BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

I have suffered with this disease for 49 years. If you have questions, write me.

I was diagnosed with Stein-Leventhal Syndrome in 1966. My own mother called me a freak. Eventually a lot of other people did too. Until 9 years ago even doctors didn't fully "get it" and blamed the patient. Some still do that . I thought I was alone with it. Now called PCOS I realize how this scourge has ruled my life as a woman, and still does today. I could have written this article below, almost word for word. Thank you for taking the time to read this and pass this on to a woman you think will benefit from reading it. If you need to know more about PCOS visit the PCOS Association . Or you can write to me (link on right) by Pam The purpose of this is not a public pity party. After dealing with the emotions involved with PCOS firsthand, I think it's important for people to know what can go on in a woman's head. If you have PCOS, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you know someone or are the partner to someone who has it, this may explain a few...

The Real Face of PCOS a personal story by Barbara of Barbara's Tchatzkahs Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or PCOS for short. The PCO Support Association (PCOSA) and other sufferers have done a wonderful job getting the word out. Articles and news items are being published. Women are finally being diagnosed. Thanks to people like Katherine DesMaisons, PhD and others, people are finding out more about Insulin Sensitizers and what food really does their bodies and their minds. Some doctors are finally recognizing the psychological component. Women are looking at their balding dads and brothers and realizing that the male pattern baldness and Syndrome X are linked to PCOS. Families are talking. Weight problems aren’t just about what you eat. Women are admitting they actually shave their faces and that their bodies are sometimes covered with male patterned hair. The genetic composition of Diabetes is understood. It’s out of the closet. Almost. We still have a long way to go. (A...

I know that some of my Orthodox friends are going to call or write me now and tell me I don't understand. Maybe I don't. But I do know what abuse is. So was the husband mentioned below abusing his wife because of her infertility? Abuse and marital problems are big issues when there's infertility. Infertility can cause severe depression, acting out and other serious problems in the woman. So because she wasn't breeding it was o.k. to treat her poorly? And not giving a woman a Get. Making an Agunah out of a woman. Talk about misogyny and control. These are things I don't think I want to understand. By ANDREA PEYSER AND you thought you had trouble committing. Thirty years after divorce became all the rage in America, the pastime is catching on like wildfire in the kid-rich, ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, where getting a "get" is the new black. So says psychologist Daniel Schonbuch, who thinks divorces (known in the community as "gets") are th...

I have suffered with PCOS since 1966 and it has affected my physical and emotional health in ways too numerous to elaborate on on this blog. I have had 3 surgeries for PCOS consequences, including one just a few weeks ago. I was in my 40s when I finally found a doctor who "got it" and treated the disease, not just the symptoms. If you need to know more or need to find a doctor - please feel free to write to me. - Barbara If you have PCOS, you've probably heard that you have a much higher risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. But what about cancer? Are you at risk? The relationship between PCOS and cancers in general is not completely clear, although women who are overweight are more likely to get some kind of cancer. Women who are infertile ( whether they have PCOS or not ) are more likely than fertile women to get a cancer of the reproductive system. The strongest link between a cancer and PCOS is endometrial cancer. A few studies have suggested a correlation ...

From my friend - the inscrutable Uppity Woman: A real American Story: Have octuplets, beg on a website , shop at Nordstrom ’s and don’t pay the mortgage When last we looked, poor poor Nadya Suleman, single unemployed woman who already had six kids and deliberately had a boatload of eggs-fertilized- by- her -boyfriend implanted into her womb, gave birth to 8 babies. Seeking fame and fortune and already on the government take for three of her earlier children, Nadya hired a publicist and was seeking $2 million to tell her story to American Icon shows such as Oprah! She also planned to star in her own TV show as a “Child Care Expert”. No kidding. You can’t make this shit up. But poor poor Nadya didn’t pass the smell test and she didn’t win her lottery as planned – nor has anybody offered her a TV show. Denying she was on the public teat because a reporter wasn’t clever enough to ask the “Entitlement” question instead of the “Welfare” question, it was discovered that Nadya was already coll...

I have held my peace about this 'woman' long enough. As someone who struggled with infertility treatment for 12 years and is still struggling with and about to have more surgery for 42 years of dealing with severe PCOS and what it has done to my body and spirit... all I can say is this woman is SICK. I have twins. I had them via treatment. I started with quads and told the doctors if it didn't self-reduce I wanted reduction done because I felt it was selfish to the children I was carrying to put them through that. I had extensive psychological counseling during that 12 year journey. Guess what? I have two wonderful kids, on the honor roll, who are responsible, empathic and healthy. This mother should be cited for abuse and have her LITTER of innocent children taken from her and adopted to infertile couples who can afford & desperately want children. Residents of California... you want to pay for these kids? While I am on disability: I PAY FOR MY KIDS - not the Stat...

I am infertile. Yes I have 2 children but I got them after 12+ years of drugs, treatments, surgeries even ovarian hyperstimulation... and during that time (but NOT because of the infertility treatments) I became disabled and had OTHER drugs, treatments and therapies that destroyed my body. But despite giving birth to two wonderful children, I am still INFERTILE. The point is this: You had to have help (in my case a LOT of it... treatments nowadays would have made this easier... but... oh well!) to do what most women do naturally and easily. You body doesn't work the way a woman's body should. And with PCOS a lot of other things happen that aren't pleasant. You may be a mother but you will always be infertile. An ethical debate has arisen in Israel now over ova donations to help infertile couples. Religious persons may say one thing but believe me -- when you long for a child with your heart and soul -- religion is the last thing someone might care about. (Not all... ...