In my role as a health psychologist who specializes in PCOS and other endocrine disorders, I read a lot of material on PCOS, insulin resistance, infertility, diabetes, and other hormonal matters. The more I read, the more I’m aware of the biases in the various camps, by which I mean, these types of messages that populate the media, presented here with my interpretation of the subtext:
• Natural is the only way to go – you’ll destroy your body with birth control pills and metformin (they’re all toxic chemicals!);
• Supplements are the way to go — forget the pharmaceuticals (it’s only 90 capsules a day, but you’ll manage);
• If you would just practice positive thinking, and say enough mantras, you could improve your fertility and have a cute baby just like this (it’s really your fault);
• We should accept our “flaws” as part of our beauty (and damn the women who take advantage of electrolysis, body sculpting, and hair dye);
• If you don’t follow this medical protocol quite strictly for the rest of your life, you’ll end up in terrible condition, with a host of dreadful side effects that will ultimately make your life miserable and then kill you (I’m the doctor, and I hold all the answers, and I’m going to scare you into compliance);
• Low carbohydrate diets are the only solution (chronic deprivation is the way to go);
• PCOS women shouldn’t exercise too much, or they’ll get all bulky and look like men (this is not actually physiologically possible, but it’s a great excuse);
• Exercise is the only thing that really works, and here’s how to do it (never mind that I don’t have PCOS myself, and know nothing about PCOS).
I could go on and on, but you get the idea. There’s a problem with all of these messages, and the problem is, they’re all wrong. There is no one solution that applies universally to all of us. We are each a unique composition of chemistries, ethnicities, weights, ages, and personal points of view. We have access to different specialists and reading materials. We have different beliefs about what works and what doesn’t. We have varying abilities to assess the correctness of scientific or medical data. We have limited finances and time to try every possible potential solution. And we are, quite possibly, exhausted from trying.
Additionally, consider the source. Quite a lot of these messages (picked up directly from my reading, but not attributed, in order to protect the innocent and the not-so-innocent) are presented to us with the intention of selling something – supplements, coaching services, dietary plans, books, CDs, or workshops. There’s nothing wrong with any of those things, by the way, but if the message consistently points in one direction, and it always results in you buying something, it may not be a message you want to heed. This blog tries to present useful information in a way that allows you to make reasonable choices, utilizing commonly available resources, and without pushing you towards any one philosophy, guru, product, or way of thinking. I think that’s a sensible approach.
That being said, we need to respect the choices that our fellow travelers in this PCOS journey are making. If a woman wants to try metformin, or birth control pills, or Spironolactone, or a low carbohydrate diet, and there’s no medical contraindication, let’s support her the best way we can. Don’t present your personal experience as the absolute truth. Offer it as a way of being there for support, or simply to share your experience so she has other “evidence” to consider.
Consider the impact of emphatic statements that “the only” way to produce a baby, or weight loss, or better fasting glucose numbers, is by following your plan. The woman on the other end may not have the time, education, or finances to implement your well-meaning suggestions, and the result on the other end may be a real emotional slam for a woman who’s already feeling fragile and desperate (this is especially true in the fertility/infertility arena).
Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D. is a Health Psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles, California. She specializes in counseling women and couples who are coping with infertility, PCOS, and related endocrine disorders and chronic illnesses.
If you would like to learn more about Dr. HOUSE or her practice, or obtain referrals in the Los Angeles area, please visit her website at www.drhousemd.com, or e-mail her at Gretchen@drhousemd.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askdrhousemd.