This dude is such an example of misogyny in the world of “alternative medicine.”
The main cause of primary dysmenorrhea (“regular” painful periods) is prostaglandins. Denying this means you want to hide something from women and girls, or are just too uneducated to know.
There are of course other causes of painful periods, such as endometriosis and adenomyosis, and these are referred to as secondary dysmenorrhea.
There are evidence based treatments, and when someone asks for therapies that aren’t pills, the first thing to do is to explain that NSAIDs can be highly effective for primary dysmenorrhea. The person asking the question might not know! An ethical person would explain that the vitamins and herbal remedies are poorly tested compared to medications and may not contain what they claim. In addition, hormonal contraception of all kinds can be very effective for primary dysmenorrhea.
The best evidence for non medication alternatives for painful periods seems to be a TENS unit. I have a whole chapter on alternative approaches for painful periods in my book Blood. It isn’t wrong to choose these methods, it is wrong for anyone to misinform about them.
When you present options that are unstudied or understudied it is important people know that so they truly have informed choice.
And don’t tell a teen or woman that her painful periods are due to stress. Just don’t. It wasn’t stress that kept me home from school one day each cycle, it was my effing prostaglandins. Then again, maybe chiropractors and naturopaths don’t actually learn about prostaglandins in school, which wouldn’t surprise me.
Canada, this is not a drill. The Conservatives want to restrict abortion. Abortion rights are on your next ballot!!!!!
I believe I have found the ultimate breakfast on the go. I am amazed at how filling and tasty this is and it’s got a lot of calcium and vitamin D. And no clean up 😂
Picture me driving around in a 1970s era Pontiac Firebird (I love old muscle cars) shouting this from my megaphone.
If you want more information, I have several articles about testing on The Vajenda, including the DUTCH test and the equally worthless Clear Blue home test.
Feeling cute. This is a @dvf that I got from her Target collaboration. It was on sale. I think it was $35, but I was at Target so ended up buying many things I had forgotten I needed, as is the custom, so my recollection could be off. 😂
My hair is frizz free. Why, you ask, did my hair turn out? I have those same questions. Every day is a new day where n= 1.
My seasonal allergies are through the roof. I decided if you can’t beat ‘em (although my loratadine is doing its best), why not join them? And so I brought out a floral top and shoes.
Shirt and pants are @express
Shoes are @ronwhiteshoes (keeping with my love of Canadian shoes!). They are “all day heels” and they are really very comfortable.
I have taken a break from my curly routine as the amount of effort I was putting into it was disproportionate to the returns. Gonna have to rethink my strategy.
My seasonal allergies are through the roof. I decided if you can’t beat ‘em (although my loratadine is doing its best), why not join them? And so I brought out a floral top and shoes.
Shirt and pants are @express
Shoes are @ronwhiteshoes (keeping with my love of Canadian shoes!). They are “all day heels” and they are really very comfortable.
I have taken a break from my curly routine as the amount of effort I was putting into it was disproportionate to the returns. Gonna have to rethink my strategy.
My seasonal allergies are through the roof. I decided if you can’t beat ‘em (although my loratadine is doing its best), why not join them? And so I brought out a floral top and shoes.
Shirt and pants are @express
Shoes are @ronwhiteshoes (keeping with my love of Canadian shoes!). They are “all day heels” and they are really very comfortable.
I have taken a break from my curly routine as the amount of effort I was putting into it was disproportionate to the returns. Gonna have to rethink my strategy.
I had such a great time chatting with @melrobbins on her podcast! The episode is out now. We spoke about all things menopause. Such as the range of experiences, the therapies available, the important foundations for health, why compounded hormones are not recommended, and why it’s really important not to use menopause to excuse mediocre men! I hope you check it out.
I had such a great time chatting with @melrobbins on her podcast! The episode is out now. We spoke about all things menopause. Such as the range of experiences, the therapies available, the important foundations for health, why compounded hormones are not recommended, and why it’s really important not to use menopause to excuse mediocre men! I hope you check it out.
I love analogies and use them often in the office. They are a good way to distill the essence of a complicated physiologic process. During my recent appearance on the @themelrobbinspodcast, we delved into menopause. I introduced the analogy of puberty in reverse to help explain this complex phase of life.
Interestingly, this upset some people. Apparently, explaining that menopause was like puberty in reverse in a 45-second clip of a much longer conversation was somehow…a false equivalency, hurtful, promoting a “horrible narrative,” and setting back women’s care as well as denying women hormone therapy. An analogy is an analogy; it’s not meant to encompass the totality of every woman’s experiences or be an actual medical definition. Of course, there are clear biological differences between puberty and the onset of menstruation and the menopause transition and menopause, but these two physiologic processes also have some mirror-image resemblances. As everyone has gone through (or will go through) puberty, but only half the population will have menopause, finding a common experience can be a valuable way to introduce a complex physiologic process.
I decided this was a great opportunity to delve into some of the similarities and differences between puberty and menopause, so I wrote about it for The Vajenda.
It is important that we hold space for all experiences. If your menopause is worse than your menstrual years it doesn’t mean that is true for someone else. And of course the reverse is true. Some people suffer catastrophically because it was puberty that brought their PMDD. And of course some people suffer catastrophically in menopause. Neither negates the other. And dismissing how puberty and the menstrual cycle can negatively affect many women doesn’t in anyway advance menopause care, in fact, I’d argue it does the opposite. Any dismissal of symptoms is unacceptable.
We can hold space for the entire spectrum of experiences and advocate for research and evidence based care for all.
My high protein breakfast on the go…
Like many people I struggle to get enough protein. And also like many people, sometimes I don’t have time to prep the meals that I want, especially breakfast. I was going to make overnight oats, but I fell asleep (…but I fell asleep can be added to many of my plans 😂)
This combination of a @barebells.usa protein bar and a skyr (Icelandic yoghurt) is a real winner for fast and filling. Together it is 35 g of protein! Also has 25% of my calcium, so not bad.
I take these protein bars when I travel, because hotel breakfasts tend to be the worst for price! It’s often $30 for sad coffee, eggs, and toast. It is usually easy to find a skyr or yoghurt and a cappuccino of course (which is joy with a side of calcium and a little protein), and so with my protein bar I’m good to go!
Not an ad, just sharing the love for my favorite protein bar.
My high protein breakfast on the go…
Like many people I struggle to get enough protein. And also like many people, sometimes I don’t have time to prep the meals that I want, especially breakfast. I was going to make overnight oats, but I fell asleep (…but I fell asleep can be added to many of my plans 😂)
This combination of a @barebells.usa protein bar and a skyr (Icelandic yoghurt) is a real winner for fast and filling. Together it is 35 g of protein! Also has 25% of my calcium, so not bad.
I take these protein bars when I travel, because hotel breakfasts tend to be the worst for price! It’s often $30 for sad coffee, eggs, and toast. It is usually easy to find a skyr or yoghurt and a cappuccino of course (which is joy with a side of calcium and a little protein), and so with my protein bar I’m good to go!
Not an ad, just sharing the love for my favorite protein bar.
Bought some tulips to brighten up the place…and apparently they are toxic to cats. Why do cats only ever want to eat the toxic plants???? This seems like an evolutionary flaw!!!! Maybe it’s just my cat.
Sigh.
Now I am enjoying them through the window! 😂😂😂😂😂
I get a lot of questions via DM, and it is rare for me to get one related to the menstrual cycle that isn’t found in my book, Blood.
I address fertility awareness methods in detail so people can make educated choices about what works for them. There are different methods and they shouldn’t all be lumped in together. I believe in contraceptive choice, and for some people these are very good choices. For other people, they are not.
I also have another chapter that discusses the dark side of apps that are used for menstrual tracking. There can be real privacy concerns with these apps as well as some of the apps for fertility awareness methods. Did you know in one study when a woman’s period came at a different time than the menstrual tracking app predicted, that she blamed herself (as in my period is wonky this month), but in reality the app was incorrect.
If you want to know more, please check out Blood!
I get a lot of questions via DM, and it is rare for me to get one related to the menstrual cycle that isn’t found in my book, Blood.
I address fertility awareness methods in detail so people can make educated choices about what works for them. There are different methods and they shouldn’t all be lumped in together. I believe in contraceptive choice, and for some people these are very good choices. For other people, they are not.
I also have another chapter that discusses the dark side of apps that are used for menstrual tracking. There can be real privacy concerns with these apps as well as some of the apps for fertility awareness methods. Did you know in one study when a woman’s period came at a different time than the menstrual tracking app predicted, that she blamed herself (as in my period is wonky this month), but in reality the app was incorrect.
If you want to know more, please check out Blood!
I get a lot of questions via DM, and it is rare for me to get one related to the menstrual cycle that isn’t found in my book, Blood.
I address fertility awareness methods in detail so people can make educated choices about what works for them. There are different methods and they shouldn’t all be lumped in together. I believe in contraceptive choice, and for some people these are very good choices. For other people, they are not.
I also have another chapter that discusses the dark side of apps that are used for menstrual tracking. There can be real privacy concerns with these apps as well as some of the apps for fertility awareness methods. Did you know in one study when a woman’s period came at a different time than the menstrual tracking app predicted, that she blamed herself (as in my period is wonky this month), but in reality the app was incorrect.
If you want to know more, please check out Blood!
I get a lot of questions via DM, and it is rare for me to get one related to the menstrual cycle that isn’t found in my book, Blood.
I address fertility awareness methods in detail so people can make educated choices about what works for them. There are different methods and they shouldn’t all be lumped in together. I believe in contraceptive choice, and for some people these are very good choices. For other people, they are not.
I also have another chapter that discusses the dark side of apps that are used for menstrual tracking. There can be real privacy concerns with these apps as well as some of the apps for fertility awareness methods. Did you know in one study when a woman’s period came at a different time than the menstrual tracking app predicted, that she blamed herself (as in my period is wonky this month), but in reality the app was incorrect.
If you want to know more, please check out Blood!
I get a lot of questions via DM, and it is rare for me to get one related to the menstrual cycle that isn’t found in my book, Blood.
I address fertility awareness methods in detail so people can make educated choices about what works for them. There are different methods and they shouldn’t all be lumped in together. I believe in contraceptive choice, and for some people these are very good choices. For other people, they are not.
I also have another chapter that discusses the dark side of apps that are used for menstrual tracking. There can be real privacy concerns with these apps as well as some of the apps for fertility awareness methods. Did you know in one study when a woman’s period came at a different time than the menstrual tracking app predicted, that she blamed herself (as in my period is wonky this month), but in reality the app was incorrect.
If you want to know more, please check out Blood!
As promised I took a deep dive into that recent review about the WHI.
Never has a study been so misunderstood and mischaracterized.
While it is true we no longer primarily use the hormones in this study, it has taught us a lot. And it is a big study that looms large, so knowing more about it is useful.
One key thing to know is the findings were never meant to stop people from taking hormones for symptoms. It was a disease prevention study and it was stopped early because the hormones did not prevent disease, and in fact were incurring a small risk. A medication for disease prevention can’t have a net negative.
The review reinforces that the WHI does not support the MHT regimens used in that study for disease prevention. It is not meant to stop people from taking hormones if those hormones are helping to treat symptoms.
This review helps to explain the risks of the regimens studied, so people can put them in context and better understand the WHI. The WHI findings regarding breast cancer have not been “walked back,” and we still believe that combination MHT has a risk of breast cancer. But many medications have risks, and so people need to weigh the benefits against those risks.
We know more things about MHT now, for example that blood clot risks seem lower with transdermal therapy. So for many people, risks are even less than found with the WHI. And of course in the WHI many risks were lower in those ages 50-59.
Since there is so much information and misinformation about the WHI it is really hard to go into detail here, so I encourage you to read the piece on The Vajenda (link in bio). I spent a long time on the piece, going back and reading the initial studies and some of the key updates to bring some clarity. Hope it helps explain some things.
I will be doing an Instagram Live on Wednesday at 8 pm Eastern/5 pm Pacific with the always amazing @karentangmd
She is a funny, factual, evidence-based OB/GYN and has a new book coming out this week called “It’s Not Hysteria.” It is a wonderful guide to so many things GYN, and is written in such an approachable, comforting, and easy-to absorb style.
We’ll be chatting about all things GYN, social media and whatever else you want! Leave me some questions here and if you can’t watch live, don’t worry, I will save it so you can catch it later!
Hope to see you then!!!
Wonderful chat with @karentangmd about her new book, It’s Not Hysteria. She is such a great force for good! This is a great book, and I highly recommend it.
I do love seeing foreign editions of my books! Here is the Simplified Chinese edition of The Vagina Bible, with and without the dust jacket. It is so pretty!
I do love seeing foreign editions of my books! Here is the Simplified Chinese edition of The Vagina Bible, with and without the dust jacket. It is so pretty!