How One Simple Toolkit Helped My Client Handle PCOS Flare-Ups Without Spiralling
- Claire Mace Nutrition
- Sep 29, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 3, 2025
If you live with PCOS, you’ll know this feeling: one day you’re managing okay, and the next… boom. The cravings are stronger than ever. Your stomach feels bloated. Your mood drops. And suddenly, the plan you had for your day feels impossible.
These moments, what I call PCOS flare-ups are what can make living with PCOS so overwhelming. They’re unpredictable, they hit at the worst times, and most women are left wondering, “What do I do now?”
That’s why I created something inside the PCOS Relief Protocol called the Flare-Up Toolkit. And to explain how powerful it can be, I want to share the story of one of my clients.
Meet Sarah (name changed for privacy)
When Sarah first joined the program, she told me the hardest part of living with PCOS wasn’t just the day-to-day fatigue — it was the way symptoms would suddenly hit her out of nowhere.
Some days she’d wake up feeling okay, only for bloating and cramps to leave her curled up on the sofa by lunchtime.
Other times, cravings would hit so hard in the evening that she’d feel guilty and “ruin” her progress in one night.
And then there were the mood swings — the kind that made her want to cancel plans and avoid people altogether.
Her words? “It feels like I’m always waiting for my body to sabotage me.”
What Happened When She Started Using the Flare-Up Toolkit
I introduced Sarah to the Flare-Up Toolkit in her first few weeks of the PCOS Relief Protocol. At first, she was hesitant. “Another tool? Another tracker? I’ve tried so many things.”
But here’s what clicked for her: this wasn’t about logging symptoms for the sake of it. The other parts of the program — like her Personalised Relief Protocol and the Nourish & Go Framework — were helping calm her symptoms long term.
The Flare-Up Toolkit was different. It was her backup plan. Something she could lean on in the moment, when life threw her a curveball or her symptoms spiked unexpectedly.
For example:
Instead of panicking when cravings hit, she could flick open her toolkit and see, “Okay, here are the 2 or 3 things I can do right now that will help me feel more in control.”
When bloating came out of nowhere, she didn’t spiral — she followed the calming steps in her plan.
And on those “everything feels harder” days, the toolkit helped her notice the patterns (like where she was in her cycle) and reminded her she wasn’t failing, her body was just communicating.
The Impact on Her Daily Life
After a few weeks, Sarah told me this:
“It’s the first time I haven’t felt scared of my symptoms. I still get flare-ups, but now I don’t feel like I’m at their mercy. I know what to do in the moment, and that changes everything.”
The biggest difference wasn’t that her symptoms magically disappeared overnight (because that’s not how PCOS works). It was that she finally felt calm and in control when they happened.
She stopped cancelling plans at the last minute.
She felt less guilt when cravings hit, because she had a response ready.
And most importantly, she started to trust her body again.
Why the Flare-Up Toolkit Matters
The truth is, flare-ups are always going to be part of PCOS. But the difference between feeling defeated by them and feeling in control comes down to this: having a plan.
The Flare-Up Toolkit isn’t the whole strategy, that’s where the other tools in the program come in, to actually reduce symptoms over time.This toolkit is your safety net. It’s there for those days when life happens, your body feels unpredictable, and you need quick support so you don’t spiral.
💡 Imagine how different life could feel if instead of being thrown off course by every symptom spike, you had a simple backup plan to guide you back on track.
That’s the power of the Flare-Up Toolkit.
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