Symptoms: Not every woman experiences every symptom, thank goodness, but the most common ones that will sneak up on you are irregular periods, hot flashes, headaches, night sweats, and loss of sex drive. There are natural and hormonal therapies to help you manage – see your doctor. What’s the positive? You save money on sanitary products, you can take that Alaskan cruise now and stay warm and your husband will become more attentive, helpful and romantic as he tries to woo you.

Changes: Your sleep patterns will change, your weight will go up and your hair will find new places to grow and not to grow. Your nails will get brittle, your body odor will change and your memory . . . um, I forgot. The upside? You can spend more time at the beauty parlor or spa and not feel guilty or indulgent. The memory thing is a great excuse for missing Stan’s slideshow presentation. A magnifying mirror and a good tweezers will take care of the chin hairs. And as for the weight gain . . . oh, shoot, I forgot again.

READ MORE… »

Comments Off on Looking for the Positive Side of Menopause – Symptoms, Changes, Pain and Problems. | Leave a Comment - We'd love to hear from you!

 

 

 By Suzan Hutchinson

 

Amy Elifritz was age 20, menstruating and using tampons, when she came down with what appeared to be the flu.  She died four days later from Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS).  After Amy’s death, her mother, Lisa, founded You ARE Loved, a nonprofit that raises awareness about tampon related Toxic Shock Syndrome and provides factual menstrual information.

Since launching the You ARE Loved website, we have received and posted several stories of girls and young women who developed tampon related TSS in recent years: Sarah and Brittany, both age 15 – Alex, age 16 – Katelyn, 17 – Amanda, 19 – Lauren, 20 – Nikki, who died of TSS at 21 – Shenikwa, a college student – Heather, a new mom….

READ MORE… »

13 Comments | Leave a Comment - We'd love to hear from you!

By Arielle Denise Dance, MA in Women’s Health

What is endometriosis?Endometriosis…such a big word that can be very confusing. If you were to search the word, there would be information about painful periods, possible infertility and treatment options of surgery and birth control. You may find pictures of damaged reproductive organs from years of scarring or women doubled over in pain. If you were to ask me to simply explain this big word, endometriosis, I’d tell you that it is a disease of women’s reproductive organs that causes intense pain especially during their periods. Endometriosis can keep some women from doing daily activities like going to school or work and even from having children.

A woman with endometriosis may feel pain even when it is not time for her period. The pain may be cramping, sharp, dull, achy or stabbing. Some women feel pain on one side of their belly or in many places. Endometriosis may also cause pain in the legs and back along with headaches, pain with bowel movements or urination. Bloating, constipation and diarrhea are also possible.  All of these symptoms can seem unbearable and can cause extreme exhaustion.

“What causes endometriosis?” READ MORE… »

21 Comments | Leave a Comment - We'd love to hear from you!

Menopause & Puberty-Do-your-boobs-deflate

Comments Off on Almost Wordless Wednesday | Leave a Comment - We'd love to hear from you!

Every woman has a story or two about a menstrual accident. Leaking through white shorts – mortifying. Asking a male teacher for an emergency pass to the restroom – humiliating. A little white string hanging out the crotch of your swimsuit – really, really embarrassing. But hearing about these stories is helpful because you can prepare and hopefully avoid having your own accident story. Cramps are another thing. Knowing that someone else had cramps so bad she sweated through her shirt in chemistry class (that was me) or had to lie down while her date, her friend’s date and her friend sat in the living room (me again) can’t help you prepare. Either you’re going to be someone who gets unbearably painful cramps or you’re not. READ MORE… »

Comments Off on Menstrual Cramps – Finding the Good in Something Bad | Leave a Comment - We'd love to hear from you!

By Arielle Denise Dance, M. A. in Women’s Health

In life we, as women, take many journeys: the journey through education, career decisions, through relationships and family transitions. Throughout all these journeys there has been someone (or more than one person) who has supported us, encouraged us and held our hand through the process. Some of these journeys presented obstacles and hurdles we did not expArielle Danceect and made us grateful for people within our support systems.

 

For millions of women living with endometriosis, the incurable and painful disease that occurs when tissue from the uterus is found in other places of the body, a new journey is required of them and their support system. This journey is unexpected for most and can cause a shift in many of their relationships, and friendships.

READ MORE… »

13 Comments | Leave a Comment - We'd love to hear from you!

Are you screaming inside, “PLEASE…SOMEONE…help me with my teenager!” Do you ever get the feeling that your daughter hates you?  Or that once a month, you have no idea how to deal with her.  One minute the two of you are laughing and the next – your kindhearted jab about her clothes sends her reeling to her room in tears.

Help-me-with-my-teenager-PMSIf your daughter’s mood swings can sometimes give you whiplash, you might be experiencing what is called PMS: pre-menstrual syndrome.  And if you think its bad for you – you only know the half of how bad it is for your daughter.

Truth is, that PMS is real.

Due to hormonal surges before a female gets her period, she can suffer from a calamity of symptoms.  Often times, PMS comes in the form of physical symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, bloatedness, sore breasts, muscle aches, and food cravings.  And even more often, PMS serves up some pretty severe emotional reactions which can range from sadness and anxiety to anger, frustration, and difficulty focusing.

READ MORE… »

1 Comment | Leave a Comment - We'd love to hear from you!

In contrast to the many Toxic Shock Syndrome stories on You ARE Loved‘s site, mine is not one of illness, loss or pain. I am a lucky one!

Toxic Shock Syndrome AwarenessGetting Started with Tampons
I started my menstrual journey at 15 the way most girls do: using pads.  I never got along with them, and hated the “diapery” feeling and the odor.

My mom solely used tampons, so I was naturally curious about them. After only a few cycles of using pads I snuck some of my mom’s tampons (and never looked back.) After “borrowing” a large quantity from her, I feared she would begin to notice.

Somehow I worked up the courage (for some reason I thought she might not approve) to approach her and let her know I wanted start using tampons. She understood my dislike of pads and was ok with me making the switch. A lot like the menstruation/puberty talks we had, this talk was also very brief. I only recall her mentioning a quick caution to not leave them in too long because of something rare called TSS that could make me sick. That conversation did not concern me enough to read the warning on the box (or leaflet inside).

READ MORE… »

5 Comments | Leave a Comment - We'd love to hear from you!

By Megan Durham

My mother insisted that tampons were practically a gift from the gods. Pads were like diapers, she said, itchy and immature. I got the distinct impression that real women wore tampons, that this was just another trial that I had to undergo in my quest towards adulthood. Blood wasn’t enough in itself.

So I proudly took the box that she had given me and trotted off to the bathroom where I barricaded myself in. It was such a pretty box, full of directions illustrated with peaceful figures that calmly smiled, frozen in mid-ceremony. It all seemed so simple: unwrap, crouch, insert. Their smiles insisted that this was the easiest thing in the world. The tubes themselves were non-threatening, wrapped in paper decorated with curling script. Shiny and slick unwrapped, I tested one just to see what it was like and marveled at how little pressure was necessary to make the applicator open. I took a deep breath and smiled in the mirror, trying to mimic the look on the models’ faces.

READ MORE… »

Comments Off on Why Tampons Aren’t Right For Me | Leave a Comment - We'd love to hear from you!

We are celebrating the month of “love” on February 8 with the tweet chat topic, Learning to Love Yourself & Your Period.

Joining us as special guests will be women’s holistic health coach and fix your period specialist Nicole Jardim and body confidence coach Alison Leipzig. We couldn’t ask for two Fix Your Periodmore lovely, better suited ladies to guide us to a deeper inner love.

To help promote the chat and encourage participation Nicole has generously given us a single, private Fix Your Period coaching session (a value of $125) to give away to one lucky participant. The Fix Your Period Program specializes in helping women with a variety of menstrual concerns, including:

  • Irregular periods
  • Painful periods
  • PMS/PMDD
  • PCOS and more

READ MORE… »

Comments Off on Private Fix Your Period Coaching Session Giveaway! | Leave a Comment - We'd love to hear from you!