Women’s health solutions
Four natural ways to help regulate ovulation
Ovulation is a sign of health. The regular monthly release of an egg is a sign that your hormones are at optimal levels and, for the most part, balanced. Not ovulating–though you still might menstruate–often means that something is awry. Most commonly that “something” is stress, but don’t ignore signs of anovulation just because “it’s […]
Charting and natural remedies for Mittelschmerz
Mittelschmerz is German for “middle pain”: it’s a telltale sign that your body is in ovulation mode. It happens in twenty percent of women and is literally pain that results from a mature follicle pressing against the wall of one of your ovaries, trying to break through and release an egg. Ovulation is not an […]
Are your migraines caused by a hormonal imbalance? What to do.
Jessica’s* migraine always came at very inconvenient times- right before a busy day of dentist appointments for her children, during date night with her husband, or in the middle of a trip to the park (Is there EVER a convenient time to get a migraine?). For many years, they prevented her from being really present […]
How antidepressants affect women’s fertility
One in every ten adults in America report taking a prescription drug for problems with emotions, nerves or mental health, the highest rate of use in the western world. While well-intentioned doctors prescribe these medications to help patients, little attention is paid to the impact these drugs have on a woman’s fertility and overall health. […]
Is the Pill wrecking your gut?
Antibiotics get a lot of attention as a disruptor of the diverse ecosystem of bacteria, yeast and other microorganisms that serve incredibly important functions in our bodies, aka our very important but rather delicate gut microbiome. Recent studies have found that even “short courses of antibiotics can leave normal gut bacteria harbouring antibiotic resistance genes […]
Spotting between your periods could be a sign of endometriosis
Spotting between periods might not seem like too bothersome of a problem to have in and of itself. But a certain kind of spotting can be a sign of a very serious disease: endometriosis. What happens when you complain about spotting to your doctor? If you are dismissed, you may need to look further. Yes, a lot […]
What fertility charting tells us about thyroid problems
Are you tired all the time? Feeling foggy in the brain and slow to “get up and go”? Despite the extra layers you may be wearing, do you feel cold, or tend to be sensitive to the cold? I know, it’s January, everyone is cold and little sluggish. But if these feelings linger, it may be […]
PMDD: are women’s periods making them mentally ill?
My day job is managing the marketing for a children’s psychiatric hospital; I take mental illness seriously. Depression, for example, is not a fleeting feeling of sadness, it’s a dark hole that can take every bit of someone’s ability and will to live normally. The last version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the DSM-5, lists […]
Green medicine for heavy periods
Menstruation is the only time in nature where it is considered healthy and natural to bleed. However, for over 10 percent of menstruating women that bleeding goes beyond a healthy sloughing of the uterine lining into the land of constant red for days on end leading to anemia-driven fatigue and other health issues. Menorrhagia, aka […]
How I got help with endometriosis without the Pill
I took the Pill on and off for years to relieve my debilitation symptoms of endometriosis. When I was on it for the last time, awaiting surgery for my endometriosis, which had caused infertility, the Pill caused me more pain than endometriosis ever had, almost killing me with blood clots in both lungs, as I […]