First, are you liking the PCOS series? Is it useful to you? If so, what's been most helpful? The comments have been pretty quiet on this series and I want to know if it's been useful to people. The series is a considerable amount of work and I want to make sure it's worth my time and research effort to put this out there for you. Do you want me to continue the series, or would you rather I focused on something else instead?
Second, if I continue the PCOS series, what would you most like to see in the near future? I have many posts in development (PCOS and hirsutism/acne, PCOS and fertility, PCOS and pregnancy, PCOS and breastfeeding, PCOS and menopause, PCOS and alopecia, PCOS and depression, PCOS and Lifestyle Tweaks, PCOS and alternative medicine, etc.), but it's a matter of prioritizing which ones to work on first. Some are more ready than others, of course, so not all will be ready anytime soon, but it would be nice to know what people are most wanting to explore.
Third, I'd love to have more personal stories of how you deal with PCOS (if you have it). Personal stories really anchor a series like this, especially when there are so many dry facts and stats in the posts. We need the personal stories for balance and perspective. But I can't put them in if I don't have them.
I'm especially looking for stories on how you deal with the challenges of hirsutism, acne, alopecia, and/or depression. Not every person experiences every PCOS symptom, so I think it's really important to share the experiences and wisdom of those who have struggled with those particularly tough symptoms and what has helped them. Women with those symptoms often feel especially isolated, so I really want personal stories on those particular posts.
I'm happy to share your stories without using names so you can speak very frankly about your experiences. In fact, the more honest, the better. Just be sure to give me formal permission to use your story and how you'd like to see it attributed.
I do have a couple of stories of how people use Health At Every Size® techniques to deal with PCOS, but I'd love more stories with that point of view too. I'd love stories on how women with PCOS try to get traditional providers to deal with PCOS in a more size-friendly (or at least weight-neutral) way. In my experience, women are really looking for strategies on that because the traditional approach to PCOS is so incredibly weight-centric.
So please give me your feedback on the PCOS series so far and what you'd like to see for the future. And if you have a story to share about your own experience with PCOS and how you deal with it, I'd love to have more personal voices in the series as well.
You can use the comments section below, or you can email me privately, using the email address in the column to the left.
As always, thanks for reading!
9 comments:
As someone who had a very difficult time breastfeeding, I would love to have other women learn about PCOS & BF. for me, I would like to know about PCOS and nutrition/diet. Every time I diet, even if I only lose 2-3 pounds, my periods stop. So, I stopped dieting. If there was something that would help me lose weight without stopping my periods, I would love to know.
I am loving this series. I liked finding out about the different drugs that are used to "treat" it. I'd like to find out about the nutrition angle too, with respect to allergies (you said celiac seems to be common in PCOS), and menopause. I'd also like to know how being celibate and not having kids can affect it. This has been becoming a greater concern the older I get, like does it make menopause worse (eg. more painful).
I'd also like to add to my comment on the turkey awards, that I've been using Floravit (the gluten free version of Floradix) and B12 supplements for over 2 yrs and have had way less painful periods, and they now last the "average" length - 5-6 days instead of 10-14. They are also not as heavy. Previously, I'd use up a whole package of overnight pads (there are fewer in each bag the bigger the pad) for each period, now the bag lasts for 2-3 months.
Being anorexic for 22 yrs and dieting constantly never helped me in that department, and I'm sure it contributed to my heavy periods.
Keep up the great work, I don't really care what order you post in, but I think this is a major issue for all women (not just fat) because it affects 10-25% of all women, and it runs in my family (at least I have surmised).
I just stumbled onto this series (and website which I will be exploring more) today. I am loving all the information being provided! I was diagnosed about 4 years ago and my endocrinologist in the beginning was all about weight loss. I am most interested in alternative medicine options in treatment. Thank You so much!
I have been looking forward to every installment of this series! Especially interested in the connection with acne and menopause. I have not been diagnosed (never had any fertility problems) but the more I read the more PCOS sounds like "me" in every other way. Please keep going!
I am glad to see the series, especially because it is not specifically focused on fertility. So many of the articles/info I find are focused on it. I'm done having kids, now I just want to be healthy, and finding information on that aspect is difficult. So anything non-fertility related is excellent! Thanks for all you do.
I'm new to this site. Not new to PCOS. Like the other posters, I'm trying to find more info on nutrition and exercise. More detailed, scientific information, not just the blanket "cut back on carbs". I'm currently pregnant and fertility wasn't an issue for me (despite being 40+) but the unwanted hair is! Looking forward to reading more on this site.
Previously I had never heard about PCOS until about a year ago. I'm a Personal Trainer and since working with clients who have PCOS. The key is to avoid foods pumped up with hormones, so processed foods must be avoided at all costs, also lowering carb intake without increasing good fats will leave you tired, moody and craving more carbs. for more info on how to eat like this visit http://www.paleo4pcos.co.uk
I have found this series very information, some of the best researched and most thoroughly rounded articles on PCOS I have found anywhere. And that's no small feat!
I think that I have two primary interests in PCOS management . . . the first being the interactions between therapies. One can find dozens of articles on various individual therapies that treat one or more aspects of PCOS, but not on how to use multiple therapies together to their best advantage. Many herbal remedies, for example, work best in tandem. If you know more about this topic, I would love to read your research on it.
My second interest is in nutrition. I will not buy diet books. Will not. Refuse. So, information on balancing blood sugar naturally, through diet, with traditional "diabetic" foods is very valuable to me. It's also surprisingly hard to come by--you have to sift through so much mainstream information to get there.
But I will happily read anything you produce on any topic related to PCOS. Keep the info coming!
I'm reading your series with interest, though I need to catch up since I haven't been over here in a while. (Commenting now lest I forget.)
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