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Childers empowers women who have Syndrome O
By Rose Hooper
It took a long time for Lesa Childers to discover what was happening to her body ... inability to conceive, irregular menstruation, unwanted hair growth, difficulty losing weight, high blood pressure, insulin resistance and depression.
When she was finally diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or Syndrome O, she learned what was happening and how to control it.
But she didn’t stop there. Her life became a mission to help other women with the same condition take charge of their lives.
Once victim to an illness she didn’t understand, Lesa Childers of Whittier is now in control of her Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Her life has became a mission to help other women with the same condition take charge of their lives. Childers has experienced so much success in this role that she’s now president of her own company, PCOStrategies, and is featured in Dr. Ronald Feinberg’s new book Healing Syndrome O: A Strategic Guide to Fertility, Polycystic Ovaries and Insulin Imbalance. – Herald photo by Rose Hooper
Childers has experienced so much success in this role that she’s now president of her own company, PCOStrategies, and is featured in Dr. Ronald Feinberg’s new book Healing Syndrome O: A Strategic Guide to Fertility, Polycystic Ovaries and Insulin Imbalance.
“What I’ve found is that women who have PCO don’t have a lot of information available to them, and they are hungry for information. I created PCOStrategies to fill that gap,” said Childers, who serves as their personal coach.
Childers can explain to them, in layman’s terms, how PCO is due to an underlying metabolic problem known as insulin resistance. When the body’s muscles and fat tissues become resistant to insulin action, the pancreas produces increased amounts of insulin, leading to high insulin levels.
“Because the high insulin levels tend to produce food cravings, particularly in the form of carbohydrates, the woman often finds herself in a state of overnourishment,” said Childers. “These high insulin levels also drive the ovary to produce high amounts of male hormones. This unhealthy environment in the ovary causes follicles to literally die before they release mature eggs.”
Childers, once miserable in her own body, referred to the condition as a “vicious cycle of overnourishment, ovarian confusion and ovulation disruption.”
“There’s a lot of misinformation and incomplete facts,” said Childers, who has designed programming to address the effects of metabolism and nutrition on the female reproductive system.
“I think many women don’t realize how their symptoms are related, or how serious the syndrome is.
In her work with women who have Syndrome O, Childers helps them enhance fertility and healthier pregnancies by implementing life-style habits that lower insulin levels.
“It took me three years to get my own body back in its natural rhythm,” said Childers, who developed an optimal nutrition and exercise program.
It takes dedication to maintain a new lifestyle, she said, stressing, “I had to keep in mind that the condition didn’t just happen overnight.
“But now I’m a healthier person and I’ve experienced miraculous improvements in both my physical and mental well being.” she said. “And, really, the strategies I’ve developed work for anybody who just wants to be healthy.”
Now at age 35, shuttling her three children around in a minivan, Childers could be mistaken for any normal soccer mom.
“My syndrome is here to stay; I know that, but I don’t look at it as a disability now that I know I can control it; I refuse to be a victim,” she said. “And I refuse to not do anything and let other women be victims.
“I want my life to count for something in this world. Helping other women with Syndrome O is my mission,” she said.
“Not only has Lesa become self-educated and self-empowered with her own personal challenges with PCOS, she also took a major leap to raise awareness in her community and across the nation,” said Dr. Feinberg, a Delaware reproductive endocrinologist.
“Lesa started a non-profit organization (PCOStrategies) last year, as well as attaining her master’s degree in social work. Her story is so uplifting, I felt it needed to be highlighted in my new book,” he said.
Dr. Feinberg notes how Childers devotes many hours to the Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Association through group leadership, establishing new chapters and traveling all over the United States as an invited speaker at conferences.
“Lesa empowers women to be proactive, rather than reactive,” said Dr. Feinberg. “Her own personal story should provide inspiration and hope for many other women.”
As Childers helps other women prepare their own individual strategic plans, she tells them, “We must not forget we are setting examples for our children. If they see us eating right and exercising, chances are they will value that behavior also.
“Strap that baby into a Snugli and head off for that walk. Get outside and play with your children; run, jump and turn flips. Invite older children to join you in exercise sessions. Make them a part of the plan.”
Childers also demonstrates how taking control of one’s health bleeds over into other aspects, such as taking control of careers, finances and relationships.
“I often find in my coaching sessions that women with Syndrome O have many aspects of their lives spinning out of control – career, school, finances and relationships – which affect their overall health. Having a plan to manage these life challenges is an important aspect of each persons’s individual strategies,” she said.
Healing Syndrome O: A Strategic Guide to Fertility, Polycystic Ovaries and Insulin Imbalance is available at City Lights Bookstore.
For additional information, visit Childers’ Web site at pcostrategies.org.
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