Irregular Flow

Perimenopause Research Lecture: Fraser Health

Dr. Prior presenting at the Fraser Health Wellbeing Guest Speaker Series where she discussed Perimenopause – women’s misunderstood, confusing, and long midlife transition. This presentation was recorded at the Surrey Memorial Hospital, BC in December 2023.
Stride to Wellness: A Community Movement and Knowledge Exchange

On November 8, 2023, the CeMCOR team hosted a community event at the Mountain Equipment Company (MEC) store in Vancouver. The event included a run/walk led by Filsan Abdiaman, founder of Project Love Run, followed by a participatory design workshop involving community members, researchers, and facilitators. This workshop, a unique initiative by CeMCOR to strengthen…
Menstrual Flow and Timing Changes Following COVID-19 Infection or Vaccination

Acute COVID-19 Illness and Menstrual Cycles During hospitalization for acute illness with COVID-19 infection, younger women in Wuhan, China’s outbreak experienced changes in their menstrual cycles1. The most common change was to have menstrual cycles that were 33 or more days apart (that occurred for 42% of the 237 women studied)1. These longer cycles were…
Healing the Menstrual Cycle in PCOS

It is difficult living with PCOS or Anovulatory Androgen Excess (AAE) Current understanding PCOS is difficult to treat and can never be cured “The Pill”, combined hormonal contraceptives (CHC) of high estrogen/progestin is our best currently available and scientifically proven PCOS therapy Metformin is an important and safe medicine that acts to make insulin work…
New PCOS Therapy Article Written for Clue by Dr. Jerilynn Prior

Illustration by Emma Günther Dr. Jerilynn Prior has written an article on PCOS Therapy for women for the period tracking app, Clue. In this article, she challenges the common treatment approaches to Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and makes the case for a science-backed alternative centered on restoring ovulation. Drawing from decades of clinical research and…
Can a Blood Test Tell Me Whether I Am in Menopause?

There are several hormone levels that physicians may suggest ordering. For health care providers (HCP) these may include estrogen (our own estradiol is what laboratories can measure), luteinizing hormone (LH) or follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). In general it is reassuring to have a test ordered because your doctor doing something and that makes us feel…
How Can I Tell I Am in Perimenopause?

What’s going on? Why can’t I sleep normally, why am I so grumpy or suddenly anxious, why am I abruptly hot and sweaty? Could I be in perimenopause? CeMCOR believes that if: —our experiences have changed (see the Table of characteristic changes) —our hormone levels have changed (scientific evidence says that perimenopausal estrogen levels are…
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…
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…