MEETING SUMMARY - FEBRUARY 16, 2002

Attendance:
We had two newcomers! Welcome, Kathy and Misty!

New Meeting Place and Time:
Since losing our meeting place last Fall due to the impending destruction of the St. David's occupational Rehab building, we have been looking for a centrally located, easily accessible place to meet. Today's meeting was held at the Austin Public Library Yarborough Branch on Hancock Drive, just west of Burnet Road. The building is easily accessible from MoPac (via Shoal Creek, Bull Creek, or 2222) and from I-35 (via Koenig Lane or North Loop) as well as being accessible from Burnet Road. There's plenty of parking, handicapped access, and city bus service stops in front of the building. Though we will continue the search for a permanent site, the Yarborough facility worked well for us, and we may continue to meet there for the foreseeable future. Due to the fact that other groups already have the 1:00 p.m. time slot, we have moved our meeting time to 2:00 p.m. The meetings will conclude by 4:00 p.m. You are welcome to come late or leave early as needed. Please see the bottom of this report for the dates of our upcoming meetings.

Speaker and Study News:
We heard briefly from Molly Robinson, a pre-med senior at UT. She is doing a senior thesis project in conjunction with Dr. McDermott at Austin Diagnostic Clinic. The new study is titled "Exploring the Psychosocial Implications of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome." The goal of the project is to interview women with polycystic ovary syndrome to learn what impact the condition has had on us and our families. She also wants to hear something about our experiences with doctors. Ladies, this is your chance! Personal experience most often gets dismissed in the medical and scientific communities as being "anecdotal" and therefore not worth listening to. This is your chance to share your stories in a way that will be taken seriously. If you would like to participate in this study, contact Molly at 512-762-0129 or email her at mollyr@mail.utexas.edu . Interview sessions will take about an hour and will be held on the University of Texas campus.

General Session:

• Introductions and personal PCOS stories. If you haven't come to a meeting because you thought you might not "fit in", please come! Our experiences ranged from early-onset of menses (age 8) to late-onset, and from desiring to get pregnant to just wanting to have normal periods. Some of us struggle with weight, and others do not. Some were diagnosed with PCOS and told "don't worry about it," and others were given very good information. Some have trouble with excess body hair, and others don't. The more we can compare experiences and symptoms, the more knowledgeable we become on how this condition manifests itself, and the more we'll be able to educate our doctors! Which led to:
• Discussion of good PCOS-knowledgeable doctors in the Austin area
• Short Discussion of tests given for PCOS and what "normal" results mean.
• Victoria Kogan, our president, gave an overview of the current status of our group. We are in the process of composing Articles of Incorporation, which will be followed by application for non-profit status and application to the IRS for tax-exempt status. Until that is accomplished we are covering actual expenses and necessary fees out of the pockets of past and current board members. We are accepting donated use of office equipment and services (photocopying, printing, etc.) Our thanks to those who made offers today or in the past. If you are able to assist in this area, please email publications@austinpcos.org.
• Due to various moves, births, or other changes in circumstances we are currently looking for nominations/volunteers to fill board and non-board positions. Watch our website for more details.

Upcoming Meetings
We meet on the THIRD SATURDAY OF ALTERNATE MONTHS at 2:00pm. Dates are:

April 20th

June 15th

August 17th

October 19th

December 21st

If there is enough demand for a meeting during an "off" month, we will be glad to meet those demands. If you would like a meeting during a month not mentioned here, or if you have suggestions for a meeting topic, please email events@austinpcos.org