PCOS - Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome: The Many Faces of a 21st Century Epidemic and What You Can Do about It »

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

About the Author: Elizabeth Lee Vliet, M.D., is the founder and Medical Director of HER Place: Health Enhancement and Renewal for Women Inc. She has studied and written about the effects of hormone changes on PMS, PCOS, migraines, sleep problems, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, osteoporosis and cardiovascular risks, etc. Her bestselling books include Screaming to Be Heard: Hormone Connections Women Suspect and Doctors Still Ignore, It's My Ovaries, Stupid! and Women, Weight and Hormones. Dr. Vliet maintains a medical practice in Tucson, Arizona, and Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. For more information, visit Dr. Vliet's Web site.