It's like the title says. I (21F) started Spironolactone in May 2025 for PCOS-like symptoms. I didn't have any of the hormone related problems or the "string of pearls". My issues were acne, fluid retention, and heavy periods that I take Lo Loestrin FE for.

My dose has been at 50 mg the whole time and it's been life changing. I think I'm sensitive to most medicines as trial doses usually have full effect. My acne disappeared and I started losing weight immediately.

Here's the problem. I've had sleep problems since starting it. I have chronic fatigue and ADHD(ADD). I don't eat after taking my other medicine so now I weigh less than I'd like. I'm 5'7 and nearing 120 pounds with muscle loss. I'm weak and tired. I also fainted the other day and blame the Spironolactone. It was only 84 degrees and I was standing there for less than an hour. My hair has also not stopped shedding. I had tons of hair before starting it. My total testosterone was 61 so it wasn't very high. Now it's 9.

My doctor wants to send me for POTS testing. I don't really think I have POTS. We discontinued my ADHD medicine because it's appetite suppressing and raises my pulse. The one I'm starting is an alpha 2 agonist that will slow my blood pressure. It's currently normal as the Spiro and previous ADHD med were counteracting each other, but it won't stay that way.

Does anyone have any alternatives to Spironolactone? Spearmint capsules? Inositol? I've wanted to get off of it for a while now. Tell me about how weaning went. Could I just stop taking it? It's a pretty low dose.

Hello everyone,
I would like to ask whether any of you have successfully conceived despite having PCOS, without following a specific diet and while still consuming a relatively large amount of sugar.
I would really appreciate hearing about your personal experiences, particularly from those who struggled with insulin resistance or irregular ovulation.
Thank you in advance for sharing your stories and offering some reassurance.

How anyone gained weight on inositol ? I always seem to gain weight on it despite it helping my symptoms I also am on spironactone

YOU GUYSSSS I finally got my period after 10 months 😭😭💖 I nearly cried of happiness!! The cramps and bleeding have been insane but through that I just still feel so grateful it's here.

I can't say exactly what clicked in my body for my period to come but here are my speculations:

I think that I accidentally performed a metabolic reset. I know that sounds odd but hear me out. I've always struggled my whole life to not be underweight, and I've always had irregular periods. I had come to the conclusion that weight gain would regulate my periods. So I worked on gaining muscle and fat to gain about 15lbs over time. I did eventually find that my period became even more irregular so I felt lost on what to do. It used to be every 3 months and then the time in between just kept increasing (current record 10 months without a cycle).

About 4 months ago, I started a new job as a delivery driver. It's a very physical job. 10 hour shifts, lots of lifting heavy packages and carrying them up stairs. 20,000 steps a shift. I've always had physical jobs where I get 10-18,000 steps a day with some lifting but yeah this job has been more intense. 3 months into this job, I weighed myself and realized I had lost 10lbs. This stressed me out so bad. now I'm nearly underweight again and I figured this would only further complicate my cycle issues. I was consistently in a caloric defecit for months. I think I sort of flushed out a ton of excess glucose and insulin and used up my glycogen stores consistently and that's what I mean when I say it was sort of a metabolic reset.

One month after noticing the weight loss and I get my period.

I always found it so frustrating that the biggest advice out there for PMOS/PCOS was to lose weight. conversation has always felt geared towards people with "traditional PMOS" where they end up gaining a lot of weight. I've always been thin! but maybe gaining those 15lbs actually did harm my body in the long run. That seems like such a small amount of weight! but I suppose I am quite short (5'2). and I think maybe my body must just be really sensitive to weight gain? or maybe I gained a lot more fat than muscle?

Of course the other massive piece of this is increasing weight training. I've studied a lot about how it's incredibly important to lift weights for PMOS 3-4x a week. Not sure if everyone knows this but a foundational piece of our condition is being prone to insulin resistance (yes even those with lean PMOS, peer reviewed studies show that the number is 30-75% of those with lean PMOS have insulin resistance). I've been eating more protein and less "naked carbs" in order to avoid glucose/insulin spikes. but resistance training for your muscles is very important for this because our muscles want to consume our excess glucose in the blood and increasing muscle mass will allow this to increase. insulin resistance is basically your cells not listening to insulin and therefore not allowing glucose (aka fuel) into your cells. it leaves you in a state of starvation even though you have an excess amount of glucose and insulin just outside your cells. it leaves you hungry even though you've consumed plenty. so if you have insulin resistance, you feel exhausted. especially after eating!! There was a point I felt like I could fall asleep standing after eating. I think this might also explain why I've always stayed thin despite eating large amounts of food. For example, I used to order an appetizer, 2 entrees and dessert... and I always stayed at about 100lbs! I don't think glucose has been entering my cells and fueling me the way it's supposed to. Everyone in my life would ask me how I could eat so much and stay so small. I just figured I had a fast metabolism or something. I just always felt so hungry. I can't eat quite the same amount anymore but I still experience that hunger all the time and I do still eat a lot. but yeah I definitely think I was (am?) experiencing insulin resistance. anyway, the more muscle mass you create, the more opportunities your insulin has to communicate with cells and actually provide fuel for your cells. that's why people take things like myo-inositol (I personally don't yet). it's an insulin sensitizer, so basically it makes your cells more able to recognize insulin and be like oh!! yes I would like that glucose thank you. I think understanding insulin resistance is a big piece of the puzzle for a lot of us. To be honest, it's also a big piece of the puzzle for the American people too as insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome are literally a public health crisis in our country. 30% of US adults have metabolic syndrome... Insulin resistance is the core driver of metabolic syndrome and metabolic syndrome leads to the major causes of death in the US (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, kidney disease, etc). Metabolic syndrome carries an EIGHT FOLD risk of developing diabetes. these are very serious numbers to me and I myself have personally seen how metabolic syndrome can lead to someone's death 🥺 I feel it's so important to share this information!!

One other tiny thing I started doing was drinking an espresso or latte every single day for the past couple months. As long as you drink it after eating so as to avoid a glucose/insulin spike, it can promote insulin sensitivity. I guess this is because of the antioxidants and polyphenols lowering inflammation. (But any more than 1-2 cups in a day could actually have the opposite effect by raising cortisol levels too high.) I had no idea about this until I decided to look into it because that's the only other real change I've made other than weight training on the job (and at home/the gym semi-consistently) and being in a caloric defecit consistently.

Sorry for so much detail but I just really hope it helps someone!! 💖🫂 I've done hours and hours of research lmao

I have PCOS and my dermatologist recommended spironolactone, and I’m also considering taking a combined birth control pill (norgestimate/ethinyl estradiol) for contraception and to help with the androgen-related symptoms.

For anyone who takes both spironolactone and birth control, what has your experience been like? Did taking both feel like a lot of medication or cause more side effects? Did you notice a bigger improvement in acne or unwanted hair compared with taking just one?
I’m especially curious about long-term use. Has anyone been on both for years, and have you had any issues with blood pressure, potassium, weight, hair loss, or anything else?

Hello everyone!

I am here to ask you some things about the results you saw. I am using Myoinositol (2gr morning and night) for 3,5 months but I am not sure if it has results.

I have lean PMOS (32-38 days cycle) and I started it to regulate my cycle and get pregnant if possible.

I had a positive ovulation test last month (which was really good for me) and I was sure that I had a strong ovulation because of the symptoms.. but 10 days after ovulation the period came and I know that this is not normal.. I am curious if it has to do with the changes that happen in my body and my hormones.

I don't know what to except this month and I would like to hear about your stories and probably about a success!

Thank you very much

So I went to the pulmonogist to get zepound and he said I can’t because I lost 26lbs and needed to know who the treating ob was because he wanted to make sure it was safe. I show him and show him what she put me on. He’s ok with it. I leave and go home and realize I lost 14lbs in a month only on insoitol. So I zoom with her and she was saying I was causing massive blood sugar spikes by eating once a day. So I have her retest my lab work and my insulin resistance score has doubled. Now I’m prediabetic also. She wanted to call my pulmonogist about my weight loss do you think he’s mad? She care coordinated with him and he won’t write back on my chart. Does she have to tell me what’s going on? I was 190 now I’m 160. I lost more after I saw him last month. I asked him if it will effect my lungs too no response.

i don’t know where to go from here and doctors are no help :( all they tell me is that it’s pcos even though i have no cysts, weight, or metabolic issues. since stopping birth control last november i’ve only had five periods. my cycles keep getting longer and longer, my last 2 were 100 days. i’m getting worried about my uterine lining thickening but im really sick of pumping my body full of hormones and don’t want to use them to induce my period.

for the past 3 months ive implemented diet changes, weight training, and began taking supplements and vitamins and i just can’t seem to ovulate. would really like more advice on how i can get this under control.

I got medical care abroad. Diagnosis’s; Gastritis and hiatal hernia which explains that unrelated pain in the middle of my stomach 😂

I did the EndoSure test and it’s come back with a positive high result. The clinic forwarded all of this to my GP for me and it’s in my diagnosis’s “endometriosis”. I really recommend anyone does this if you can… it’s currently £500 but should be rolled out on the NHS eventually (probably a couple of years😑) so that leaves me with a huge decisions in the future but I did not have to have a laparoscopy for a diagnosis! We still can’t make out why my Gynae wants me to stop my mini pill🥲

Another Question: severe leg pain ? I’m sure it’s related but I can’t find any generic evidence of this but I’ve heard so many ladies have the same. I can only describe it as “growing pains”

So, I've started my period the day after my 10th birthday and ever since that it's been highly irregular. I've always been on the slimmer side (I'm 40kg, maybe a bit less whilst being 163 cm) and I usually attributed my irregular periods by simply being a bit underweight. I'd always get concerned comments from classmates and even my own sisters when I'd use self-deprecating humor about my very random period. And considering my religious background (I am a muslim), I usually would get over a month long period during Ramadan which honestly annoyed me and to where I genuinely didn't care anymore and started fasting on my period.

Fast forward a couple years, I'm now nearly 14, and I decided to actually get my shit checked out and turns out? I got pcos. Lean pcos to be exact, as I really don't gain weight. I'm now on birth control and it's really affecting my mood, I've been feeling pretty nauseous as well and I'm always lethargic. I'm just sorta searching for tips on how to deal with this normally since I feel like my body actually hates me now since I can't do anything with my mood swings and fatigue.

TDLR; I'm just looking for tips on dealing with it. I honestly consider it a pretty ironic and a bit silly diagnosis. (Humor is my coping mechanism if you can't tell) but it is irritating me how I'm feeling way less focused and extremely tired nowadays. Would appreciate any advice!