09/16/2026
PCOS is a hormonal condition. Which sounds simple until you realize how many systems that actually touches.
Here is what is happening underneath the surface.
In a typical cycle, your ovaries release one egg. In PCOS, higher than normal levels of androgens — male hormones that all women have — interfere with that process. Follicles develop but do not fully mature or release. Your body keeps producing them. On an ultrasound they can look like a string of small cysts around the o***y, which is where the name comes from.
But the hormonal imbalance does not stop there. Many women with PCOS also have insulin resistance — meaning their cells do not respond to insulin the way they should. That drives up insulin levels. Higher insulin tells your ovaries to produce even more androgens. Which makes the whole cycle worse.
This is why PCOS affects so much more than your period. Your metabolism, your skin, your energy, your mood — they are all downstream of the same hormonal loop.
Understanding it is the first step to treating it well.