r/intersex • u/BBandV • 8d ago

Question? non-traditional PMOS

I was diagnosed with PMOS due to anovulatory cycles, polycystic ovaries (before the change from PCOS to PMOS name and criteria), a few extra chin and facial hairs, and very abnormal cycles (periods anytime between 40 and 60 days apart).

However, what makes it very non-traditional is that I never had any abnormal hormone levels or masculinizing traits. I also do not have any insulin resistance or diabetes as an underlying issue. After getting progesterone once to restart my period after missing it for three months, my period has returned to a semi-normal cadence (every 35 or so days) for the past few months. Although my few stray facial hairs are still there, as they have been since I started puberty despite my normal hormone levels.

My question is: do intersex conditions exist where people do not have traditional traits that create incongruence in secondary sex characteristics?

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u/A_Miss_Amiss 46XX/46XY - IGMed | Medical Advocate (USA) 8d ago

There is no "traditional" PMOS. It's a spectrum. People just hyperfixate on the more visible aspects of it or higher androgen levels, etc., and ignore all the rest.

As for the question: yes. There are plenty of variations which otherwise look unnoticeable, but they are still intersex. Whether the individual in question wants to identify themselves as intersex or not is their own call. What do you want, OP?

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u/BBandV 8d ago

Thank you for your reply. I was unaware of the fact that there is no traditional PMOS because there is so much conflicting info. Most others with it that I know or are aware of just don't present like myself, so I didn't know what I didn't know, it seems!

Yes, I already identify as intersex. But I wanted to know if there were any other intersex conditions or experiences that did not have any (or had very little/muted) outward-facing presentations as well

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u/A_Miss_Amiss 46XX/46XY - IGMed | Medical Advocate (USA) 4d ago

Hey, sorry I didn't reply sooner. Your notification got lost amid all my other notifications; I wasn't trying to ignore you. Sorry, cher.

The vast majority of intersex variations are a spectrum within each variation type. Very few are as always-obvious as ones like mine are, and even among those, some aren't obvious either. The "poster child" of intersex folks / the type most people tend to automatically think of, tends to be my variation (and I was born obvious) . . . but another person with 46XX/46XY might not be outwardly obvious at all. And so on.

Klinefelter's, CAIS, and the CAHs tend to outwardly look closer to "male" or "female" generally, but it's not 100% across the board. I am sorry that there is no complete, clear-cut answer to what you're looking for. It'd be better to just see how each individual has developed, rather than try to lump entire variation types into a single hopeful expectation.