reproductive care Archives - Hormones Matter

When Should Teens Go to the Gynecologist?

Published on April 16, 2015

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When should girls start going to the gynecologist? The general consensus from the medical community and public health education is that a girl need not see a gynecologist until she becomes sexually active..I disagree.

Reproductive Care Should Begin with the First Period

Consider this; the average age of menarche in the United States is a little above 12 years of age. The average age a woman loses her virginity in the United States is 17. Based on what is taught in health class, that leaves 5 years of no reproductive care for the average American female. Although the average teenager may not need annual visits to the gynecologist, reproductive care should not be ignored. This means pediatricians must be better informed about gynecological care.

Just because a young girl is not sexually active does not mean her reproductive system does not exist. Amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome and menorrhagia are all terms (or concepts) that young girls of reproductive age should be familiar with; and yet a majority of girls of reproductive age would not be able to identify any of these terms.

Abnormal Periods are a Sign of Trouble

Young girls should be taught that abnormal periods, painful periods (dysmenorrhea), an absence of periods (amenorrhea), or extremely heavy periods (menorrhagia) are not normal and should be evaluated by a doctor. In many cases, finding the causes of abnormalities in menstruation early on, could prevent further complications down the road.

Most women who have uterine or menstrual abnormalities do not get a diagnosis or proper treatment until they discover they cannot conceive. That is because by the time these women go to the gynecologist for the first time they have been lead to believe that abnormal is their normal.

My Story

When I was twelve I was getting my period every other week and I was told that was normal and that every girls’ period takes some time to regulate – which is true. However, it wasn’t true for me. I had endometriosis and uterine didelphys (two uteri) which required surgery, but because I was young, it was two and a half years before my painful periods were taken seriously. This is an all-too-common experience. Many women report suffering for decades.

In the case where a young girl’s menstrual problems are impacting her daily life – isn’t it better to be safe, rather than sorry? Read my full health story here.

The Need for Pediatric Gynecologists

Pediatricians and family doctors alike need to sit down with their female patients and have a detailed discussion about menstruation. No one should assume that health education in secondary schools is adequate to teach a young girl to stand up for her own reproductive care. The stigma of being too young (or not yet sexually active) to go see the gynecologist should be disregarded. Regardless of age, if any other part of the body wasn’t working one would go to the doctor to get it looked at; the same should go for the reproductive system.

How old were you at your first gynecologist appointment? When did your menstrual problems begin?

Is Medical Abuse of Women the New Standard of Care?

by Robin Karr

Published on September 18, 2014

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Over half a million hysterectomies are performed every year in the U.S. Up to 90% are considered to be medically unnecessary. Therefore, healthy hormone-producing sex organs are “routinely” removed. For this reason, removal of healthy sex organs is considered to be the ‘standard of care’ for women. If this doesn’t alarm you, it should. The U.S. leads the world in hysterectomies – not something to take pride in for sure.

I should note here that approximately 60% to 70% of hysterectomies include removal of the ovaries or “castration” which is linked to loss of sexuality, heart disease, Parkinson’s, Osteoporosis and other numerous mental and physical health problems. I wrote about my own story regarding unconsented hysterectomy and castration here. I also wrote about how our hormones animate us here and about how the loss of hormones resulting from castration can lead to severe depression and even suicide here.

Unnecessary Cesarean Births

Now, let’s talk about another alarming and often unnecessary surgery being performed on women daily in the U.S., the cesarean. Cesarean is the now number one surgery. The U.S. leads the world in C-sections rates. In fact, 15% of current in-patient surgeries nationwide are Cesarean deliveries. The following data may help shine a light on why so many C-sections are being preformed. The centers for Medicare and Medicaid have found that the average physician’s charges for uncomplicated vaginal delivery in the U.S. is just under $4,500. But for an uncomplicated cesarean delivery, it is $7,000. Hospitalization costs are doubled, going from an average of a little over $5,000 to over $10,000.

C-sections are necessarily exhausting hospital, surgical, and nursing services and as a result, they’re causing an increase in waiting time and nursing coverage for other needed procedures. Consider that for every 5% increase in U.S. C-section rates, there may be as many as 14 to 32 more maternal deaths and $750 million to $1.7 billion in health-care expenditures. Why then, do C-section rates keep rising? Could money be the incentive? You decide…

Unsafe Birth Control

Money is too often an incentive when it comes to unnecessary surgeries, medical devices, drugs, etc. and this seems to be especially true in reference to women. Birth control is something most every woman has to confront and manage in some way. Birth control pills are long associated with well-known risks such as blood clots, stroke, and heart attack, etc.

One would think that after so many years, there would be a safer method of birth control, but that isn’t the case at all. Many women are undergoing irreversible sterilization every day in our country via a permanent method of birth control known as “Essure”. Hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting women have been coerced by their doctors into agreeing to having the Essure coil implanted. Sadly, this form of birth control is not the risk-free procedure that the gynecological community would have us believe. Instead, many women with the Essure coil in their body are now suffering unspeakable pain and serious medical conditions – some leading to hysterectomy.

The Essure coil intentionally causes an inflammatory response that encourages the growth of scar tissue, which then blocks the openings to the fallopian tubes – thereby preventing pregnancy. The problem is that the inflammatory response is intentionally chronic and the metals all too often evoke severe allergic reactions causing the coil to migrate, become misplaced, or even perforate the uterus, fallopian tube, and other organs. Obviously, a variety of problems are likely to develop when a woman’s body begins the fight to reject the Essure coil. It’s estimated that over 800 women have filed reports with the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) regarding the adverse effects Essure has had on their physical health.

Morcellation

Let’s move onto another alarming issue in women’s health that has only recently come to light – at least for those of us who aren’t gynecologists or the maker of medical devices. In April 2014, the FDA issued a safety communication discouraging the use of laparoscopic power morcellators for the removal of the uterus and uterine fibroids. Based on an analysis of currently available data, the FDA cited a risk of the spread of unsuspected cancerous tissue.

The strange thing is that most women who undergo hysterectomy or myomectomy (removal of fibroids only) have no earthly idea that something called a morcellator is ever used. Most have never even heard of such a device. In other words, women are not giving their doctors consent to use this device to splice up their uterus or fibroids. When you consider that over 600,000 hysterectomies are performed every year (never mind all the myomectomies performed), the number of women who may have been subjected to morcellators could be quite substantial.

Transvaginal Mesh

Unlike the morcellator, transvaginal mesh is something that has been in the news a lot over the past couple of years. Most people have seen the advertisements on television regarding mesh-related lawsuits. The truth is that transvaginal mesh has been labeled a risky medical device by the FDA due to the high numbers of health complications associated with its use. Thousands of women have filed vaginal mesh lawsuits after suffering from the many complications related to transvaginal mesh surgery.

One urogynecologist, Dr. Richard Reid, told ABC news: “Since a mesh scar is quite fibrous and the bladder is very soft, it’s considered to be a compliance mismatch – which means the same as rubbing a piece of cheese over a metal grater.” In July 2011, the FDA issued a formal warning saying that transvaginal mesh was a “greater risk” with “no evidence of greater clinical benefit”. Johnson & Johnson removed its product from sale earlier this year and class actions are already underway in the U.S., Canada, and now Australia.

The HPV Vaccine

As alarming as all the information I’ve shared so far may be, there is even more alarming information regarding the medical abuse of young girls via an HPV vaccine known as “Gardasil”. As if targeting women wasn’t enough, many doctors are recommending the Gardasil vaccine to girls as young as nine and there’s no shortage of information regarding the many serious side-effects associated with this vaccine.

But, perhaps the most troubling thing about Gardasil is the negative effect it may have on the ovaries. At least one Gardasil ingredient, polysorbate 80 is a known cause of ovarian deformities. Another Gardasil ingredient, L-histidine, carries significant risks as well. Because it’s a naturally-occurring substance in the human body, injecting it could have the effect of causing an autoimmune response. It would seem very probable that Merck -the maker of Gardasil- would almost have to have known that the vaccine would be putting young girls at risk for ovarian problems and even ovarian failure – leading to full blown menopause and all the associated health risks.

As of September 2013, there have been more than 57 million doses distributed in the United States, though it is unknown how many have actually been administered. There have been 22,000 Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) reports following the vaccination.

Medical Abuse?

I’ll ask my original question I posed in my title: “Is medical abuse of women the new standard of care?” While I’m not sure abuse has become the “new standard of care” exactly, I’m very sure that women cannot afford to simply trust that their doctor will do what’s best for them. That kind of blind trust is just not a good idea. The sad reality is that we must take charge of our own health. We cannot rely on doctors to do what is right for us. Doctors are under extreme financial pressure and it is just too easy for them to recommend expensive surgery or an unneeded medication for a condition that can be treated alternatively. Research in women’s health issues remains inconsistent, incomplete and often slipshod. Too often, women wind up being experimental “guinea pigs” for surgeons without ever being told of all the potentially life-shattering risks to which they are being exposed.

A New March Madness – Endometriosis Awareness Month

by Jordan Davidson

Published on March 4, 2013

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This March I am celebrating a different kind of madness. It has nothing to do with college basketball; nor is it related to four leaf clovers, egg shaped candy or seder plates. No, this March is for reproductive health education and raising awareness about endometriosis. There is nothing nice about endometriosis, even the word is cumbersome to say. This March, we need to talk about endometriosis and reproductive health and we are going to talk about it; because the state of reproductive care surrounding endometriosis is not OK and it’s not going to get better until more people know about endometriosis and the facts surrounding it.

It is estimated that 1 out of every 10 women has endometriosis. Endometriosis is a secondary autoimmune disease that occurs when the endometrium (the lining of the uterus) grows outside of the uterus. Common places for this tissue growth is outside of the uterus, on the fallopian tubes, ovaries, bladder, within the pelvic cavity, on the pelvic floor, and on the bowels. In extremely rare cases endometriosis can be found growing up towards and on the liver, lungs, brain and on the central nervous system. These growths respond to the menstrual cycle the same way that the lining of the uterus does. Each month, the lining builds up, breaks down and then sheds (aka ‘your period’).

When a woman gets her period the broken down lining exits the body as menstrual blood through the vagina. When a woman has endometriosis, the tissue and blood from the endometrial growths found outside of the uterus have no way of leaving the body. This results in internal bleeding and inflammation; both of which can cause chronic pain, infertility, scar tissue formation, adhesions and bladder and bowel complications. Women with endometriosis also suffer from higher rates of allergies, yeast infections, asthma, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, other autoimmune diseases (such as hypothyroidism and lupus and others) and increased rates of ovarian cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and brain cancer.

There is no cure for endometriosis and treatments leave a lot to be desired. Common treatments include oral contraceptives, GnRH agonists, progesterone therapies, surgery and hysterectomy. Since endometriosis usually appears during the reproductive years, hysterectomy is not a welcomed option and yet is commonly prescribed. Surgery does not cure endometriosis, in many cases the growths reappear within five years. Hysterectomy does not cure endometriosis, with 40% of women see a reoccurrence of their symptoms. There is no cure for endometriosis.

This March we need to raise awareness. It’s not a comfortable topic but that is no reason for millions of women to suffer in silence with no known cure. The discomfort society feels in talking openly about menstruation or uteri or vaginas is no reason to deny any woman the right to proper reproductive care. 1 in 10 women have endometriosis. These women are your friends, neighbors, sisters, co-workers, lovers, girlfriends, cousins, aunts, nieces, mothers, and fellow humans. It takes an average of 7 years to get a proper diagnosis and even longer to find an effective treatment plan (if any). This is about proper reproductive care, about millions of women who are embarrassed to talk about painful periods, about millions of women who suffer in silence. It needs to stop.

This is not a call to arms but a call to uterus(es). This month lets promote reproductive care and raise awareness for endometriosis. Ask me about my uterus, ask those you care about, about their uterus. Yes, it sounds strange, but how else are we to start the discussion and break the stigma against talking about reproductive illness; especially if we can’t even say uterus or vagina without snickering or feeling as embarrassed as a third grader would. Please help us raise awareness this March; share this article, share your story, start a conversation, ask a loved one about their uterus and break the silence!