What PMOS (PCOS) can involve
Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, or PMOS, is the new NHS name for what used to be called polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS. It affects how the ovaries work, and it rarely limits itself to periods. Cycles that don't arrive when expected make everything harder to plan, and the other parts, acne, hair growth, weight changes and low mood, are the ones people tend to carry quietly because they feel cosmetic when they're not.
PMOS is also one of those conditions where appointments can feel like starting again each time. A record of what actually happened, across weeks rather than one day, is something concrete to bring, and it shows the parts that are easy to leave out when you're sitting in front of someone with ten minutes.
Symptoms checklist
PMOS symptoms checklist to take to your GP
Below are some of the symptoms associated with PMOS. You can print the PMOS checklist and weekly diary and fill it in by hand.
See what applies to you, note how often it happens, and take it to your appointment, so the conversation starts further along. It describes your experience. It does not say what is causing anything: having many of these does not mean you have PMOS, and having few does not mean you do not. Only a clinician can work that out with you.
- Irregular periods
- Fatigue
- Weight changes
- Acne
- Excess hair growth
- Low mood
- Cravings
- Something else I want to mention
Print the PMOS checklist and weekly diary Download as PDF
The list comes from the NHS and charity sources linked further down this page, and from what people living with PMOS (PCOS) tell us they keep an eye on. It is a starting point, not a test.
How a day can feel
If your days sound anything like this, taluvu was made with you in mind.
- “I never know when, or if, it's coming.”
- “The bits that show are the bits I mind most.”
- “I was told to lose weight and sent away.”
- “Nobody mentioned what it does to your mood.”
- “It isn't just periods, it's everything around them.”
These are the kinds of things taluvu invites you to say in your own words, never a checklist of what anyone “should” have.
