As a woman who fought to keep her Uterus despite dramatic bleeding, I totally feel this post. It does feel counter-culture to even express a desire to keep a uterus in a society that is so accustomed to cutting them out. Nobody wants to talk about this stuff and yet, if we do not, we doom younger generations to play out the same absurdity. I did not want a hysterectomy pushed on me and I do not want a hysterectomy pushed on my daughter. It's 2024 for goodness sake, women deserve more options than what we currently have.
Amen to this, sister. I agree. And I have one friend who was bleeding so much and her doctor gave her exactly ZERO options besides surgery. She had the surgery. The recovery was so much harder -- and involved so many more days in bed -- than she had been led to believe. Ack.
Just what I need to read, as I believe Iβm entering perimenopause, with 15-20 days between each cycle. Iβm listening and paying attention to what my body needs. Going to bed for 5 days sounds like a challenge! But how counter culture! How amazing would that be to try that route???
Marta, before I got diagnosed with ocular melanoma, I would have thought 5 days of bedrest to be truly IMPOSSIBLE. I've changed. Now I love the idea and see how it can lead to deep and lasting healing. In general, I'm becoming more aware of how much I was rushing through my life. And how often people say (complaining), "I'm just so busy." Being busy all the time -- and feeling like we never have enough time -- might just be a ______ plot (fill in the blank with one of the following: Big Pharma, industry, fascist) to exploit us and harm our health and happiness...
I think thereβs something to the ββplot to keep people feeling urgent and overwhelmed all the time. Would love to read any more of your thoughts on that topic if they coalesce into some writings from you!
Hello Jennifer and readers. I'd like to add that I went through the same heavy bleeding, and for a long time. I had heard about ablation therapy, although it wasn't really well known where I was living. I finally found one gynecologist that was doing the treatment. During the procedure, she also found several fibroids that she removed. The effects were immediate! I never had breakthrough bleeding again, and I was able to keep my uterus! The recovery time was almost immediate--one day I think. I want to add that when I would have a time of heavy bleeding, a teaspoon or more of cayenne would slow it down. Advil worked too, but eventually I had a reaction to it.
Thank you so much for sharing this experience. I spoke to one woman (a mom of two) who had an ablation done and--years later--felt it was the wrong choice. I would like to follow up to find out why. It's good to know that you had such a GOOD experience with that intervention. Also fascinating about the cayenne. I have read that cayenne peppers are also a powerful part of an anti-cancer diet.
Thank you Jennifer, for all that you do! There does seem to be quite a lot of silence about this condition. It's probably a combination of influences: more men in the field, and also the old taboos about talking about "women's issues." I saw it myself in my family, as my mother was a generation older than the mums of most of my friends. I am glad that time is over!
I wish my SIL had taken this advice. She scoffed at my warnings and concerns, kept working overtime with a vengeance as if to prove everyone wrong, refused all naturopathic AND medical help, and wound up collapsing at work from severe anemia. Needed 3 transfusions and hysterectomy. She's ok - but it sure didn't have to be that traumatic.
I also resisted the pressure to have my female dog fixed - they usually remove everything - uterus and ovaries. The more humane thing would be to tie the tubes like for we do if you don't want to worry about the potential for puppies, but I've heard that can be an expensive operation for dogs. Removing their ovaries and uterus puts a dog into menopause. She has had her heat multiple times - she acts just a little different and you have to keep an eye on her around unfixed male dogs., but not a huge problem. And I suppose there is always a chance she may have puppies at some stage.... who knows!
Years ago I wrote an article about this. Now that I have a female service dog, I am facing this question from a less theoretical point of view. I do not want to get her "fixed" (as if there is something broken about being fertile) **and** I want to be as responsible as possible and do what's best for her... Thanks for sharing your experience. https://jennifermargulis.net/norwegians-believe-spaying-or-neutering-a-dog-is-cruel/
Glad it resonates. Please also share this post with others who you think could benefit from the information here. And I'd also love to know what topics you'd like to read more about, Michelle.
Yes! Omg. Melatonin has so much to do with it - I was never taught that it is a reproductive hormone in school or education, but it is talked about that way in the literature.
Thereβs a ton of research on this. I focus on the reproductive years in my pub, and essentially melatonin climbs through childhood and peaks at the start of puberty, which is partially controlled by the decrease in nocturnal melatonin release. Then, melatonin production tends to drop across the lifespan (exacerbated by un-circadian lifestyle choices) and when it falls below a certain point, reproductive potental is over and the negative symptoms start emerging. Correcting course can actually reduce symptoms and in some cases even restore fertility. Hereβs just one paper - unfortunately it leaves out a lot but at least itβs a starting point linking melatonin and menopause: Jehan, S., Jean-Louis, G., Zizi, F., Auguste, E., Pandi-Perumal, S. R., Gupta, R., Attarian, H., McFarlane, S. I., Hardeland, R., & Brzezinski, A. (2017). Sleep, Melatonin, and the Menopausal Transition: What Are the Links?. Sleep science (Sao Paulo, Brazil), 10(1), 11β18. https://doi.org/10.5935/1984-0063.20170003
What is the medical explanation for the flooding periods? I am 47 and have just started noticing this in the past year or so. This is the only symptom I have, and I only get it when I slack off on my diet that I changed to for regulating my hormones.
The cause is most often progesterone imbalance. Root cause or exacerbation can be thyroid, prolactin, cortisol, insulin resistance caused or exacerbated by stress, poor sleep, poor nutrition.
I've heard good things about wild yams. Can you please tell us more? Where did they get the yams? How much did they take? Did a doctor or midwife recommend this? Any links for readers wanting more information?
Midwives here in NZ have also recommended black cohosh. Susun S Weed recommends red clover. A rongoa (MΔori traditional medicine) teacher recommended Chaste Berry/Vitex (there's a NZ native species equivalent, but it's not always easy to find, hence the suggestion of Vitex instead). I've also seen DIM (Di-indolylmethan) recommended but haven't personally tried it yet.
Up until what I can only assume is perimenopause (since I can't get a straight diagnosis), I've personally found Vitex, Maca and Shitavari to be excellent adaptogens that help with menstrual issues. I definitely will give the Wild Yam a go though! <3
Would also like to know more. A very (pro HRT) meno group I am in seem to generally think wild yams are pointless since synthetic HRT are "bio-identical" or "made from yams anyway" so using yam is pointless when you can just use HRT.
I haven't even looked at the HRT route because it's generally contraindicated for folks with heart conditions (which I have) and asking in that group would be pointless - the inevitable, "I have a heart condition and take HRT just fine" or "My doctors said it was fine to take" and also because anyone who asks specifically for natural/holistic therapies always still get told to get HRT. π
(Never mind that I also have issues metabolising pharma drugs, which someone has also said when asking for alternatives to HRT but still got trounced by the HRT gang)
The devil is in the details. Some pharma hormones are ok. Others not. For some women compounded hormones work better. A big problem is poor education of providers.
Lots of people can benefit from rest. However, just because heavy perimenopausal bleeding is common does not mean it is normal. There is a good new discipline - RESTORATIVE REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE. Groups like FACTS and the IIRRM promote it, and FEMM and NAPROTECHNOLOGY have trainings for healthcare providers. Now lots of med students, docs, nurse practitioners are very eager to embrace this knowledge.
Mostly this is not taught to obgyns in residency programs, and this knowledge must be acquired later. But appropriate hormonal testing and balancing -and imaging - can help discern the cause of the heavy bleeding, and providers with appropriate training can help solve it.
As a woman who fought to keep her Uterus despite dramatic bleeding, I totally feel this post. It does feel counter-culture to even express a desire to keep a uterus in a society that is so accustomed to cutting them out. Nobody wants to talk about this stuff and yet, if we do not, we doom younger generations to play out the same absurdity. I did not want a hysterectomy pushed on me and I do not want a hysterectomy pushed on my daughter. It's 2024 for goodness sake, women deserve more options than what we currently have.
Amen to this, sister. I agree. And I have one friend who was bleeding so much and her doctor gave her exactly ZERO options besides surgery. She had the surgery. The recovery was so much harder -- and involved so many more days in bed -- than she had been led to believe. Ack.
OMG my favorite place... bed πππ
π
I love this Jennifer!! I love Gloria, too.
Me too. Gloria Lemay is such an amazing midwife, thinker, and person. Thanks for the love. xoxo
Just what I need to read, as I believe Iβm entering perimenopause, with 15-20 days between each cycle. Iβm listening and paying attention to what my body needs. Going to bed for 5 days sounds like a challenge! But how counter culture! How amazing would that be to try that route???
Marta, before I got diagnosed with ocular melanoma, I would have thought 5 days of bedrest to be truly IMPOSSIBLE. I've changed. Now I love the idea and see how it can lead to deep and lasting healing. In general, I'm becoming more aware of how much I was rushing through my life. And how often people say (complaining), "I'm just so busy." Being busy all the time -- and feeling like we never have enough time -- might just be a ______ plot (fill in the blank with one of the following: Big Pharma, industry, fascist) to exploit us and harm our health and happiness...
I think thereβs something to the ββplot to keep people feeling urgent and overwhelmed all the time. Would love to read any more of your thoughts on that topic if they coalesce into some writings from you!
Hello Jennifer and readers. I'd like to add that I went through the same heavy bleeding, and for a long time. I had heard about ablation therapy, although it wasn't really well known where I was living. I finally found one gynecologist that was doing the treatment. During the procedure, she also found several fibroids that she removed. The effects were immediate! I never had breakthrough bleeding again, and I was able to keep my uterus! The recovery time was almost immediate--one day I think. I want to add that when I would have a time of heavy bleeding, a teaspoon or more of cayenne would slow it down. Advil worked too, but eventually I had a reaction to it.
Thank you so much for sharing this experience. I spoke to one woman (a mom of two) who had an ablation done and--years later--felt it was the wrong choice. I would like to follow up to find out why. It's good to know that you had such a GOOD experience with that intervention. Also fascinating about the cayenne. I have read that cayenne peppers are also a powerful part of an anti-cancer diet.
Thank you Jennifer, for all that you do! There does seem to be quite a lot of silence about this condition. It's probably a combination of influences: more men in the field, and also the old taboos about talking about "women's issues." I saw it myself in my family, as my mother was a generation older than the mums of most of my friends. I am glad that time is over!
I wish my SIL had taken this advice. She scoffed at my warnings and concerns, kept working overtime with a vengeance as if to prove everyone wrong, refused all naturopathic AND medical help, and wound up collapsing at work from severe anemia. Needed 3 transfusions and hysterectomy. She's ok - but it sure didn't have to be that traumatic.
That sounds very hard. Poor woman.
ππ«Άπ
I also resisted the pressure to have my female dog fixed - they usually remove everything - uterus and ovaries. The more humane thing would be to tie the tubes like for we do if you don't want to worry about the potential for puppies, but I've heard that can be an expensive operation for dogs. Removing their ovaries and uterus puts a dog into menopause. She has had her heat multiple times - she acts just a little different and you have to keep an eye on her around unfixed male dogs., but not a huge problem. And I suppose there is always a chance she may have puppies at some stage.... who knows!
Years ago I wrote an article about this. Now that I have a female service dog, I am facing this question from a less theoretical point of view. I do not want to get her "fixed" (as if there is something broken about being fertile) **and** I want to be as responsible as possible and do what's best for her... Thanks for sharing your experience. https://jennifermargulis.net/norwegians-believe-spaying-or-neutering-a-dog-is-cruel/
Thank you for posting this! Very timely information for me!
Glad it resonates. Please also share this post with others who you think could benefit from the information here. And I'd also love to know what topics you'd like to read more about, Michelle.
Thank you, Jennifer, for a very beautiful and important post! I love it! And you! So much!
And huge thanks to Gloria for writing it :)
Yes! Omg. Melatonin has so much to do with it - I was never taught that it is a reproductive hormone in school or education, but it is talked about that way in the literature.
Can you elaborate more on the melatonin angle? What literature are you referencing? Thanks in advance for sharing π
Thereβs a ton of research on this. I focus on the reproductive years in my pub, and essentially melatonin climbs through childhood and peaks at the start of puberty, which is partially controlled by the decrease in nocturnal melatonin release. Then, melatonin production tends to drop across the lifespan (exacerbated by un-circadian lifestyle choices) and when it falls below a certain point, reproductive potental is over and the negative symptoms start emerging. Correcting course can actually reduce symptoms and in some cases even restore fertility. Hereβs just one paper - unfortunately it leaves out a lot but at least itβs a starting point linking melatonin and menopause: Jehan, S., Jean-Louis, G., Zizi, F., Auguste, E., Pandi-Perumal, S. R., Gupta, R., Attarian, H., McFarlane, S. I., Hardeland, R., & Brzezinski, A. (2017). Sleep, Melatonin, and the Menopausal Transition: What Are the Links?. Sleep science (Sao Paulo, Brazil), 10(1), 11β18. https://doi.org/10.5935/1984-0063.20170003
What is the medical explanation for the flooding periods? I am 47 and have just started noticing this in the past year or so. This is the only symptom I have, and I only get it when I slack off on my diet that I changed to for regulating my hormones.
The cause is most often progesterone imbalance. Root cause or exacerbation can be thyroid, prolactin, cortisol, insulin resistance caused or exacerbated by stress, poor sleep, poor nutrition.
And yes, sometimes there are herbal solutions.
Wild yams stopped pm bleeding and pcos bleeding for two separate women i know!
I've heard good things about wild yams. Can you please tell us more? Where did they get the yams? How much did they take? Did a doctor or midwife recommend this? Any links for readers wanting more information?
My mom worked for years as a midwife with the Amish. She was hemorrhaging during menopause and the midwives that she worked with recommended it. She stopped bleeding within a few hours. My stepdaughter has PCOS and my mom recommended wild yams and don quay. After bleeding for 6 months, a week severely, she stopped all together within a few hours. Not sure brand mom used but I found this brand at local health food store and it worked great. Daugher took according to directions on bottle. We would have done actual wild yams but I couldn't find them anywhere! https://www.vitaminshoppe.com/p/nature-way-wild-yam-root-425-mg-100-capsules/nw-2177&sourceType=sc&source=SHOP&acqsource=adlucent&store=494?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA-62tBhDSARIsAO7twbYAIWDrT10ykCVI8CAsq6PbQywq0342Def4huQPUPS4vGfkeFMhwP4aAlovEALw_wcB
Midwives here in NZ have also recommended black cohosh. Susun S Weed recommends red clover. A rongoa (MΔori traditional medicine) teacher recommended Chaste Berry/Vitex (there's a NZ native species equivalent, but it's not always easy to find, hence the suggestion of Vitex instead). I've also seen DIM (Di-indolylmethan) recommended but haven't personally tried it yet.
Up until what I can only assume is perimenopause (since I can't get a straight diagnosis), I've personally found Vitex, Maca and Shitavari to be excellent adaptogens that help with menstrual issues. I definitely will give the Wild Yam a go though! <3
Would also like to know more. A very (pro HRT) meno group I am in seem to generally think wild yams are pointless since synthetic HRT are "bio-identical" or "made from yams anyway" so using yam is pointless when you can just use HRT.
I haven't even looked at the HRT route because it's generally contraindicated for folks with heart conditions (which I have) and asking in that group would be pointless - the inevitable, "I have a heart condition and take HRT just fine" or "My doctors said it was fine to take" and also because anyone who asks specifically for natural/holistic therapies always still get told to get HRT. π
(Never mind that I also have issues metabolising pharma drugs, which someone has also said when asking for alternatives to HRT but still got trounced by the HRT gang)
The devil is in the details. Some pharma hormones are ok. Others not. For some women compounded hormones work better. A big problem is poor education of providers.
Shepherd's purse works really well to slow the heavy flow to a more manageable level too.
Lots of people can benefit from rest. However, just because heavy perimenopausal bleeding is common does not mean it is normal. There is a good new discipline - RESTORATIVE REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE. Groups like FACTS and the IIRRM promote it, and FEMM and NAPROTECHNOLOGY have trainings for healthcare providers. Now lots of med students, docs, nurse practitioners are very eager to embrace this knowledge.
Mostly this is not taught to obgyns in residency programs, and this knowledge must be acquired later. But appropriate hormonal testing and balancing -and imaging - can help discern the cause of the heavy bleeding, and providers with appropriate training can help solve it.