MEETING SUMMARY - JUNE 16, 2001
The topic of this month's meeting was "PCOS, Hormones & The Whole Body Connection: More Than Infertility" and was presented by Laura Sanders, Director of Communications & Online Services. She presented a laywoman's look at hormones, imbalances, and endocrine disruption as well as practical advice in what tests to ask for when talking to your doctor.
Symptoms & Hormones
Laura began with a review of various hormones produced in the body and how disruptions in these hormones can affect our overall health. The specific symptoms of PCOS were addressed and which hormones contribute to them. We were all very surprised to learn of other syndromes, specifically chronic fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS), which have overlapping symptoms with PCOS.
Possible Consequences of Long-Term Disruption
When our bodies are subjected to chronic hormonal imbalances, as is the case with PCOS, we are at an increased risk for health problems in the future. Some of these may include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and endometrial cancer.
Causes of Endocrine Disruption
In one of her handouts, Laura stated, "Endocrine disrupters are synthetic chemicals that mimic hormones and are picked up by the body's own hormone receptors in place of the body's own real hormones." Sources of human endocrine disruptors are contained in plastics, insecticides, and herbicides/defoliants. An excellent book to read on this topic is "Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence, and Survival?" To learn how endocrine disrupters affect glucose processing, read these articles on Glucocorticoid Disruption:
Tests to Ask For
There are several tests a doctor can perform which will help in determining if you have PCOS or other medical condition. An excellent resource that outlines these tests and what they mean can be found on the Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Association (PCOSA) website. There you will find "
Confirming the Diagnosis", which is a free PDF document that you can print and take to your doctor.
Book Review
Many of the points brought up during Laura's presentation are elaborated upon in Dr. Elizabeth Vliet's book "Screaming to be Heard: Hormone Connections Women Suspect and Doctors Ignore." The book even includes a section on PCOS! Dr. Vliet's website is
www.herplace.com.
Other websites that helped Laura develop her presentation are:
Laura's presentation was made possible due to her many years of personal research in this area. We were all very enlightened by her presentation!
