Turn the Paige Podcast

45: What a Wild Life to Live

• Episode 45

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Join us as we talk about an oftentimes taboo topic - the menstrual cycle! The menstrual cycle shapes so much of our lives, yet many of us reach adulthood knowing shockingly little about our own bodies. In this raw and honest episode, we strip away the mysteries surrounding PMS, PMDD, and the hormonal shifts that can make us feel like we're losing our minds.

Tajuana shares how her period symptoms transformed dramatically after having children, morphing from painful cramps to an emotional rollercoaster that can last up to two weeks before her period even begins. Meanwhile, Sheree reveals her journey with PMDD—a condition that once had her misdiagnosed with Bipolar disorder and still feels the effects nearly three weeks out of every month.

What emerges is a fascinating exploration of the four distinct phases of the menstrual cycle and how deeply they influence everything from energy levels to decision-making abilities. We dive into the unexpected connections between hormonal health and neurodivergence, sharing surprising statistics about how PMDD disproportionately affects women with ADHD and Autism.

Through personal stories and practical advice, this episode validates experiences that too many women suffer through silently. You'll learn why tracking your cycle can be life-changing, how different birth control methods affect hormonal balance, and when it might be time to have a deeper conversation with your doctor about your symptoms.

Whether you're struggling with debilitating PMS, supporting someone who is, or simply want to understand the complex interplay between hormones and wellbeing, this conversation offers comfort, clarity, and a powerful reminder that you're not alone. Give it a listen, then share it with the people in your life who need to understand what many women navigate every single month.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to Turn the.

Speaker 2:

Page Podcast Sisters, best friends and brunch enthusiasts.

Speaker 1:

With relatable episodes that feel like you're chatting with two of your closest friends or sisters. Join us as we turn the page to different topics about losing yourself in motherhood, adulthood, anyhood.

Speaker 2:

And finding yourself again through meaningful friendships, shameless piles of unread library books and endless amazon package deliveries real honest and a little bit chaotic.

Speaker 1:

We talk about it all, so grab your favorite drink, put the kids to bed, lace up your sneaks or whatever you need to do, and join us. We can't wait to connect with you. Hi guys, welcome to Turn the Page Podcast. This is co-host Tamara. I feel like I'm on like a nighttime radio show.

Speaker 2:

Why are you whispering?

Speaker 1:

I don't know, that's uncommon for me to do so.

Speaker 2:

It's giving Chloe after dark. Do you remember that?

Speaker 1:

Yes, they were recording in the bathtub, her and Scott. Yeah, in a life jacket.

Speaker 2:

When she had her radio show in Miami. Yes, with what's-his-face?

Speaker 1:

Terrence the black guy yeah.

Speaker 2:

This is your other co-host, Cherie.

Speaker 1:

Hey guys, we're back, Coming to you live from Tawana's kitchen table Mm-hmm, from Tawana's kitchen table. On a lovely summer Friday, I had the curtains open but there's these nasty bugs that are hanging out on the screen and they're really gross to look at, so I had to close the curtains. Yeah, yeah, we're back. We're here. We're about to go to the pool later it's a sister, kim Frieda, because I'm going to eat that and we are talking about pms today, guys. So if you are a person with a uterus, you will understand, yeah. If you don't, then we can catch you in the next episode, yeah. Or if you no longer have a uterus than you used to, maybe you sympathize and used to have these symptoms.

Speaker 2:

I was just gonna say yeah, that, yeah but we're gonna dive into this or that um summer edition. Please ice cream or popsicles ice cream same oh, you hesitate it why?

Speaker 1:

I don't know you can go, pop, step over down sometimes but branch of summer camp on the blacktop. The freezy pops, yeah um ocean or pool oh, I love a pool day, but I love the smell and sound of the ocean yeah, I'm gonna pick ocean too I didn't say ocean, I said well, you really didn't give an answer right. So I'm gonna say pool. I'm gonna say say pool.

Speaker 2:

I'm going to say ocean, a pool at the ocean, yeah.

Speaker 1:

Like in Myrtle Beach, remember.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, that was cool.

Speaker 1:

Sandals or barefoot Sandals, One thousand percent. I know barefoot keeps you grounded, but that's just not my thing. And touching the ground like the earth.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I guess it depends, because I'm still thinking about the ocean, so like oh, do you mean like in my house, I'm barefoot. I get out, I don't know, I guess sandals for like outside, but like at the beach, barefoot.

Speaker 1:

Oh, at the beach barefoot, isn't it just long barefoot at the beach? I don't know, maybe okay, cool, and then sundress, or shorts sundress, I don't know.

Speaker 2:

I've been on a shorts kick lately you have been.

Speaker 1:

You look nice, but I love me a dress, I think easy.

Speaker 2:

Just I'm gonna throw this last one out there.

Speaker 1:

Summer reading list, or summer playlist I'm gonna have to do playlists, but I listen to my songs all year round yeah, but do you have like a some a playlist specific for summer? Nope I mean, certain songs remind me of summer when it's not summer and I listen to it. Yeah, but nope, I have a lot of the same songs on repeat now in summer and in fall and in winter, and I don't have a separate reading list for summer, so I would say um the playlist, because I'm a vibes girly you are, you are all right y'all.

Speaker 1:

We are talking about, like I said, pms, um. So if anyone has ever been pregnant that's listening and has birthed these lovely beings that came up, that you were inside, that grew inside of you, um, they come with it a lot of changes. They leave you or a lot of changes they give you. Um. So before kids, just a little backstory.

Speaker 1:

I've been on the pill since I was 16 I don't care if it's tamar, I don't want freaking famous then pill since I was 16 and that was to help regulate my horrible cramps and period. We have a history of having bad periods in our family, like really, really bad cramps to the point where, like, you have to stay home because it hurts a bad thing. So I got on the pill to regulate that and it helped. It went from seven days to five, but that took a couple of years to do that. Still had really bad cramps. I lived on like a leave of Tylenol but eventually my body got used to it and stopped working. Then I stopped my stomach by taking ibuprofen all the time. I essentially gave myself like I stripped my one inch your inflamed stomach lining.

Speaker 1:

But it's inflamed. That essentially, is like no longer there. But whatever, my doll never worked for me. Pampering never worked for me. Like bulldozer cramps, yeah, um, and I'm pretty sure I was like, oh, this is what contractions feel like and that's why I was prepared for the contractions when I had them with the boys, because I already had horrible cramps growing up. So fast forward I have two kids, got off the plane to have them.

Speaker 1:

They did say that your period changes post-children and it did so. If you've never had kids, you know after your birth you bleed. It's not your period yet, it's your body getting rid of everything that our woman needs now that your baby is on the other side of your belly. And then you get your period right after, um, and then you don't always get. If you're on the pill, you don't always get back on. You might want to like, stay off for a bit.

Speaker 1:

I got back on right away because also, they said that that's like another fertile time for a woman, like right after birth, just because things are happening, yeah, and for you to be careful, yeah, um, if you don't want to get pregnant again right away, um, so that I got back on it and then got back off it to have our second and my period did change. So when I wasn't on it, it started being late when, like we weren't pregnant, it was just late. Um, it had shortened to like three days. I used to get it on like a tuesday or wednesday. I now get it on a friday. Interesting, which is so odd. Yeah, um, I've been tracking it more intently now, obviously because I'm older, like I'm understanding certain things, but I used to never track it when I was younger, so I didn't understand it. Yeah, um, but I used to have to wear like two pads plus a tampon.

Speaker 2:

Now.

Speaker 1:

I can just wear a tampon. It's definitely changed. Since kids. I don't really have cramps during my period. But let me tell you the past couple of months this has been new to me. I get PMS symptoms the week of my period and apparently this month I get it the week before my period. It's two weeks now, and when I mean symptoms, I mean I am like deeply depressed. My low, my low back has always hurt when I was getting buried, for like that's always been a symptom for me yeah so I always knew it was coming and craving salty foods, but it's more so.

Speaker 1:

My low back is screaming, my groin like my. Everything below my abdomen is like screaming.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Very hormonal. I can literally feel every feeling and emotion in the world. Now I know what they are. Before I did it, but I also didn't. Maybe I dealt with before but didn't know. But it's like I don't know if this has happened to you guys, but see my lady doctor next week to talk about this because it's gotten worse.

Speaker 1:

This month, like I said, usually starts on that sunday, before it started like the wednesday, and that was like I still on my period till next week, next friday, probably for like three days. Yeah, my symptoms go away the day I get my period my pbs symptoms and period. It's like I still feel bloated, like the normal stuff, don't get cramps anymore, and it's like three days and I'm still on the pill and I'm like I don't know if it's because I'm getting older, like I'm almost 40, well, I'll be 40 next year. But if I'm just finally understanding hormones in my body now but they don't teach you this in school, yeah, at all, and I think they should. But I know I'm going to give them back over to Sherry because she has dealt with it. So if you tell your story maybe some people will relate, but I'm definitely. I know you've been to the doctor and, like you, know what's going on, but I have not talked to my doctor about this yet, so I'm interested to see what's going on do you have?

Speaker 2:

I know you use lively, but do you have any app where you track, like, your symptoms?

Speaker 1:

so you can track your symptoms on lively.

Speaker 2:

I just don't I feel like you should, because she might ask you yeah, well, I can, I can tell you.

Speaker 1:

I track it to the point where I know that last month I didn't experience the symptoms the week before like I have now.

Speaker 2:

Because so I that's the one thing I don't love about. I know you can go as needed, but it's like an annual appointment unless you're pregnant or have medical, other medical, like female medical issues female medical issues. Yeah, so I saw my doctor in january of last year and um january, yeah, because that was the six weeks from when I had sage. So january is like my new annual time okay, mine's in july. Mine used to be july. And then what makes sense, since sage it's from harrison?

Speaker 1:

yeah oh yeah, because archie would have been like september yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

So last january I saw her and then last june I messaged her because I had been tracking. I mean, I, I've been tracking my cycles since, like literally 2018 and the same app like you can go back and look like, because it's always given me trouble, to the point where I was diagnosed as bipolar because of how frequent my shifts were yeah, stop it yeah, so this has been going on since I was in high school.

Speaker 1:

Stop it. I did Like I knew you were misdiagnosed. I didn't know it was actually because of your the PMS.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, but it's also like this old white man diagnosed me as bipolar when I was like 15, which now I know is like Also, guys sorry side point If you're a woman, which most women we have? Women listeners, if you can find yourself a woman gynecologist.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I mean, I don't have any care but I care because they know the woman's body I don't have experience with male gyno so I can't say yeah. But yeah, just comfort wise and like relatability, yes, and not just from like reading it into it in a textbook like but he wasn't a guy in a college, he was a psychiatrist that was, that was just a sidebar for me.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, like if I had a man guy, well, just like he like. Oh yeah, you're experiencing this, like I just read it in the book. No, no, I need you to be living in a woman's body yeah, and understand I, I mean, yeah, I mean, yeah.

Speaker 2:

So I like I messaged her because I at that point I had had a few months of symptoms the week before, like the whole week before my period, the whole week of my period and like a few days after.

Speaker 1:

That's like two and a half weeks out of the month, like that sounds awful.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I messaged her literally. I was like I think it was maybe like 21 days I was having symptoms and I had like nine or ten days of feeling normal.

Speaker 1:

Yes, that's not cool.

Speaker 2:

And it's like it's not just physical. It is physical but it's very mental for me, like I get very depressed, I get very anxious, I like am irritable, which I think is a normal mood symptom but for me it's like I have no motivation, like I don't and out. I have no motivation, like I don't want to get out of bed, I don't want to do anything because you have a family and you have a job, I don't want to leave the house.

Speaker 2:

So that means that, like if it's a day that I have sage by myself, like we're just yeah, and I don't want to subject her to that. So or I'm like overthinking to the point where I have insomnia, I can't sleep, or I'm waking up out of my sleep and I'm up for hours, um and yeah, just feeling things very heavily, and then I will come out of it and be like, oh, this is what like normal baseline is for me, and I would have like a few days of feeling great and then it would just start over again. So I messaged her like, based off my last few cycles, this is what's going on. She's like it sounds like you have PMDD. So she I haven't met with her because since then she's left and I've started with a new gynecologist, but I have just been I so sad. But I'm glad that she at least gave me like permission to use that language, because it's never come up before. It's just always been like oh, you just have like really shitty periods, right, but I don't think that's normal.

Speaker 1:

I did hear that your periods aren't supposed to be as bad as a lot of women have them.

Speaker 2:

Well, and I, yeah, so mine also changed after having sage and since coming off the pill. It's a lot less intense physically, okay, but it's still the emotional like yeah, but this past cycle, when I tell you like everything and like from week two until day two of my period, so 16 days of like cramps, back pain, like randomly crying oh, do you get like back cramps?

Speaker 1:

yeah, because some people have talked about, I don't get those, but I just my low back has always. Well, I don't want to look at issues anyway, but like when it's around, that time it's like extra firing.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, mine like pulsates, like I hold it and I ask I've asked him multiple times like is this my epidural site? Like it's, because it feels very localized at this one point on my spine.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, um, like my hips hurt it's, yeah, so have you tried hip openers with yoga during that time?

Speaker 2:

I have.

Speaker 1:

It's not like a consistent practice but no, but have you tried that like give some relief, like during that time?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I'll like.

Speaker 1:

I'll just like stretch like that, or I'll lay on my back and put my leg like in a four to like, but I think for a lot of women, I think it's just the body, like your hips, hold a lot of emotional feelings and trauma. Yeah, and I think it makes sense for women because it's like we carry the babies and it's like it's our hips in that area. So it's like it's obviously a lot on our bodies, but I just feel like your body doesn't forget things.

Speaker 2:

It just stores things. I didn't have problems with my hips until I was pregnant.

Speaker 1:

That's fascinating. My back pain, just it actually didn't get worse. It just didn't get better either, like it was still there, yeah. But it would give me more pain. But I had a little bit of back pain towards the end with RJ but and I carried them both very low so I felt that would make her back hurt more. Them both very low, so I felt that would make her back hurt more. It did not, but I just my low back has always been my pain point.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah so wait, please tell the listeners and me is there a difference between pms and pmdd?

Speaker 2:

pmdd is like a more severe form of pms, is like they're both diagnoses, but I feel like maybe pms is more common. Pmdd is more intense and severe and it's also like the they both, because they're both in the dsm.

Speaker 1:

They're both like mental, emotional things, but I pmdd is the more like severe form of it so is there not a cure, but like are there things that people can do, like what did you do? And like what, what do you? What does one do from there when they've been diagnosed with that?

Speaker 2:

tracking your cycle is always like the first thing that I recommend, because it doesn't catch you by surprise. You can plan for it a little bit more. So now I'm at the point where I'm able to communicate, like I just did with my husband, like tomorrow's the last day of my period, like I'm probably going to be depressed and feel like shit. So I can pinpoint it, yeah. And then in terms of relief, jesus, I was living on my heating pad for the past like two weeks and the not the icy hat, but like the heat patches, they have ones for back and menstrual pain that you can put the sticky side on your underwear and it just like rests on you the whole day.

Speaker 1:

Stop it, game changer. Literally yeah, and then like lavender oil oh, like essential oil yeah, yeah, and it's like heavy on the self-care and just comfort for me, for those couple of weeks yeah she drinks, so you might not like tea, so obviously don't drink but that is like raspberry leaf tea I didn't hear, so I did hear that it's good, but also not to drink that when you're close to giving birth because it could like send you into.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, because it gives, yeah, it makes, yeah, but it's for menstrual cramps and it said like pregnancy support, probably early. But so, yeah, I went through probably a whole pack of that last week and lemon ginger tea because I get like my IBS flares up, I get like stomach issues. So the lemon ginger tea helps my stomach and honestly, I don't really know like what else has helped. I think it helps just to like be aware of it.

Speaker 2:

Is there medicine out there for that, like tylenol, I don't know, like I don't know what else. That's the problem. I have a lot of friends who have like menstrual problems and then they're going to these people for like help and it's trial and error. A lot of it can be like diet. For a while I was doing like anti-inflammatory so.

Speaker 1:

On the lively app, it gives the four phases of your cycle and within each of those are three categories. It's like health, do and eat. So like based on where you are, what day you are in your cycle. Um, you could like how many days yours is, lines like the and I say typical with a quote because everyone's different, like nothing's typical, but my days yeah, um, some women have it 21, some women have it longer.

Speaker 1:

Like you relate this to your body and your cycle? Yeah, um, and they have options in there, not just for 28, but it accounts for women who have all different number cycles, um, so it like tells you what is best to do during certain phases and also breaks it down, even like the day. So, yeah, you're in your first day of like the ovulation cycle. Yeah, like it might change when you're in like the second or third day of that, to like change what you're doing or something. Yeah, so it's like that helps too with me about like what to eat that's what you just touched on and like what to do.

Speaker 1:

So it's like, in different cases, like, oh, this is a great idea to set big goals yeah, yeah, this is not the best phase for you to be making big decisions because you don't have energy, or this is the best time for you to have like really hard discussions. This is the best time for you to retreat and take more rest than you usually need to. Yeah, and it even breaks it down for like workouts too. It's like this is the best week to do HIIT. This is the best week to do HIIT. This is the best week to do more relaxing, like taking a walk or like doing yoga or maybe doing nothing. Yeah, and like the eating, the food. It's like eat this to make the bloating go away. Or it's like, yeah, so I think that helps too. But it does have a button under there. I just haven't done it for logging symptoms, but I think this is huge for me just to even have downloaded it and like I look at it every day.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, because I had literally guys. I before I had kids. I knew that. The the only thing I knew about that is that you know you're pregnant when you don't have your period. Yeah, and I'm like, okay, that's like the most basic form and that's for people who you presumably don't have issues with, like getting pregnant or whatever, or your period at all, yeah. So I'm like, oh okay, great, let me just so. Then I start tracking that when we are getting pregnant with my first, with our first. But then I remember you telling me oh, it's not just your menstrual, like a new menstrual and ovulation. But I knew there was, I know the other two and I was just like, wait, what I didn't know.

Speaker 1:

The cycle wasn't just your period, it's like four freaking phases yeah and I'm like I was mind blown and I just learned all of this, probably after harrison and more recently. I'm like they don't teach you this shit in school and they should they definitely don't break it down like to that level like you know, sperm and egg, they come together if basic, that's the basic, and you have a baby but the problem is, I think it's also because it's in like a, it's like co-ed right.

Speaker 1:

So you're with true so you're also learning about, like the male, reproductive, and it's more like preventative at that point that's a good point, but I think also there should be more talk about this, like in the gynecologist's office, because it's like obviously they know what the cycles and phases are because they bring babies into the world. And also I think if you're having issues conceiving, like obviously you'll be talking more about that with your doctor, like if you're doing ivf or um that stuff. So it's just like that comes up more in those conversations specifically yeah but I think it should be not just situational.

Speaker 1:

It should be like a normal baseline talking this is what happens to your body during this time. We talked about this one episode with Jamie, like two episodes ago, our nutritionist friend Jamie. Yeah, we talked, we touched on hormones and she was learning a lot about her body and like all that stuff too. But this has everything to do with hormones, yes, and they don't teach that, at least in health. When I was, we went to the same school, but obviously not the same like um year.

Speaker 2:

They didn't bring it up in health, in health class hormones I think that for me, I'm learning like I'm especially sensitive to the hormone shift okay, yeah, and this is huge too, if you've ever been pregnant, because yeah that's like a hormone scramble of things well, and I think that they say it takes like 18 months for like your body to, but it's also like for your hormones to regulate and I truly felt like the postpartum depression and anxiety up until that point when I think things just like regulated and then try doing that, and then I heard it was three years.

Speaker 2:

I mean, I've seen maybe 18 months to 36 months for me personally, I felt a little bit better last June, which was 19 months. I felt good for that summer and then it went back to shit from October to March. So I would say I would say give it 24 months yeah, I've seen that's the thing.

Speaker 1:

Well, I think that's like the the middle of it too. But it's also just like RJ was. He was a month away from being free when Harrison was born, like I was I don't say feeling myself again, but it's like he was like what, like just over two when I got pregnant with harrison yeah so that it was like, okay, I just maybe started seeing a little slimmer of myself and I'm like here, here we go again. Yeah, not in a bad way, obviously, because I want it.

Speaker 1:

The second no, it was planned, or whatever yeah, but it's still just all of the stuff that comes with it, yeah and luckily, as you call, the self-sequent children yourself so like pregnancies and stuff, like you kind of know what to expect, yeah, but I'm like just having the thought of having to go through it again, like just I was just not excited about it, like the hormone aspect of it, like the pregnancy was both were fine, but it's just like the calming down after the birth night, the hormones and just all of that was like I'm not doing this again.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, definitely I'm also finding. Yeah, I think that I feel worse when I'm on the pill slash hormonal birth control, other than that week of you getting your body detox and, because it's the worst when I'm on the pill, slash hormonal birth control.

Speaker 1:

I've heard that so many times off the pill, other than that week of you getting your body detoxing because it's the worst week of your freaking life. Yeah, you're starting to come off of a drug and you essentially are. Other than that, I feel great off the pill.

Speaker 2:

I never want to go back on it.

Speaker 1:

I've heard of, so many times I've already had that conversation. I don't know what this looks like for us, but I love that I just, I don't know.

Speaker 2:

I say this now, but yeah, that's how I feel right now to also track your cycle.

Speaker 1:

But also I've also seen that, like when you're on the pill, like the track in the cycle, like not saying you don't need to be in this, that you can't be in those conversations, but I feel like the tracking aspect is for women who aren't on the pill.

Speaker 2:

I still tracked when I was on it.

Speaker 1:

I'm still tracking because I'm on the pill but I'm like.

Speaker 2:

This still relates to me no, I feel like tracking when you're not on it is more so like if you're trying to get or avoid getting pregnant.

Speaker 1:

Yes, but I think it also obviously when you're not on the pill like you don't have any extra things in you. When you are on the pill, yeah, the pill like manipulates your system obviously.

Speaker 2:

Apparently, it's not like a real period. Yes, and you're, because you're not actually ovulating.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Speaker 2:

So I don't know what it is, I know, right it's something, and that's you.

Speaker 1:

but you have always struggled with stuff on the pill. So, yeah, the pill didn't never gave me the side effects that it gave you. Obviously this was from people, but I was on one brand for like years and then it started like messing with my system and then they just like took it off the market because I guess they found it was horrible. Yeah, and I'm on like I've had to do trial and error but not as much as you with the pills. I know a lot of women struggle with that. Yeah, but I've been lucky in the sense where, like all, I've only had to try like a pill like once other than when I was doing it I finally had to give it up and be like I can't do this Like every four, four months thing. Yeah, I was loving it, obviously, but it was giving me more issues than it should have been, so I finally had to go back to doing it every month and getting back on that pill but it wasn't the brand, it was just like the, the mechanics of it.

Speaker 2:

I for me, I would feel great and like the two months in between, but then it was like everything was saved up and then I would feel terrible around my period. But I preferred it because I got my period less often.

Speaker 1:

Yes, I love that too.

Speaker 2:

I had to go off of it, though, because, again, I'm sensitive to hormones. I was getting migraines, and when you get migraines and you take estrogen, you're at risk for stroke, so I went for a doctor's appointment. She was like you need to immediately get off. Like, why are you on an estrogen birth control pill?

Speaker 1:

I also heard that because this is like people who are sensitive to like hormone stuff and side effects, blood clots too yeah so obviously it's not good. Um, there's also some pills that like less estrogen than other, like you know. There's a bunch of things you can do mine's progesterone only when I'm on it oh, okay, I can only do.

Speaker 2:

I guess it's the mini pill maybe, and then some women.

Speaker 1:

It's different methods, obviously yeah some women are on nothing. And again, whatever works for you, some women do the shot. I don't know if that's still people still do that yeah, is there a patch I think so and some women do the NuvaRing.

Speaker 2:

And the IUD.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's not my thing. That freaks me out and it's thinking about it makes me queasy. But that works for some women, because one of them, I think, the IUD what's it called?

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

The IUD is something else. Huh, the IUD is something else. Huh, the ied is something else. Iud, yeah, but one of them is like what you something using war? Oh, I don't know what, anyway the new bering that's under that category. Sometimes I've heard that you can keep it on for like seven years and then they have to put a, take it out and put a new one in yeah but within that period you don't get your period, obviously because you having an end stops your period but also stops you from getting pregnant.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Which would be crazy to not get your period for seven years. That'd be fucking awesome.

Speaker 2:

Oh gosh.

Speaker 1:

But I'm sure it comes with side effects, obviously. But women I've heard that are on it like love it and it works for them.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

There's also different kinds of than that, too, where it's like some are made from different things and different materials that affect people differently.

Speaker 2:

The copper IUD is non-hormonal.

Speaker 1:

Okay, yes.

Speaker 2:

Because that's been recommended to me, because my body just doesn't like hormones or like synthetic hormones.

Speaker 1:

Oh, okay, yes, yeah.

Speaker 2:

But it's also like even just the way that my body responds to it being off. I feel like more myself mentally, but also physically, like I would just retain a lot of water and get super bloated and just feel like uncomfortable. So since being, it's been like six months now since I've been off it and I actually feel like my body is at a place where it feels like it's natural, kind of like where it's comfort, comfortable at and I don't know differently.

Speaker 1:

Was that all bloat? Yeah, oh my gosh as far as I know.

Speaker 2:

That's crazy because it's all been since I got off the pill in january. That is wild. I'm not doing anything different no, that's wild.

Speaker 1:

That's wild that like hormones affect people, like synthetic hormones for people like that sometimes yeah that is wow so I would definitely recommend.

Speaker 2:

If your doctor doesn't bring it up herself, I would at least just ask like, what do you think about pmdd? Yeah, because you already have. Like the first thing that my gyno recommended was medicine which I I'm all for, but I personally didn't want to go down that road again. Like antidepressants, oh okay, but when I was taking meds, my psychiatrist at the time would have me increase my dose around that time.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, but Did that fluctuation mess with you?

Speaker 2:

like throughout mean the time you're on the medicine, because the weeks that you weren't feeling that way you would obviously go back to your normal dose yeah, I mean, it wasn't like a drastic change, it was maybe from like 10 to 15, just an example, um, and it would be like the week before to kind of like cushion me, I used to have to do that with iron tablets.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and then I would just keep forgetting to do it, like, oh, take it the a period, okay, great, but like I would forget to do that. So now I just take them every day. Yeah, just add to my supplement, line out, but because that would also affect it too. Like I'm anemic. So it's like obviously you lose iron when you bleed because there's iron in your blood, but when you're anemic you're more susceptible to losing more iron because you already have a like a low level of it anyway. Yeah, so it makes me feel even more like I can't just like like I admit that people think I'm gonna be a little bit blocked today.

Speaker 1:

I can't just randomly do that yeah so like, if I want to, I have to like probably check like my iron levels and like I've been taking iron tablets like long enough where I probably could, but it's gonna want to chance it because it's like obviously I would probably pass out or like not feel great, yeah, but obviously when I have to get blood drawn for like medical stuff, like I'm fine, but it's also like scheduled and like I'm at the doctor, not the red cross. So I'm not being saying she learns this stuff in health class or in school, but if not, like she'll have us, but like there's just so many things that they don't teach women that we have to learn later in life and you're like, wow, that all makes sense.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

And it's very disturbing to me. I know we all do the best with what we have, but I'm just like if we would have known half the stuff we're learning now when we were younger, so many things would have been different.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

And it's just like it can be preventable, like just feeling certain ways about yourself. It's like, yeah, not fall. Yeah, if I know they have adhd. It's like you're not lazy, you just don't have.

Speaker 2:

Like there's nothing wrong with you, you're not lazy, just your brain functions differently, like you don't have brain functions, yet because you, you don't know yet it definitely makes a difference to know, because I said to mommy when I first found out I was like you probably had this too, but that just like there was no language for it then, because just the way that she would describe like how awful, yeah, her period was and like it's probably the same thing it's just oh, it's just so frustrating.

Speaker 1:

It makes me sad because it's just like or if somebody finds out they have like a mental illness, it's like fine, it's like not even like sad, but it's like relief, like oh, that makes sense, like thank you, there's like a name on it yeah but it's like you weren't. There's nothing wrong with you, just didn't know how your that your brain worked A certain way. Okay, I'm off my rant. That, just that just makes me mad.

Speaker 2:

No, that's fair. I'm just looking because I realized that I said that they're both in the DSM, but I think that only PMDT is.

Speaker 1:

Oh, okay, but yeah.

Speaker 2:

so, ladies, talk to your doctor, like as sherry was saying, and if the doctor doesn't bring it up, then feel free to bring it up something that I have also been finding and learning is that, um, people with neurodivergent people, or people with neurodivergent brains, are also like more likely to have PMDD Interesting, like it says, especially ADHD and autism.

Speaker 1:

Interesting why.

Speaker 2:

I don't know if it's like the. I don't know if it's the, what am I trying to say? Like the sensitivity to things, like the sensation side of things. And then I think, because emotion, emotional regulation, like cognitive things are already not a challenge, but like those are already kind of barriers that come with it and it affects all of that. But it's crazy. It says like 92% of women with it and it affects all of that. But it's crazy. It says like 92 percent of autistic women with autism and 46 percent of women with adhd also have pmdd insane. And then pmdd brings depression and anxiety, like just what a wild life to live as a woman.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, let me know, because we are women um wild yeah but, yes, please share your stories with us. Obviously, if you feel comfortable doing that, you can email us, dm us to let you know that you feel seen, because that's one of the main reasons why we love doing this podcast is to let to make other people not make them, but like to know that we see them yeah, and don't be afraid to up the self-care during your luteal phase whatever that looks like for you, whether it's like more reading, more baths, like more walks, more things of the things that you usually do, but to like, I mean bring an extra trap to refer you to that or something like that, or burning a candle while you're reading instead of a book like I don't know, like something, anything yeah

Speaker 1:

that makes you feel better? Yeah, because you are all you have and you need to take care of yourself. I mean, that's we both do. Yes, we need to love in ourselves, especially during the harder times, especially as as women, because again, the hormonal shifts until you show yourself grace. That's not your fault actually.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's, eve's.

Speaker 1:

I was literally just going to say that.

Speaker 2:

Yep.

Speaker 1:

Thanks, Evie and the pomegranate.

Speaker 2:

I love that you are being that like specific about it it well, it wasn't an apple I. I knew you were gonna say that, so it wasn't.

Speaker 1:

I know I just don't grow in the desert. Okay, do they? I don't know, I don't grow apples. It surely wasn't a granny smith apple she ate I'm just saying it was literally in the barren desert that was very you what it traps. All right, guys, we're signing off here. We have more things to do. We'd be very intentional with the time, because we don't get this kid for time off them yes all right guys no-transcript.

Speaker 2:

This was another episode of Turn the Page Podcast. Thanks for hanging out.

Speaker 1:

Don't forget to like, listen and subscribe, and also don't forget to leave a review, please, and let us know what you thought about today's episode and all the other episodes. Thanks, guys, Talk to you soon. Bye.

People on this episode

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Sheree Paige-Barber

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Tajuana Paige

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