Medical disclaimer

This is the full version of the disclaimer that sits at the bottom of every page. It applies to every article, table, quiz, email, free download and paid guide on this site, and it still applies on the pages that only carry the short version.

What this site is for

PCOS information is scattered across studies, appointment notes and forums.Sarah Collins reads that material and writes it down in one place, in plain language, with the study linked so you can check it yourself.

That work is education. It is general, it is written for nobody in particular, and it cannot see your labs, your history, your other diagnoses, the medicines you already take, or the thing you have not told anyone yet. Two people with the same diagnosis can need opposite advice, and this site has no way of knowing which one you are.

Every article carries a last-reviewed date. Clinical guidance changes. If that date is old, treat the page as a starting point and check the current position with your clinician rather than assuming the page kept up.

This is not medical advice

Nothing on PCOSguides is medical, nutritional, psychological or pharmaceutical advice, and nothing here is a diagnosis. PCOS is diagnosed by a clinician using your history, an examination, bloodwork and sometimes imaging — never by a website, a symptom list, or a quiz result.

Doses, ranges, timelines and lab values quoted on this site are reported as what a named study measured, in a named group of people. They are a description of the evidence, not a prescription for you. The dose that was studied is not automatically the dose that is safe with what you already take.

Where this site sorts people into phenotypes, that is a way of organising symptoms you already recognise in yourself so you can ask a sharper question. It is not a clinical category you can be assigned by answering questions on a phone.

No doctor–patient relationship

Reading this site, subscribing to the emails, downloading a free guide, taking a quiz, buying a product, or emailing support@pcosguides.comdoes not create a doctor–patient relationship, a dietitian–client relationship, or any other professional duty of care.

Sarah is not a doctor or a dietitian. Nothing on this site is a diagnosis or a treatment plan, and every article names the point at which you should be talking to a clinician instead of reading.

If you write to us about your own case, we will not answer it as clinical advice. We will point you at what we have published and at the kind of clinician who can actually help — a GP, an endocrinologist, a registered dietitian, a reproductive endocrinologist — because that is the honest answer, not a brush-off.

No article on this site currently carries a named medical reviewer. A registered dietitian and a clinician are being recruited. Until that is in place, each article states that it was checked against the 2023 International Evidence-Based Guideline for the Assessment and Management of PCOS. We would rather tell you that plainly than imply a review board that does not exist.

No cure claims and no promised outcomes

PCOS is a long-term condition. It is managed, not cured, and no page on this site will tell you otherwise — including the pages that describe what has worked well in trials.

Nothing here promises weight loss, a pregnancy, a regular cycle, clearer skin, less hair growth, or any other outcome. Where an article gives a realistic time to effect, that is what researchers measured across a group. It is not a schedule you are failing to keep.

Every protocol on this site names who it will not work for and who should skip it. That section is the most useful part of the page, not the small print at the end of it. You will not find a before-and-after photograph anywhere on this site, and you never will.

Supplements, medicines and interactions

A supplement is a substance with effects. It can interact with a prescription you already take, change a lab result your clinician is watching, or be the wrong thing entirely for the type of PCOS you have.

• Tell your prescriber and your pharmacist about everything you take, including the supplements you think are too minor to mention. Interactions are exactly the thing this site cannot see.
• Never take a supplement instead of a medicine you have been prescribed. No page here ranks a supplement above a prescribed treatment, and any page that reads that way is a page we need to fix.
• Read the exclusions before you read the dose. Thyroid medication, metformin, blood thinners, hormonal contraception, antidepressants, liver and kidney conditions, and pregnancy all change what is safe.
• Stop and get advice if something you started causes a new symptom. A supplement is not harmless simply because it is sold without a prescription.

Some links on this site earn a commission, disclosed at the link itself rather than only down here — see our affiliate disclosure. A commission never changes what a page says about the evidence, and it never turns a recommendation into advice about you.

When to stop reading and get help now

• Sudden, severe abdominal or pelvic pain, especially with nausea, vomiting or fever.
• Chest pain, breathlessness, coughing up blood, or pain and swelling in one leg.
• A sudden severe headache, loss of vision, weakness or numbness down one side, or trouble speaking.
• Vaginal bleeding heavy enough to soak a pad every hour, bleeding that will not stop, or bleeding with dizziness or fainting.
• Fainting, confusion, or a blood sugar you cannot bring back up.
• A reaction to a supplement or medicine — swelling of the face, lips or throat, a spreading rash, or difficulty breathing.
• Thoughts of harming yourself. Contact your local emergency number or a crisis line.

That list is not complete and it is not a triage tool. If a symptom frightens you and it is not on the list, that is still a reason to be seen. Nobody has ever regretted getting checked and being told it was nothing.

If you are pregnant, might be, or are trying to conceive

Treat this as the strictest section on the page. Much of what this site covers — supplements, herbal preparations, medicines used for acne and unwanted hair growth, restrictive eating patterns, and hard training — has either not been studied in pregnancy or carries a pregnancy warning. Some warnings apply from the moment you start trying, not from a positive test.

Check every single thing you take with the clinician managing your fertility care or your pregnancy before you start it, change the dose, or stop it. That includes anything bought over the counter, and anything you started because of an article here.

Fertility articles on this site name the point at which to see a reproductive endocrinologist. They cannot tell you whether you will conceive, how long it will take, or whether a given cycle worked. Nothing here is a timeline, and a cycle that does not work is not a verdict on you.

If you are pregnant and something feels wrong — bleeding, severe pain, a sudden change in symptoms, reduced movement later on — contact your maternity service or emergency number instead of searching for it.

Your decisions are still yours

You are the one who decides what to do with what you read here, and you carry the outcome of that decision along with the clinician you make it with. We publish the evidence and name its limits as clearly as we can; we cannot take responsibility for how a general article applies to a body we have never seen.

Links to other sites, studies and services are for reference. We do not control what is on the other end of them and we are not responsible for their content or their advice. The full terms of using this site are at Terms.

Who writes this, and how

Sarah Collins is the founder and sole author of PCOSguides. How articles are researched, sourced and updated is written out atEditorial policy, the current state of medical review is at Medical review, and the background is at About.

If we get something wrong

Tell us. When something on this site is wrong we change the article and publish what changed, with a dated note that stays on the page. Every correction is listed atCorrections, and errors can be reported tosupport@pcosguides.com.

If you acted on something you read here and you are now worried about it, speak to your clinician or your pharmacist today. Do not wait for us to update a page.