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Sheri, You Asked For It! Re: A letter from my Uncle, a doctorFrom: Monica (anonymous@obgyn.net)Fri, 7 Jul 2000 18:29:36 -0500 (CDT)
At Fri, 07 Jul 2000, Sheri wrote: > >Monica, thank you for sharing your letter. May I ask what type of letter >that you sent to your family? I would like to share some information with >my family but I'm not sure how to go about doing that? > >Sheri Well, Sheri, you asked for it! :) Here it is. Sorry to bore the rest of you!! Hello, Everyone, It sounded like the reunion was a huge success. I thought about you all day. The following is a message mostly for the gals, but guys you're welcome to read it, too. I want to share with you some important information that I happened to stumble upon. I happened to catch a brief part of a Leeza Show (no, I really don't have time to watch anything, it's usually just background noise!) and there was a panel of women talking about this thing called PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). As they were describing some of their symptoms, I thought I was hearing a description of my life! Women who suffer from this syndrome have some BUT NOT NECESSARILY ALL of the symptoms which include irregular or no periods, heavy bleeding, hair growth on various parts of the body where no woman would WANT to find hair, thinning hair on scalp, weight gain (especially around the middle) especially which coincides with stopping hormone therapy such as birth control pills or others such as depo provera and norplant, difficulty conceiving, depression, anxiety, acne, feeling dizzy or lightheaded and losing concentration or emotional control two or more hours after a meal, skin tags, darkened patches of skin on the neck, groin, under arms or in skin folds, elevated cholesterol (especially LDL, and/or triglycerides, AND FAMILY HISTORY OF DIABETES or HEART DISEASE (which is why I'm writing to you). The family history seems to play an important role as they are finding that PCOS is hereditary. Have I scared you yet? Sorry. The really scary part is that if you leave PCOS untreated (which it has been for so long because it was thought of as JUST A COSMETIC PROBLEM), you most likely will develop adult onset diabetes, heart disease, or high blood pressure (Who wants that!! And as I'm fast approaching middle age I have a whole new appreciation for good health!). Treatment is usually a prescription of a medication used for diabetic patients called Metformin or glucophage. Some doctors in the past have prescribed birth control pills but these are just masking the symptoms of PCOS and not getting at the root of the problem. Also, MANY PCOS'ers can't tolerate birth control pills (I could tell you about the time I was put on Orthonovum 777- I called it Orthonovum 666 because it turned me into a DEVIL WOMAN!) Some interesting info I've learned: * The term PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome, is really a misnomer because the problem doesn't originate from your ovaries but rather your endocrine system being out of whack. Not all woman with PCOS develop cysts on ovaries! You could even have a hysterectomy or ovaries removed and STILL suffer from symptoms of PCOS because it is an endocrine imbalance. * It's hereditary. If you have it, most likely your grandma, mom, or sisters have it. * Elevated insulin is the best way to determine if you have PCOS. Tests include checking fasting insulin (not just glucose levels!), c-peptides, and igtt. * "Women with PCO typically produce a higher level of LH then FSH (typically a 3:1 ratio, which in a normal functioning hormonal woman is 1:1) I hope this has been helpful. I felt compelled to write to you, my dear family! I hope you haven' t been suffering from these annoying symptoms like I have for so many years and never put it together. If you do recognize yourself with this, I'd love to hear from you. There's also a GREAT website PCOSUPPORT.ORG that I find full of information. Also, for a quick "fact sheet" on PCOS go to http://www.geocities.com/Athens/3976/pcofact.html. Much love, Monica
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