Congrats, Dr. Jen! I recently wrote a piece about how angry it made me that our school district banned letting teens bring ibuprofen to school (and now have to go to the school nurse and make sure they keeps a supply for you 🙄) because, hello, taking care of your pain (and treating your period poops) should be empowering, not humiliating. What’s worse than bleed-through and period poops? Having to tell your teacher and school nurse about them.
On the subject of breaking the taboo on speaking about menstruation, I offer my piece "The Triumph of the Tampons," celebrating women's narrowing the wage gap since 1960 and how products like tampons and Advil played an important part. If this is inappropriate to share in this forum, please delete this comment, but I thought it aligned with your mission of reducing the silence around menstruation. I also started donating to a local health care system my daughter just started at, opening their sexual health clinic (it's a system that started as a gay men's health clinic in 1978 and now serves all kinds of underserved populations), to support their giving out free period supplies to their patients. THANK YOU, Dr. Gunter! https://medium.com/@lindafalcao/what-do-tampons-have-to-do-with-the-2022-midterms-81d4b3d82f66?sk=7bd9ec59d1d5614110255ec98db29d01
Aloha Doc! Simply Wow…once again, you’ve accomplished yet another way for me to praise your existence & how you campaign in championing against misinformation to translate the Eros from the patriarchal paradigm that has done such a massive disservice to humanity. I no longer bleed, and felt that since my menstruating days are a thing of yesteryear for me, that Blood would no longer be applicable for me. Knowing very well that my adult daughters, one whom shall enter the ranks of motherhood in less than 2wks, would only prove to add to their eye rolling moments sponsored by their mutual collective… me. I can see in the excerpt you shared, that this book is going to be loaded with sage information to abort the patriarchal underpinnings of the so-called “knowledge” that has been handed down as some sort of familial heirloom, which has only served to perpetuate the original problem. Born a bit over 5 decades ago, I personally can not thank you enough for your mission to crusade against our colonialized mindset that tarnished our immediate matriarchal communities and the doctors who have & continue to force us to come armed with published RCTs while demanding on being given access to proven medical interventions that relieve our suffering. Sadly we shouldn’t have to equip ourselves with armament just to gain fair, proven treatment.
Dr. Gunter, I love your work and your words speak to me! I feel like I know you...lol. Would love your tour to come to Newfoundland over summer....any chance? Or if you fancy a trip to Egypt, I live there during the school year. Come and I'll show you around. :)
Yay, Dr Gunter! As a fellow OB/GYN, your work has been inspiring and enlightening to me. Thank you! I look forward to listening to your narrated version of Blood!
Well now I know that throughout my 20's I also suffered with bowel issues during every single period. Weighed down with extra thick pads in an over sized purse every 21 days and suffered in bed for at least 2 days each month with horrible cramps and migranes as well. The bowel issues I think follow us into menopause and post menopause. You mention advocating for ourselves which is so difficult when so many family doctors and some gynecologists are not well versed in menopause issues and how they impact the quality of life for (I think) a significant percentage of women. In my day it was a curse each month, and it literally was. I could not wait until I was pregnant and did not have to endure that monthly ordeal. You mentioned how menstrual products have changed. Back in the day my mother ripped up old flannel sheets as a young women then for my generation it was a belt and pad no tampons (that was taboo, only bad girls used those). Since we were not permited to wear pants to school and needed to wear stockings there was also the added pleasure of wearing a garter belt with a belt for a pad as well. Think about what clothes we had to wear to hide the layers closer to our skin.
I think the WHI impacted women negatively, fear plus information that centered on breast cancer not what the study set out to do.
Do you remember going to buy products too, a brown bag at the counter and the boxes were so large they barely fit. The ide belts and the clasps front and back to hold the pads into position (they never really did). Mortified if a guy was behind the counter. Going to high school the dispensers had paper thin pads (no tampons ever) with the dark blue line on the bottom of them. Gym class uniforms that looked like a sack and showed everything! We all thought everyone knew when we asked to go to the washroom with our purses in hand that they knew why we were going there (other then to relieve ourselves). Health classes were girls only and the teacher seemed most times uncomfortable but not once talked about periods just hygiene.
Yep. I’ll add the frequent humiliating “leaks”, and the conundrum of swimming on exam day for your Bronze Cross and the curse comes on. Wear a half-pad in your bathing suit and pray, or explain to the young male instructor why you need to be excused from the exam and reschedule. Remember trying your first tampon? We were so ignorant then, we didn’t even know there was a hole! That’s what it was called, a hole.
I never tried tampons there was not way my Mom would allow that. I used pads until I had my hysterectomy at 46 and used literally boxes each month for years. That cost was gone at 46!! But the belts were elastic and in the summer it was horrible, no swimming sat out all the time. Yes to doing my swimming, I did tower diving that was totally out for at least a week. The bloating too like we had gained 15 pounds every month. Do you remember the safety pins that came int he boxes of pads at school to hold them onto underwear when we were not prepared OUCH!
If the 92nd St. Y does record this, make sure the engineers jack up the volume. I follow another Substacker who was there & gave his readers the link -- it was too soft (even when I turned up the volume) to spend an hr trying to listen to it.
Congratulations! I took my 13-year old daughter to one of your book events in the Bay Area and we both really appreciated it! Reading about the hormonal cycles now in Blood (having already devoured the Menopause Manifesto). I'm wondering if you know of any wearable devices or tracking apps that can help someone who is peri-menopausal, post-hysterectomy track cycles to support my better understanding of how my hot flushes and mental health symptoms (depression, anxiety, dysphoria, etc) relate to hormonal changes? I can't take HRT (ER+ breast cancer survivor). I take gabapentin for hot flush management in sleep (works well enough), and am considering an SSRI to support my mental health but would also like to just understand if its just around what would be my period days when things feel really bad or what. I tried the Oura Ring, as they have an integration for cycle tracking by measuring temperature, but it turns out I need to input period data so it won't work. I know you said Clear Blue was a waste of money, but I'm wondering if there are other strategies you'd recommend. Thanks!
I think your best bet is a calendar. Just record the days that you feel worse, and if there is a cyclic rhythm to them, then they may be related to a cycle. If you had chemo therapy, then it's far less likely that you are having a cycle. Oura Ring won't help anyway because the temperature doesn't go up with a hot flash; it just feels like it does.
Hi Dr. Gunter, very much enjoyed seeing you in person in Oakville on Feb 6th. Thanks so much for another excellent source of truth. My daughter has learned more about PCOS from your chapter in Blood than all the other books she has read. She has a science background and is looking for more in depth articles or books on the scientific mechanisms that cause PCOS. Do you have any recommendations? Thanks so much for sharing your expertise and passion with the world❣️
Congrats, Dr. Jen! I recently wrote a piece about how angry it made me that our school district banned letting teens bring ibuprofen to school (and now have to go to the school nurse and make sure they keeps a supply for you 🙄) because, hello, taking care of your pain (and treating your period poops) should be empowering, not humiliating. What’s worse than bleed-through and period poops? Having to tell your teacher and school nurse about them.
That is an awful policy!
On the subject of breaking the taboo on speaking about menstruation, I offer my piece "The Triumph of the Tampons," celebrating women's narrowing the wage gap since 1960 and how products like tampons and Advil played an important part. If this is inappropriate to share in this forum, please delete this comment, but I thought it aligned with your mission of reducing the silence around menstruation. I also started donating to a local health care system my daughter just started at, opening their sexual health clinic (it's a system that started as a gay men's health clinic in 1978 and now serves all kinds of underserved populations), to support their giving out free period supplies to their patients. THANK YOU, Dr. Gunter! https://medium.com/@lindafalcao/what-do-tampons-have-to-do-with-the-2022-midterms-81d4b3d82f66?sk=7bd9ec59d1d5614110255ec98db29d01
Aloha Doc! Simply Wow…once again, you’ve accomplished yet another way for me to praise your existence & how you campaign in championing against misinformation to translate the Eros from the patriarchal paradigm that has done such a massive disservice to humanity. I no longer bleed, and felt that since my menstruating days are a thing of yesteryear for me, that Blood would no longer be applicable for me. Knowing very well that my adult daughters, one whom shall enter the ranks of motherhood in less than 2wks, would only prove to add to their eye rolling moments sponsored by their mutual collective… me. I can see in the excerpt you shared, that this book is going to be loaded with sage information to abort the patriarchal underpinnings of the so-called “knowledge” that has been handed down as some sort of familial heirloom, which has only served to perpetuate the original problem. Born a bit over 5 decades ago, I personally can not thank you enough for your mission to crusade against our colonialized mindset that tarnished our immediate matriarchal communities and the doctors who have & continue to force us to come armed with published RCTs while demanding on being given access to proven medical interventions that relieve our suffering. Sadly we shouldn’t have to equip ourselves with armament just to gain fair, proven treatment.
Will the 92 Street Y event be recorded? I can't even do it virtually -- rehearsal that night.
I just hope that the people who lurk in social media will read your book and see the light!
Hooray, hooray, this is a banner day! Congratulations on the new book and thank you for all you do!
Looking forward to seeing you in London.
What a perfect location!
Dr. Gunter, I love your work and your words speak to me! I feel like I know you...lol. Would love your tour to come to Newfoundland over summer....any chance? Or if you fancy a trip to Egypt, I live there during the school year. Come and I'll show you around. :)
Yay, Dr Gunter! As a fellow OB/GYN, your work has been inspiring and enlightening to me. Thank you! I look forward to listening to your narrated version of Blood!
Thank you!
Well now I know that throughout my 20's I also suffered with bowel issues during every single period. Weighed down with extra thick pads in an over sized purse every 21 days and suffered in bed for at least 2 days each month with horrible cramps and migranes as well. The bowel issues I think follow us into menopause and post menopause. You mention advocating for ourselves which is so difficult when so many family doctors and some gynecologists are not well versed in menopause issues and how they impact the quality of life for (I think) a significant percentage of women. In my day it was a curse each month, and it literally was. I could not wait until I was pregnant and did not have to endure that monthly ordeal. You mentioned how menstrual products have changed. Back in the day my mother ripped up old flannel sheets as a young women then for my generation it was a belt and pad no tampons (that was taboo, only bad girls used those). Since we were not permited to wear pants to school and needed to wear stockings there was also the added pleasure of wearing a garter belt with a belt for a pad as well. Think about what clothes we had to wear to hide the layers closer to our skin.
I think the WHI impacted women negatively, fear plus information that centered on breast cancer not what the study set out to do.
I too remember those days.
Do you remember going to buy products too, a brown bag at the counter and the boxes were so large they barely fit. The ide belts and the clasps front and back to hold the pads into position (they never really did). Mortified if a guy was behind the counter. Going to high school the dispensers had paper thin pads (no tampons ever) with the dark blue line on the bottom of them. Gym class uniforms that looked like a sack and showed everything! We all thought everyone knew when we asked to go to the washroom with our purses in hand that they knew why we were going there (other then to relieve ourselves). Health classes were girls only and the teacher seemed most times uncomfortable but not once talked about periods just hygiene.
Yep. I’ll add the frequent humiliating “leaks”, and the conundrum of swimming on exam day for your Bronze Cross and the curse comes on. Wear a half-pad in your bathing suit and pray, or explain to the young male instructor why you need to be excused from the exam and reschedule. Remember trying your first tampon? We were so ignorant then, we didn’t even know there was a hole! That’s what it was called, a hole.
I never tried tampons there was not way my Mom would allow that. I used pads until I had my hysterectomy at 46 and used literally boxes each month for years. That cost was gone at 46!! But the belts were elastic and in the summer it was horrible, no swimming sat out all the time. Yes to doing my swimming, I did tower diving that was totally out for at least a week. The bloating too like we had gained 15 pounds every month. Do you remember the safety pins that came int he boxes of pads at school to hold them onto underwear when we were not prepared OUCH!
I just saw you live on CBC. Great interview! Congratulations!
Thank you!
“The menstrual cycle is really the wheel that drives humanity”! 👍👍👍
Interesting this came out in Time: https://time.com/6565057/menopause-treatment-symptoms-mainstream/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=sfmc&utm_campaign=newsletter+inside-time-saturday+default+ac&utm_content=+++20240124+++body&et_rid=207538533&lctg=207538533
I’m in Montreal, so will go up to see you in Ottawa.
If the 92nd St. Y does record this, make sure the engineers jack up the volume. I follow another Substacker who was there & gave his readers the link -- it was too soft (even when I turned up the volume) to spend an hr trying to listen to it.
Congratulations! I took my 13-year old daughter to one of your book events in the Bay Area and we both really appreciated it! Reading about the hormonal cycles now in Blood (having already devoured the Menopause Manifesto). I'm wondering if you know of any wearable devices or tracking apps that can help someone who is peri-menopausal, post-hysterectomy track cycles to support my better understanding of how my hot flushes and mental health symptoms (depression, anxiety, dysphoria, etc) relate to hormonal changes? I can't take HRT (ER+ breast cancer survivor). I take gabapentin for hot flush management in sleep (works well enough), and am considering an SSRI to support my mental health but would also like to just understand if its just around what would be my period days when things feel really bad or what. I tried the Oura Ring, as they have an integration for cycle tracking by measuring temperature, but it turns out I need to input period data so it won't work. I know you said Clear Blue was a waste of money, but I'm wondering if there are other strategies you'd recommend. Thanks!
I think your best bet is a calendar. Just record the days that you feel worse, and if there is a cyclic rhythm to them, then they may be related to a cycle. If you had chemo therapy, then it's far less likely that you are having a cycle. Oura Ring won't help anyway because the temperature doesn't go up with a hot flash; it just feels like it does.
Hi Dr. Gunter, very much enjoyed seeing you in person in Oakville on Feb 6th. Thanks so much for another excellent source of truth. My daughter has learned more about PCOS from your chapter in Blood than all the other books she has read. She has a science background and is looking for more in depth articles or books on the scientific mechanisms that cause PCOS. Do you have any recommendations? Thanks so much for sharing your expertise and passion with the world❣️