Diet

Depo-Provera Use and Bone Health

New science decreases concerns even about use in teenagers by Drs. Azita Goshtasebi & Jerilynn C. Prior Many teenagers and women of all ages around the world use a three monthly injection of medroxyprogesterone for contraception. This long-acting and highly effective birth control method is officially called DepoProvera® but for simplicity here we will call…
Stopping Depo-Provera

Many women experience difficulty when they stop taking Depo-Provera contraception – everything from heavy flow to amenorrhea, sore breasts, mood swings and weight gain. In this article based on a re:Cycling blog post for the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research (SMCR), Laura Wershler interviews Dr. Jerilynn Prior about what causes these adverse effects and what…
Perimenopause Frequently Asked Questions

Dr. Jerilynn C. Prior answers FAQ’s from Perimenopausal Women 1. My doctor has prescribed Clonidine 50mg and Prometrium 100mg daily to treat my hot flushes. Should I start both? In general, it is important to do ‘one at a time’ when trying out medications or any intervention for a symptom or a problem. If you…
Science based Natural Remedies for Hot Flushes and Night Sweats

Women may feel there are no effective improvements in hot flushes and night sweats except hormone therapy or perhaps a newer type of anti-depressive medication. They rightly may not want to take either of these kinds of medicines and feel instead they must either suffer or go through the pharmacy aisles to try all manner…
The ABCs Of Osteoporosis Prevention For Menopausal Women

Menopause means graduation! One year has passed since the last menstrual period—perimenopause is over. Because of the hormonal changes of the first few years after menopause, bone renovation is more rapid and risks for bone loss are greater. Thus we must continue habits that will keep bones healthy for the rest of our lives. Bone…
The ABCs of Osteoporosis Prevention for Teenage Women

Bone Health: As Simple as ABC! The teen years are a time of major change occurring before and after the first menstrual period. During these years bone not only increases in size (with growth) but also becomes stronger to reach peak bone mass. This is the best time in your life to build strong bones…
The ABCs of Osteoporosis Prevention for Premenopausal Women

Bone Health: As Simple as ABC! Bones are complex and important parts of us—carrying us around and protecting our vital organs as well providing a store of calcium. The premenopausal years are a time of gain to peak bone in the spine and to preserve maximum bone through until normal bone loss begins in perimenopause…
Documenting Ovulation with Quantitative Basal Temperature (QBT)

If our cycles are regular – about a month apart we assume we are ovulatory – meaning releasing an egg and making normal amounts of progesterone. However, ovulation is highly variable for all women. Progesterone raises our first morning (or basal) temperature a little bit. But so do many other things. Thus “basal body temperature”…
Perimenopause is a time of “Endogenous Ovarian Hyperstimulation”

“Perimenopausal endogenous ovarian hyper-stimulation” is the exact opposite of “The Myth of the Shriveling Ovary”: High estrogen levels during perimenopause, coupled with characteristically intermittent ovulation, can explain much of the misery of perimenopause. My hypothesis is based on the assumption that inhibin production decreases while there are still viable follicles (capable of producing both estrogen…
Young Women and Osteoporosis — Good news about treatment and prevention

Osteoporosis and broken bones are an old woman’s disease-right? No, that is not right! Young women do get osteoporosis-although rarely. The sooner we understand that young women can and do fracture bones and develop osteoporosis the better. Also, the sooner we accept that the bone we build in our childhood and teen years provides a…