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Start a PCOS Support Group

One of the first things women, girls and families dealing with PCOS look for after receiving a diagnosis is support. Online message boards and chats are a great way to get information and share but, being able to connect on a personal and local level adds a whole new dynamic of support and understanding.

Finding a place

The first step in planning a support meeting is finding a location to host your meeting. Ask your PCOS treating physician if they would be interested in hosting these meetings in their office.

Also, hospitals, libraries and civic halls will often allow you to use space for free by submitting a request.

Finding Others

There are a number of ways to gather names of those interested in attending a meeting or participating in a support group

• Talk to your PCOS treating physician and/or professional. Tell them you plan to start a support group and would like to connect with their patients who may be looking for peer support.
• Start a PCOS meetup group. There are currently a few support groups who list their meetings on the meet-up boards. You may go online to http://www.meetup.com to start your group.
• There are numerous message boards, websites and organizations that promote PCOS Support, women’s health and general health information. Visit the website and list your meeting or contact the site administrator to ask if they can send out a special message regarding your upcoming meeting.
• Send out a press release – Most newspapers will list your event for free. Additionally if you send out a press release, you may get media coverage for PCOS and your group. PR web offers a free service. http://www.prweb.com

Announcing your meetings and events

Explain you are a new coordinator putting together a PCOS Support group for your area and ask people to respond if they would like to get-together and meet some time. Place the names and e-mail addresses of respondents in a group e-mail list. Post on Yahoo PCOS Groups, Soul Cysters, PCOSA and other related message boards

Tip for posting an announcement are as follows:

Include a write up that tells who, what, where, when, why, and how. Also provide a contact name, email and / or phone number so interested people may contact you.

Meeting information should be submitted no later that 14 days before the meeting Fourteen days allows more than ample time to get the information so interested users can find out when your meetings are. If you don't know what the topic is yet, just say “Topic is to be announced”; "for more information contact:"

At your first meeting

1. The most important thing to do at your meeting is enjoy each others company.
2. Talk about local resources, share stories about treatments, express concerns. Some groups most fruitful ideas have come out of periodic gripe sessions!!!
3. Make some plans for the future - they can be as vague or specific as the group wants them to be. How often do you want to hold meetings? What do you all see your group doing?
4. Don't worry if only a few show up at first - many groups have only 4-6 people and they have wonderful meetings (don't forget to post to the newspaper and you will get many more).
5. Many groups find that coffee and tea are sufficient. Others prefer to provide a small tray of low-carb snacks such as fresh fruits and vegetables or deli meats and cheeses. If you decide to provide snacks, consider rotating snack duty among members of the group.
6. If you have a guest speaker, make sure you have the materials necessary for them to make their presentation. Many speakers do not use Audio visual aids, however, be sure to ask ahead of time. If your speaker does require av equipment, check with the facility in which you are holding the meeting. Many hospitals and libraries are able to provide you with this equipment, free of charge.