When you come to the end of your rope,
tie a knot and hang on.

Franklin D. Roosevelt 1882-1945, Thirty-second President of the USA

Excerpts from Chapter One of PCOS Book

Much has happened since the first edition of this book - both in the world of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and also in my own life. More doctors, although sadly not all, are recognizing that aggressive treatment of PCOS is a good thing. Still, there seems to be a disparity from doctor to doctor about the best approach. I've gone from being single to getting married and trying to conceive. Perhaps more than ever I am really facing the syndrome. At this writing, I have been trying to conceive for seven months. I am taking metformin (glucaphage) and hoping for the best. Even though the first edition has been unavailable for several months, I still get e-mails begging for information.

The purpose of this book, as was the first edition, remains to educate those suffering with PCOS, the public, and potential PCOS patients who have yet to be diagnosed with the condition. I also hope that physicians, spouses, and other family members will read this book in order to better understand the unique challenges that women with PCOS (and teenagers as well) encounter on a daily basis.

. . . Instead of giving me voluptuous breasts, my body chose to give me lots and lots of hair. My mother let me start shaving when I was about ten years old and I found that I needed to shave my legs and arm pits on a daily basis because the hair grew so thickly. To my embarrassment, hair also grew around my nipples and in a line from my navel to my pubic area. By the time I was fourteen I was bleaching and tweezing on a regular basis.

. . . That first period lasted an incredible three weeks. During that time I bled heavily and the cramping was often nearly unbearable. Some days I had trouble getting out of bed. My mother, thinking that I was exaggerating my symptoms, told me that I needed to learn to deal with this. Didn't all women suffer? Of course, my mother had endometriosis so her own irregular bleeding and pain probably made mine seem normal. After awhile, I conditioned myself to expect periods that lasted a minimum of ten to fourteen days for the first couple of years.

My weight became an issue as I thickened, especially my belly and waist, causing relatives to comment on my "stockiness". In spite of everything I tried to do, I seemed to pack on the pounds, gaining an amazing twenty pounds in the seventh grade alone. I exercised as much as two hours straight every night, doing hundreds of sit ups and leg lifts. In the summer, I ate tiny portions and spent hours bicycling up and down the dirt roads around our house. Yet the weight wouldn't budge.

Almost two years later, during the summer when I was thirteen, I bled continuously for two months straight. At first I hid the fact from my mother. By the time I blurted out that I had been bleeding for that long, she almost didn't believe me. However, I wound up in a doctor's office shortly thereafter for my first pelvic exam. The doctor was extremely kind and gentle. He apologized for the necessity of giving me a pelvic exam at such an early age. He had no choice. I was surrounded by kind and sympathetic nurses who wrapped my feet warmly in the stirrups and made sure that I was comfortable as possible. While he examined me, the doctor spoke to me, engaging me in conversation about my schoolwork so that I didn't focus entirely on his actions. When he finished, and I had dressed, he told my mother and I his suspicion that I was not ovulating. I was too young, however, for him to be sure. He prescribed birth control pills for a limited time to get my body on track. He hoped that the pills would jumpstart my hormones into working properly.

. . . [later on] During this same time, I also began the battle with my weight again, gaining close to twenty pounds that year alone. I lost my self -esteem and struggled with feelings of self-loathing and depression, never associating my condition with my weight difficulties. At the time, my doctor had said that Stein-Leventhol Syndrome (again, this was the former name for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) was a fertility issue and that I should have no other concerns about my overall health because the condition did not pose any other health risks. I continued to believe this explanation over the next eleven years until, by chance, I happened to see an article in "Good Housekeeping" magazine in November 1998. Stunned, I learned that not only was PCOS related to an over-production of insulin, but that I was at risk for diabetes, heart disease and endometrial cancer. First, I experienced fear. No one had ever told me that my condition could potentially prove to be such a serious health threat. It seemed quite unfair that on top of my infertility I was being hit with increased risks of diabetes, heart disease and endometrial cancer.

. . . Fast forward to today. Metformin (glucaphage) is now available as an off-label drug by some physicians. I take glucaphage daily and will continue to do so until I, hopefully, get pregnant. After pregnancy I plan to resume the glucaphage again since I have experienced positive results with it including more normal hormones, normal periods and fewer attacks of low blood sugar. I still continue having problems with high cholesterol and high triglycerides but am trying to manage those with diet and exercise.

One of the frustrations I experienced upon my initial diagnosis was a lack of information about the condition of PCOS. I combed through libraries and bookstores when I was first diagnosed and could never find any books written to the patient of this condition. I later learned that this was because none existed. As I talked to others who also suffered from this condition, it became obvious that there was a need for such a book. While there are now other books available, this lifestyle manual attempts to help women understand what PCOS is, what can be done to alleviate the effects of the condition, and how to gain control of at least how one reacts to the condition. I have included everything that I always wanted to know but could not find in any bookstore.

I emphasize that I am not a doctor and do not advocate using this manual in lieu of any physician's advice. Rather, I hope that this manual will help identify new sufferers of PCOS and serve as a supplemental form of information for those who have already been diagnosed with PCOS. Consult your physician for questions on dietary concerns or before starting any exercise program.