Episode #178: Why PCOS Symptoms Aren’t Random (And What They’re Actually Telling You)

Hi, and welcome back to the PCOS Repair Podcast, where today we’re talking about PCOS symptoms and how they’re speaking to you—how they’re telling you what your body needs. It’s your body’s way of communicating, and these symptoms aren’t just random. They actually mean something. They’re giving you a message.

So, today’s goal is to learn what those patterns are and begin to understand what your body is trying to tell you. That way, you can create an environment that works for your lifestyle and what you want to do—but also supports your body. This helps you feel good, have more energy, and balance your hormones—for easier weight management, better fertility, and feeling more vibrant in your body.

So with that, let’s go ahead and dive in.

If you’ve ever felt like things just don’t make sense—like you’re doing what you’ve heard you’re supposed to do, but it’s not working, or it worked for a short time and then stopped—then you’re going to enjoy this episode. I hope you keep listening.

One of the most frustrating things about PCOS is that it often feels chaotic and random. One month your cycle shows up and you get really excited—like, “Oh, things are getting better!”—and then the next month, it disappears again. And we start to question: Is what I’m doing working? Is it totally wrong? How do I even know what my body needs?

You exercise more, but instead of feeling better, you feel more exhausted, more inflamed, more disconnected from your body. At some point, you just start to wonder, What is wrong with my body? Is it broken? It’s not working the way everyone says it should. I’ve followed the guidelines, I’ve spent the time, and I should be seeing improvement—or I was seeing improvement, and now it’s reversing or stalling.

PCOS Symptoms Are 

Not

 Random

First of all, PCOS is not random. Your symptoms are not random. Your body is not broken, and your symptoms are not happening for no reason. They’re trying to communicate something to you. When you learn how to listen instead of just silencing them with quick, Band-Aid treatments—everything changes.

In the medical community, we tend to treat PCOS with symptom-based care. If your periods are irregular, we give you birth control. If your androgens—like testosterone—are elevated, we give you medication. If you’re overweight, we tell you to diet harder, cut calories, exercise more. If you’re struggling with fertility, we override your cycle with fertility treatments rather than first trying to understand it.

And while these tools are incredible and sometimes completely appropriate, here’s the problem: we rarely stop to understand what’s going on. We don’t try to explain the symptoms. We just jump to temporary relief—and then the same patterns keep repeating. That’s when PCOS feels so discouraging, because you’re doing something but not seeing lasting change.

The Root Causes of PCOS

When I see women begin blaming themselves—thinking maybe they’re not disciplined enough, or that their body is just broken, or something else must be wrong—they start looking elsewhere. They wonder if this is just how it is and that they’ll have to accept living with fatigue, infertility, or a weight that feels uncomfortable.

But these are all things that can improve—when we understand what our body is trying to communicate and respond accordingly.

PCOS isn’t a mystery. People act like it is, but it’s not. It’s a metabolic disorder with stress, endocrine, and reproductive components—but its root is metabolic. Those other components are spinoffs, symptoms of deeper metabolic imbalance.

Metabolic Hormones Drive Reproductive Hormones

So here’s the reframe: PCOS isn’t just a reproductive hormone issue. We always talk about balancing hormones, but it’s not about just forcing estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone into place and trying to maintain it through sheer willpower.

Instead, we need to go deeper. PCOS is driven by metabolic and stress-related hormones—insulin, cortisol, inflammation signaling, nutrient utilization.

Your reproductive hormones—estrogen, progesterone, testosterone—are actually responding to those deeper signals. That’s why if we only focus on the top of the hormone pyramid, we miss the bigger picture.

Think of your reproductive hormones as messengers. They do create a lot of the symptoms—irregular cycles, hair loss, acne—but they’re not the main problem. They’re surface signals of what’s going wrong deeper in the system.

Why Ovulation Is Often the First Thing to Go

When your body perceives an unsafe environment—whether from inflammation, under-fueling, or overwhelm—ovulation is one of the first things it deprioritizes. It’s not because your reproductive hormones are central to survival. It’s because your body is protecting you.

Your body isn’t broken—it’s protecting you.

The 4 Primary Root Causes of PCOS

After working with so many women (and managing my own PCOS journey through teenage years, pregnancy, postpartum, and now premenopause), I’ve identified 4 repeating patterns I call the root causes. Most women don’t have all 4 equally—but usually one is dominant, with one or two secondary influences.

1. 

The Insulin Effect

This root cause involves blood sugar regulation and insulin signaling. It drives symptoms like weight gain, cravings, irregular cycles, and elevated androgens (mostly testosterone, but often progesterone and estrogen too).

2. 

The Stress Response

This isn’t just stress from deadlines or fights. It’s how your body perceives stress—like under-recovery, poor sleep, overexercising, under-eating. Chronic perceived stress leads to cortisol dysregulation, disrupted ovulation, poor sleep, and hormonal imbalances.

3. 

Inflammation

This can be due to stress, gut issues, food/environmental sensitivities, or even insulin resistance itself. Elevated inflammation is a driver of symptoms and can create a negative feedback loop.

4. 

Hormone & Nutrient Disruption

This one is tricky. It’s more of a “chaotic” root cause. It often stems from things like coming off birth control, fertility treatments, or prolonged nutrient depletion. Your cycle may look regular-ish, but hormone levels are off just enough to prevent things like ovulation or pregnancy.

The Importance of Knowing Your Root Cause

Everyone with PCOS has some combination of these root causes, but when you don’t know which one is primary, you end up trying everything and essentially throwing darts while blindfolded.

Once you understand your root cause, you can take off the blindfold. You can focus your efforts. And over time, you get better and better at hitting the target—creating the environment your body needs.

Common PCOS Situations Explained by Root Causes

This is why:

• You may feel worse after intense workouts

• Low-carb worked for a while, then backfired

• You crave sugar when you’re stressed

• Your labs look normal, but you feel off

• Birth control disrupted your cycle

• Nothing feels like it’s working

These aren’t failures. These are clues.

Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with me?” start asking, “What is my body responding to?”

What to Do Next

Once you know your root cause, everything gets clearer—how to eat, when to eat, how to move, how to recover. You’ll stop fighting symptoms and start supporting your body.

To help with this, I created a free PCOS Root Cause Quiz. It’s not a personality test—it’s a starting point to uncover what symptoms you’re experiencing and which deeper root causes are likely driving them. You’ll find the link in the show notes.

And if you’re ready to take the next step, the PCOS Root Cause Bootcamp includes a full in-depth assessment to identify your root cause, understand your body’s patterns, and learn how to care for yourself based on your needs.

PCOS is not random. Your symptoms are feedback. And your body is incredibly capable of healing when supported properly. The fact that it’s compensating so well in a less-than-ideal environment is proof of how strong and resilient you are.

So let this be your first step in tuning into your body, listening to what it needs, and creating an environment where you thrive.

Click the link in the show notes to take the free quiz, and be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. I’ll be here each week helping you understand and heal your PCOS.

Until then, goodbye for now.

Let me know when you’re ready for the next one!