Shannon’s Blog!
I’m Shannon. I’m in my early 50s and I live in North Wales with my Welsh husband. We care for his Mum, so live with her, and we have two lovely Yorkies.
Let me take you back now to when I was a teenager…
I had horrible, irregular, heavy periods that lasted over seven days. Thanks to my late Mum seeing sense, she took me to our GP in Hertfordshire where I grew up, who recognised I had the classic signs of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) now known as Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS). I had my bloods taken which showed raised testosterone and I was then put on the contraceptive pill in my early 20s as a treatment. I hated it, as it made me more moody.
In fact, it wasn’t until I was married in my early 20s and trying for a baby that internal scans were done. They couldn’t find one ovary and the scan showed no cysts. Instead, I was told at the maternity unity in Cambridge to go away, lose weight, and come back in six months’ time. And ‘yes’, they said, ‘you probably have PCOS’, as it was called back then. But no advice was given on losing the weight. I was devastated that I wasn’t really getting any help. It affected my marriage, as my husband and I couldn’t really decide what to do…Several years later we split up, with no children.
It put me off getting any further help to look into the possibility of PMOS. But what I clearly remember as a young girl was that I had dreadful facial hair that other children in school bullied me for, calling me a ‘man’ – all the way through school…Looking back now, that was a clear sign I had PMOS.
Fast forward to 2026, where I now live in North Wales with my lovely second husband. I still have no children. We always said we would try natural methods only – we didn’t want any help in case it affected our marriage. Throughout this time, I’ve had all the signs of PMOS: weight gain, facial hair, infertility, plus irregular periods, but we’re happy and now have our dogs that somehow make up for not having children.
In May 2026, The Lancet, a weekly medical journal that publishes research on global health, published its report on PCOS being renamed as PMOS. I was overjoyed! I thought, finally, we are getting somewhere. Just maybe this will lead to women like me being treated properly, not just told to go on the pill or simply told to lose weight. Some of the women I speak to online are sceptical about this but I’m feeling very positive. Maybe we will be listened to, our symptoms and health risks taken seriously, rather than being told to come back only when we want children.
It’s so important that people realise that, if left untreated, PMOS can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. I had no treatment, so I’m at greater risk now…I suppose partly it’s my own fault – I was put off seeking help because I felt the doctors didn’t care. And that’s how a lot of women like me feel. To us, it seems like many doctors don’t have the knowledge they need on our condition, so I’d say to women like me, ‘Please know this is a hormonal condition – and, unless you’re trying for a child, please ask to see an endocrinologist who specialises in hormones’.
And that takes me back to the importance of the change of name, from PCOS to PMOS, a process that’s taken 14 years and can now lead to more research. Hopefully, healthcare professionals will be trained better on PMOS and that will mean that all women with the condition will be treated better.
With the change of name comes my fight for better awareness. I’m hoping to work with Verity, the PCOS / PMOS charity and the Senedd to highlight the condition. I am also now a volunteer PMOS Champion for Fair Treatment for the Women of Wales (FTWW) who, like me, are focused on the right to health. It’s time women were taken seriously, a right I will fight for. I want everyone to know that if those with PMOS are left untreated, we may get other health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, even cancer. We can’t let this happen. It’s time for change.
As I write this, new NICE guidelines for PMOS are coming (due in December 2026). These will also help women like me call for – and receive – better treatment. I’m also in conversation with my Senedd Member to discuss all things PMOS and see how we can help those in my position. It very much seems like things are moving forward. I’m hoping to work with the Senedd and make a difference. I look forward to keeping everyone posted!
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