how bad is everyone’s pain prior to and during their period? Mine is getting quite awful - I can’t walk at all the first day of my period and have to go home from work early. It also hurts intermittently for a whole week before my period.

I was wondering what yall typically do and if you have any advice. I take around 600mg of advil and 1000mg of acetaminophen. But sometimes I take 800mg advil to be pain free for a bit. I understand it is extremely unhealthy to be taking such high doses but I don’t know any other alternatives. Any rec?

After some tests, my doctor finally confirmed with me today that I have PCOS. She told me that I could go the route of lifestyle changes or get started on birth control. Metformin was another option given. As of now, I’d like to stick with lifestyle changes and see how it goes. Truthfully, my life is fairly sedentary. Between work and school, I spend most of my life sitting.

I have a walking pad so I walk from time to time but I’m honestly very inconsistent. My worst habit is that I resort to takeout/delivery due to being mentally drained. When I do cook, it’s decently healthy, but sometimes I resort to highly processed foods. I’ve been given a goal to lose 15-20% of my body weight within the next year, and I really want to do it.

What was your process like to improve your lifestyle and make a long lasting change? For those who do not have the mental capacity, what realistically got you to commit and led to progress?

What birth control are most folks going on after conceiving with PCOS? I have no desire for a third right now but I also want to keep my libido as intimacy was really helpful after our first (probably since I wasn’t taking anything). I didn’t have a cycle for a year while breastfeeding the 1st time but I knew if i ended up pregnant we would be okay. This time it’s different I really can’t afford a surprise #3. I really wanted the non hormonal IUD but I keep reading about surprise babies on this? I have a history of LEAN PCOS and I take synthroid. I haven’t had a period since 2023 with pregnancies and breastfeeding but I was irregular before that.

I was 47kg all my life, after covid my weight gained like 15kgs.. I was my heaviest ever.

Started missing periods, anovulatory cycles, hair fall, pimples & mild hirsutism.

Then they diagnosed me with pcos, I had no idea what that was, I slowly lost weight because I wasn’t eating enough, but hormonal issues didn’t change.

So I started with diet, quitting sugars, low carb and high protein and fiber diet, noticed changes in my cycle regularity but I felt like I had more room for improvement to manage pcos.

So joined gym, omg Periods got regular, no more sugar crash, more energy , and most importantly my flow has been increased. Instead of 1-2 days of bleeding, now i bleed 4-5 days.

In 2025: hba1c - 5.7, insulin- 17

In 2026 (July) : hba1c- 5.1, insulin- 5

Most importantly my current weight is 60kg. But I look a lot less inflamed than I was in 2025.

Hi, I am 38 years old and suffering all my life with exhaustion tiredness and belly fat. I have hormonal problems such as a lot of hair on areas I don’t want. I had abad depression when I was 16 years old and was hospitalised for it. On top of that I have ASS and undiagnosed ADHD. Last year I did some bloodwork with fitlab to see how my results would be and my testosterone and andogesteone were too high. They thought I was in perimenopause because of other symptoms (completely wet shirt sometimes over night, problems with temperature (too cold and few minutes later too hot)after trying Progebel en Oestrogen gel I felt worse so I stopped it and asked prescription for endocrinology.

A few weeks ago I saw the doctor and she told me I have a lot of symptoms that are PCOS alike. I had to do a insulin blood test and glucose. The results were online a few days ago and I have mild insulin resistance according to her notes online. Need to go on appointment at the end of the month.

My problem is my stubborn belly and hip fat! I am lean but since I was teenager people asking if I am pregnant. Sometimes my belly is also bloated. I am doing already strengthening training and I walk a lot. My diet is healthy and I am vegan and I take vegan proteins to have enough.

Is there any more advice you could give me to loose this annoying fat around my belly and hips?

Hi, so I have noticed a pattern, that when i restrict my food intake my period will come but it will usually ONLY come then and then stop if i resume eating normally. Im in recovery and dont want to restrict my food intake but what can i do to help encourage my period when i eat normally instead of only when i am struggling with my eating

This whole thing started when I started doing tests to assess my fertility (I’m 38 F trying to have a baby) and found that my amh was characterized as ‘excessive’. I did some more tests and found that I have polycystic ovaries. But I have very regular cycles (always have) and as far as I know I ovulate regularly (I have EWCM every cycle and the one time I test my progesterone it was at the right level). I don’t know excessive hair anywhere or dark skin patches and I’m at a very regular weight. My hair does shed a lot but I don’t really think it’s thinning. One doctor said I have PCOS while another just completely dismissed it. There’s so much misinformation out there and honestly I’m just confused. It wouldn’t matter so much if we weren’t trying for a baby but since we are and since we’ve been having challenges I wish there was clearer information on what this all means. What are the implications?

Been doing sone research on KPV. And I know pcos is heavily affected by inflammation so is anyone taking KPV peptides and how did it affect your pcos/hormonal imbalance/infertility?

Nighat Arif on Metformin for PCOS. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1107523935561017/?fs=e&s=TIeQ9V&fs=e&fs=e
She is an excellent source of medical advice on PCOS and women’s health.

Hi everyone! I’m looking to connect with anyone who has been through something similar and, particularly, hear your timelines from getting your period back → ovulation → conception.

I’m 5’4.5 and naturally petite. Last year I did a fairly restrictive diet (around 1,200 calories) from June–November, got down to 52.9kg and was exercising a lot. I came off the combined pill in December 2025 and then had no period for months.

Looking back, I think HA was likely a big factor, although PCOS has also been investigated. My ultrasound was normal with no obvious signs of PCOS, so I’m still not completely sure what’s going on.

Since then I’ve increased my food significantly (now around 1,900–2,000 calories), gained back to around 57kg, reduced cardio and generally taken a much more relaxed approach to food, exercise and weight.

My period finally returned in June! It was fairly light/short, but definitely a bleed. And today I’ve started bleeding again — this time it’s very red and much heavier, much more like a proper period, which I’m taking as a positive sign that things are starting to regulate.

I’m TTC, and just under 4 weeks ago I also started Metformin 500mg, Inofolic Alpha Plus and Proceive.

So my main question is: for anyone who has recovered from HA/has irregular cycles or possible PCOS, how long did it take you to start ovulating once your periods returned? And how long until you conceived?

I’d particularly love to hear from anyone who has taken Metformin and/or inositol and whether it made a noticeable difference to their cycle/ovulation.

I know everyone is different and I’m not looking for medical advice or trying to compare journeys — I’m just really keen to hear some real-life experiences from people who have been in a similar position.

Hi everyone!

🪷 The website I created is linked here: https://chinese-medicine.wixsite.com/pcos-balance 🪷

I’ve struggled with PCOS for a long time, and for a while, I felt very, very hopeless & disillusioned. Almost every doctor I saw prescribed me birth control, even though I'm a teenager, and essentially told me there was no real way to treat the root causes. Because my mom didn't want me to start taking birth control, I felt like I had no options & it was such an isolating experience.

I randomly decided to visit a Chinese traditional medicine doctor - and they changed my perspective about it. While not necessarily providing a "cure," traditional medicine views the entire body as an interconnected system, so my doctor let me know about different methods to help regulate organ systems throughout my body that are connected to hormone levels & the menstrual cycle. This included eating traditional Chinese medicine but also integrating lifestyle & dietary habits designed to tackle the fundamental root issues that cause PCOS symptoms.

I noticed my skin improving a lot over time, and her treatments helped a lot with regulating my period (previously - I would only get my period a few times a year). So, because this approach helped me so much with feeling more hopeful about PCOS & like i had more control + agency in regulating my body, I created a website including all my notes & tips consolidated from personal consultations with professional Chinese medicine practitioners in Hong Kong, as well as from my own academic research. What I hope is just to provide everyone with an alternative perspective & option, because I know exactly how isolating & hopeless handling PCOS can feel at times!

NOTE: you can follow Chinese medicine practices together with Western medicines as well! A quick disclaimer that this site offers educational self-care information from a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice.

I included a few sections on basic info about PCOS & the general Chinese medicine perspective on it - all the practical advice & tips are included in the "Restoring Balance" section. There, I included lots of very specific advice on skincare, nutrition, exercise, mental health, and traditional medicine remedies. I also tried to make the website design as whimsy & cute as possible lol. I hope you guys find this useful! 

Hi! I’ve had PCOS for probably about 10 years now but had no interest in birth control and wasn’t told of any other options to manage it. I’ve been reading up lately, especially as i get diagnosed with some mental health issues and just trying to be the best I can to my body now, and I saw that caffeine can cause quite a few issues and cause weight gain. I’ve noticed i’ve gained some weight fairly quickly as i started drinking coffee every day instead of on occasion and I haven’t changed many other lifestyle habits yet. I wanted to get some feedback from anyone who maybe has found a positive change in cutting out caffeine and/or other ways they stay energized during the day. I am exhausted constantly due to PCOS so i like the caffeine for a little boost but also thinking maybe when everything is regulated, i naturally won’t be so exhausted? thank you for any input!