If you suspect that you may have PCOS, it is important to know that you may have to undergo multiple tests to confirm if indeed you do have it. Doctors also typically use the Rotterdam criteria for diagnosis of PCOS. It states that in order to check PCOS, two of these three conditions should be present :

- heightened level of male hormones called androgens (hyperandrogenism)
- irregular or infrequent or absent periods (ovulatory dysfunction) and
- polycystic ovaries (cysts in the ovaries)

High levels of androgen can be determined through normal physical observation. It is said to be high if you have excess hair growth on face, chin and body (hirsutism), male pattern baldness and acne.

Generally the normal menstrual cycle is between 21-35 days, with an average at 28 days. Fluctuations in these cycle lengths by a day or 2 is completely normal! What is not normal is having a period cycle greater than 35 days, missing your periods for a month or more entirely, or experiencing less than 9 periods in a year. All of these could be a sign of PCOS.
Often, before proceeding for any sort of PCOS blood tests or imaging, your gynaecologist might ask you some basic questions about your medical history, the pattern of your periods, weight fluctuations, etc. Then, they may ask you to take a blood test to measure certain hormone levels like estradiol, FSH, LH, androgens insulin, cholesterol and triglyceride levels as well as an ultrasound to see what your ovaries look like. Furthermore, your doctor may want to conduct a pelvic examination to check for the presence of any mass or other abnormality in your reproductive organs. This is a physical examination! Often, in many cases of PCOS, the ovaries contain fluid filled sacs of immature eggs which never matured to be large enough to be released out. This is called polycystic ovaries. As a result of egg cells which never matured, ovulation didn’t occur that month and neither did you bleed! If you are experiencing two of these three things – doctors may diagnose you as having PCOS.



Sources:

1-https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/ask-experts/can-i-have-sex-during-my-period-and-if-i-do-can-i-get-pregnant

2-https://www.webmd.com/sex/what-is-period-sex

3-https://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/sex-during-periods