November 2012

Personal Perspective – Hormones, Mood and Endometriosis

Published on November 29, 2012

2009 views

When I think back to when I was 10, that is when I started to get chronic headaches. This must be when my hormones started to kick in. I got my period at 13 and from then on things for me have never really been the same.

Hormones, Menstruation and Mood: Was there a Connection?

I had emotional outbursts as a teenager but I couldn’t connect them to my periods at the time because my periods were all over the place. My period could come every 15 days or 45 days. I never knew when it would come. There was no consistency and I was never one to check it off on a calendar, or worry about it.

I remember my teenage years as being dark and depressing. I couldn’t seem to get out of a funk. It only got worse after I graduated from high school. To me that was the beginning of the end, with excruciating abdominal pain, migraines and mood swings. In the 10 years since leaving school, I was diagnosed with multiple co-morbid diseases such as Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Restless Leg Syndrome, Depression, complicated migraines and finally endometriosis when I turned 27.

Doctors made me feel so crazy in my head and were quick to tell me I was depressed. I was once told by a doctor that he couldn’t see me anymore because I cried too much. After seeing at least 40 doctors, I was starting to really breakdown mentally. Why was everyone ignoring what I was saying? No one seemed to listen. They just pricked me with needles and said I was fine. I knew I wasn’t fine.

Pregnancy and Postpartum Hormones

I had my daughter when I was 25 and from that point on, the hormones went through the roof. I thought I was losing my bloody mind. I started to get more and more migraines to the point I had no choice but to go to the hospital to get medicated. Nothing seemed to work because of how sudden they would come on. I didn’t know at the time that my hormones were so out of whack. All I knew was that my mental state started to deteriorate and I no longer felt safe in my own apartment. I was seeing demons in my room. I was freaking out on my daughter. She was only two years old at the time. I knew I was suffering from depression now, but this was too long after postpartum wasn’t it?

Could it be Postpartum Depression?

I was watching TV one day and saw a show about postpartum depression. I decided then and there that I was going to bring myself to the hospital and just pray they wouldn’t take my kid away from me. I ended up talking to some man that didn’t even get what I was saying. He just threw me some sleeping pills and told me I was just tired.

Hormones, Mood and Endometriosis: Maybe There was a Connection

Soon after being sent home with sleeping pills, for what was likely postpartum depression, I received the results from a recent ultrasound. The 10cm cyst that would eventually lead to my diagnosis with endometriosis, was found. I was put on Marvelon21, a form of hormonal birth control. From the first week, I swear on my life, I felt like my world was full of rainbows and butterflies. I didn’t have the depression or the horrible thoughts. I started to really calm down. To this day, it is rare for me to get really angry and yell. I really think my hormones had me trapped for far too long. It is probably the main reason why I don’t ever feel that I could stop taking Marvelon ever. It saved my life. One little white pill, a very low dose birth control pill worked for me. Although, I know it doesn’t work for everyone.

I definitely feel that there are more than just hormones that affected my state of mind. I don’t feel that my body has ever been normal. I was an object of wonder when it came to doctors and their students. I was treated like a piece of dirt by every doctor. Most acted like I was making this all up. The few that were actually nice, didn’t really tell me to do anything further with treatments. They just told me what diseases I had and sent me home. No follow-ups just more confusion.

I try not to focus on the co-morbid diseases like I once did. I take one problem at a time. I refuse to believe that I actually have some of these diseases. Either way, I am not going to let my ill-health steal my life or my mind another day.

B Corporations: A Way Forward for Healthcare

by Chandler Marrs, PhD

Published on November 28, 2012

1986 views

The healthcare system is broken. Healthcare costs are skyrocketing and services are diminishing.The for Benefit Corporation or B Corporation could provide a solution, if the designation came with a beneficial tax structure.

What is a B Corporation?

B Corporations represent the intersection of social good and corporate benefit.

The B corporation is a recently defined class of corporation that must create societal benefit as well as shareholder profit. It combines the dedication to social purpose ascribed to by non-profits with the for-profit and growth potential of C corporations. Proponents of the B corporation argue that act of codifying the social good requirement within the corporate charter allows companies to maintain their for-benefit or social good programs, which are often less profitable and frequently disbanded by the boards of directors in favor of higher profits.

The B corporation is a recent invention. Since its conception in 2010, 11 states have enacted legislation to recognize the B corporation, while 16 states are considering the option. At this time, the B corporation receives no special tax consideration. Maybe it should.

How Might the B Corporation Solve the Healthcare Problem?

By putting health into the corporate charter of ‘healthcare’ companies.

The healthcare system is comprised of two major players, pharmaceuticals and insurers. On both sides, profits rule over of the social good of promoting, maintaining or managing health. As C corporations, their charters demand that they maximize profits for their shareholders. And maximize they do!

The pharmaceutical and medical device industries focus on blockbuster, one-size-fits-all drugs and devices ignoring the inherent variability of human biology and the need for more personalized approaches to medicine. Selling one pill or procedure to all indiscriminately is much more profitable than developing specialized medications for smaller populations or orphan diseases.The result is a never-ending cycle of bad drugs, adverse events and unsafe medical devices marketed heavily and often fraudulently. This cycle leads first to blockbuster profits, then to class action lawsuits and astronomical court awards and fines. The return on investment to shareholders is enormous, even with multi-billion dollar lawsuits.

The insurers, on the other hand, maximize profits increasing premiums while cutting services and denying procedures. Health has not been in the equation for these businesses for some time, although this may change with the new healthcare regulations.

Imagine if companies playing in the healthcare space could codify in their corporate charters a dual role of providing a societal good – health – along with the goal of shareholder profits. Imagine if the mission of providing ‘health’ came with tangible, measurable outcome objectives that were transparent and verifiable. Imagine if the ‘for-benefit’ designation came with a favorable tax structure.

The business climates created by B Corporations could change the healthcare industry in ways our laws don’t currently support. The for Benefit Corporation designation could be a key towards restoring greater fairness and efficacy in our healthcare system.

Oxytocin and Cuddling Feed Your Relationship

by Amy Roost

Published on November 25, 2012

2695 views

Oxytocin Junkies Haiku
Cuddling and snuggling
essential part of our diets
often neglected.

by Zen Clouseau

My husband and I conduct a daily morning ritual. We cuddle. It is quite simply the underpinning of our lovely relationship. Yup, you heard me right. Cuddling is the secret sauce to getting on well (and occasionally leads to getting it on well, as well). We even set our alarm 15 minutes early to allow time for this ritual. And on the rare mornings we miss a cuddling session, something seems off the rest of the day for both of us.

I’m not sure how or why, but we’ve jokingly come to refer to this time we carve out for each other as the “four stations of the cross” (there are four cuddling positions in our sequence). Perhaps part of it is that cuddling gets to the sacred ground that is intimacy. In addition to feeling sooo good–having all this skin on skin and stroking and holding and scratching each other’s backs– cuddling feeds and sustains our relationship somehow. Mary Oliver puts words to this simple practice in her poem Wild Geese “You do not have to walk on your knees. For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.”

As is true of so much we experience, there is a hormonal explanation for why cuddling works. It has to do with an all-powerful hormone oxytocin. It is not only released in response to intimacy and labor, women also have oxytocin to thank for promoting mother-child bonding and let-down when it’s feeding time. In addition, oxytocin:

Increases sexual receptivity and counteracts impotence.
Creates feelings of calmness.
Bonding – establishes a sense of connection.
Reduces stress.
Increases immunity to repair, heal, and restore faster.
Faster wound healing.
Lowers blood pressure.
Protects against heart disease.
Reduces cravings and addictions.
Eases depression.

Now there is an additional and surprising benefit.

Last week the Journal of Neuroscience published scientific evidence of what my husband and I have discovered experientially. Contrary to their hypothesis, neuroscientists at the University of Bonn in Germany found that men in monogamous relationships who when administered synthetic oxytocin put a little extra space between themselves and an attractive woman they’d just met. More predictably, single heterosexual men, when administered the oxytocin substitute, put themselves 6-1/2” closer to an attractive woman than those men in monogamous relationships.

Scientists have long believed that boosting oxytocin in the human brain promotes indiscriminate trusting, friendly behavior. Based on the new findings, researchers speculate that oxytocin has a more discriminating role in human interaction. Paul Zak, founding director of Claremont Graduate University’s Center for Neuroeconomics Studies, said the new findings even provide us some evidence that “our brains evolved to form long-term romantic relationships.”

I’m not the least bit surprised researchers have found scientific evidence that oxytocin has more subtle effects than previously thought, and is a key ingredient to a stable relationship. After all, if you and your partner are leaving the house every morning chock full of the stuff, what reason would you have to stray from that relationship!?

Putting this all in context, after being bombarded with news stories about infidelity in public life, and plenty of evidence during the recent political season that humans (especially men) are devolving, both men and women have something to be optimistic about when it comes to monogamous relationships. It merely requires setting your alarm clock 15 minutes earlier. Cuddling is something that feels good and has multiple health and relationship benefits too. So go ahead. Try it and do let us know how it works out for you and your relationship.

Source: “Oxytocin Modulates Social Distance between Males and Females“
Dirk Scheele1,*, Nadine Striepens1,*, Onur Güntürkün2, Sandra Deutschländer1, Wolfgang Maier1,4, Keith M. Kendrick3,†, and René Hurlemann1,†

Journal of Neuroscience, November 2012

Thanksgiving Dinner: Ideas for Diabetics, Vegetarians and Everyone in Between

by Lauren Chmiel

Published on November 21, 2012

1738 views

The holidays symbolize a joyous time of family, friends and food. As a big proponent of a plant-based diet, this time of year has usually served as a conundrum for me. While my family is carving the turkey and noshing on honey-baked ham, I have always found myself turning to the carbohydrate-heavy side dishes. I have decided I am done torturing myself and have taken to the Internet and vegan/vegetarian cookbooks for help in planning a healthy, plant-based holiday. Rather than turkey, I indulge in acorn squash stuffed with spinach and a bit of Gorgonzola (or, for my vegan audience, try a quinoa mushroom pilaf stuffing instead). The traditional turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes is not necessary for a fulfilling holiday. If you are curious about plant-based Thanksgiving dishes, I highly recommend sites such as The Post Punk Kitchen, Vegetarian Times or One Green Planet. For me, experimenting with new, healthier foods has been an exciting and challenging adventure.

Regardless of dietary status, it is important to recognize that the average person consumes anywhere between 5,000 to 6,000 calories throughout Thanksgiving Day. Such a deluge of food into the human body overworks our system. According to Joanna Gorman, a registered dietitian quoted in the Las Vegas Review Journal, insulin and the breakdown of fat kick into high gear and cause unnecessary strain and stress. For those among us who must monitor their insulin, there are a number of substitutions one can make on Thanksgiving, such as switching out potatoes for mashed rutabagas, parsnips or cauliflower for more fiber and lower carbs. Try sautéed green beans with garlic instead of casserole, which can be heavy with cheese and cream. Use whole-grain bread crumbs (or even brown rice) and double the veggies for your stuffing. The Mayo Clinic and dLife (a Diabetes resource site) both share a number of recipes and ideas for a healthful holiday.

The best way to avoid overeating for one big meal is to partake in smaller meals throughout the day. Portion control and light exercise is key; rather than sitting on the couch all day, maybe take a little walk around the block with a loved one instead. Listen to your body and don’t keep allowing yourself to eat out of boredom or based on the deliciousness of a particular dish. Not only should we keep ourselves from overeating, we shouldn’t push our loved ones to eat more when they are already sated either.

It is important to enter the holiday season armed with knowledge on how we can better care for each other and ourselves. Many choices we make during this time of year, such as overindulging in sweets or tripling our calorie count can be harmful to our bodies. I know I have made these mistakes many times and felt remorse and physical pain as a result of my overeating. I truly hope these resources will allow my readers to seek out new and interesting recipes and partake in a healthy and happy holiday season.

Way Too Much Biochemistry but Worth the Effort: Methylation Mutations

by Chandler Marrs, PhD

Published on November 17, 2012

4354 views

Methylation and MTHFR Mutations

Louise’s Story Forty Years of Pain and Still No Diagnosis generated a lot discussion on Linkedin from physicians worldwide. Highlighted was the role of a common, but often untested genetic mutation on the MTHFR gene. The MTHFR gene affects how our enzymes process nutrients and regulate hormones, neurotransmitters and other chemical messengers in the body. The following video is long, complicated and very technical, but well worth it if you or a family member suffers from one of the many complications, syndromes or diseases associated with these particular mutations.

Lucine Medical Disclaimer: All material on this website is provided for your information only and may not be construed as, nor should it be a substitute for, professional medical advice. To read more about our health policy, see Terms of Use.

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease Post Endometriosis Surgery

by Angela Wice

Published on November 15, 2012

3257 views

Part three of my twenty-five year battle with endometriosis.

I went to a walk-in clinic to get a pap done for the bleeding that was happening during and after sexual intercourse. While waiting for the results during the week I was on the floor doubled over in the most intense pain I have ever felt in my entire life. I went to my general practitioner; I was white, slight fever and delirious. I was in so much pain. I told her I had a pap done, but the results were not back yet. I was told to call the walk-in for the results but they weren’t back in so they had to call the lab. In the end, I was told I had Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID).

None of it really sunk in right away because I was in so much pain I thought I was going to die. I was given an antibiotic but I was in so much pain I threw up the medication in the parking lot, picked it back up and put it back again. I was delirious, I couldn’t think straight and I really have no idea how I got home that day. All I knew was I was in pain. I got a phone call from the pharmacy three days later telling me that they had given me the wrong dosage and it should have been 3x what I was given; that explained why the pain never went away. The disease was pretty much wreaking havoc on all of my insides, everything that was fixed with my endometriosis surgery. I was devastated.

Years later, I realized that my doctor made the wrong choice in medicating me as she should have sent me straight to the hospital to put me on an IV drip because there were abscesses that burst and were now covering all of my insides. From the day of diagnoses of the PID, the pains never really left. I started to have problems having bowel movements, which I hadn’t had since before the surgery. I just couldn’t go and I felt that my bowel was twisted somehow so I went back to my surgeon. He looked at me like I was making up my pain and that there is no way I should have pain and should go home. I was so angry.

About 6 months later, I ended up in the ER for excruciating pain on my left side near my ovaries. At this time I swore it had to be my bowels but it wasn’t My tube was enlarged and there was blood inside and all around it. They had no answers for me, just sent me home. I researched it. Either it would be tubular cancer, PID remnants or endometriosis in the tube. I knew it wasn’t cancer; it has to be either the PID, that was not treated properly almost 3 yrs later, or endometriosis.

During this time my pap came back with mild dysplasia twice so I was sent to my gynecologist to have a colposcopy. The test showed high grade lesions with no HPV. The pains persisted during sexual intercourse and so did the bleeding.

At the beginning of 2012, I went back to my surgeon again as pain during sex as well as bowel movements and urinary pain and he said there was fluid in the cul-de-sac and if it was endometriosis, a prescription of Lupron would resolve the issues. I went back three months later. I was too afraid to have sex during that time, but it made no difference, the doctor it isn’t endometriosis. “You have Neuropathic Pain Syndrome,” I was told. At that point I could have put my hands around his throat and strangled him. This surgeon had the worst bedside manner ever. He knew I was going to the Wasser Pain Management Clinic in Toronto and said that if the gynecologist there (he had trained her) agreed to the surgery he would do it. However, I already decided that I was never going back to him because every time I left his office, I cried for hours.

In July 2012, my gynecologist at Wasser agreed to do another surgery since I had only had one. She put me on various medications such as Gabapentin, Amitriptyline and Visanne. During this time I was calling her office to actually book the surgery and I didn’t get a hold of her for months later. Finally, on November 6^th 2012, I made an appointment to book my surgery for this year or the beginning of next year.

To bring you up to date my husband and I got married in August 2012 at city hall and are going to Dominican for a symbolic ceremony. My dream is to be able to finally have sex with no pain with someone I truly want to spend the rest of my life with.

Until my surgery I continue to take the Marvelon and do weekly if not twice a week enemas as I can no longer have a bowel movement. I hope that whatever damage was done, any endometriosis that is there and any scar tissue that is obstructing my bowels, will be removed so I can carry on with the next chapter of my life.

Forty Years of Pain and Still No Diagnosis

by Louise Heiner-van Dalen

Published on November 12, 2012

3571 views

I am Louise Heiner-van Dalen, 63 years old. I live with my husband André in Elim, a little village in the east of the Netherlands.

The Pain of Puberty

From the moment my periods started at age 15, I had a lot of cramps and stomach pain. I went to the practitioner, and he did screenings of my blood and urine. Nothing was found. This was in 1964. The doctor told my mother that I was making it up to get attention. So my mother and my younger sister started telling me that they were strong and never complained, while I was weak and always had something to complain about.

Every two weeks I had a lot of pain, and I felt so bad; I really was ill. My mother and sister started to call me names and to tell everybody how childish I was.

Miscarriages and Endometriosis

I got married in my 25^th year, and after two years, in 1976, we really wanted to get pregnant. In those years I lost two ‘babies’ during the first part of pregnancy.

We went to the gynecologist and examinations started. Fertility examinations did not seem to be possible for some reason, and in those years the only option was a diagnostic laparoscopy. Then they found that there was a kind of flap mechanism, which was why they couldn’t do the first examination.

During this surgery they also saw that there was a lot of endometriosis in the abdomen. They had to tap off a lot of infection. When I woke up the doctor told me it was impossible to get pregnant because the ovaries were shriveled up by the endometriosis.

He gave me medicines that should have stopped my periods for a longer time, but after a couple of months enormous bleeding started. I was not able to take a step because of the bleeding and there was no way to stop it.

My husband and I talked about it, and with pain in our hearts we decided to that I should have surgery to take out my uterus and ovaries. We were afraid that going on like this could cost me my life, and I didn’t like to live like this. I was only 29 years old, it was 1978.

Hysterectomy

After we talked with our practitioner and with the gynecologist, my surgery was planned. The gynecologist told us that they would inspect everything, and it maybe it would be possible the take out the endometriosis and to keep the uterus.

When I woke up after surgery, I felt the incision with my hand, and it felt empty. I knew. In those years, the gynecologist thought that leaving a tiny little piece of one the ovaries would be enough to prevent problems with estrogen hormones.

Post-Surgery- Cycles of Pain

I could no longer have children. We planned on adopting before we got married, so we started the process before my surgery. In the mean time, I didn’t feel well, but it was hard to tell what it was. My muscles and joints started to give problems, and I had a lot of headaches. Every four weeks I had several days of physical discomfort and mental instability.

In 1980, we adopted our first baby boy and we were so happy, but I was still in pain.The doctors kept on telling me that I needed medicines because of mental problems. I refused that, because I was sure that there were other problems. The abdominal pain returned. Another gynecologist did a laparoscopic examination again, and again he found endometriosis and a few chocolate cysts.

Our second baby boy came in 1981. The gynecologist monitored my condition.

Premarin, Other Hormones and Psychosis

In 1992, after another surgery, doctors conducted an intra-uterine inspection and discovered that my mucus membranes were very thin and sometimes bleeding. He decided to give me Premarin, an estrogen hormone.

In a short time, I felt better than ever before. We were so happy and the gynecologist told me that I had to take this for the rest of my life. But then more and more the doctors found out that using this medicine could cause a greater risk of developing breast cancer.

Because of my husband’s job we had to move every four years or so. This meant every four years I had to find a new house doctor. In 2004, our new house doctor forced me to stop the Premarin. I refused. Then he refused to give me a new prescription. Day by day, my situation got worse. There were signs of psychosis. I had a lot of pain in my legs and seven nightly perspiration in 15 minutes, so I never slept. We asked the doctor to send me to an endocrinologist, but he refused saying it was all mental problems and I had to see a psychiatrist. I refused, and my husband went to the doctor to tell him that he wouldn’t leave before he had a referral letter for the endocrinologist. The doctor gave him the letter, and my husband told him that we would never come back to him.

The endocrinologist agreed with my need for the medicines. He did screenings of my blood and wanted to monitor my progress. We had to find another practitioner.

Prescription Mishap – Pseudo Pregnancy and Leg Pain

In 2010, I planned to travel to Québec, so I took my new prescription for Dagynil, a hormone, to the pharmacy four weeks before I left. I told them that it was important to have them in time.

Shortly before leaving, my husband went to the pharmacist to get my Dagynil, but they didn’t have to correct dosage by mg. They gave him a splitter and told him that I could simply split the tablet. I always thought that it was not good to split this kind of medicines, but the pharmacist said it was safe.

During my stay in Québec, I felt more and more sick, especially in the morning, with nausea, and my daughter-in-law joked that I seemed pregnant. After the month long trip, I came home and a week later I felt another psychotic attack coming. I knew for sure that the pharmacist and the house doctor had made an enormous mistake.

My husband called for the doctor, and he didn’t believe us! I had so much pain in my legs, I felt so bad, and was really panicking. I asked the doctor to make a phone call to the endocrinologist, but he refused. Again the same story!

It took three weeks; by then I was so upset that I started to shout at the doctor as soon he entered my room. I lived in a strange world that wasn’t mine. I wanted to die to be with the two little babies I had lost. It was horrible. I kept on shouting at the doctor, and he was trying to make a phone call for a psychiatrist.

My husband told the doctor that it would be better to make a phone call to the endocrinologist. Finally he agreed, and the next morning he made a phone call to us to tell us that we had to go to the hospital immediately. Thank God!

The endocrinologist felt so sorry for me. Again the same story. He agreed that I was pregnant – at least I had all the signs – but there was no baby, of course. It took several weeks before I was feeling better after this bad adventure. I was prescribed the correct dosage of Dagynil and slowly I felt more myself.

Today

In 2011, we moved again, and we found a good, friendly doctor. We told him openly about the problems we had in the past, and he listened very carefully.

About six months ago, I woke up and felt strange, like another psychotic attack was coming up. I made an appointment with the doctor and told him that there seemed to be something wrong. He looked through blood tests from the last few months, since I needed monitoring because I have collagen/microscopic colitis. Then he saw that my thyroid numbers were going up slowly but still within the margin that is normal.

I asked the doctor to make a phone call to the endocrinologist, which he did immediately, while we were sitting there. The endocrinologist explained my hormone troubles, and he advised him to prescribe Euthyrox. I was happy and felt better within a couple of weeks.

My abdominal pain is still there, and nobody knows if it is the endometriosis or the colitis, but another surgery will give more scars and troubles inside. Forty years of pain and problems and I still do not have a diagnosis and my treatment plan changes often.

Can we Manufacture Consent with Social Media?

by Chandler Marrs, PhD

Published on November 12, 2012

2595 views

Anyone who has read my commentary knows that I am prone to philosophical flights of fancy; quite a contradistinction to my day job promoting women’s health and researching hormone systems. This election, however, has me thinking of Noam Chomsky and how he might view the battle between the political propaganda of traditional money and media versus the power of social media.

A recent study by Pew suggested that nearly 40% of all mainstream news coverage focused on politics, apparently down from 53% in 2008. Depending upon the network’s political preference, one was more or less likely to hear positive reports of the chosen candidate or party and negative commentary about the challenger, with sparsely anything in between. The completely insular nature of our major news networks, were by any criteria, manufacturing consent for their viewers. In this post Citizen’s United election, mainstream media and money were so closely merged that nary a fact to the contrary of the stated opinion could break through.

Then there was social media, the vast diaspora of public opinion, where until recently (new Facebook algorithms) news, real and fake, spread like wildfire; where rather than big money selecting who you follow and by association the filters through which your news is served, we, the public can self-filter. We select who serves us our news by the very act of choosing who to follow or who to read. And we in turn can guide the direction of the conversation by choosing to re-tweet or share what we find. This is a remarkably powerful shift in information management, one that big money, no matter how it has tried, cannot yet contain or control.

Your Uterus, Your Ovaries and Social Media

Nowhere was the power of social media more obvious than in the women’s health debates. Beginning in earnest with the Sandra Fluke hearing and continuing through every asinine comment made by a male politico, social media brought voice and power to women in a way never before possible. Here are just a few of the women’s political sites that sprung up this election season.

Without the almost continuous accessibility of news and information and the unlimited degree to which information could be shared on social media, does anyone really think that women’s reproductive rights would have been covered at all by mainstream media? Even post-election, the power of women and social media is barely mentioned by mainstream media, despite the fact that women effectively won the election for the democrats – by 18 points in the presidential race and by equally high margins across federal and state elections.

Social Media and Women’s Reproductive Rights

The silent majority is silent no longer. The question is – for how long? What corporate filters will silence the female masses and re-direct the conversation? Will the pendulum swing again and allow corporate and political money to determine what news we are served even in the social media sphere?

Unfortunately, yes. And it is already happening. The new Facebook algorithms released just last month, decide what news is important to the user (to some extent, it has done this all along, but never so egregiously). It doesn’t matter that users spend years developing a network of friends and followers or that they may really want to see little Susie’s first-day-of school-pictures. Nope, none of that matters. Facebook’s algorithm decides what will interest each user and only shows those feeds. As a result, users are only served about 16% of the content posted by their friends.

Since this latest change, traffic on most Facebook pages, where most political news is conveyed, is down by as much as 60-70%. Imagine if this had happened well before the election (algorithm rolled out at the end of September). Would women, who are the dominant users of Facebook been able to mobilize? Would grassroots organizations have been able to disseminate information effectively? Maybe not.

Though I am certain Facebook’s motivation for these changes is monetary, the ultimate result will be political. And in that regard, Facebook has now become, by their very business model, arbiters of political speech, likely to the detriment of women’s health and all other ‘fringe’ movements that lack the money to market their message. Facebook is manufacturing consent, with all the same news filters Chomsky wrote about 30 years ago, plus the new algorithm filter. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want the brainchildren of Facebook controlling my access to news. Twitter anyone?

@ChanatLucine @LucineWoman

The irony – Facebook is the public square. So, even though only 16% of our followers will see this post on our page (Lucine Women Community), we must post it there anyway. It’s time for a new public square.

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Prescription Mishap – Pseudo Pregnancy and Leg Pain

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