PCOS: A Woman's Guide to Dealing with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (Paperback)

by Colette Harris (Author), Adam Carey (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Given that polycystic ovary syndrome is still shrouded in much uncertainty, it's a real shame that PCOS: A Woman's Guide to Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is not a better book.

Coauthor Colette Harris, a British health magazine writer, was moved to write this book after her own successful battle with PCOS, a genetic hormonal imbalance that produces small ovarian cysts, acne, excess body hair, weight gain, mood swings, and infertility and raises the risk for miscarriage, diabetes, and heart disease. Her briefly told story is inspiring--how one woman surprised her doctor by managing this incurable disease using a combination of a vegan diet, herbs and nutritional supplements, filtered water, and exercise.

Unfortunately, even with the tales of other women dealing with PCOS woven throughout, Harris's insider perspective is not enough to carry the book. For women confused about their seemingly unrelated symptoms, PCOS may provide some comfort in relaying that their collection of symptoms not only has a name but a supportive patient community. Even so, apart from the theoretical discussions of what causes PCOS--the medical community is still debating this issue since not every woman with polycystic ovaries exhibits symptoms or even the same collection of symptoms--there's little here that couldn't be gleaned from dozens of other better-written wellness books. Indeed, most of Harris's recommendations for managing PCOS are so general--eat a healthy diet, manage your weight, try homeopathy, exercise, reduce stress--they could be (and in many cases are) the foundation for any number of wellness programs. Plus, authors Harris and gynecologist-nutritionist Adam Carey are given to straying so far off topic in some sections--note the discussion of why conventional farming practices deplete foods of nutrients--one wonders how (and when) they'll find their way back. In the end, this book just feels like a magazine article that's been stretched far beyond its scope to meet a publisher's page quota. --Norine Dworkin

From Library Journal
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), otherwise known as Stein Levanthal Syndrome, was first diagnosed in 1935. This condition, which often goes undetected, includes such symptoms as infertility, weight gain, chronic fatigue, acne, excess body hair, and irregular periods. Together with her gynecologist, health journalist Harris describes her experiences and the way she successfully deals with PCOS by following a four-point management plan. The four points are detoxification, nutritional supplementation, exercise, and stress management, alternative methods that should be used in conjunction with standard medical practices. Written with a British twist (the authors discuss kgs. instead of lbs.), the book might lose readers with its medical jargon. A list of resources fails to note important U.S. organizations such as Resolve and the National Institute of World Health and Human Development. Nevertheless, this is a valuable purchase because there are virtually no consumer books on this subject. Recommended for women's health collections in public and academic libraries.DLisa A. Errico-Cox, Nassau Community Coll. Lib., Garden City, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Thorsons (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0722539754
• ISBN-13: 978-0722539750
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #642,680 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!, October 17, 2000

By	"fyzam" (Del Mar, Ca USA) - See all my reviews

I have had PCOS for over 26 years and this is the first book I have read on the subject, that has given me so much information. PCOS is still not well known, and this book is an important step in educating people about the syndrome. I felt frustrated for many years knowing so little about the subject. I agree with Colette Harris when she states that "knowledge is power".She answers a lot of the frequently asked questions about PCOS and her tone throughout the book is very supportive, especially since she has experienced this first hand. No one as yet has any answers about what causes PCOS, but I think the book presents a good discussion of possible theories. The section on nutrition and lifestyle changes is very informative and provides guidelines for those with PCOS, who do not want to be put on medication as a first resort.The chapter on PCOS symptoms is comforting to read because it makes you realise that your (often embarrassing) symptoms, are due to a medical condition and are not your fault. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in PCOS - not only to those who have it, but also to their families and their doctors.After reading the book I finally feel that I am not alone, and if you have PCOS I think you will understand what I mean by that.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Author comment on the book and its inspiration, October 6, 2000

By	"coharris" (London, UK) - See all my reviews

I have been amazed and excited by the amount of reviews of the book and wanted to share my thoughts on it with readers. I was diagnosed with PCOS aged 23 four years ago now after suffering from months of failing health and hideous symptoms familiar to many women with this condition: hair loss, acne, body hair, mood swings, no periods and exhausting fatigue. I found no information anywhere after my doctor told me there was no cure. So I started to dig around and find some and begin to take steps to live a healthier life in the hopes of feeling better regardless of what medicine (natural or drug-based) I eventually decided to take. This book comes from the heart and from that personal research and experimentation with what made me feel better, along with the medical and nutritional expertise of Dr Adam Carey and the shared stories of many women who belong to the UK's support group Verity which started around the same time as the US group PCOSA, I think around the time I was diagnosed.

This book is a starting point for women who have PCOS and want to feel better both physically and emotionally. It explains what PCOS is, the theories behind why it occurs, and the self help steps which make sense for women with PCOS to take regardless of what medical path they then choose to take - let's face it, all of us could benefit from eating better, sleeping better,doing more exercise, reducing stress and being kinder to ourselves - it's just that for women with PCOS these things can make an even bigger difference - and the book explains the biochemical reasons why. This book has never claimed to be the be all and end all of PCOS knowledge - rather, it's a supportive, informative launch pad based on self help and emotional support which has a huge further information section at the back to point people towards where they can get more help for specific symptoms they want to focus on, or issues such as fertility which they are dealing with. I truly hope that it helps a lot fo women find the right path for treating their own PCOS - and for anyone who didn't find it suited them, a plea to pass on your copy to someone you think might benefit from it. With thanks for all your comments and energy to get PCOS on the map. Colette

33 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Patronising pseudoscience, February 4, 2003

By	Laura Brown (London) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Most of this PCOS "management plan" has no legitimate scientific basis, thank heaven. If it did, sufferers would be doomed to a lifetime of meditating on orange peels, dragging an ioniser on holiday and ransacking Tesco for cold-pressed flaxseed oil.

Colette Harris is a health journalist, and her book is a case study in the flaws of popular health writing. She oversimplifies, overgeneralises, fails to cite her sources, and acts as if all "scientific studies" -- however small or poorly controlled -- were fonts of infallible wisdom. She spends pages on untested New Age quackery while ignoring the findings of mainstream medicine. Astonishingly, her book says nothing about one of the most promising new treatments: the use of Metformin for insulin resistance. She is also virtually silent on the one topic that should be discussed in all British health books: how to wrangle the treatment you need from the NHS. The author seems to assume that her readers will either go private or head straight for the witch doctor.

The book's section on infertility -- surely the most worrying aspect of the syndrome for most women -- is shockingly inadequate, and although Miss Harris touts her "holistic" approach, her treatment of the syndrome's emotional effects is superficial and trite. (Dark night of the soul? Try giving yourself some homemade light therapy!) She also links PCOS with just about every complaint her readers could suffer, dragging in things like food cravings and premenstrual breast pain that are not normally recognised as symptoms of anything except being a woman.

Far from helping women deal with the syndrome, this book encourages them to live first and foremost as PCOS sufferers. A woman who followed Miss Harris's advice to the full would end up viewing almost all aspects of her physical and mental constitution as manifestations of the disease, and restructuring virtually every waking moment in order to treat it. The book is an excellent example of the modern cult of illness, in which people are encouraged to base their identities upon real or imagined medical conditions. We are not so far away from the days of the neurasthenic Victorian invalid.

What women with PCOS really need is advice on how to differentiate solid medical evidence from the findings of spurious, unduplicated studies. They need to be given practical information on what is likely to work and what isn't -- using hard evidence and statistics, not vaguenesses like "many women find that X helps." They need to be treated like intelligent, independent people, not creatures whose world is defined by the weaknesses of their "female parts." They should be helped to deal with the really serious aspects of PCOS - having a baby, getting rid of body hair, preventing diabetes - and then allowed to get on with their lives. Unfortunately, common sense doesn't sell nearly as well as "miracle cures," and well-informed, confident women are not as likely to buy as nervous hypochondriacs.