Beginner's Guide to PCOS

I have just received this message from a concerned husband:

"My wife is 33 yrs old and has been diagnosed with PCOS...any information from someone who seems to have lead a fairley normal life would be great even a phone call to her in the USA would be great form of support for her......Please help her anyway possible"

This was my reply:

First of all, your wife should know that it is not the end of the world. Unfortunately, the lack of good information (and good doctors who know about PCOS) available means that many women feel incredibly despondent when they discover they have it. My advice to your wife would be:

1. Sign up for my free newsletter at http://www.pcosmatters.com - the information I give will be a good starting place for her to learn about PCOS (under no way feel obliged to buy the interviews I sell there - the free information is a good grounding).

2. Find a doctor who understands and is sympathetic about PCOS and...

3. Get a referral to an Endocrinologist. PCOS is actually an Endocrine disorder and this specialist is best placed to help her (more so than a gyne). I hope that helps some. Other than that, if she is particularly interested in natural health she should keep an eye on my MySpace blog.

I honestly believe that lack of readily available information means many women diagnosed with PCOS think it is the kiss of death but, while it often makes life harder and does cause some heartache, it is not the end of the world. Everyday, women with PCOS are getting pregnant, losing weight, dealing with the excess hair etc.

I thought it was interesting during the recent Trans Fat scare/findings that it was attributed as a significant cause of infertility. Many women have been blaming their PCOS as the cause of their fertility problems, but there are tons of other toxins in the modern world that might be equally to blame (I say this not to depress you even more but to help you realise that PCOS is not always your greatest enemy, and not all problems in life are the fault of PCOS).

I hope that is of some help and feel free to post your own feelings about this (even if it means calling me to task)!

Lisa