Writing
What the evidence actually says
Plain answers to the things you were going to search for anyway. Every medical statement follows the 2023 International Evidence-Based Guideline for PCOS, including where it concludes the evidence is too thin to promise anything. No doses, no treatment claims, and nothing here is a diagnosis.
"PCOS belly": three different things sharing one name
9 minIt is not a diagnostic sign and it is not one thing. Separating fat distribution from bloating matters, because one of them should never be attributed to PCOS.
DiagnosisPCOS has a new name: what PMOS is, and what it does not change
9 minIn May 2026 polycystic ovary syndrome was renamed polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome. What changed, what did not, and why the old name was judged wrong.
DiagnosisPCOS and endometriosis: two conditions that get confused, and why
9 minBoth are common, both affect periods and fertility, and both are diagnosed late. They are different conditions with different symptoms — and you can have both.
SymptomsSigns of PCOS: which ones are criteria, and which are not
9 minMost lists run every symptom together. Only three findings are diagnostic criteria, and knowing which of your symptoms are which changes what an appointment can do.
FertilityPCOS and fertility: what the guideline recommends, and in what order
10 minAnovulation is the usual reason PCOS affects fertility, and the part with a first-line answer. What the guideline puts first, second, and where metformin sits.
DiagnosisPCOS types: the four you have read about, and the four that are recognised
9 minAdrenal, inflammatory, post-pill and insulin-resistant PCOS are in no guideline. There is a recognised classification, and it works differently.
DiagnosisThe PCOS ultrasound: what is counted, and why the number changed
9 minThe threshold is 20 follicles in one ovary, not the 12 most pages still quote. What the scan counts, what it cannot settle, and who should not have one.
BloodsAMH and PCOS: the test that can now replace an ultrasound, and when it cannot
9 minThe 2023 guideline allows a raised AMH instead of an ultrasound for the third diagnostic criterion — in adults only, and not within eight years of a first period.
DiagnosisPCOS in teenagers: why the rules are deliberately stricter
9 minThe 2023 guideline uses different criteria under 18 — both findings required, no ultrasound, no AMH, and an "at risk" category that exists to prevent over-diagnosis.
CyclesWhen is a cycle actually irregular? The guideline gives numbers
8 min"Irregular" has a definition with numbers in it, and they change with how long it is since your first period. What the 2023 guideline sets out.
MetabolicIs there a test for insulin resistance in PCOS?
9 minYou can ask for a fasting insulin and often get one. The 2023 guideline says not to measure insulin resistance clinically, and names the test it wants instead.
BloodsPCOS hormone levels: why there is no chart that works for everyone
9 minSearching for a chart to read your PCOS blood results against? The 2023 guideline explains why the same blood returns different numbers, and which range applies.
MedicationSpironolactone and metformin: why both, when they treat different things
9 minPrescribed both and nobody explained why? They are not a combination. The 2023 guideline puts each in a different place, for a different problem.
CyclesHow to track a cycle that doesn't behave
7 minMost period apps average 34, 61 and 39 into "about 45 days" — and lose the most interesting thing in your record. Here is how to keep it instead.
SupplementsInositol for PCOS: what the 2023 guideline actually concluded
9 minInositol is the most recommended supplement in PCOS forums and among the least endorsed in the guideline. Here is what the evidence review concluded.
MetabolicInsulin resistance in PCOS, without the jargon
9 minWhat insulin resistance means in practice, why it is screened for whatever your weight, and which tests are really measuring it. No diet plan, for a reason.
CareWhy "just lose weight" is not a care plan
9 minThe most common thing said in a PCOS appointment, and the least actionable. What the 2023 guideline says about weight — including the part nobody quotes.
SymptomsHirsutism, acne and hair loss: the androgen symptoms
10 minThe three symptoms people search at 2am and rarely raise in an appointment. What each is, why they count as evidence, and why the timescales run in months.
SleepPCOS and sleep: the symptom that gets attributed to everything else
8 minFatigue in PCOS gets put down to the condition in general. The guideline asks a narrower question, involving a screening step most people are never offered.
BloodsAMH, testosterone, HbA1c: reading your own PCOS blood tests
12 minWhat each test on a PCOS blood panel measures, why three of them are there to rule something else out, and why one number rarely means what a search result says.
MedicationMetformin, spironolactone, the pill: what each one is for
10 minThree commonly prescribed things in PCOS, what problem each is aimed at, and why they are not alternatives to one another. No doses, no recommendations.
TrackingTen PCOS symptoms worth logging for three months
8 minNot a checklist to fill in daily. Ten things that change what an appointment can do, and the one rule for logging that keeps a record honest.
DiagnosisThe Rotterdam criteria, in plain words
9 minPCOS is diagnosed on two findings out of three. What each one means, what changed in 2023, and why two people with the diagnosis can look nothing alike.
The recordWhat a year of logging actually looks like
9 minNot a testimonial. What twelve months of entries turns into, what the report can say, and the four things a record still cannot tell you.
AppointmentsWhat to bring to a PCOS appointment
8 minTen minutes with a doctor goes badly when the answer to every question is "I think so, sometimes". Here is what to have written down before you go.