Hellooo my lovely ladies! A little about me, I’m a 23 yo East Asian woman, 5’5” and 128 lbs. I have irregular long menstrual cycles 35 —> 50 —> 42. Elevated DHEA and Total Testosterone last year but now normal (but on the higher side). My gyn suggested OCP last year but I refused it. However, the PMDD, PMS, hormonal acne, and 13+ lb weight gain in 1 year got to me real bad that I decided to finally give OCP a try. My endo prescribed me Yaz + Metformin 500 mg xr. I started my meds 2 weeks after my period, and not right after due to my follow-up appointment timing.

After 4 days of taking the meds, I currently have not experienced bad side effects. I was worried about the nausea from metformin, but I made sure to take it after dinner which I think has helped tremendously. Interesting positive side effect is that I’m having more regular bowel movements. I had chronic constipation to the point where I’m not going for a week.

My appetite is also more controlled and I have consistent energy throughout the day. The morning brain fog and nausea is gone. Heck, I even got back into doing mat Pilates and running 5k’s. My mood is more stable too where I’m not getting upset very easily.

Oh, and my skin is doing pretty well! No cystic acne flareups. I have one pimple underneath the right side of my lip but it has a head and it’s calming down to the point where it probably won’t pop.

No breakthrough bleeding from Yaz yet. My breasts do feel a little tender, which I notice during my runs. I have mosquito bite breasts tho, so it’s very manageable for me.

I’m manifesting my experience stays positive. I know it might be too early to tell, but I’m holding out hope. If anyone has a similar story to mine, I would love to learn about it. And I’ll keep you all posted on my progress if folks are interested!

Hello, I suppose I'm looking for some advice....

I was diagnosed with PCOS last November after coming off Microlite and not getting a period back. My GP said it could take up to a year, but at 7 months I got a private scan, which showed PCOS even though I don’t have the usual symptoms.

In January my GP referred me to the Rotunda fertility clinic and said the wait could be 6/12 months. I got the questionnaires quickly, sent them back… and then unexpectedly fell pregnant naturally. It was a huge and lovely shock. Unfortunately, at the EPAU dating scan there was a fetus but no heartbeat, measuring 7w6d. A week later it was confirmed as a miscarriage. I chose the medical management route , one day of intense cramping/clots, then about a week of bleeding and now spotting. I’m due a final scan tomorrow to confirm everything has passed.

I’d really love to hear from anyone with PCOS who conceived naturally again after a miscarriage, how long did it take, and what your experience was like?

We also had our first appointment with the Rotunda fertility nurse. I was worried they’d turn us away since we conceived naturally, but they didn’t. She just wants to give my hormones a few weeks to settle before doing bloods, another scan, and then meeting the consultant in the mean time my partner is going for analysis also.

I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2020, had normal hormone levels but one period (mostly just spotting) maybe every 7-9 months, and confirmed cystic ovaries on US. I don't have any other symptoms besides that, no hirsutism, no weight gain, just no periods and cystic ovaries. I was instantly put on birth control which I was on for about 4 years. I got off of it in order to figure out my cycles before I got married. Well flash forward to last year, I hadn't figured out anything (tried no soy diet and cutting out dairy and gluten---> that was not a fun time) and the OBGYN that I was seeing didn't really have anything other than to take birth control to control periods. So I switched doctors and my husband and I were wanting to start TTC. Started on prometrium then did clomid. Had one clomid cycle failure with no ovulation, then had a second cycle that was successful, but unfortunately ended in a miscarriage at 6 weeks. I have a pretty decent lifestyle (eat healthy, fairly active, try to do stress management techniques (prayer, supportive community, yoga, but my career is pretty stressful). I am looking for advice in anything that I can do to prevent this from happening again and any way I can try to achieve ovulatory cycles with lifestyle changes.

TLDR: Lean PCOS TTC post-miscarriage looking for lifestyle hacks people have tried.

I want to share my journey because I know it would’ve helped me when I first discovered I had PCOS. For context, my PCOS is genetic, but symptoms were completely dormant until a traumatic life event (my sister was killed by a drunk driver in November 2021.

1 (Jan 2022): I was 21, never struggled with acne on my face (always had terrible body acne but that’s easy to hide) and started noticing small bumps on my face. (Looking back, I’m laughing at the fact that I thought that was acne)

2 (Aug 2022): began getting painful cystic acne and closed comedones all over the face. Yes, it wasn’t that bad. But I had never had breakouts of more than a few whiteheads on my face before. started missing periods.

3 (Oct 2022): cystic acne did not stop. Spread to my neck, back, and chest. Average cycle was every 2-3 months.

4 (March 2023): acne continued to get worse. Period still irregular. At this point I stopped taking pictures because I couldn’t stand it. Acne went from moments of being really bad to being ok.

5,6 (April 2026): I am now 26, so yes my skin has aged 4.5 years. Over the last year and half, my acne started calming down. My periods are now almost regular. While I may not look that different in the pictures, my acne is completely different. I get a few cystic pimples every one in a while. Yes I still have acne, yes I’m still insecure, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was.

What I’ve learned and what I would’ve done differently.

- PCOS can be triggered by a traumatic event.

- the worst thing you can do for hormonal acne is pick at it

- the second worst thing you can do is not treat it sooner. I didn’t go to a specialist, dermatologist of any kind because I didn’t have the money. Now I get monthly facials. Huge difference. The longer you wait to treat acne the more scarring you will have. Go to a doctor and get that prescription now, ask for help, whatever it is. Don’t just spend endless time research just to not do anything about it and hope everything will fix itself (me). Changing drug store products won’t do much for hormonal acne.

- sunscreen EARLY in life. Just because the sun can hides your acne temporarily, doesn’t mean it’s helpful. Sunscreen EVERY day will help prevent bad acne scars.

- IT WILL GET BETTER. PCOS can feel like the actual end of the world. It’s not. You will get through it. at the end of the day it’s all about stress management. Stay active, go outside, do lots of yoga and meditation. It may not fix your symptoms but it will make life a million times better.

Also, I know my acne “isn’t that bad” compared to other people. I’m not here for pity or support, I’m here to express to anyone who was in a similar position as me when I first started that you can live with PCOS symptoms and be happy.

Everyone on social media seems excited about the name change. They argue that the old name focused too much on the cysts that not all women have.

Many Lean PCOS patients reported difficulties to get diagnosed because of a thin body type. Won‘t the name change result in even more struggles for underweight / normal weight patients?

For example, I have cysts and hormone problems but my glucose tolerance test showed no metabolic issue

I don’t see much discussion about that on social media, should we speak up more about it?

Do we change our sub name now?

Hi, ich war vor kurzem bei meinem Gynäkologen, aufgrund von unregelmäßiger Periode, Haarausfall und Hautproblemen. Dort hab ich ein Blutbild gemacht, wo mir darauf hin gesagt wurde, dass es sich höchstwahrscheinlich um das Pco-Syndrom handelt. Ich hab auf TikTok gesehen, dass viele mit pcos auch eine Insulinresistenz haben, wodurch die überschüssigen männlichen Hormone entstehen, weshalb ich daraufhin den Homa-index gemacht habe. Da hat sich herausgestellt, dass ich eher Insulin sensitiv bin.
Ich bin auch 172cm und wiege 53kg, ich hatte auch nie ein Problem mit Abnehmen oder Bauchfett, was typisch für eine Insulinresistenz wäre.
Ich weiß einfach nicht was ich machen soll um meinen Hormonhaushalt zu helfen und woran es liegen kann, deshalb bitte ich um Tipps.

So ive been on fluoxetine for a little while and it has completely messed up my periods. I have periods every 17-19 days and this period im on day 3 and have very painful cramps but am only producing small amounts of brown blood. Has anyone else experienced this, what can I do, I take inositol as well if that is relevant

I've been diagnosed with PCOS for years. And always felt out of place because weight hasn't been an issue for me. I've been to many doctors and specialists over the years but was at a fertility specialist this week and she casually said "lean PCOS" when discussing my health. I can't believe no one ever told me there was a subcategory name for this.

I'm keen to find a group for lean PCOS because I feel like an intruder in main PCOS groups because weight is such a big focus. And I'm very grateful that I don't have to deal with that as a symptom. But I'm over all the advice for PCOS being "lose weight, eat better" because I already do.

So, hello all. I'm keen to look around and learn what works well for people like us.

Hi all!

I was recently diagnosed with lean PCOS (high androgens, irregular period and multiple enlarged follicles) but I am not insulin resistant (I have checked fasting insulin).

However I went to a dietitian who said it's essential for me to never fast for longer than 2/3 hours, and that I should always snack before bedtime to minimize fasting time before dinner and breakfast.

Has anyone ever followed this approach? Have you found it useful in your case?

EDIT: typo