The Savvy Woman's Guide to PCOS: How to Regain Energy, Vitality and Hormone Balance

by Elizabeth Lee Vliet M.D.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is the most common endocrine cause of infertility and serious weight gain in young women. It affects millions—experts estimate about 6 to 10 percent of reproductive age women struggle with this devastating metabolic imbalance. Look around schools and malls in this country and you see the impact of this burgeoning epidemic: obese young women are everywhere. The numbers are staggering. The health risks are overwhelming—from increased risk of teenaged diabetes to young mothers with heart attacks or strokes, and early onset of breast and uterine cancers.

Early treatment is key to preventing serious health risks, but most sufferers don’t even know they have PCOS. Nor do doctors take it as seriously, often minimizing symptoms like excess body hair, weight gain, acne or thinning scalp hair, thinking they are just cosmetic” problems of overanxious young women. Gynecologists focus on helping women get pregnant rather than treating acne or weight gain. Endocrinologists typically consider ovarian problems the “turf ” of gynecologists. Mood swings in PCOS can be severe, but psychiatrists typically don’t check hormones, so they don’t identify PCOS either. What’s a woman to do?

It’s not enough for doctors to tell women with PCOS to just “eat less and exercise more.” Women need a practical guide to help them understand the disorder, know what tests to ask for, what the tests mean, what treatments are available, and how to take a stepwise approach to healthy hormone balance, sound meal plans, exercise, and stress management. This book provides the practical, user-friendly guide that women desperately need to be successful in getting help for this devastating disorder.