DO I HAVE PCOS?
The Signs, the New Name, and What to Do Next.
By Katie Rice | Accredited Naturopath & Nutritionist | Her Herbs Founder
If you've been Googling your symptoms at 11pm wondering whether something is wrong with your hormones, you're not alone. PCOS is one of the most common hormonal conditions affecting women of reproductive age and it's also one of the most misunderstood.
In 2026, it's also getting a new name. And that name change tells us a lot about how far our understanding of this condition has come.
First: What Is PCOS, and Why Is the Name Changing?
You may have started seeing the term PMOS appearing in medical conversations and wondering what it means. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is being reframed as Polycystic Metabolic and Ovulatory Syndrome, and the shift is deliberate.
The old name implied that cysts on the ovaries were the defining feature of the condition. But here's the thing, you don't need cysts to have PCOS. Many women have the condition without any cysts at all, and many women have ovarian follicles on ultrasound without having PCOS. The name was misleading, and women were either being misdiagnosed or missing a diagnosis entirely because of it.
The new name better reflects what this condition actually is: a hormonal and metabolic disorder that affects ovulation, androgen levels, and the body's ability to manage insulin. The ovaries are involved, but they're not the whole story.
Importantly, the diagnostic criteria haven't changed. The name is different. The condition, and how it's identified, remains the same.
Do You Have It? The Signs to Look For
PCOS shows up differently in different women, which is part of why it takes so long to diagnose. It's not a checklist condition. It's a spectrum.
The most common signs include:
Irregular or absent periods. This is often the first sign women notice. Cycles that are consistently longer than 35 days, unpredictable, or absent altogether point to disrupted ovulation, which is central to PCOS.
Acne. Particularly jawline, chin, and cheek acne that doesn't respond well to skincare and tends to flare around your cycle. This is driven by elevated androgens (male hormones) which are often higher in women with PCOS.
Excess facial or body hair. Known clinically as hirsutism, this includes hair growth on the chin, upper lip, chest, or abdomen. Again, elevated androgens are the driver.
Scalp hair thinning. The flip side of excess body hair. Some women with PCOS notice thinning at the crown or temples, which can be distressing and is often overlooked as a PCOS symptom.
Weight changes or difficulty losing weight. Particularly around the abdomen. This is often tied to insulin resistance, which is present in a significant proportion of women with PCOS and affects how the body stores and uses energy.
Darkened skin patches. Small, darkened areas of skin, often at the neck, underarms, or groin can be a sign of insulin resistance and are worth mentioning to your doctor.
Fertility concerns. Because PCOS disrupts ovulation, it is one of the most common causes of female infertility. Many women only discover they have PCOS when they start trying to conceive.
You don't need to have all of these. Many women with PCOS have two or three symptoms and spend years not connecting them to the same underlying condition.
What Hasn't Changed: How PCOS Is Diagnosed
The PMOS rename doesn't change how the condition is identified. Diagnosis is still based on clinical assessment, which typically looks for at least two of the following three criteria: irregular or absent ovulation, elevated androgen levels (either on bloodwork or through physical signs like acne and hirsutism), and polycystic ovarian morphology on ultrasound.
Your GP or gynaecologist will usually order bloodwork to assess hormone levels including LH, FSH, testosterone, and often insulin and glucose, as well as thyroid function to rule out other causes. An ultrasound may or may not be part of your initial workup depending on your presentation.
The key thing to understand is that PCOS is a clinical diagnosis. No single test confirms or rules it out on its own. Your symptom history matters enormously.
Why Tracking Your Symptoms Changes Everything
One of the most consistent barriers to PCOS diagnosis is women arriving at appointments without a clear picture of their symptom patterns. Cycles that felt irregular become hard to quantify. Acne that's been present for years gets described vaguely. The connection between fatigue, weight, and irregular periods doesn't get made.
Tracking changes that. When you log your cycle length, your skin, your energy, your hair, and any fertility concerns consistently over time, you arrive at your appointment with data rather than fragments of memory. That data is what allows a practitioner to see the pattern and make a clinical assessment.
If you're reading this and nodding along, here's the practical path forward:
Start tracking your symptoms now. Cycle length, irregularities, skin changes, energy, hair, any weight shifts. Even a few weeks of consistent data gives your doctor something to work with.
Book an appointment with your GP and ask specifically about PCOS. Request the relevant bloodwork - hormones, fasting insulin and glucose, thyroid. If your GP isn't responsive, ask for a referral to a gynaecologist or an endocrinologist.
Know that management exists. PCOS is not a life sentence. With the right combination of lifestyle support, nutritional intervention, and where appropriate, medical treatment, most women with PCOS are able to manage their symptoms effectively and support their fertility goals.
If you want to go deeper on the naturopathic side of PCOS management, including what the 2026 research says about insulin resistance, nutrition, and hormonal balance, the Her Herbs PCOS Series was built for exactly this.
EXPLORE THE HER HERBS PCOS SERIES
A Note From Katie
"PCOS was one of the conditions I saw most frequently in clinic, and the story was almost always the same - years of symptoms, years of being told it was normal, and finally a diagnosis that felt like both a relief and an overwhelming amount of information to process. The name change to PMOS is a step in the right direction because it signals that this is a metabolic condition, not just a gynaecological one. But what matters most right now is that if your body has been telling you something is off, you listen to it. Get the answers you deserve."
-Katie Rice, Naturopath & Founder, Her Herbs
This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider regarding your individual health concerns.
