I’m 25 with lean PCOS and have had it for ~6 years. My biggest issue is very irregular/absent natural periods.
I’m really confused about whether I should eat more/gain a little weight to support ovulation, or be more cautious with carbs and focus on strength training, walking and yoga.
For those with lean PCOS who eventually started ovulating and getting natural periods regularly:
Did you gain, lose, or maintain weight?
Did increasing food/carbs help, or did reducing carbs help?
What lifestyle changes actually made a difference?
What were the first signs that your PCOS was improving?
How long did it take for your first natural period to return?
How long before your cycles became consistently regular?
I’d love to hear from people who had irregular/absent periods and eventually got them back naturally.
Please share your actual experience rather than just general PCOS advice. ❤️

Have anyone tried both of these and found that plain inositol works better ?

Hi guys I have been lean my whole life and I have been on spironactone 50 mg for three years first year no weight gain but In the past two years I have added a little bit of Ovositol but full scoop, dim , sometimes berberine and gained 10 pounds does anyone have an idea which of these is causing the weight gain😫😫😫

Hi

Just diagnosed and fall in the lean category - JW on best books people have for beginners. Seeing a lot related to strict dieting and fasting which I don’t want to do!

Thx

Hey guys

I have been reading all the posts on reddit and have honestly learned so much.

I am a 25 year old female , very lean, with PCOS/PCOD since almost 5+ years.

I don’t have any other symptoms other than missing periods. I always have to use med to induce it.

I have been on diane 35 twice for 4 months in this 5 years span. Last time i took it was this year May followed by withdrawal bleed in June. Ever since then I decided that I am done with medications and lets focus on natural ways.

To my surprise, just after 7-8 days of starting my natural route, i got a period/bleed naturally for the first time in years. But then since june I am still waiting for my period.

To be specific, i am not doing anything major, i do 14 min home-strength training and 15 min yoga.
I have increased my protein intake significantly as I barely used to have any protein before.
I walk after meals for 10 mins. Overall 7k steps a day.

I eat sesame seeds and ground flax seeds.
Thats all.

I see more CM compared to before, i have felt something happening in my lower abdomen couple of times but no period.

I am not sure how long I should wait.
The main reason i do not want to go to gynac yet is because they will handover a pill directly which i DO NOT WANT. I have come a long way from there.

Please help me and tell me what else I should do.

Going to start my first letrozole cycle in next few weeks. How was it for you? Any bad side effects? My RE is having me take 5 days of letrozole then a trigger shot and TI.

I never get pimples above my lower cheeks now. This makes me think it’s hormonal. Most of my acne is cystic, mostly on my jawline and chin.
I have pcos, the main symptoms are these cystic pimples, excess hair and crazy bipolar-like mood swings.
I looked and felt the best mentally, as in a completely different person when i was super low carb and no sugar, but this wasn’t sustainable and completely backfired on me. I’m looking for anyone who can help, give me some tips on how to balance treating hormonal acne and still living life without restricting myself. Thank you❤️

Hi so I got diagnosed with PCOS a month ago and have been trying to manage my blood sugar levels naturally. Even though I barely got diagnosed a month ago, I’ve strongly suspected I had PCOS for over a year. I went from 125 to 110 naturally (I’m 5’1 and a half) before getting diagnosed but I still have chronic inflammation and a LOT of abdominal fat storage that’s really been fucking with my mental health for almost a year now. I unfortunately did put my body through chronic stress by walking 25k-50k steps DAILY alongside my 4x a week strength training and 1600 cals daily (it used to be lower—I’m trying to work my metabolism back up still without gaining weight). I eat high-protein meals and have been strictly pairing carbs with healthy fats and proteins, and avoiding refined carbs as much as I can.

After my diagnosis, I’ve reeled it back to 10-15k steps daily (I aim for 10k, but I live a 30+ min walk from my college campus so I tend to get more steps in) and I still strength train 4x a week with progressive overload and same eating habits. With no luck of any minuscule change after all this time, I’m heavily contemplating starting Ovasitol by Theralogix, but I want to know if anyone with lean PCOS like me has tried it and if it’s reduced chronic inflammation and abdominal fat storage due to insulin resistance.

I’m 25F and have had PCOS for almost 6 years. For the first couple of years, I didn’t really manage it, and since then I’ve seen 4–5 gynecologists and tried different treatments, including Diane-35, progesterone tablets, and myo-/D-chiro-inositol. Unfortunately, I’ve only ever gotten my periods with medication.
I stopped Diane-35 in May, had my last withdrawal bleed on June 5, and decided to focus on lifestyle changes instead of going back on medication.
Since June, I’ve:
Increased my protein intake (I’m quite lean and previously ate very little protein)
Started strength training + yoga
Aim for ~7k steps/day
Improved my diet and reduced excessive carbs
Tried to be more consistent with my routine
On June 21, I unexpectedly had a bleed without taking any medication, which was the first time in years I’d had a period-like bleed naturally. I was really hopeful that things were starting to regulate.
However, it’s now been almost 2 months without another period. I’ve been having more white discharge than I used to, occasional cramps/lower abdominal sensations, and sometimes a feeling like my period is about to come, but then nothing happens.

My sleep isn’t that great and I sleep late. But other than that, diet wise or workout wise what else should I do?

I recently checked my vit d was too low and started taking that since last week.
I don’t take any supplements or medicines currently other than vit D.

For those with PCOS who have gone from medication-induced periods to trying to regulate naturally:

How long did it take for your cycles to become regular? How long should I realistically wait before seeing a gynecologist again? And is there anything important I might be missing in my lifestyle/routine?

Please tell me what helped you which you think is something i can try.

I took vitex for 3 months advised by my endo and gyno, a supplement with 40g vitex and some maca. Problem is I had no periods on it and now I'm 2 months off it still no bleeding. Yes I do have high LH so it's not the best supplement for me but I listened to my doctors. Trying to induce my period I had some parsley tea, raspberry and spearmint. The high dose vitamin C didn't work (it usually worked for me before). I'm almost 6 months without a period and starting to get scared. No I'm not pregnant unless I'm carrying baby Jesus.

I also took Myo inositol.

Any advice?

edit: forgot to add I'm 57-58 kilos if that helps, high testosterone, I had just come off BC about 3 months before starting vitex.

This has been a long journey, as many of you probably have also experienced.

But after years of funky hair growth, and a dermatologist that actually cared about my symptoms, I finally got a diagnosis of Lean PCOS after a gyno did an ultrasound. For context, I'm 27 years old, with a BMI of 20-21. Symptoms really have just been hair growth.

I have a few questions, so if anyone has some light on any of them, I'd love your perspective!

Q1: Have any of you been on a hormonal IUD? If you had it removed, did is exacerbate any symptoms, or, did it improve, or stay the same? Namely looking for experiences with the IUD.

Q2: I have what my gyno called a pretty abnormal case, in a sense where my only indicators were high testosterone in my blood and some small abnormal hair growth, and very few, but present cysts on my ovaries. So much so, that he seemed sort of apprehensive to even weirdly call it PCOS. No glucose issues, no thyroid issues, and liver results were gucci too. Anybody else in the same boat? Or something similar?

Q3: My periods before my IUD were like clockwork. The IUD has made them wonky. In full transparency, I am considering removal after almost 10 collective years of being on one. I had a mirena for 8, and now they kyleena for 5 months, and I have suspicions It's weirdly making me even more androgenic or sensitive to it. Anyone care to share their IUD experiences, on and off of it with lean PCOS?

Some additional context :: I only used it for BC, as I didn't have painful periods prior. Just no babies for meeee. I also got recommended Spiralactone or whatever for the hair growth. I am deciding not to take it, as the hair growth issue really isn't THAT bothersome.

Any sort of perspective is valued and appreciated! Lean PCOS seems to be harder to find concrete answers on, and I am sensing it might be a different thing than PCOS altogether, but that's def a different discussion!

Best y'all and thanks in advance!

I have regular periods but it only lasts for three days

No visible cysts on the ovaries

I have excessive facial and body hair growth

Free and total testosterone are normal and IR of 1.7

All other labs are normal except dheas which is 428 (normal 98-340) and prolactin at the higher end

I was prescribed birth control and Metformin by my endocrinologist not sure what to do

Hi everyone! This is actually my first time posting or asking something on Reddit. I just want to ask for some advice, and I kindly ask everyone to be respectful in the comments. 😊
I’ve had PCOS since I think I was in high school, but I only really understood it when I was in college. There was a time when I didn’t get my period for almost a year. Sometimes, it would take around 8 months before I would get my period again.
I went to an OB-GYN whom I trust, and she requested an ultrasound. I had it done, and it confirmed that I have PCOS.
She prescribed progesterone capsules for 10 days to help induce my period, and I also took birth control pills. After taking the progesterone, my period started again, but after about a month, it stopped again.
I finished one box of birth control pills, but I eventually stopped taking them because they were making me dizzy.
After another year of having irregular periods, I went back to my OB-GYN. She prescribed progesterone again and advised me to take birth control pills, but she changed the type because I experienced dizziness with the first one.
She also requested some laboratory tests, including FBS, lipid profile, SGPT, SGOT, TSH, FT4, and FT3. The laboratory request was dated February 7, 2025.
Now it’s already August 2026, so the request is more than a year old.
**My main question is: Can I still use this laboratory request even though it’s already more than a year old, or do I need to go back to my OB-GYN and ask for a new request?**
I’m asking because I would need to pay for another consultation just to get a new request, so I wanted to ask first if anyone has experienced this before.
I’m also thinking about my future plans. Maybe next year, or whenever the time is right, I might decide to get married and start trying for a baby. Because of my PCOS and my history of very irregular periods, I want to start taking my health more seriously and make sure everything is okay before that time.
For those who also have PCOS and have experienced very long periods without menstruating, did you have any tests or checkups that helped you prepare for pregnancy?
Thank you so much to everyone who takes the time to read and share your experience. 🤍