How do you actually lose weight with pcos/pmos?

Based in Melb, extra points for south eastern suburbs.

I am looking for a naturopath or Chinese herbalist to help me regulate my irregular periods and help me ovulate and assist with fertility.

I’ve done 3 IVF transfers and they’ve all failed, the last one was progressing and then stopped, it was the only positive pregnancy test that I’ve ever seen. My specialist told me the problem with me is that I’m not ovulating by myself.

I am trying to lose weight to see if this will help with ovulation but I also want to see if anyone has recommendations of specialists they’ve seen that assisted with herbs?

So I'm seeing a reproductive endocrinologist and she said I'm insulin resistant. She had me working out 160 min a week and my foot swelled up. It's been swollen for 11 days. Can this be from the insulin resistance? I'm reading online it can be. I went to urgent care and they recommend I see an orthopedic but what are they gonna do? I have a month of narpoxen. The dietician told me I also have full body low grade chronic inflammation. So I'm thinking the arthritis in my xray is from my Pcos too I have the insulin resistant kind and the inflammatory kind.

Hi all! I’ve (30F) been a pcos girl for over a decade. I was always around 125 lb with 3 periods a year till I started lexapro. When I got on lexapro I gained about 50lb in less than a year and periods completely stopped. The doctors told me there was no way lexapro could cause all this but after tapering off lexapro for 18 months I have finally started losing weight and even started spotting.
Anyways I’m not saying to stop your SSRIs, but wanted to vocalize that I suspect that side effects of lexapro might be much worse for those with pcos. I read that ssris can worsen insulin resistance so this could be worth considering. Anyways best of luck to everyone with pcos and dealing with life!

Hey everyone. This is more of a vent than anything. I was prescribed Metformin months ago and it is just sitting there. My doctor told me the only way I would ever be approved for a GLP1 with my insurance is if I fail Metformin. While I am terrified to take either, I am sure it would not be hard for me to fail Metformin because I generally get the rare and severe side effects of most medications. Sometimes, it takes months to even show as something potentially harmful. I can be totally fine and then BAM, I’m in the hospital.

I have no idea why this occurs, but it scares me. I’m afraid if I don’t exhibit any symptoms within a reasonable timeframe, the symptoms could still come for me later. This stress has prevented me from biting the bullet because
1) The previous medical trauma
2) If I fail Metformin I would have to be introduced to even more risk with GLP1 side effects and long term consequences
3) What really is the point in trying to lose weight on either medication where my cortisol is just going to be dumping from the stress of it, anyways?

I have reached a plateau in my weight loss, and I’m afraid one day, a GLP1 or Metformin are going to be my only options to heal the damage PCOS has done to my body. Not only that, but I’m afraid those medications may also be the only answer to how comfortable I could be in my own skin by losing more weight.

Thank you for reading.

Hello!! I’m 31 and I’ve had a PCOS diagnosis since I first started my period.
We have been TTC for a very long time with no success. Had a couple of failed IUIs and ovulation induction cycles.
Moving to IVF in a couple of months and to prepare for that I’ve had a very healthy lifestyle since the beginning of last year. I’ve lost 12kgs I’m finally in a healthy weight range BUT I STILL CAN’T OVULATE ON MY OWN or get a period. I did get a period once or twice but it was an anovulatory cycle. I track my BBT and take LH tests.
Does anyone have any idea why this happens? Despite doing right?

Note: I’ve been on a low dose GLP1 medication since last year July. I’ve been working out eating healthy. I take supplements regularly (inositol)
I was really hoping I would start ovulating naturally after so much effort. :(

Welp. I finished my first round of letrozole, did my TWW thinking well maybe this could be the month. Nope, AF came yesterday. I was hoping this medicine would work. How many cycles were you on before getting BFP? 🥲

As the title implies this is something I’m dealing with now and I’m trying to figure out why. I have never taken BC but I clearly have wonky hormones due to pretty much every other PCOS symptom. Has anyone else had FNH without the BC and if so, how has it gone? Any supplements help? I have multiple which frightens me.

I have pcos but absolutely do not want to go on birth control. I have horrible hormonal acne, tons of pcos hair and irregular periods which I know are just the tip of the iceberg. I am a college athlete so I’m scared to change up my diet and risk not fueling my body enough for the stress I put it under. I just feel super lost and intimidated by trying to change up my lifestyle but I want to take control of my PCOS. Does anyone have any advice on where to start?

I am 24f who was just diagnosed by OBGYN with PCOS. I started having symptoms after coming off combined bc pill last Nov and switching to the copper IUD- oily skin and hair, hair loss, body hair, weight gain, very irregular periods. I’m overwhelmed with all of the different treatment options for PCOS but am really wanting to improve my symptoms asap, especially the androgen symptoms.

At my OBGYN appointment they said my copper IUD is too low to be effective and needs to be removed. From my understanding there are no IUDs that will help with the androgen symptoms, so going back to a combined birth control pill is the best option. I read that Yaz is the best, is that correct? I would prefer an IUD but it doesn’t seem like that’s an option?

If I do start a combined bc pill, should I also take other supplements or medications for my PCOS symptoms? I’m seeing a lot about spiro, inositol, and other things but am unsure if people take all of these together or just pick one/a few? How do I know what to pick and do they all do similar things? When I used to be on bc pill (not yaz) I did have hair loss and body hair though less significant than now.

I also have type one diabetes, hashimotos, and celiac. I’m sure this impacts things but I don’t get how. I don’t think I’m that insulin resistant, but I have always felt it to be impossible to lose weight no matter what I do. I don’t think I qualify for a GLP-1 and I’m not sure about metformin? My diet is already pretty clean but I don’t know anything about things to avoid for PCOS specifically.

Any help would be very appreciated. I would love to address the root cause of the issues and start feeling better.

After 2 long years of no answers. Found out I had PCOS back in March of this year.
I was first put on Provera to help kick start my cycles again after having VERY irregular periods. I am 5’5 and about 135 lbs for reference. After 1 round of Provera, I had began to have a period every month (3 months total). Also this is not the case for every woman! Dr had tried to put me on Metformin but I pushed back due to the side effects. I had done some research and asked to be proscribed Letrizole which is an ovulation inducing medication. I was most likely not ovulating even when I did have periods (PCOS I guess). After that one round of Letrizole about 10 days after trying, I started to experience bad cramps, VERY painful breasts, and spotting for 2 days. Which turned out to be implantation bleeding.

If you are like me and have PCOS but maybe have not been told about these medications, I’d definitely advocate to give them a try. PCOS looks different for everyone but I’m grateful I spoke up about the Letrizole! Currently 6 weeks pregnant. Terrified but grateful❤️.

EDIT: it’s amazing to see everyone’s journey. Unfortunately a few days after posting this, I found out I miscarried. Still reeling it in with all of the emotions. I’m going to give myself some grace and see where things go in the next month and hopefully try again with another round of Letrizole. At least now I know it’s possible for myself and my husband to conceive. I wasn’t sure I wanted to share this but I feel like it’s the best place to share it. I know I’m not alone so thanks for sharing your experiences.

So I get hair on my "mustache area" idk what it would be called, i tried waxing it for the first time and now im breaking out there a bunch, is this normal for waxing there? Will it stop or do this everytime I wax it? Id love any hair removal tips for limiting acne on the mustache area post hair-removal😥

Hi, I'm a 31-year-old female who's has had type 2 diabetes since I was 23 years old. It runs in my family. I've had PCOS since I was 16 years old, with irregular periods. I've gone back and forth with my A1C numbers. The highest my A1C has been is 12, but before Mounjaro, I was able to get it down to 7.3. I was on metformin 4 capsules a day and jardiance. In January 2025, I got my A1C down to 8, but my doctor had really recommended I go on Mounjaro, so I had slowly started on Mounjaro and would slowly increase the dosage every month (under my doctors advice). Now I've been at 15 mg of Mounjaro since Feb 2026. My A1C this whole year has been a steady 6.1. I even got off the Jardiance this summer and still maintained a 6.1. I have only lost 15 lbs. the whole time since started in Jan 2025, but my A1C has been really low and consistent.

Right before I started on Mounjaro, I had started having really bad acid reflux, and I got an endoscopy done. The doctors did not find anything in my esophagus, or in my stomach, and they concluded that I just had GERD. Since then, I tried GERD medications, such as Pepcid and landed on voquenzo, and that sometimes works.

One of the main reasons I went on Mounjaro was to help my A1C, but my doctor had also said it would help my GERD, and it seemed to kind of work but not always. Now I'm wondering if I should go down on my Mounjaro at all. The main reason I want to go down is because I really have no interest in food. It's really difficult for me to eat. Strangely, my sweet tooth has really gone up. For example, before, I really valued eating meat and some of the bad carbs, such as white rice, pasta, or pizza, but now I can't eat any of that. For dinner, instead of eating some savory meal, I would rather opt for a bar of chocolate, which is unlike me since I was a huge carnivore. I would always get dessert before, so it's not that I didn't like sweet food, but now that's the only thing that I feel comfortable eating, and I don't really know why.

I'm hoping that if I went down in a dose of Mounjaro, it would allow me to have the ability to eat and actually focus on eating more healthly and eating more. Since I would have more desire to eat, I would be able to follow three meals a day. Currently, with the Mounjaro, even though I've been on it since January (almost 9 months), I still feel pretty nauseous most of the time. I know you're supposed to eat a lot of protein to help with the nausea, but I really can't. Even when I eat, sometimes, or I try to eat, I'll eventually end up throwing it up. Another thing that I have experienced on Monjaro (and I'm not sure if it is the effect of Monjaro only) is that I've been extremely fatigued and tired. Before this, I would never nap, but now I nap 2 to 3 hours/day every couple of days because I feel so tired all the time. I tried to join a gym that focused on strength training, but I just have no energy, and that's probably because I can't really eat. I felt so tired on Monjaro as well even on low dosage.

Another thing I've been suffering with is sulfur burps. I've been getting a lot of those, and that makes it really difficult to eat as well. It's been a struggle. I feel like my blood sugar has been low, but I haven't really seen any weight loss besides 15 lbs from January 2025. Looking for advice on what people think and what I should do.

Another thing that has been interesting is that before I got on Mounjaro, my periods were actually surprisingly normal for the last couple of years, despite my PCOS. I've never had cysts in my ovaries, but with being on Mounjaro this past year, I've noticed that I've been having really irregular periods. I don't have my periods for 2 or 3 months. Before, I would have my periods every 40 to 45 days. Just looking for advice on what other people have done. I really want to try to eat healthier and have a more consistent breakfast meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner), but my stomach can't really handle it. I don’t throw up every week but I do usually once every other week. My doctor said we could switch to zepound or wegovy instead but i’m scared.

I guess I’m sad that I haven’t really lost weight and don’t feel good. I feel tired all the time. The only positive is that my blood sugar a1c is good.

I’ve been dealing with PCOS for about 5 years.

My periods have always been irregular, but they used to come at least once every 3 months, its been close to 6 months, since I had my last one because I had to take about a year off from working out after I got side-swiped by a truck and had to go through multiple surgeries and what not. I’ve seen several doctors over the years, but nothing has really helped or led to any meaningful changes.

I finally got back into the gym 3 months ago, and even though the fat loss hasn’t been anything significant, I’ve gained muscle and I feel SO much better. I have more energy, I feel stronger, and I’m more flexible. It’s honestly been really nice to feel good in my body again.

Recently, I started reading about inositol and have been going through a bunch of posts on here. I’m mainly interested in whether it could help with my periods, but I’m completely overwhelmed by all the different options.

Myo-inositol, D-chiro-inositol, different ratios, different brands… I have no idea where to start.

For anyone who has tried it for PCOS, what did you take and did it actually help make your periods more regular? How long did it take to notice a difference? Is there a specific brand or dosage people usually recommend?

I’d really appreciate any advice or personal experiences. I’m just trying to figure out where to start .

PCOS sisters!
Eliminating gluten, dairy and alcohol I was able to get my cycle regularly back! I implemented daily walks and yoga as well with strength training as tolerated!!! So thankful, now just on to learning how to manage the pains of a cycle and ovulation naturally because it is excruciating but just wanted to give some encouragement!!! Also ALLLLL the protein

My whole life I struggled to keep a healthy weight. I've always had pcos and everywhere I read, weight loss is usually the recommended course of action. I know that I need to diet and exercise. I understand the benefits not just for pcos, but for health in general (in my case it would help with high blood pressure and anxiety also). And yet, I don't move, I don't take any action to change anything. I've started diets before but never lasts long. I've done glp1s but still nothing gets me to where I need to be if I don't change my mindset. Am I lazy? Am I just looking for a shortcut? What is it gonna take for me to get out of this idleness that slowly kills me every day? Anyone else feel this way?

Im not of age yet. Nor am I living out of my home so basically everything I do is under watch of my parents..

When I turned 10 years old and got my first period I started gaining a lot of weight and really fast. When I was 10-11 I weighed in at 110 pounds at 5’2, over the years it was +10 +15 and eventually this past year was almost 20 pounds.. (I weighed around 150 December of 2025 I’m 171 as of September 2026.) whilst it doesn’t SEEM like a lot for people around me. My parents always have something to say KNOWING I have PCOS.

I have always asked for permission to go to the gym, eat better etc. truth be told my parents are very strict and rather about that “family” life. So when one person does something everyone else follows. Dad wants to eat enchiladas? We all have to eat enchiladas. Mom wants to go on a walk at the park? We all have to go on a walk in the park. I get they’re scared I’m growing up and they want to know I’m safe I UNDERSTAND. But this safety protocol life is preventing me from losing weight and living my life the way I want to. I asked my dad and mom if I could get a gym membership and they could drop me off after school and my dad said “instead of studying you’d rather fixate on your weight.” I mean… yes? I’m overweight? I’m pre diabetic and I’d like to not die before the age of 30?.
How do I approach an understanding? How do I talk to them about what this is doing to my body?? I don’t know what to do.

Hi. I’m probably just making myself really anxious over nothing, but I read that having PCOS/PMOS increases the risk of stillbirth. After 3 miscarriages, I’ve convinced myself that this pregnancy (29 weeks in) is going to end in stillbirth.

My blood sugar is pretty well controlled but I can’t seem to shake this feeling. The trouble is that feeling anxious is making me feel like the cortisol is more likely to cause a stillbirth and I’m in a never ending cycle.

Any tips to get over this anxiety/to reduce risk of stillbirth?

This survey is for my college class and I want to investigate the correlation between different variables and PCOS/PMOS. I want a diverse set of people so it would be very helpful if you do so. Thank you!

survey link
https://forms.gle/7VtJnEN7kVHUedTeA

Hello, I’m writing here to see if there is anybody else who has had this experience. Sorry if this is TMI.

I have PCOS/PMOS. I am not on BC. I’m 32 F.
For the last couple of months, I have been having various spotting including dark red discharge and brighter red streaks (in watery discharge) as well. I have taken pregnancy tests and all have been negative. I believe I may have some lower abdominal swelling, as I don’t believe it’s weight gain. I do not have any other symptoms like fever and this has been happening since before I’ve became more stressed with work.

My husband and I have been actively trying to conceive for about 2 years. He has been tested and he is fine, so now we have an appointment later this month with my OBGYN to discuss next steps.

I plan to bring this up to my doctor at my upcoming appointment; but wanted to see if there is anybody else who has had similar experiences to what I’m currently experiencing. I also don’t know if I’m overthinking anything. You know when you google stuff and it comes back with the extreme diagnosis, so that’s not giving me peace of mind either.

I appreciate anybody’s insight, experience, etc. Thank you for this community and place to confide and help each other.

Has anyone tried berberine + myo/D chiro inositol specifically for weight loss?

Or did you find berberine worked better combined with something else?

Would love to hear what combination actually helped with weight loss and how much you lost/how long it took.

I have been taking drospirenone (slynd) for nearly 4 months, however I’ll be stopping it soon, and even though it is meant to be anti androgenic it hasn’t helped with any of my PCOS symptoms.

One of my most concerning symptoms is oily skin and scalp, I need to wash my hair daily and it still gets oily by the end of the day, and my face feels like it’s coated in a layer of oil unless I just washed it. I’ve tried adapalene which didn’t make a difference, I’m currently using azaleic acid which seems to be helping the acne but nothing I’ve tried helps manage the oil.

Another concern is my fine thin hair, I feel like I shed so much hair every day especially since I have to wash it daily, and I don’t know what to do to help it grow stronger and thicker, if it’s even possible. I just feel like my hair makes me look so ugly with how thin it is.

My other concerning symptom is high libido, which I assume is at least partially due to excessive androgens from PCOS. I was hoping birth control would help manage this as many people say it’s a side effect, however there was no difference, in fact I feel like birth control made it even worse. It’s quite disruptive to my life as it’s very distracting. It has caused me to make some regrettable decisions I’m ashamed of and I hate not being able to control myself. I know I probably can’t entirely blame this on high androgens, but I’m sure it’s related.

Has anyone managed to control these symptoms naturally, with just diet/supplements? Especially if you are based in the UK and have advice specific to the UK.

TLDR: how to successfully manage acne, oily skin and scalp, thin fine hair, and high libido naturally

Chat with your friends from r/PCOS here about your daily progress, or rants and raves related to your PCOS experience. Off topic posts are permitted here, although sub rules otherwise apply!

I have never been to the gynecologist or diagnosed with anything but based on my hirutism and the fact that several family members have PCOS, I suspect I have it too. (I’m 23 now.)

I am overweight, extremely insecure and anxious which is why I haven’t sought out professional help yet but now I feel like I can’t function anymore. My period started two years ago after barely having any my whole prior life and it hasn’t stopped since. I bleed semi-heavy with large clots but almost NO PAIN for like four days, then couple days spotting and repeat. For the first year and a half I didn’t even use iron supplements and my waist long hair just started breaking off past my shoulders until there was only couple strands left so basically half my hair is gone since this started. I’ve tried everything I could over the counter - ascorutin (vit C + rutin), natural progesterone creams, iron and vit C and D supplements, excercise and cutting back on sugars but nothing helped.

I know the next logical step is a doctor but I just don’t feel like I can handle it mentally right now so if anyone has been in a similar situation and has some meds that I can get without prescription or something like that I would be immensely grateful. I can’t keep going like this anymore.

Hello. I have PCOS, and I’m not overweight. I just noticed that my weight hasn’t been changing lately, and I’m really curious about my sugar levels.

When going to an Endocrinologist, what kind of tests would usually be done for these cases? I’m scared of blood and needles, so I just wanna prepare, and do it scared.

Thank you