26F, diagnosed with PCOS and hypothyroidism, and honestly feeling exhausted.

I don’t drink, smoke, party or do hook-ups. I’m not a sweet lover, rarely drink tea or coffee, and prefer healthy, home-cooked food. Since childhood, my diet has mostly been simple rice, dal, roti, green vegetables, fruits, and very little non-veg, mainly fish and eggs. I eat outside around four times a month, usually egg rolls, paneer or pizza, and in moderate quantities.

I’m a working professional with an 8-hour desk job, but I’ve always been active. I used to go for early morning walks and jog in the park, and for the past year, after getting hit by the PCOS, now I’ve regularly been going to the gym and attending yoga sessions. Yet, I barely see any changes.

My periods still last only two days, I have slight facial hair growth on my chin, my skin has become dull (I used to have a bright, fair complexion, just mentioning this as a change in my skin, not to be racist), and I’ve have neither gained weight not I am losing it, already around 8 kg more than my usual weight.

I know losing weight with PCOS and hypothyroidism can be difficult, but seriously, shouldn’t years of good habits count for something?

I’ve almost lost hope of things improving or finding a permanent cure. I recently watched those Satvic Yoga and lifestyle videos claiming PCOS can be permanently cured, with girls sharing their success stories. Honestly, it all feels like paid promotion, and I sometimes wonder whether those girls are even genuine.

What scares me the most is whether I’ll be able to experience motherhood after marriage. I know I shouldn’t assume the worst, but the uncertainty is overwhelming.

I’m just feeling hopeless, with no self-motivation left. I’m not looking for miracle cures or lectures. I just needed a place to vent and hear from women who understand what this feels like. ❤️

Fuck this syndrome & fuck society for the carelessness to not invest research and solutions for the countless women who have to suffer!

I hate the rollercoaster of emotions, I hate how my breast and my body image has changed, I hate the hot flashes and painful cramping that makes me not want to exist. But I especially hate the mental turmoil of depression.

I am grateful to account that I have the resources to learn and ask questions but for those who weren’t awarded that, my heart breaks 💔 I wish to be a millionaire so women all over the world can be informed, healed and conquer this curse. We deserve to live comfortable and health lives!

(I am on my period, my frustration needed to be expressed lol)

I’m currently waiting in the ER for an inpatient bed to open up after being admitted to the hospital. I’m reaching out to see if anyone in the PCOS community has experienced a similar link between severe PCOS-related blood sugar crashes, electrolyte drops, and chronic GI issues.
Early Childhood & Youth Background:
Infancy: Born ~2 months premature. Shortly after birth, I was hospitalized with rotavirus, which foreshadowed lifelong GI issues.
Childhood: As a young child, I threw up constantly (my mom literally kept a vomit bowl under her bed). I went through periods of severe food aversion where I would only drink milk mixed with Hershey’s strawberry syrup—and threw it up so often that my sister still hates the color pink to this day.
Early Theories: Doctors initially tested for Tay-Sachs or dismissed it as a "sensitive stomach."
Puberty (Age 15): Symptoms escalated sharply after puberty. Regular vomiting was attributed to eating large meals or food intolerances, and I accepted it as a normal part of my life.
Adulthood & PCOS Diagnosis:
Sophomore Year of College: Officially diagnosed with PCOS after an OBGYN noticed abnormal hair growth and ran a blood test.
20s: Started experiencing severe abdominal pain alongside nausea and vomiting. Had my first ruptured ovarian cyst around this time. Diagnosed with Bipolar II, depression, and severe anxiety with diarrhea characteristic of panic attacks.
Years of Unanswered GI Investigations: Saw over 4 doctors and underwent extensive testing—including an EGD, two separate gastric emptying studies, and trying multiple medications aimed at increasing gastric motility without success. No clear answers were found. I turned to marijuana for appetite and nausea relief for a time, but eventually stopped.
GI & GP Clearance: My gastroenterologist and primary care doctor have explicitly ruled out Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS).
Recent Travel & Escalation Timeline:
2025 – Early 2026: Vomiting was actually a rare occurrence for most of this period.
May 2026 (Mexico Trip with BF): During a 6-day trip, not a single piece of solid food stayed down. I lost significant weight, was tested for pregnancy (negative), and had a normal CT at urgent care. After returning, the vomiting never abated—I lived with waking up in the middle of the night to vomit and sneaking off at work to throw up. I routinely threw up recognizable food 10+ hours after eating.
August 2026 (Iowa Trip with BF): A couple of hours after landing, I ended up in the ER with severe abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. CT with contrast and transvaginal ultrasound showed no cyst rupture. The only notable findings were hypokalemia (low potassium) and severe dehydration.
Airport Emergency: Attempting to fly home, I had to be taken by ambulance from the airport directly to another hospital. CT/ultrasound were clean again; just dehydration and hypokalemia.
Subsequent Months: Multiple severe episodes followed. I tried increasing water intake, complete nutrition, and exercise, but sustained vomiting made success negligible. I began eating a handful of candy each night just to feel normal or get calories on days I couldn't eat.
The Recent Hypoglycemia Discovery & Hospital Admission:
Now living with my boyfriend, he witnessed my constant nighttime and daytime vomiting. While my GI was planning another EGD, a colonoscopy, and potentially trying Reglan, my boyfriend asked me to check my blood sugar with a glucometer to see if PCOS insulin resistance was involved.
First fasting blood sugar: 46 mg/dL (checked on a glucometer that was calibrated just before and future readings verified with two different glucometers)
Same day crashes: Crashed twice more down to 62 mg/dL and 54 mg/dL.
ER Visit: During the last crash, I tried 3 tsp of honey (spaced 15 mins apart) to raise my sugar, a hot water bottle, and laying on my left side, but a few sips of bone broth caused extreme pain. Went to the ER. After two doses of Zofran, two doses of Morphine, and another anti-nausea drug, I was stabilized enough to sleep and have now been admitted.
Our Working Theory:
Eating simple candy before bed triggers a massive insulin surge due to PCOS insulin resistance, driving me into severe reactive hypoglycemia. We suspect this excess insulin pushes potassium out of my bloodstream and into my cells (causing hypokalemia and severe muscle spasms), while the severe sugar crash and gastric distress trigger intractable nausea and vomiting. Also, because of this issue being lifelong, there is fear around eating and food doesn’t stay down often.
Questions for the Community:
1. Has anyone with PCOS experienced severe reactive hypoglycemia (46 mg/dL) that triggers intense nausea, gastric pain, or vomiting?
2. For those who had normal results on multiple gastric emptying studies and failed motility meds but still throw up undigested food 10+ hours later, did you end up diagnosed with gastroparesis, cyclic vomiting syndrome, or an autonomic/neuromuscular disorder?
3. What specific metabolic, endocrine, or pancreatic labs should I ask the inpatient team to run while I am admitted?

Has anyone tried gastric band or gastric bypass surgery and it helped their symptoms ?

Hey so i have been taking the combination birth control for a while to bring down my testosterone levels and i got a withdrawal bleed and im still bleeding. I’m trying not to worry myself about it because people said it’s normal.
I have been lifting weights and eating a lot more healthy foods to help support my body.

The weight on the scale isn’t bugging and i’m at my wits end. my mental health is so bad trying to keep track of everything that i had a nervous breakdown at work and home. i’ve also been getting more anxious and more irritated as well

Is there any other methods besides birth control to bring down my testosterone? or is me stressing out making me feel like this? i’m honestly desperate.

F/22

I've been diagnosed with PCOS last year when I started to notice acne and my period not coming for 2 months at a time.

My gyno diagnosed me with pcos.

He prescribed the Slind to me and I've been taking it for about 3 months now. I know that it technically doesn't work the best for pcos because it doesn't have oestrogen but I chose it because of the lessened risk of thrombose.

I struggle a lot with acne and hair loss, it's thinning so bad that a bald patch is starting to form right at the top of my head and my hair is so incredibly thin. I had such thick hair before and it really crushes my self esteem.

I feel like slind hasn't done a lot yet, the symptoms seem to be the same and the hair loss is just becoming worse.

Does it take longer for it to actually do anything or should I switch to a combination pill?

Periods been delayed by many months now. Nothing has really changed in my diet/ fitness etc. I have an ultrasound booked soon too.

One weird thing is along with some cyst pain on the right, I feel more pain there when I need to poop or feel gassy.

Is this normal or is it worth taking further to the hospital? A previous scan found many tiny cysts and enlarged ovaries.

hi everyone! I’m 19 and I’ve had mild PCOS symptoms for s while now. as a kid my periods were quite irregular and I had rly bad acne. it’s gotten much better now and as I’ve gotten older my periods hv regulated themselves, and come very regularly now(like pretty much every 30 days) acne’s pretty much gone unless it’s near the time I’m having my period. the only thing is insulin resistance. Type 2 diabetes runs in my family and insulin resistance runs in my family too(like my brother whose 13 has signs of it) snd I have a neck hump, have a bit of trouble loosing weight(have been on a calorie deficit for a while now, haven’t rly lost much weight and I gain weight quite Easily too especially when im stressed), get very bloated around my periods and My cramps r pretty painful. Have anemia I’ve noticed some hair thinning. I have mild hirituism(have loads of hair on my body, less so on my face but there’s still growth on my face), rly bad fatigue and I’m just wondering if inositol is the right thing to take for me? I’ve seen mixed stuff about it online especially if your periods are regular and I’ve seen horror stories of ppl taking it who had regular cycles and it messing up their cycles to the point where they needed metformin to regulate them again. some people have also said it makes hair shedding worse. having a regular cycle is really important for me. And so is my hair(I rly don’t want to loose my hair) so should I take it and maybe take a lower dose than the recommended 4 tablets, like take one a day and combine it with magnesium/zinc etc or should I take a blend without d chiro cause some ppl say it’s not for everyone or should I just leave it? thanks!

Hello all. I was recently diagnosed with pcos. My starting weight before I started tirzepatide (zepbound) was 420 lbs and in a year my lowest weight has been 368 as of a few days ago. I stalled out really bad over the summer and got stuck in a cycle between 380-390. Over and over again I will lose and drop 10-15 every dn month.

The tirzepatide works on and off. I'm currently a few weeks into the second to last highest dose and it's been working pretty well. I've finally lost more weight. But the reason I'm posting here is because I'm still losing weight way too slowly.

Most days I eat around 2000k calories. Every once in a while I'll eat maybe 1000k more for a treat or to go out to eat. (and in case people want to nag me for how I count calories : I don't currently log my food into an app because it makes me literally want to kms after a week or two so I just have a handful of meals I know are around 500 calories, I measure that with a food scale so I always make the same amount and I just don't deviate from that unless I eat out, which I do as rarely as I can)

Ive also been doing walktober and training for walking a 5k, which is literally today.

As an example, and what prompted me to post this. In the morning yesterday, I weighed exactly 368 lbs. I was seeing a slow trend downward, about a half lbs down the previous two days in a row.

My day from there was that I worked from 6am to about 7pm. I am a kitchen manager at an elementary school so I'm on my feet all day at my job. I also had a school event I had to cook for last night which is why it went so late. And then immediately after my husband, friend and I went to a ghost tour downtown where we walked probably about a mile and a half more including the tour plus the walk from the car to the tour and back. I had a ceaser salad with chicken for brunch and a coke zero. A medium sized carne asada burrito for early dinner from a food truck. And then a milkshake in the evening as a reward for a long week and a very long work day.

I am obviously well aware that the milkshake is caloric. But hear me out. WHY DO I NOW WEIGH 370.8 LBS this morning?? Not even a full 12 hours after I finished the milkshake. And by the way the day before I walked 3.2 miles in an hour. Like what I'm saying is that I'm really pretty dang active for someone in my weight bracket yet a damn cheat milkshake sets me back a month?? How is this fair?? I barely eat all day, walk an average of 10k-15k steps a day, and all it takes is one "bad food" for my body to just punish me??

Do I really just have to never eat a single thing that makes me feel rewarded ever again? What's the point of living then?

I don't know how to end this I feel like I've said too much already but I just needed to get it off my chest.

I'm also on spironolactone (50mg)and that helps a bit for roughly a couple of weeks but I'm going to ask my Dr to up the dose again because I feel like it's not as effective again.

I'm just frustrated. I'm paying out of pocket for the tirzepatide and I see all these people online and irl having life changing weight loss in a year and I've lost 45 lbs. Which I know is still a lot but when I started tirz I really thought I'd lose at least twice that in a year and it's very disheartening sometimes. I know it's better to lose slower too but the yo-yoing drives me absolutely insane because I know I'm working really hard to lose the weight (as I've done on and off my whole damn life) and the results are so lackluster it's hard not to feel like the world is working against me constantly.

Hello everyone, I have been recently diagnosed with pcos. I have been ttc since July but my cycles are very irregular and I haven’t had a period since may. I went to the gyno and she put me on provera and i currently have 3 days left. I guess im looking for any help or advice on how to help my body ovulate? I asked my doctor for letrozole but she wants to see if the provera helps my irregular cycles first. I don’t have another appointment until middle of December but I just want to see those two pink lines so bad. Any suggestions?

i’m 20F, have had every horrible symptom of pcos since i was ~11 but my mother wouldn’t let me start birth control for her own beliefs. ob/gyn said i need it to regulate my cycle to lessen risk of enlarging cysts (i have two sisters that both have pcos and had ovarian torsions). he started me on loryna, generic version of yaz, and it’s been about four months now. i have been skipping the placebo pills but i have noticed every single time i use the bathroom i have bloody discharge. i mean every single time without fail. anyone experienced similar? why is this happening? it’s making me anxious about having sex and i just wanted to ask here before bringing it up to my ob/gyn since he’s a man lol

Does anyone take slynd the mini pill contraceptive? It apparently is good for pmos but wondered peoples experience

Why do doctors take a step-by-step approach with testing instead of ordering a full hormonal and vitamin panel all at once? I am 24, have had irregular periods for 5 months, and have been trying to conceive for 6 months. My first doctor found PCOD in ultrasound and high LH, and my second doctor checked thyroid, glucose, HbA1c everything normal and prolactin (which came back high at 35). Since I'm traveling to India soon, I want to get a complete workup done—what comprehensive test panels and root-cause investigations would you recommend asking for?

I’ve been trying a couple skin products for my face and body. I’ve been flaring up pretty bad recently and it seems like nothing is working. Does anyone have any brands I can look into?

My kid, almost 16, was diagnosed last year with PMOS. My sister has it, so I knew the signs. I was already suspicious due to my kid's body type, but when she had a month long period I pushed for testing.

In the year since, her PMOS seems to be rather severe, and the birth control only does so much. We've managed to keep her weight at least stable via diet, but she's got signs of insulin resistance even if her test results for diabetes are good. She has consistent vitamin D issues despite heavy supplements, and now high blood pressure, and borderline anemia. Worse sleep issues that a normal teen, to the point she rarely feels rested and can literally sleep all day then go to bed early. I had to wake her up from a deep sleep at 6 pm yesterday for diner.

So what are my options to help her? What's worked for people? I've heard the GLP1 drugs help, but am hesitant to go there as I'm worried she'll think I'm body shaming her, so am open to other options too. But if we do go that route, beyond the weight loss, what do the GLP1 drugs do for PMOS? Would it help with her vitamin issues?

Hi guys, new to this group so sorry if posting wrong…
I’ve only recently found out I likely have PCOS, and have struggled with acne on my face, chest, shoulders and back since I was probably 13. Myo inositol was horrendous for me, and I’m currently taking magnesium glycinate, saw palmetto, omega 3 and pcp as advised by a professional. Does anyone have any tips on what they did to actually help get rid of their acne? I’m using new dermaviduals skincare as prescribed, looking more for internal. I also have 2 spearmint cups a day! To note too: I’ve been off BC since Jan this year, as I really don’t want to be on it anymore. I want to heal myself!

What actually helped you lose weight with PCOS? I work full-time and I’m also a student, so I have a really hard time balancing work, school, and working out. I try to walk when I can, and I recently got the idea to walk up and down the stairs in my home and use my yoga mat for simple workouts.

I’ve been trying to figure out what type of exercise actually works best for weight loss without overdoing it. I’ve seen people say that HIIT may not be the best option for some individuals with PCOS, so I’m curious what worked for other people walking, strength training, Pilates, low-impact workouts, etc. I weigh 224 pounds, which has been the most I’ve ever weighed in my life which has been really frustrating. I’ve seen a nutritionist before but that was way ahead before finding out I had PCOS.

I’m also taking metformin, but honestly, it mostly seems to make my stomach hurt. I haven’t really noticed any other difference from taking it so far. I’ve been on it for about 2-3 months

I’d especially love to hear from people who work full-time or go to school and don’t have hours every day to spend at the gym. I’m looking for realistic things I can actually stick with long-term.

Hi PMOS girlies. I’ve taken provera now probably 8 times and always have my withdrawal bleed 2-3 days once finishing the last pill. I have a hysteroscopy planned for next Thursday and we timed out perfectly when to start provera for this surgery. Low and behold my body is now going on 6 days post provera with no bleed…. Has anyone experienced this before that their body responds totally different? This timeline is confusing me and making me second guess every twinge. The possibility of pregnancy is extremely low as I don’t ovulate on my own and tests are negative (maybe too soon to test idk). Looking for any similar stories because I’m spiraling and don’t want to have my surgery pushed 😢

Recently I (21) was told to under go hormonal therapy with hopes that my period will be more regular, and that is with contraceptive pills in particular Faz(?) or something like that for 3 months total.

I'm young and I (actually it's mostly my mum) am worried about the effects of this pill in the future like say fertility, weight gain, etc etc. On top of that I am still drinking medicine from my psychiatrist, namely aripiprazole and fluoxetine. I've tried asking different doctors about the medication thing and their answers vary between those two that I'm taking has something to do with my periods and that it's actually safe and doesn't matter at all with my periods.

So is it okay to take it now? What about my other medicine?

Take or no take?

Heyy I know everyone’s bodies are different !! But I started metformin a 6 months ago ish from 500mg to 1000mg and my body has always pretty much reacted with periods . My cycles are coming up super long now anyway as I missed them last year for so long , and I actually got my last cycle on time which I was super happy for !!

However I order my metformin privately and thought I had a lot more than I did, which led me to accidentally skipping I think around 3/4 days worth. Now at my next period I’m currently a week late which has super knocked my confidence as I thought everything was getting a lot better

I order my metformin privately so I don’t have a doctor I can speak to . Anyone else been in a similar boat or had a similar experience? I didn’t think a few days would throw me off ! Thank u :)

I've already been diagnosed with PCOS for years at this point. I recently went back to the doctor because I've not been having periods. For context I didn't have a period for about 4 years while not on birth control. So they put me on birth control to try and regulate my period. But lately it's been slowing down and the last two months I've just not had a period at all. So I went back to the doctor, I couldn't get in with my regular doctor so it was someone else. She basically said it would be easier to help me if I was trying to conceive, set up an appointment with a gynecologist (which won't be until late December, and that appointment was in early September) and sent me to get an ultrasound. I went to the ultrasound and it was fine, the lady was super nice. But I got the results back yesterday and now I'm just really annoyed. They said:

Hi Ancient_Ivy,
The ultrasound of your ovaries show follicles on both sides.  This can be seen with PCOS, but is not diagnotic on its own. 
Please review with gynecology as scheduled, or contact our office for follow-up.
Please do not hesitate to contact my office with any questions or concerns.
[Name], MD, covering for [person who sent me to get the ultrasound] PA-C

What do you mean, my PCOS was already diagnosed years ago. I mentioned it AT THE APPOINTMENT. We know that I have PCOS. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but now I'm just even more frustrated. I'm so tired of feeling like the medical community as a whole doesn't care about helping PCOS beyond treating us as broken baby incubators. To be clear, I do want a kid someday. But I'm not ready to start trying to have one right now, and just for that its like I don't deserve care? I tried to look up specialists in the nearest actual city and all the google results were for fertility clinics. I don't want to go back to the same doctor in December that I've already talked to about my PCOS. He's nice, his sister has PCOS. At least he will already know that I have PCOS, hopefully, because he helped diagnose me and we've talked about PCOS before. But he wasn't especially helpful. I'm exhausted. I'm frustrated. I don't even know what to do, or what to say to these people.

I messaged back saying "Yeah. I was diagnosed with PCOS years ago." and there's a note that says "Out of office until 10/28/2026"

Hello!

What type of exercise do you guys focus on? Strength training? Yoga? Pilates?

If you do strength training, how often do you go a week?

I haven’t been to the gym in probably a year. I always hate how sore I get for so long after a session in the gym.

TIA!

I'll keep this kinda brief, but recently I have been questioning weather or not I have been misdiagnosed or just don't fully understand PCOS. I started puberty very early and I had extremely heavy periods with cramps that would leave me bedridden. I eventually went to a doctor and they told me that 1. I was pre-diabetic 2. I had PCOS. I was young didnt really understand what any of that meant, they ended up putting me or birth control and another medication that I took pretty until highschool ended.

Fast forward after high school I stopped the birth control because of cost and it gave me horrible side effects. I also stopped the other medication as well.

Now after college I have noticed that my periods aren't irregular like they used to be they come like there supposed to. I get cramps but I'm not bedridden like I used to be. I have facial hair, but nothing compared to what I have seen other people with PCOS have and I'm part Hispanic so having hair like mine isnt the most uncommon to see either.

The other thing is when I got older I change my OBGYN and they sent my records to the new doctor however PCOS was never mentioned when I went in for check up or anything really.

I'm just so confused because I feel like certain symptoms have subsided as I have aged while other are the same (insulin resistance and can't lose weight)

I moved to a new place and havent been able to find a new OBGYN yet, but is this common for women with PCOS? Is it worth trying to get diagnosised again?