did you try?
Did anything genuinely stop the shedding?
Did you get significant regrowth?
What happened when you stopped treatment?
Did PRP, microneedling, or anything else actually make a difference?
And if there are any dermatologists/trichologists or people knowledgeable about hair loss reading this, I would genuinely appreciate any guidance on what I should investigate next.
I’m willing to try almost anything at this point. I just really want to understand **why this keeps happening and whether there’s actually a way to stop it**, because I’ve been dealing with this since I was a child and it’s getting harder and harder to cope with.

Hi! I've been trying to manage my PCOS for a year now. Found out via my local nutritionist that I'm incredibly sensitive to gluten and dairy. That change alone made me lose 10kg and made me lose about 20cm of weight circumference. I'm very happy.

However, I can hardly stay awake and feel energized after eating a meal. My glucose levels are normal, I got those checked a month or so ago.

Recently I also got taken off my ADHD meds that kept me awake and active. So this gives an extra layer of fatigue.

I've began to notice that after every single meal & snack, I begin to feel incredibly weak, light-headed, in need to lie down.

I was wondering if anyone else has this problem?

This is an example of my meals yesterday:

Breakfast:

30-50gr of oats, protein powder (20gr protein), 30gr chia seed, almond milk.

It knocks me out.

Morning Snack:

Sliced apple with almond butter. This one knocks me out too

Lunch:

100gr lettuce, 200gr seasoned chicken breast, table spoon of olive oil, dairy-free & low sugar garlic dressing.

Lightly, but still very knocked out.

Afternoon snack:

Salmon sashimi, seaweed salad (wakame?), gluten free soy sauce.

It was a relatively small portion and didn't make me feel like a permanent exhausted pigeon.

Dinner:

1/2 plate of veggies, 1/4th protein, 1/4th carbs.

Yesterday was: broccoli, drumsticks, baked potatoes.

Made me feel drained.

----

I feel like, theoretically, I'm doing well. But somehow my body doesn't like me eating. Anyone suffered from this as well? What change did you make that worked out for you?

Basically said above already but I’m trying to learn more about pcos and why it’s happening to try to see if I can manage things a bit better. Ideally I’m looking for things that are easy to consume / digest (so basically well written not just jargon) but also that feel helpful or help me better understand what’s happening in pcos

Sooo would absolutely love reccs for books podcasts blogs textbooks, covering everything from anecdotes to cellular mechanisms!

When people say that phrase, they usually refer to one of two things: PCOS/PMOS that was “caused” by birth control (which is a myth), or the temporary wonky-ness of their period after they stop taking birth control. I’m referring to the later. Like genuinely where do people find the audacity to refer to their very normal, very temporary post birth control adjustment period by the same name as a condition that is chronic, permanent, and ruins lives? My PMOS insulin resistance made my diabetes so hard to manage that I was having near daily breakdowns, stfu about your “pill-induced PCOS” 🤬

What do you guys eat to hit your fiber while also staying low carb/keto?

My average fiber intake is like 5g per day which I'm aware is really bad..

I try to include chia seeds, avocado and broccoli from time to time but I find it a bit difficult to eat enough of it to hit 25-30g of fiber.

Any advice?

I was diagnosed with PCOS about 7 months ago. In those 7 months I tried to get pregnant with my partner and it only happened a month after I was on a GLP. I made it to 5 weeks 3 days but I am now in the beginning stages of miscarrying. Has anyone with PCOS had experience miscarrying and then going on to have a successful pregnancy after? The GLP gave me terrible gastric issues so I can’t imagine going back on it. I may just need to be stricter with diet and exercise.

Is there anything I can do to get my period back? I stopped taking birth control a year ago and haven't had a period since. Doctors have been useless. All they recommend is going back on birth control, which got me into this situation in the first place. Does anyone have any natural remedies, medications, teas, or advice? Everything is very welcome. I'm going crazy, lol. I've been diagnosed with PCOS since I was 16, I'm 20 atm. Before starting BC my period was regular.

Anyone experiencing excessive sweating while doing slow tasks around the house?

I cant do dishes ir clean my home without excessively sweating, overheating and feeling my heart rate go up uncomfortably. I have to do as little as possible or else I overheat, get dizzy and very ill.

My thyroid is normal, bloodwork is normal... heart was checked and it's normal...

Is this Insulin Resistance? POTS? Just a PCOS inflammation thing? Heat intolerance?

I cant walk or exercise without crashing (exercise intolerance) help!

Please and thank you!