The recent renaming of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) to Polycystic Ovary Metabolic Syndrome (PMOS) marks a shift in how the condition is understood. For many people living with it, the new name better reflects its hormonal and metabolic nature, rather than focusing primarily on ovaries and fertility.
In this article, we spoke to 10 Nigerian women living with the condition about what the name change means to them and whether they believe it will lead to greater awareness, diagnosis, and care
1. 鈥淚 Would Be More Excited If There Were More Awareness鈥 鈥 Mercy*, 30
I鈥檓 not on social media like that, so I found out about the name change while I was on a call with my friend, who is a doctor. When she told me about it, I honestly didn鈥檛 feel any type of way. Yes, I鈥檓 glad for the name change, but I think I would be more excited if there were more awareness of the condition.
I got properly diagnosed five years ago, and I have had to deal with constantly educating people on what it meant. I also had to endure being constantly invalidated by the health professionals because they couldn鈥檛 simply wrap their minds around it, even though it is their job to do so.
The name change is great. I have friends with PMOS who don鈥檛 have cysts, so I鈥檓 genuinely happy for them, but I would like to see more awareness being shed on the condition.
2. 鈥淚鈥檓 Excited About it Because I Don鈥檛 Have Cysts鈥 鈥 Etim*, 28
I work in media, so I actually found out about the name change when my managing editor sent me a link to an article talking about it. I can鈥檛 lie, I鈥檓 excited about it because I don鈥檛 have cysts. Most of my symptoms stem from the hormonal and metabolic effects of the condition, and I appreciate the fact that this name change might show that PMOS isn鈥檛 just about fertility, like most male doctors in this country keep saying, so they can trivialise your struggles.
It affects not just the reproductive systems but also other parts of the body. In my case, that included insulin resistance and excess testosterone levels, and I hope that all the doctors who tried to gaslight me into thinking otherwise are having an inner reflection moment, but that鈥檚 if they鈥檙e even aware of the name change. We live in Nigeria, after all.
3. 鈥淚 Am Glad the Conversation Will Now Shift From Just Fertility 鈥 鈥 Banke*, 35
I found out about the name change while I was doomscrolling on Instagram one day, and to be honest, I鈥檓 just blank about it. I don鈥檛 know if that鈥檚 because I had to go through different medical professionals before I finally found a gyno that actually listens to me, or if it鈥檚 because the whole fertility conversation surrounding the condition has never moved me, because of my decision to never bring a child into this world.
However, I am glad that the conversation will now shift from just fertility and reproduction, and we can start discussing other areas of our health that PMOS has affected.
4. 鈥淚 Almost Gave Up on Not Getting Diagnosed鈥 鈥 Mary*, 25
I was on Twitter when I read about the name change. At first, I thought they were lying, but I googled and found out it was real. I remember calling my friend to talk about it, and I burst into tears. The number of times I鈥檝e been misdiagnosed by doctors, simply because I didn鈥檛 have cysts, almost made me give up on getting diagnosed.
This condition has severely affected my physical and mental health, and yet, it was when I was visiting my family in an entirely different country that I was able to get a diagnosis from a kind gyno who made me feel validated in a way no one back home had made me feel. I can鈥檛 fully describe how happy I am with the name change, because it means that people with this condition can now get properly diagnosed instead of being carelessly dismissed, like I was.
5. 鈥淏ecause I Didn鈥檛 Have Cysts, Hardly Anyone Paid Attention鈥 鈥 Kiki*, 28
I got the information about the name change on a group chat with other women who also have PMOS, and I remember thinking 鈥榝颈苍补濒濒测鈥. When I got diagnosed two years ago, it was only because I finally had cysts. I should have been diagnosed years before that, because I was already having symptoms that were directly linked to PMOS, but because I didn鈥檛 have cysts, hardly anyone paid attention to me.
They told me it wasn鈥檛 a big issue, and I鈥檓 sure several health professionals probably still detest me because of how I made them uncomfortable after they made the entire conversation about cysts. The name change really made me emotional, because what if I never got cysts? Everyone would have been comfortable misdiagnosing me because of that?
6. 鈥淔or Years, it Felt Like I Was Crazy鈥 鈥 Anita*, 38
No one is happier than I am over this name change. I found out about it when my gyno texted me because she was happy that more research would be done on the condition. I still can鈥檛 stop thinking about the relief that washed over me when I read more about the name change, because for years, it felt like I was crazy.
I鈥檝e never had polycystic ovaries, but my insulin resistance is severe in a way that is quite concerning. So, before I met my current gyno, health professionals loved to pass me around because they didn鈥檛 really know what to do with me, since I didn鈥檛 have the textbook symptoms that they were used to. This is why I鈥檓 so giddy about the name change: more research will be done, and people can know more and be more aware.
7. 鈥淚 Wish Our Doctors Were Better Informed鈥 鈥 Daniella*, 24
Honestly, I am happy the name change is getting the right attention,even though my doctor was not aware of the news, and I had to be the one to inform her about something she should know.
I think that鈥檚 why I鈥檓 50-50 about it all, because yes, more attention is given to the other symptoms of the condition, but when will funding start going into treatments and research? Research on the female body barely exists, and it is getting tiring. I wish our bodies were given more attention, and I wish our doctors were better informed. I shouldn鈥檛 have to be the one telling my doctor. She should know.
8. 鈥淭hey Would Only Look Into My Matter if I Lost Weight鈥 鈥 Binta*, 42
I got the news about the name change from my husband, who is aware of my diagnosis, and really, I can鈥檛 express how happy I am about this. Even though I鈥檇 been struggling with my symptoms since I was a young girl, I didn鈥檛 get my official diagnosis until my early 30s and even then, I was still invalidated by health professionals.
Everyone kept blaming my weight, and kept telling me they would only look into my matter when I finally lost the weight. I thank God for my husband, who found a good endocrinologist who actually listened to me and let me know all about insulin resistance and how it is connected to the condition. She made me feel seen, and it is such a blessing that the name change acknowledges that it鈥檚 not only about fertility or reproduction. PMOS symptoms are more than that, and I鈥檓 just really happy the world is finally waking up.
9. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a Possibility Women with PMOS Might Still Get Invalidated鈥 鈥 Basiroh*, 25
I only found out the name about two weeks ago because I鈥檝e been on a social media detox. When I saw the announcement from my friend, who sent it to me because she is aware of my condition, I was really glad, but at the same time, it made me wonder whether Nigerian healthcare professionals will be up to date on it.
It took time for some of them to get used to the previous name and understand it. Who is to say that they鈥檙e not going to have a hard time wrapping their heads around this one? Most of them are not even being paid well for the work they鈥檙e doing, so there is a huge possibility that women whose symptoms align with PMOS might still get invalidated. I鈥檓 hoping that I might be wrong, and women whose symptoms are broader get the treatment they deserve.
10. 鈥淔or Years, I Lived My Life Without a Diagnosis鈥 鈥 Rachel*, 23
The day I saw the news on Instagram, I was in class, and I got sent out because of my excited yell. For years, I kept telling doctors that something was wrong with my body. I was convinced that I had PCOS, and because I didn鈥檛 have cysts, they told me I was thinking too much and that I shouldn鈥檛 worry. So for years, I lived my life without a diagnosis. I was even starting to think that maybe they were right, and I was reading too much into it, but then the news came out, and it turns out that I was very much right. The doctors just didn鈥檛 care much.
It was this news that finally convinced me to reach out to a gyno a friend recommended. I鈥檝e not met her because I鈥檓 currently at school in another state, but she鈥檚 aware of the name change, and she believes that I can get diagnosed. I am really just happy that I might get my diagnosis after being gaslit for a long time.
罢丑别听聽is returning on August 22, 2026, in Lagos! Come learn from finance experts and industry leaders, and partake in unfiltered conversations about building wealth and diversifying your income stream in a country like Nigeria.聽Real stories, expert advice you can actually use, and a community ready to build wealth together.聽.
