I recently found an interesting article about PCOS in PubMed. What it reported on was a study looking at how compliant women with PCOS are, with the recommendations given to them. In a fertility clinic, 99 infertile women with PCOS were interviewed. Turns out, only about 25% of them had been compliant with the recommendations given to them in an attempt to try to help them.
SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT of these women weren't doing what they were told they needed to do in order to have the baby they said they wanted.
Well, readers, I love you all to death, and wish you success, but when I saw that…my first thought was, NO FREAKING WONDER we get so many complaints that"nothing is working"!!! It ain't gonna work if ya don't try it!
(BTW, if you're actively working on your PCOS, you can ignore this post. Since I've been informed that this applies to a good 75% of my audience I'm going to go ahead and rant. Know it doesn't apply to you. I'm just trying to get more of you on board here with what we are trying to do on your behalf.)
What was also found was that three types of women with PCOS were most likely to not comply with recommendations: (1) obese patients, (2) those for whom treatment was"inconvenient", and (3) those who were concerned about adverse drug reactions.
I tell you all, I'm a pretty compassionate and understanding person and I have dedicated my life to figuring out the PCOS puzzle…but I found myself in a tailspin over this one. Why would I try so hard on behalf of a demographic I only have a 25% chance of being able to help?
If you're in our Facebook group, you hear this from me all the time. It's YOUR PCOS, it's not mine. Information is dripping out of your computer, waiting for you to try. There are support groups being started in a whole lot of places, but you have to show up. If you haven't heard about them go to http://www.powerupforpcos.com/ for details.
There are options and there are answers. For starters, there is fish oil. I have lost track of the number of times I've corresponded with women wanting me to hear their stories, and I've patiently listened…then asked,"Are you taking the fish oil?", knowing full well from the duration of our friendship, they've heard it before. And knowing I'm going to hear"No."
Your infertility is not going to be resolved by a magic stork landing on your roof tonight, waving a wand, and just making it all go away. If you have been asked to start exercising, then you need to start moving. If you've been asked to make dietary changes, and they're"inconvenient" because they don't taste good, you need to decide — is the soda really that important — enough to cost you the baby you want? No more looking at other people and simply wishing you could have what they have. The reality is, there is a strong likelihood they have what they have because they're doing what they need to do.
If you're having trouble with motivation, it's time to ask for help. Or join a support group. We can give you great information. But we can't eat for you, exercise for you, practice good sleep hygiene for you. All I can tell you is…it works wonders. You should try them sometime.
OK. Rant over. Carry on.
Oh! And don't forget to take your fish oil. It's going to be the very first thing I ask you about if you write with personal questions.: )
Li S, He A, Yang J, Yin T, Xu W. A logistic regression analysis of factors related to the treatment compliance of infertile patients with polycystic ovary syndrome. J Reprod Med. 2011 Jul-Aug;56(7-8):325-32.