Have You Heard? PCOS Got A New Name

Did you hear? PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) has now been renamed PMOS (Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome). And while that might sound like a small change, it is actually a huge shift for women’s health.

For a long time, women with PCOS have been dismissed, misunderstood, and reduced down to one small piece of a much bigger picture. The name “Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome” centered the conversation around ovarian cysts, even though many women with the diagnosis don’t actually have cysts at all.

Following a landmark publication in The Lancet, the medical world is now beginning the transition from PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) to PMOS (Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome). The new name better reflects what practitioners and women living with this condition have known for years. This is not simply an ovarian issue. It is a complex endocrine and metabolic condition that can impact the entire body.

PMOS affects an estimated 6–13% of women of reproductive age, with up to 70% of cases believed to be undiagnosed. And for many women who do receive a diagnosis, they are often told little more than: “you just need to lose weight” or “start taking the birth control pill.”

Meanwhile they are struggling with:

• Insulin resistance

• Inflammation

• Irregular cycles

• Fatigue

• Brain fog 

• Infertility

• Acne

• Unexplained weight gain

• Hair loss or excess facial hair growth

• Nervous system dysregulation

• Metabolic dysfunction

• Sugar and carb cravings 

All this while being told their labs “look normal” and being handed some prescription meds that don’t seem to help at all or even make them feel worse. 

As a clinical herbalist, this is where my work with PCOS, now PMOS really shines, because herbalists have always looked at the body as a whole. We already understand that this condition goes far beyond the ovaries. We know it involves the nervous system, blood sugar regulation, inflammation, hormones, stress, metabolism, and the deep interconnectedness of all of those systems working together.

This isn’t just about changing a few letters of a diagnosis. It’s about finally acknowledging the complexity of a condition that millions of women have been struggling to be seen and heard through for years. 

If you are looking for support with PMOS and are ready to start feeling like yourself again, feel free to schedule a FREE 15 Minute Discovery Call to get any questions you have answered about working together. 

Talk to you soon, 

Danielle