The book's section on infertility -- surely the most worrying aspect of the syndrome for most women -- is shockingly inadequate, and although the publicity material touts the book's "holistic" approach, its treatment of the syndrome's emotional effects is superficial and trite. (Dark night of the soul? Try giving yourself some homemade light therapy!) It also links PCOS with just about every complaint 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 this book'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, this book does none of these things.


Patronising pseudoscience   January 25, 2003
 5 out of 14 found this review helpful

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.


Useful information for newly diagnosed PCOS sufferers   October 20, 2002
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

This book gave me all the basic information that my GP didn't have time to explain and therefore it is an excellent resource for anyone who has just been told they are suffering from PCOS.
I found the lack of information on conventional treatment extremely frustrating however, so I had to do a lot of research elsewhere so I knew what medication etc was being talked about. A holistic approach is not for everyone (or has not worked as well for everyone) and I felt the book focused too much on what worked for the author without exploring the alternatives that may work for other women. I was also disappointed at the lack of detailed information on diet ... but this has now been explained as I have seen the diet book for sale!


Excellent on diet and relaxation techniques   June 4, 2002
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Its is excellent for background information on the condition. It is long overdue for publication, considering how common the syndrome seems to be.

Its quite an intriguing book, focusing on veganism as a solution. I like the way it also leads women to seriously consider think about self-healing - I like being told to pamper myself!


A very useful book   March 6, 2002
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This book helped me to understand the condition in more detail; something the docters were unable to do!

I would recommened this book to anyone who wishes to know more about their symtoms and also learn of some more - which you may not have known are linked to the condition.

It will help you gain enough knowledge to present some questions to the specialists.