r/PcosIndia

i am 20f, i have lean pcos, i have irregular periods along with that the worst symptom is acne. I am having this problem for last 1.5 years, its recurring. Was diagnosed around 16-17 but didn’t have acne breakout issue. Now its not just jaw or chin it’s my whole face, the marks, new pimples, my face is literally filled with those and i feel digusted looking at it and have no confidence stepping out.
My endocrinologist suggested birth control and Spironolactone. My dermat is working on reducing acne on my face but it ain’t working. I am so frustrated. I look at the side effects and i am scared and obviously my indian mom is like don’t go on birth control. I dont wanna step out and work out because i am not confident and am so intimidated.
Should i go on the pills
And can someone help me with the having a vegetarian diet around pcos.

Hi I'm looking for multivitamin/ supplements that are recommended for people with PCOS, I already take inositol but I'm wondering if there's a recommendation for a good multivitamin for PCOS for fatigue and wt issue? Also I have so much hair thinning any supplements that work for you? Would appreciate knowing!

https://preview.redd.it/sbnzn012jajh1.jpg?width=899&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5d1d6af9322d5162d2f08b7e48da17c3c32fd858

No question is too small or too embarrassing. That’s why we are here, to create a safe, non-judgmental space to talk openly about anything related to PMOS and women’s health.

You can drop your questions in the comments section of this post starting now, and our expert Gynac will be answering them live from 9pm to 10pm IST, 16th August

So I went to a male gyno because I had been bleeding for more than a month. I actually ended up seeing a male gyno because that was the earliest appointment available. The appointments with the female gynos were much farther out, and since I had already been bleeding for so long, I wanted to be seen as soon as possible. So unfortunately, I ended up having to see a male gyno.

The bleeding was medium, but I was having clots, so I did feel like I was having abnormal uterine bleeding. I’ve had this happen previously too, and I had seen another practitioner before. Pretty much everyone I’ve seen has recommended birth control pills/hormonal pills.

But I’ve taken birth control before, and this time I actually wanted to understand the root cause of what was happening.
When I went to this gyno, one of the first things he said was, “Oh, it’s a classic case. It’s a classic case. You just have to take birth control pills.” He also kept telling me that I’m “not going to die because of it” and that it’s not a serious or urgent situation. According to him, it just affects my quality of life, so technically I could go without medication, but I could take birth control if I wanted to improve my quality of life.
I also asked him about PCOS possibly being renamed/reframed as PMOS because of the metabolic aspect of the condition. He basically said, “Oh, that’s just a fancy name to call it. It doesn’t make any difference.”
That honestly triggered me a lot.
I started asking questions about other aspects of PCOS because I genuinely wanted information. I brought up metformin because I’ve heard about it and wanted to know what its role is and whether it could be relevant. I wasn’t demanding that he prescribe it. I just wanted to know his thoughts and see if he was open to having a healthy conversation with me about different approaches.
His response was basically, “Metformin is just a waste of time. Birth control pills are good.”
Anything I asked about somehow ended with birth control pills. It was basically, “Just take it. Just take it.”
My boyfriend was with me too, and he was also trying to ask questions because I’ve been diagnosed with PCOS since I was 17. At this point, I already KNOW that birth control pills are an option. That wasn’t what I was trying to find out. We wanted to understand more about what could actually be causing my symptoms and the metabolic side of PCOS.
Eventually he said I could get a scan, so I did. The scan didn’t show any cysts.

The whole interaction just felt really dismissive to me. Especially repeatedly hearing, “You’re not going to die because of it,” “It’s not that serious,” and “It’s just quality of life.”
Like… just quality of life?
And calling PMOS a “fancy name” really bothered me too. I wasn’t expecting him to agree with everything I asked or prescribe whatever I mentioned. I just wanted a doctor who was willing to actually have a conversation with me about PCOS beyond “take birth control pills.”
This was honestly one of my worst experiences with a gyno.

Hello

I’m looking for a trustable, well educated gynecologist who will help me with my pcos/PMOS and TTC journey.

Please let me know if you know someone who specializes in these.

Location - Coimbatore

To the girlies that already have pcos,

How did you get diagnosed? I've have very heavy and irregular periods since I was 14 (24 now) but now my periods can miss by 1-3 months and it's really painful when it comes, I tried to ask for testing but was told to lose weight (which I am in the process of) can anyone help with some guidance?

Hi,

I'm not sure who needs to hear this, but I'm hoping it might help others avoid the experience I had with this medication. I have lived with PCOD for ALL of my menstrual life. I've tried it all. One of the many things I was prescribed was Normoz tablet which was deemed by my gyneacologist as a supplement that can reduce serum insulin and insulin resistance in the body. By now studies have established elevated insulin resistance in those diagnosed with PCOD. I wanted to try this after 2 decades of trying almost all of EVERYTHING including diabetes medicine directed just for PCOD(Metformin) which wreaked its own havoc. Normoz, with the ingredients chiro-inositol and myoinositol is widely acknowledged in the Indian medical community as a supplement which helps REDUCE insulin resistance and thus (hopefully, wishfully) help with PCOD, and I had a lot of hope in it.
Now coming to my personal experience of taking this medicine. I started with this medicine when my HBA1C levels were around 6 (pre-diabetec) for many years. Upon starting this medicine, it shot up to 7 in 9 months. When I told my doctor and shared that I was worried that this medicine was the cause of that, she said the medicine is in fact supposed to do the opposite and thus if my sugar levels are shooting up with this medicine, it must mean that I need MORE medicine to bring the sugar levels down. So she doubled my dosage. Before this I was taking 2 250mg tablets per day and went on to 4 250mg tablets per day. As you can guess, after 3 months of doubling my dosage, I checked my levels again and they had risen eve higher and now it was considered firmly in the diabetic range. I again saw my doctor and she wanted to double my dose again (quadruple in effect). I showed other doctors and they wanted me to start off on diabetic medicines ASAP, put an implant in to monitor my levels. NOT ONE of the doctors believed my correlation with the sugar levels increasing after I started taking this medicine and increasing even more rapidly after doubling the dose. No studies proves this corelation either. I was alone in this theory. But at the point by which I had taken the medicines for a year I decided to stop this medicine completely. And my HBA1C levels dropped so quickly after a retest, coming back to prediabetic range. After that I had to undergo some detox treatments for other conditions and my sugar levels came back to just about normal.

All this to say, if you are on this medication/supplement or considering to go on it, keep checking your blood sugar levels constantly. It might not have this effect/side-effect on everyone but I am posting this because I did not find anyone talking about this anywhere and wanted to just put this here.

Does it helps making weight loss easier with insulin resistance (I don't experience irregular periods).

If yes please recommend indian brand which worked for you.

I am 23F and I have insulin resistance with pcos for almost 4-5yrs now and everytime I go to a doctor i hear you have to lose weight to be healthy and I am really tired. I gained 20+kgs in 9 months and then it never went away. I have changed my diet and added more proteins and fiber lowered carbs, I am walking and exercising as much as I can but I still gained 3 more kgs. I was prescribed metformin 3 years ago and it absolutely destroyed my whole gastrointestinal system. My doctors don't seem to prescribe anything else to me. One of the doctors even said that I got insulin resistance because i am lazy. I also have a history of depression and the doctor asked me what I have to be depressed about in life. I know I need to take some medicines to improve my insulin sensitivity but I don't know how or what medicines I can take. If you know of any good doctors or medicines that helped please let me know

Idk what protein sources i should use which a pocket friendly too

Hi,

I've been suffering invisible symptoms for nearly 6 years now. It's been one thing after another and I've been dismissed by doctors, gynnos, endos, GI dr, dermatologists, cardiologists, etc. Can someone pls read this history and offer insight? I am so beyond desperate. All of my blood tests are completely normal but I am NOT OK!

First, I became allergic to gluten seemingly out of nowhere in 2021. Before being diagnosed with non-celiac gluten intolerance, I had newfound symptoms that I never experienced in my life: fainting, weak, severe depression, severe anxiety, suddenly allergic to all my makeup, undiagnosable flakey skin all over my eyes, hair falling out, fatigue, brain fog & crazy unexplainable scalp buildup. I was also told my body wasn't retaining any vitamins (likely due to the severity of my gluten allergy) so I was prescribed a bunch.

This same year I had a seizure right after the covid vaccine & ended up in the ER. Again, no answers / told it was all a coincidence.

After cutting out gluten, I felt better, and my depression / anxiety went away, but my unusual symptoms persisted.

In 2023, my anxiety eventually came back & I was forced to go off birth control cold turkey (thanks to a fuck head dr.). I was off for 3 months and when I started my prescription again, I was suddenly allergic to the pills (I was on birth control for 15 yrs prior so... wtf)

I broke out in undiagnosable rash all over my body / so bad I couldn't leave the house. I went to primary dr., endocrinologist, gynecologist & nobody had a clue what was going on & they said I was nuts when I asked if it was possibly my birth control. After trying 2 different pills and having the rash persist, I finally stopped cold turkey again and the rash COMPLETELY went away within 24 hrs of stopping the pills. Nobody has been able to explain any of this to me.

In 2024, I started missing my periods, gaining weight, having wildly painful PMS symptoms like debilitating migraines, throwing up, fainting, unable to get out of bed, painful cramps, depression, anxiety, etc. I also lost my ability to tan??? My skin would either stay pale or instantly burn. (I used to get very dark very quickly / rarely ever burned)

In 2025, insomnia entered the chat. I was waking up at 2 am, 3 am, 4 am, 6 am, and each time, it wasn't just opening my eyes: I would wake up to severe chest pains/pressure, anxiety attacks, panic attacks, in the middle of uncontrollable racing thoughts, sometimes I'd be sweating, sometimes not, and I genuinely felt like I was going to have a heart attack. Again, nobody had a clue what was going on. I was told perimenopause was impossible (I was only 37) and I tried every all natural sleeping aid imaginable, NOTHING worked.

I also had severe brain fog (I was literally googling how young Alzheimer's could begin) and didn't even recognize my personality. I could not handle even a sip of alcohol or caffeine and if I ate gluten free pasta for dinner that wasn't made from a complex carb, I would sleep even less, get cramps, migraines & fatigue. I couldn't handle ANYTHING even remotely "unhealthy"!

I became completely unable to get over simple illness -- I was sick for 4 months straight multiple times between 2024 and 2026. I even had one doctor tell me to stop coming back because he already gave me every drug he could think of, INCLUDING STEROIDS that still... DID NOT WORK.

In early 2026, I developed what looks like vitiligo on my face, but again, nobody knows what it is.

All of this persisted on and off into March of 2026 until I finally found a functional medicine doctor (technically only a chiropractor tho). After 3 months of working with her (April - June) I felt like I was myself again. I even had my periods back (albeit, I still had some symptoms: 1 week before my period and newly 1 week before ovulation... it seemed like my symptoms split in half which was weird? but I was happy bc they weren't debilitating).

Now, month 4- I AM REGRESSING. Same symptoms, but far worse: 1 week before ovulation: unbearable migraines, insomnia, anxiety, chest pains. 1 week before menstruation: insomnia, panic attacks, depression, chest pain.

I CANNOT HANDLE THIS ANYMORE!!! I am writing this out of absolute desperation. Can someone PLEASE make some sense of this or tell me what to do??? Is this normal for functional medicine to regress? Should I give up this functional stuff? Try an immunologist? What do I do? I'm ready to throw all 34 supplements in the trash because I am so frustrated but I don't even know where to start. I have thrown so much money in the trash since 2021, I just need to know what will actually work!!!

PLEASE GIVE ME ADVICE OR HELP

Caucasian; height: 5'7"; weight: 125; no drugs/smoking/alcohol

Someone comes to me after months of daily treadmill sessions and eating 1200 calories, completely burnt out, and the scale hasn't moved in weeks. Almost every time, what ends up working is less cardio, more food, and strength training.

The way I explain it to clients: muscle is basically a sponge for glucose. It pulls sugar out of your blood without needing much insulin. So the more muscle you have and the more you use it, the less your body has to fight its own insulin resistance. Cardio helps too, but building muscle changes your baseline. Two or three lifting sessions a week is plenty to start.The under-eating part is where people push back. I get it, eating more feels wrong when the goal is losing weight. But I've watched so many women grind away at 1200 calories, stall, sleep terribly, get stressed, and then blame themselves for it. A smaller deficit with a lot more protein is slower and looks way less impressive on paper. It just actually sticks.

Two small things that help more than they should: a 10-15 minute walk after your biggest meal (does a surprising amount for glucose spikes), and tracking literally anything other than the scale. Cycle regularity, waist, energy, sleep. Those move first. The scale moves last, and most women quit somewhere in the gap between the two.

Talk to your doctor about the medical side obviously, I stay in my lane on meds. But if you're stuck in the cardio-and-starve loop and going nowhere, it's probably not a willpower problem.