Can't lose weight? Do you have coarse, excess hair on your face, chest or back? Do you suffer from hair loss or acne? Are you depressed? Unable to conceive?

If so, you're experiencing common symptoms of PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome). As bad as these symptoms are, the scary thing is if you don't get some control over this disorder, you have a much higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The standard treatment is to take birth control pills or other medications. Besides undesirable side effects, there is no pill or drug that will stop or cure PCOS.

Unfortunately, polycystic ovary syndrome is not a temporary problem. Because of its genetic roots, you may be prone to PCOS for the rest of your life. Therefore, you could end up taking drugs for the rest of your life. If you don't want to do that, what else can you do?

To truly come to grips with PCOS, you need to do three basic things: improve your diet, get more exercise, and reduce stress. Click here for the ten essential tips for making positive changes in PCOS and improving fertility.

Several of her tips discuss the crucial role of diet. Also take a look at her paperback book, The Natural Diet Solution for PCOS and Infertility.

Dr. Nancy Dunne has reported that chasteberry (vitex) can improve fertility. She quotes a study of 3,162 women. 77.4% had menstrual cycle disturbances. After 5 months of taking chasteberry, 33% of the women rated the treatment as completely effective and another 55% experienced. Their doctors reported very good results in 68% of cases. For more info, see her web page: Vitex.

Just recently, a medical school completed a study of 21 women who had excessive hairiness (hirsutism). Twelve of them had PCOS and the other 9 had hirsutism of unknown origin.

The women took a cup of spearmint tea twice a day for 5 days in the follicular phase (first half) of their menstrual cycles. The tea was made by pouring boiling water on 1-2 teaspoons of dried spearmint and leaving it for 5-10 minutes, then straining and drinking the tea.

After treatment with the spearmint tea, the women had a significant decrease in testosterone levels. Excessive testosterone is thought to be the driving force behind excessive hair growth, as well as male-pattern hair loss in women.

The complete article is here: www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com/spearmint

I hope this information may be relevant and helpful to you. People who take Glucophage (metformin) tend to have higher homocysteine levels. In addition, women with PCOS also tend to have elevated homocysteine. Homocysteine is an amino acid in the blood. A normal amount is OK. But an elevated level means that your metabolic processes are not working properly.

Elevated homocysteine is associated with coronary artery disease, heart attack, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, cognitive impairment, and cervical cancer. Dr. Nancy Dunne thinks if you're taking metformin, you should also be taking a B-complex vitamin to counteract the homocysteine. She has written an article on metformin side effects.