I have been struggling with very disrupted cycles the past year, more than usual, and periods that the bleeding won’t stop even after a month.

My obgyn prescribed me duphaston recently to regulate and stop the bleeds. I’ve been on the medication twice before, one to induce a 3 month late period and the second one to stop a very long period.

About a year ago I started having what I found out is called “burning mouth syndrome”, I am not officially diagnosed because all dentists I’ve been to look at me like I’m crazy because they can’t see anything, so I took matters in my own hands.

I started tracking these flare ups and even though not persistent, I’ve noticed that the 4-5 times I’ve experienced the burning mouth, it always was before or during a period.

Not always with every period, but I always had a period when I was getting it, and the symptoms were lasting for a week.

Fast forward to now, I’m on day 7 of duphaston (3rd time on the medication) so I can stop another long bleed, and I’ve been suffering from intense pain in my mouth.

Helpless and without any doctors understanding, I did some research and apparently the hormone fluctuations can trigger the burning mouth sensation.

Has anyone been through this? How did you help yourself, what doctor did you see? Or any other general advice! All welcome 🙏

30F finally diagnosed about 7 months ago.
The main issues which led me to pursuing testing were progressively irregular periods, hirsutism, and body odor.
Previously during my late teens and early twenties, I had tried many different birth controls and had experienced severe anxiety and depression on all of them. I stopped BC at age 21, so when my doctor insisted I try an oral combo pill to regulate my period and abate my symptoms I was very nervous.
I was initially put on Junel Fe which immediately seemed to help the body odor. My period came in my first off week after not having one for months and I couldn’t believe it. I noticed a little fatigue so I played around with the timing of my pill for the next few months. Otherwise I didn’t notice any unmanageable symptoms.
In July I received a letter from my new insurance (job change) indicating that they would not cover Junel and I was being switched to Hailey Fe. The first month was rough. Spotting nearly every day, crampy, and hungry constantly. But what I was not ready for was the anxiety like I had experienced many years ago. Anxiety about EVERYTHING. From personal interactions to things like did I turn the stove off… I felt like I was going insane. Being older now I knew what was happening and I just had to remind myself of that. But that doesn’t fix the sweats and nervous tummy problems. I told myself to “give it a few months” as they say with a new BC. I’m now in month three and decided to pay really close attention to my brain from the off week through now. My off week was great. I was out with friends and family and had a wonderful time. Outlook on life was positive, was truly feeling good. By Day 2 I felt the raincloud come over me. I get that sick to the stomach feeling and I just cycle on whatever worry is in my brain at that moment. The mind chatter never stops. It doesn’t usually anyways but it’s all negative. My insurance told me I’d have to pay for Junel out of pocket to go back, which isn’t crazy expensive but still an extra expense. But given the situation I’ve considered the IUD. The pill hasn’t helped my hirsutism at all. The body odor I am afraid of returning but I’d rather have to deal with that over the anxiety. And I wouldn’t have to worry about missing a pill given that I travel for work and sometimes silence my alarm before long plane rides.
My gyno recommends staying on a pill for PCOS side effect management but I don’t want to experiment again until I find one that works like Junel.
I’m curious what others experience has been on IUD or if you’ve switched either which way. If you kept reading thank you I know this was long :)

for background: 7 months post partum. i have pcos, was diagnosed before pregnancy. now post partum my symptoms are back. sorry for the tmi but i have awful BO (i think this must be hormonal) and the hirsutism is bad too. i am on ozempic which is helping with the weight but i need something for the androgens. is there anyone on here thats done a combo of ozempic + spiro or ozempic + yaz? or did spiro help you even at a low dose with certain symptoms i.e hair growth, odour, acne, hirsutism?

Hey,

I’ve been diagnosed with PCOS very recently and have elavated DHEAS and Testosterone.

I’m so afraid to start Spiro because of the horrid stories with excessive hair shedding

I currently don’t have any head hair issues but have acne

Any ideas or theories why it happenes ?

I’ve asked my derm but he said he has never had any of his patients have any hair loss issues while on Spiro

Thanks in advance

So I just got off of a short video appointment with my gyno to discuss my years of experience with vaginal dryness which occurred AFTER stopping birth control for years. I NEVER had issues before birth control. It’s made things more uncomfortable and painful sometimes. I use lots of lube now to get through it enjoyably. Gyno asked if I engage in foreplay to see if that helps. No it doesn’t really help. So I asked AGAIN for the millionth time to check my estrogen and progesterone levels to see if they are imbalanced and the reason why my periods are so wacky and I’m experiencing dryness. She flat out said they will come back normal and that they wouldn’t be able to tell us nothing and that I’m having periods so they are where they need to be and that dryness isn’t because of a hormonal issue then. Not too many sentences later she’s asking if I need more progesterone to help with my heavy prolonged periods or to bring on a period 😑. But you just said my levels are normal so if they are normal why would you offer to refill that? And then mentioned as a solution to the dryness some estrogen cream or suppositories to help. If my estrogen is normal why am I experiencing dryness then. Her reason is some women don’t produce as much. So if my levels are normal like how they previously were prior to birth control, I shouldn’t be experiencing dryness or discomfort. Why is she fighting me so hard on checking my estrogen and progesterone levels? What does it hurt to just check them? What if you’re wrong and they aren’t normal? I literally hate this and her other solution was putting me on birth control to try to help it but my chart says clearly “Do Not Want Birth Control” and almost every visit with her, she’s trying to get me on birth control. Nothing I say matters at this point. I feel completely invisible and like I’m just supposed to suffer with this discomfort because she barely even wanted to give me the estrogen suppositories. Strongly considering other gynos at this point.

Hi everyone,

I had a baby in 2025. I’m still breastfeeding but he is pretty established on solids, so it is mostly only at night / nap time. For some context, I did need to use letrozole to get pregnant and was successful on the third medicated cycle.

I had some blood tests done as I’m experiencing a massive amount of hair loss. I feel like theres always hair all over my house and I’m having to hoover it up so many times a day! I also have only had 4 periods since giving birth. My periods were quite irregular before but I always heard this usually improves after pregnancy.

I would love to address the hair loss but also to do something to help regulate my cycle. I would like to have more children in the future and it would be nice to be able to monitor my cycles and not have to go through the fertility clinic again, as it was quite mentally exhausting. I have been taking myo inositol but other than having one period after starting it (which could have been a coincidence as it arrived about 5 days later), i have not seen much of a change at all.

I would love some advice on what actually I need to ask my dr for following my blood results. Do i need further tests, e.g for insulin resistance ? If so, what tests? Is there a specific medication i can request to manage my condition? I’m in the UK and the NHS have been really bad at helping me manage this condition my whole life (I have known about my PCOS since I was 14).

My blood results are;

FSH 5.0 IU/L
LH 18 IU/L
Progesterone 0.8 nmol/L
Total testosterone 1.5 nmol/L
Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) 22 nmol/L
Free androgen index (FAI) 6.8%
Prolactin 374 mU/L
TSH 1.05 mU/L
HbA1c 35 mmol/mol
Vitamin D 46 nmol/L
Ferritin 46.4 µg/L
Total cholesterol 5.7 mmol/L
HDL cholesterol 1.49 mmol/L
LDL cholesterol 3.89 mmol/L
Triglycerides 0.70 mmol/L
Full blood count Normal
Urea and electrolytes (U+E) Normal
Liver function tests (LFTs) Normal
Bone profile Normal

Really appreciate any advice and support!

I get extremely sleepy after I eat dinner no matter what I eat, like I could literally fall asleep while standing up. I know it's an insulin resistance symptom but I already take metformin. I also check my sugar and it's below 140. What could be wrong with me?

PCOS help please?

Hiya, I am 6 months post partum and had private bloods done as I don’t feel right. My testosterone is double what it should be. My cholesterol is high and my hba1c is 2 points down from being pre diabetes. I have had irregular and heavy and painful periods literally my whole life. My periods are messed up now still. I had awful teenage acne that I had to be medicated for. I have large under skin spots now too. I crave chocolate literally 24/7 and literally half hour after dinner I am absolutely starving for chocolate. I have coarse dark facial hair that I have to shave everyday too. My doctor thinks I may have PCOS. Does this resonate with anyone? What does PCOS actually mean? Could you share your experiences please? Does this sound like insulin resistance? Does PCOS affect your mental health? I have been struggling with panic attacks and anxiety for years. I have googled but I’d rather get real life experiences from others who are in the same boat. I don’t want to sound insensitive so I’m sorry if it comes out that way. I’m 31 and wondered why it’s never come up until now.

Thank you ❤️

i got diagnosed with PMOS earlier this year and i haven’t had a period since october 2025. i’ve had discussions with my endocrinologist about medication and all, i just want reassurance that other people have also gone this long without a period. this whole situation makes me so anxious which doesn’t help make my period come back.

Hello,

Giving some background, i have PCOS with IR and hypothyroidism. I had endometriosis, which i had a laparoscopy for and they put Mirena IUD. I'm taking pioglitazone and metformin.

I just went back to my endocrinologist and she said my blood tests improved and that maybe i wouldn't need to take the diabetes meds forever for the insulin resistance.

Has anyone heard of this or lived it? I thought once you got IR it was basically forever..

I am 27F diagnosed with thyroid and PCOS, I am currently on 50mcg levothyroxine medication. I regularly took APCOD-Obis (Myo-inositol) but couldn't see any changes in my periods. I still get periods only for 2 days with not good flow. I also had a fair skin colour which now looks dull and darker in shade when compared to what it used to be. I am really not happy and very stressed. Do these symptoms reduce the skin fairness and make the skin go dull? Has anyone been through this and can help me out on what can improve my periods cycle and help me lose weight and get back my skin colour.

🌷 Behind every experience is a story, and behind every word may lie the beginning of an important discovery. 💗

We are a group of girls working on our graduation project, which aims to develop an AI-powered program to support the early detection of symptoms of endometriosis by understanding women’s experiences and the words they use to describe their pain and symptoms. 🤍
No
We warmly welcome participation from all women aged 18 years and older who experience at least one of the symptoms listed in the questionnaire, whether they have been diagnosed with endometriosis or not. Every experience matters, and every word has the potential to make a difference.

Your participation is completely anonymous, and we will not ask for any information that could reveal your identity.

🔗 Survey Link:

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Your words can make a difference. Thank you for giving your experience a voice. 🌸

Hi, Cysters! This is wicked long and I massively appreciate anyone making it all the way through and any and all advice, insight, etc.

Lean gal here. 5'4", 148lbs, BMI 25. I'm 33 and I've thankfully been dx'd since I was 21. My cycles never regulated from menarche. Stuck with the typical hormonal BC (pill then IUD) management route until I was about 27 and haven't been back on since. In that time, I've been trying just about everything--functional medicine, naturopathy, and alllllll of the supplements, doing my best with insulin resistance friendly living via diet and exercise (lifting, walking, yoga and reformer pilates here and there)--even when I am in a good rhythm with this and weigh a little less, BMI and BFP are lower, my cycles never regulate. I go anywhere from 6 months to a year without a period and even after those long stretches, my endometrial lining never reaches hyperplasia and is in fact pretty thin between 2.5-4mm even after months or a year without bleeding. Ovaries are sometimes hyperfollicular, but apparently not always. Irregular or absent periods is my dominant symptom. I am not hyperandrogenic in the classic sense save for excessive body hair, but not on the face or chin. No acne, cravings, or hair loss. Definitely some persistent fatigue. My insulin and lipids didn't get high until my late 20s, inflammation markers are always in range, no thyroid issues, androgens sometimes run high but not always, in general labs are always unremarkable. Estradiol was low a couple months ago around 23.8 pg/ml, LH:FSH is consistently elevated. I'm a Fast COMT G/G so I do clear estrogen pretty quickly. Had a DUTCH and a GI MAP done a few years ago and neither were terribly out of range. I'm currently on 1500mg Metformin (at this dose about 3 months), Ovasitol, fish oil, NAC, D3+K2, and nightly bio progesterone for sleep and irritability. I feel like I have truly tried everything... even woo woo shit like "getting in touch with my healthy feminine," processing and healing childhood wounding around femininity, trying to center pleasure and the like. The last OBGYN I saw literally told me there wasn't anything else that standard GYN could do for me and that the next step was REI, but I really don't know what they'll be able to do if I'm not currently TTC. I am set up to stack an estrogen patch with my progesterone for a full HRT trial because I'd prefer to avoid standard BC. Literally all I want is a regular cycle, to feel like my body works properly, to be able to feel in tune with my birthright as a woman.

I can't even think of specific questions to ask besides please help!! The grief in accepting that this might just be a lost cause and waiting it out to be taken seriously until I'm TTC is just gutting.

Truly so much love to all of us. <3

Hey girls,

I'm (26) writing today because I think I've reached my limit and gave it my all. So PCOS is one of the many conditions I have and I actually get my periods every month now(after losing 40 pounds), my blood work is totally normal.  I did everything I could not to get on bc to ease my acne and oiliness. The issue is I can't even use topicals because I have type one rosacea and am very dermatitis prone. I can't get on antibiotics or accutane either because I have ulcerative colitis. I also developed seborrheic dermatitis because of pcos.

I really want to start bc but the thought of it causing new symptoms that I never had (hirsutism, alopecia) once I get off of it is terrifying me and it's the only thing stopping me from taking it.

I'm just tired of being sick and ugly and want to feel more comfortable in my own skin..

Has this happened to anyone?

The issue is metformin affects absorption of iron and B12 and some essential minerals for baseline health. Supplements is a way to fix it but seems a bit infeasible. What were your experimentations with metformin? How long did you use it for and did you stopped using it during pregnancy?

i hate that there are so many different 'rules' and opinions on treatment for PCOS. One person will say do keto, take 9000 supplements and go run 10 miles aday. someone else will say only eat meat and just weightlift, dont run. i hear so much different advice on social media and from the doctors i dont even know what to do anymore. the social media aspect just pushes us to take 12 different pills a day and to never touch sugar. i know i should be doing what feels best for me, but i have yet to find something that actually works. #exhausted #overit

This happened a while ago and I still have no idea why it happened.

But basically I always had heavier periods because of PCOS until my doctor told me to take 3 200mg ibuprofen pills three times a day. (Morning, evening, night) when my period gets heavy.

It worked and I didn't see any side effects. Until like the third day of doing this. Evening came I took 3 pills and had some water with it and my teeth started chattering uncontrollablly on their own and I couldn't stop for like a solid minute or two. I felt out of it or something? When it didn't stop after a minute I lowkey freaked out. I lost track of time sorta but it didn't feel like a seizure so I'm confused. I don't know how long exactly I couldn’t move and just let my teeth chattering very fast. I physically couldn't stop it.

Next time I did it, it didn't happen.

If anyone saw me they'd think I was freezing or possessed. I was neither.

So I'm wondering what happened? Did I lose too much blood or something? Side effects of taking the pain killers? I don't drink or smoke or used any other meds that day.

I shouldve messaged my doctor about this but I've long since lost my insurance and didn't want to renew It because I live in a extremely small town and the only doctor that accepted my insurance was lowkey a misogynistic asshole that hid behind his degree. So I'll wait until I move into the city to get my health insurance back and hopefully find a better doctor.

I want to start my inositol journey - is there any significant difference between pills v powder?

And what brand would you recommend? - there is so many out there!

Thanks :)

I’m really happy that I got a conclusion but I’m also sad. I don’t really feel like a woman anymore. My testosterone levels, weight, cramps, and fatigue always affect me. I’m gonna try to find the best supplements for my condition but rn I’m in a bittersweet state

I’ve had PCOS since I was 12. I was able to naturally conceive in my 20s but was not in a place to have a child. I’m 41 now and currently trying to conceive.

I have lost 70lbs over the last year on a low carb, high protein diet with very controlled macro ratios and my body is ovulating like clock work. To the point that I can feel my progesterone surge just before my period begins. I never had that before (likely because I was anovulatory). I take supplements daily: Milamend Hormone Balance, Toniqq Qova, D3 with K2, Omega 3, L-Carnitine and a Rainbow Light Prenatal.

Every month my breasts get extremely sore and then, just like that, they aren’t and my period comes. It’s so frustrating to be hopeful and then nothing!

​

I have PCOS and I'm struggling so much to lose weight, especially around my stomach. What has actually worked for you? I'd really appreciate any advice on diet, exercise or managing PCOS symptoms.

How are you dealing with this? I started Metformin a month ago and I haven’t pooped in almost 3 weeks. I take magnesium and psyllium husk daily. I drink 3L of water per day. Laxatives do absolutely nothing. I’m genuinely getting worried.

​

Hi everyone! I'm back with another update on my never-ending PCOS bleeding situation. 🥲

For some background, I've been dealing with prolonged and extremely heavy bleeding for months. In September, my hemoglobin dropped to 5.0, and I was hospitalized and given 4 units of blood and 2 units of plasma. I also received IV iron afterward.

Because I have mild mitral valve regurgitation, my gynecologist prescribed Slynd (4 mg drospirenone) instead of an estrogen-containing birth control pill.

I've been taking Slynd for about 11 days now, and unfortunately, my bleeding has gotten significantly worse.

I'm passing large clots, sometimes almost the size of ping-pong balls and bigger. The bleeding fluctuates throughout the day, sometimes slowing down to spotting and then suddenly becoming heavy again.

I went to my gynecologist today. She examined me, said everything looked normal structurally, and suggested that I might just be having a period. She told me not to stop Slynd and to give it more time.

However, my hemoglobin has dropped from around 10 to 9.4, and I've ended up hospitalized again. I'm receiving treatment for the anemia, but I'm really concerned about the bleeding itself.

I also asked my doctor about tranexamic acid (TXA). He said it might be an option, but we'd need approval from cardiology first because of my heart valve condition.

My main questions are:

- Did Slynd initially make your bleeding significantly heavier before it eventually improved?

- If you experienced large blood clots while taking Slynd, how long did that phase last?

- Did your bleeding eventually stop completely, or did you continue having irregular bleeding?

- Has anyone with PCOS and prolonged bleeding actually had success with Slynd?

- Has anyone taken TXA alongside Slynd to manage heavy bleeding?

I know irregular bleeding is common during the first few months of hormonal birth control, but I'm struggling to understand whether this level of bleeding is something other people have experienced.

I'm following my doctors' instructions and staying on Slynd for now. I'm just hoping to hear some real experiences, especially from people who started it specifically to control prolonged PCOS-related bleeding rather than for contraception.

I'm so tired of bleeding. I genuinely just want to have a normal life again. 😭

Hello :) I was diagnosed with PCOS this summer and my gyn prescribed me the BC called Kelzy. It's new on the market so I couldn't read anything about it online. So do some of you have experience with it?

Hey everyone, recently diagnosed with PCOS!

Current symptoms:
Facial hair
Acne
Irregular periods
Multiple follicles (PCOS in appearance) on ovaries

DHEA was slightly elevated and have been on birth control, Estarylla, for 2 months now, facial hair, acne and period are getting much better!

My doctors, PCP and GYN never tested my A1C though? My fasting glucose was 84 and I’m not overweight, could that be a reason why they never tested it?

Should I still ask them to check because of the possibility of insulin resistance? Type II diabetes is huge in my family and I’m afraid of not taking the right steps to prevent it the best I can given my family history. I’ve also been so tired lately, so I wonder if it could be that or my ferritin levels (which they didn’t test for that either). I have been on weekly high dose vitamin D so it’s not that either.

Should I ask my doctors for A1C and ferritin at my next visit? I think they don’t see it as a problem bc I’m not overweight and I’m only 26.