- Health Canada recently ruled that oral contraceptive Diane-35′s benefit as acne drug outweigh its risks. The European Medicines Agency is investigating the drug, as it is linked to four deaths and suspected in a number of strokes.
- A new article by Holly Grigg-Spall for Dame explains several ways use of the pill may affect relationships: hormonal contraceptives impact testosterone levels, depression, mood, and more.
- Meg Waite Clayton’s op-ed in the L.A. Times this week asks why we have such a double standard about contraception: there’s been a huge uproar about making Plan B available to girls, but no one has raised an eyebrow about availability of condoms to boys.
- At Shakesville, contributor Aphra Benn comments on new endometriosis research that finds higher risk in thin women, asking why research priorities aren’t focused on the most important questions for patients with endometriosis — such as its cause, diagnosis, and treatment.
- Education News China reports that female college students are being advised to use hormonal contraceptives to suppress their periods, so that menstruation doesn’t interfere with their studies.
- Handbag magazine offers advice for syncing your diet with the phases of your menstrual cycle, based on the work of Alisa Vitti. Unfortunately, the article fails to explain how to track and chart your cycle. Maybe the readers of Handbag already have this skill?
- What happens when a lady forgets to insert her tampon? She discovers that being embarrassed is overrated.
Contraceptive Double Standard, Forgotten Tampon, and More Weekend Links
May 25th, 2013 by Elizabeth KisslingFalling Cancer Rates, Class Action Suit against the Pill, Angelina’s Ovaries, and More Weekend Links
May 18th, 2013 by Elizabeth Kissling- We are big fans of Sarah Haskins Target Women series here at re:Cycling, and were sad to see her leave Current TV in 2010. So sad that we failed to notice the talents of her successor, Erin Gibson.
- A longitudinal population study of 2102 women over 20 years found that copper intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUDs) did not increase pain during menstruation, and levonorgestrel-releasing IUDs did reduce dysmenorrhea. The full study is available online and in downloadable PDF at the link.
- Think Before You Pink, the activist arm of Breast Cancer Action, is offering a free webinar about media literacy related to breast cancer news and health journalism on Wednesday May 29 and Thursday May 30 (it’s the same program offered twice for your convenience – sign up for one or the other, not both).
- Dr. Jen Gunter reports on an Australian study that shows the HPV vaccine to be highly effective in eliminating genital warts. She notes that at least 83% of girls ages 12-18 have received one dose of the vaccine and 73% in this age range have received all three doses in Australia, compared to the Unites States where only 32% of girls ages 13-17 have been vaccinated.
- Sociologist Lisa Wade reports that finances are a larger factor in the choice to remain childless for young women than for previous generations.
- Another outcome of the terminated Women’s Health Initiative hormone study in 2002? Researchers found that ovarian cancer rates were falling by about one percent each year before 2002, then dropped by more than two percent per year. Correlation doesn’t mean causation, as we all learned in basic statistics, but “the association is compelling”, said Hannah Yang of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.
- A group of about 60 Ontario women, among whom there have been 40 unwanted pregnancies and four abortions, are suing the manufacturers of Alysena birth control pill, recalled April 8 when it was discovered that some packs contained two rows of placebo pills instead of just one. The class action suit is seeking $800 million in damages.
- This week’s TMI at The Vagenda: What is it like to have a transvaginal ultrasound?
- In the onslaught of all the coverage of Angelina Jolie’s breasts this week, Susan Goldberg asks some important questions about her ovaries at Ms. magazine’s blog.
NIMH rejects the DSM, One More Girl, and More Weekend Links
May 11th, 2013 by Elizabeth Kissling- The National Institute of Mental Health – the world’s biggest mental health research funder — has announced that it will be “re-orienting its research away from DSM categories”. This announcement comes just a few weeks before the release of the newest edition of the famed Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), later this month.
- Doctors at NYU Langone Medical Center have found some women on low-dose birth control pills may have more pelvic pain during orgasm than women on higher-dose pills.
- One More Girl is a film in development about adverse effects of Gardasil and other HPV vaccines. The title is a spin on Merck’s advertising campaign, One Less Girl.
- We’ve linked and referenced a number of articles over the last several years about the pressure to have the right kind of labia, or a good vagina — whatever the hell that is. Each time another one pops up, there’s another bruise on my heart.
- More signs of the failure of sex education and of contraception education: Even teens and young women with the good fortune to have access to birth control often don’t understand how it — or their bodies — works.
Yaz and Yasmin Back in the Spotlight
May 9th, 2013 by Elizabeth KisslingGuest Post by Holly Grigg-Spall, Sweetening the Pill
Last year the FDA made the decision to keep the birth control pills Yaz, Yasmin, and Beyaz on the market despite controversy over corporate corruption of the review process.These drugs are back in the spotlight.
The French health minister has called for doctors to stop writing prescriptions, 2,000 lawsuits against Bayer launched in Canada last month, and Marie Claire Australia dedicated five pages to an in-depth feature about the side effects, instigating an investigation by the country’s top current affairs show Today Tonight.
Bayer has gone about settling the 13,000 lawsuits in the US out of court, likely with the hope of keeping the details of confidential files regarding marketing techniques and research out of the public eye. Unperturbed by mounting reports from women of the myriad health issues caused by their products, the company launched Yaz Flex in Australia at the end of 2012. The first oral contraceptive on the Australian market presented as being for the purpose of preventing periods, Yaz Flex comes in a digital dispenser that records how many pills have been taken and alerts the user when she’s missed a dose. There are enough tablets to allow for just three breaks a year. In the US in April the FDA, equally unperturbed, ruled that pharmaceutical company Activis can start selling generic versions of Yaz, providing a low-cost version of what has been the most expensive oral contraceptive of recent years.
The feature in Marie Claire Australia generated 300+ comments on the magazine and television show’s Facebook pages. Many of the commenters were women who had developed blood clots when taking these brands. Some had made the connection at the time and others made the link only as a result of the coverage after months or years of not knowing why they had endured the injuries. Some of the women were presently experiencing the symptoms of a blood clot mentioned in the show and made the decision to stop taking the pill as they typed.
The piece was written by a long-time member of the Yaz and Yasmin Survivors forum and balances interviews with women who suffered the serious physical side effects with those who have been victim to the serious psychological side effects. I’m among those who experienced a long list of negative physical and psychological effects when taking Yasmin for more than two years and it was this forum that prompted me to stop taking it.
Monash University in Australia is one of the few facilities to have undertaken research into the correlation between birth control pills and depression. Professor Jayashri Kulkarni found that women on the pill were twice as likely to experience depression, anxiety, and mental numbness (known as anhedonia). The Yale Daily News reports that in the wake of her research receiving a little media attention Dr Kulkarni received more than 300 emails from women “clearly describing when they went off the pill that they felt subjectively more happy. The anhedonia, for example, disappeared, the irritability disappeared, the sense of poor self esteem disappeared”.
She is now focusing her attention on researching what she believes to be the particular psychological impact of the Yaz brands, those pills containing the synthetic progesterone drospirenone and low-dose synthetic estrogen.
The Many Faces of Cervical Fluid
May 7th, 2013 by Elizabeth KisslingGuest Post by Kati Bicknell, Kindara
It has been brought to my attention several times that not all women’s cervical fluid matches the usual descriptions of sticky, creamy, egg white, or watery. This means some women are having a hard time charting their fertility, because they don’t know how to categorize their cervical fluid for their chart.
So today I’ll give you very detailed descriptions of the different types of cervical fluid, and how to classify them.
I’m going to be incorporating vaginal sensation into the mix here. Vaginal sensation is the way your vagina *feels* when different types of cervical fluid are present. You know how you can tell if the inside of your nose is wet, like when you have a runny nose? And you know how you can tell if the inside of your nose feels dry, like when you are in a dusty desert? You can tell the same things about your vagina as well, if you pay attention. The way your vagina feels can give you a lot of insight on the state of your fertility and what kind of cervical fluid you’re likely to find.
One thing to keep in mind when it comes to cervical fluid is that there is a baseline level of moisture that will always be present in the vagina. After all, it’s a mucus membrane, like your mouth. If you touched the inside of your cheek, it would be damp — same thing with the vagina. Don’t let that normal vaginal moisture confuse you. Unless there is a physical substance on your fingers or toilet paper, it doesn’t count as cervical fluid. (The exception here is watery cervical fluid: sometimes the water content is so high that there is nothing that will hold together, and it’s just plain wet. But in those cases there is usually so much of it that there is no question about whether or not it’s cervical fluid.)
Cervical fluid is measured above that baseline level of moisture. It tends to start out on the drier end of the spectrum, and it increases in water content as a woman approaches ovulation. Generally, the higher the water content, the more fertile the cervical fluid. After ovulation the water content will decrease.
Note: all cervical fluid is potentially fertile. If you are charting to avoid pregnancy, any cervical fluid you notice before ovulation means that your fertile window has begun. But for women who are trying to achieve pregnancy, there are definitely types of cervical fluid that are more optimal for getting pregnant. So, shall we launch our boat onto the sea of cervical fluid exploration? Lets!
These are the different categories of cervical fluid.
None:
- What it feels like (vaginal sensation): dry, or like “nothing’s going on.”
- What it looks like: nothing! Maybe a slight dampness on your fingers that will quickly evaporate.
- What it feels like on your fingers: a slight dampness.
- What it looks like on your underpants: nothing. Squeaky clean. You could wear those underpants again tomorrow if you wanted to (ain’t no one gots to know about it!).
Sticky:
- What it feels like (vaginal sensation): dry, sticky, or like “nothing’s going on.”
- What it looks like: whitish or yellowish, tiny bits of clear gummy bears, tiny pieces of drying rubber cement, grade school paste, wet Elmer’s glue, wet wood glue, crumbly off-white Play-doh, thick white or yellow cream, clumpy, pasty, tacky, gummy.
- What it feels like on your fingers: springy, sticky, crumbly, dry, pasty.
- What it looks like on your underpants: white or yellowish lines or areas that tend to sit on the top of the fabric, as opposed to soaking in. When it dries it forms a crust that can hard to wash out on laundry day.
Creamy (similar to sticky, but with a higher water content.):
- What it feels like (vaginal sensation): cool, slightly damp, or may not feel like anything.
- What it looks like: milky, cloudy, like hand lotion, yogurt, whole milk, or heavy cream.
- What it feels like on your fingers: smooth, creamy.
- What it looks like on your underpants: white or yellowish lines or areas that tend to sit on the top of the fabric, as opposed to soaking in. When it dries it forms a crust that can be hard to wash out on laundry day.
Eggwhite:
- What it feels like (vaginal sensation): slippery, lubricative.
- What it looks like: raw egg whites, wet rubber cement, clear, stretchy.
- What it feels like on your fingers: slippery or lubricative or stretches an inch or more between thumb and forefinger.
- What it looks like on your underpants: slippery, wet, may sit on top of the fabric, or soak in slightly.
Watery:
- What it feels like (vaginal sensation): water rushing, dripping or gushing out of your vagina; cold, wet sensation.
- What it looks like: clear or milky/clear, about the consistency of water or skim milk.
- What it feels like on your fingers: wet, slippery.
- What it looks like on your underpants: leaves round wet patches that soak into your underpants.
I’m sure I left out some possible descriptions of cervical fluid here. If I didn’t name one that you’ve personally experienced, let me know in the comments. I’ll add in more descriptors as needed, so we can make the most thorough cervical fluid compendium known to humankind!
Altering Cycles, the End of Birth Control Training, and More Weekend Links
May 4th, 2013 by Elizabeth Kissling
Screenshot from MotherWise website
http://motherwiselife.org/2013/03/11/an-open-letter-to-facebook/
- This open letter to Facebook from MotherWise is being circulated widely on the giant social network, protesting Facebook’s censorship of anatomical drawings of women’s bodies while objectifying representations of the same body parts and other violations of the Terms of Service are allowed to stand.
- The Family Medicine Committee of the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) is preparing to drop training in reproductive care, like providing women with contraception and counseling them about unintended pregnancies, from the training requirements for residents in family medicine.
- In this interview, Australian GP Dr Deirdre Little tells the story of a case report she previously published in the British Medical Journal of a 16-year-old female patient who suffered premature menopause following the Gardasil vaccine.
- More and more experts question the wisdom of annual pelvic exams.
- A new study from the University of Oregon found that 17% of young women surveyed alter the frequency and/or schedule of their menstrual cycle “by deviating from the instructions of hormonal contraceptives, which include birth-control pills, vaginal contraceptive rings and transdermal contraceptive patches”. More than half of these women learned how to do this from non-medical sources, such as friends or family members.
- What is like to have endometriosis?
“I have a decent tolerance to pain. I’ve had a baby, I have tattoos, I’ve had dental surgery without anesthetic because I’m crazy like that. I’m pretty good at distancing myself from pain and carrying on with what I have to do in my daily life.
The pain of endometriosis is so intolerable I would rather get tattooed on my teeth while giving birth to triplets every day of the week than endure another second of the pain of endometriosis.”
Empty Tampon Dispensers, Adolescent Endometriosis, Something about the Men in Menstruation, & More Weekend Links
April 27th, 2013 by Elizabeth Kissling- The video at right was made by the editor of the student newspaper, The Easterner, at Eastern Washington University, where I teach. I swear, I didn’t put her up to it! She made this video before I met her, when she came to interview me for the accompanying article.
- Tumblr user StewieIsMyHomeboy explains how to deal with a woman in your life who is on her period, because apparently there are still some people mystified by this.
- A new study in the Swedish journal, Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, reports that endometriosis may occur in adolescence. The disease is thought mostly to affect adult women, but apparently certain markers in adolescence are associated with a subsequent diagnosis of the disease.
- Talking about the men in menstruation with our own man in menstruation: re:Cycling contributor David Linton was the guest on Leslie Botha’s radio show, Holy Hormones, Honey!, on April 22. You can listen to the whole thing here.
- Tavi Gevinson’s version of Sassy for today’s teens, Rookie, has a thorough article about what young women wish they knew about periods: “Pointers for those who menstruate, or are about to“.
- There’s a new kind of menstrual education in town! Meet the Menstrual Doula.
- Users of Fertility Awareness Methods/Natural Family Planning are sure to appreciate this collection of illustrative gifs.
- FDA Creates New Mobile Cellphone App to Help Doctors And Consumers Report Deaths and Injuries From Medical Devices and Drugs. They promise not to sell your data.This could make a big difference in the reporting and collecting of data regarding adverse effects of all kinds of medications.
- Many re:Cycling readers are familiar with Menstrala, the menstrual art of Vanessa Tiegs (featured in a special menstruation-themed issue of Women’s Studies), or perhaps other artists who paint with menstrual blood. Laura Wershler sent in this link to Beauty in Blood, a project dedicated to capturing the natural beauty of menstrual blood flowing in water.
- Documentary filmmakers are casting women in their twenties and thirties to be part of a feature documentary based on a forthcoming book, Sweetening the Pill or How We Got Hooked on Hormonal Birth Control. If you’re in L.A. (or can get there easily), you could be in it. More detail here.
Health Literacy, the End of Vagina Jokes, Greening Your Period, and More Weekend Links
April 20th, 2013 by Elizabeth Kissling- Some useful definitions: health literacy and e-health.
- It’s great that we can finally say the word vagina, but are we done with vagina jokes yet?
- Your breasts aren’t perfect until your nipples are exactly the right color — enter nipple tattooing, or tittooing, if you prefer.
- Kosher medicine: How can doctors without knowledge of rabbinic law treat halachic infertility?
- BePreparedPeriod is offering a free Earth Day webinar about greening your period on April 22 — information to be discussed will include how chemicals in the environment (food & beauty products) are affecting women’s health; effects traditional menstrual products are having on the environment and your health, solutions to many menstrual product complaints such as irritation, vaginal dryness, TSS concerns; and eco-friendly, body-friendly, period-friendly products. Register here.
- Crankyfest has announced the winners of their First Annual Period Film Contest! You can view the winner and all eleven finalists at the Crankyfest site.
It Had to Be Done
April 19th, 2013 by Elizabeth KisslingMenstruation appears far more frequently film and television than you might think — Lauren Rosewarne recently identified more than 200 scenes in her study, Periods in Pop Culture. Other scholars, including David Linton, Chris Bobel, and me, have also written frequently about how menstruation is represented in media and pop culture. Certain themes recur, such ideas about fear, illness, shame, secrecy, and premenstrual craziness, to name just a few.
But this scene from the independent film Rid of Me is one-of-a-kind. A woman sees her husband’s new girlfriend in the grocery, and after a moment of icy stares, she quietly slips her hand into her jeans and then wipes it on her romantic rival’s face, leaving a wide streak of menstrual blood. No words are exchanged, and when the other woman discovers what is on her face, she runs screaming from the store.
[Spoilers ahead]
Rid of Me is described on its website and on Netflix as a ‘black comedy’, which seems to mean comedy which doesn’t make you laugh. It’s the story of Meris, a socially awkward young woman who moves to with her husband to his suburban Portland hometown, where he is soon reunited with his high school girlfriend. He leaves Meris for his ex, and alone in an unfamiliar place, she makes friends in the local punk scene.
When Meris is baffled at being terminated from employment at the candy shop a few days after the menstrual scene shown above, her officious co-worker Dawn tells her that it’s because of the disgusting thing she did: not only the assault, but “touching your own menses”. But the menstrual assault gives her street cred in her new community. When her BFF Trudy asks why she did it, Meris sighs and says, “It had to be done”.
But did it? While the new punked-out Meris is more confident, the use of her menstrual blood doesn’t read as an empowering act in the way of riot grrrls throwing used tampons on stage. This seems meant to embarrass or punish a sexual rival, a reinforcement of menstruation as a stigma.
I’d love to hear what re:Cycling readers think.
Pseudoacademia, Tossing away bras, and more weekend links
April 13th, 2013 by Elizabeth Kissling
- Last week, we joined many other women’s health activists in celebrating the judicial ruling making emergency contraception finally available over-the-counter. But this week, Roni Caryn Rabin points out in the New York Times that it may very little effect: “Studies have suggested that many women are not aware that there even is a morning-after pill. Plan B is expensive, about $50, and many women could find the price alone a deterrent. If drugstores choose to keep Plan B locked up, teenagers may be reluctant to ask for it”.
- Pseudo-academia: The growth of open access journals has also spawned growth in sketchy pay-to-publish scientific publishing.
- Two of our favorite menstrual activists, Chris Bobel and Chella Quint, were quoted in a piece on Alternet about menstrual taboo. The piece inspired this essay at The Hindu, and was discussed on the amTWiB podcast April 3 (a spin-off of TWiB [This Week in Blackness]). The discussion of the article starts at 45:26 and continues for about 15 minutes, until the show ends, at about 1:03, and inspired the title of the episode: “Real Men Buy Tampons”.
- Preliminary results of a 15-year study led by professor Jean-Denis Rouillon, University of Besançon, indicate that 1968 protestors were right: “Medically, physiologically, anatomically – breasts gain no benefit from being denied gravity. On the contrary, they get saggier with a bra”. Where’s the Freedom Trash Can now?
- Following the success of their post on DIY treatments for yeast infections and cystitis (mentioned in this space last Saturday), The Vagenda has launched a new feature dedicated to women’s health myth-busting, called “TMI all about our ladyproblems”. This week’s edition is a first-person narrative of the experience of Mirena IUD inserted.
Five Things You Should Know About the Three Vs
April 9th, 2013 by Elizabeth KisslingGuest post by Kati Bicknell, Kindara
Now I know in the title of this post I say “Five things you probably don’t know about your vagina,” but really it’s about more than your vagina. The V Book, by Elizabeth Gunther Stewart and Paula Spencer, is basically the owner’s manual for all people who have any of the following V’s — vagina, vulva, and vestibule. Don’t know what a vestibule is? Read on, my good friend!
I am a bonafide vagina nerd myself, and when I read this book I learned a BUNCH of things that I did not know. Here are my top five:
- So we all know (now) about cervical fluid, but did you know that it’s not the only substance produced by your lady bits to keep things running smoothly? Your vulva actually produces a thin waxy substance, called sebum that lubricates the folds of your labia! It’s a blend of oils, fats, waxes, and cholesterol. If it didn’t, your labia and everything else would be all friction-y and chafe when you walked, had sex, moved, did anything really. That blew my mind. Thanks, body!
- Have you ever wondered how the vagina is simultaneously quite small, (i.e., sometimes even putting in a tampon might be uncomfortable and “stretchy”) and also somehow stretches to accommodate a baby passing through it? I definitely have. Well, it’s all thanks to your rugae! Rugae are small pleats that allow the vagina to be both very small and compact, and then to expand to many times its original size when necessary. Rugae is kind of like ruching! You know, the process of using tons of fabric and then scrunching it so it becomes a smaller form. I’m wearing a ruched jacket at this very moment, actually. It makes you think, if you wore this dress to the prom, are you subliminally broadcasting “HEY! THIS IS WHAT THE INSIDE OF MY VAGINA LOOKS LIKE”?
- Vestibule! (I told you we’d get here.) Okay! So the vestibule is important enough to be included in the three V’s of the V book, and yet I was like, “where the heck is my vestibule?” Well, it’s the place in between your inner labia. Here it is on Wikipedia, with an image that is ***not safe for work,*** unless you work in the field of sexual health, in which case, click away!
- Labia (as in the labia majora and labia minora). This word is actually plural. If you are referring to only one lip it’s called a labium.
-
Only in rare instances is a human female born with the hymen completely covering the vaginal opening. Most hymens are a little circle of very thin skin that partially covers the vaginal opening, but still leaves space for menstrual blood and cervical fluid to come out. Here is a hilarious and educational video explaining more about this. [Editor's note: Many sex educators today call it the vaginal corona, not the hymen.]
And there is a LOT more info in that book. Tons. Go pick it up today and learn more than you ever thought possible about vaginas, vulvas, and vestibules!
EC is *finally* OTC, pregnant workers are getting fired, genetic link to ovarian cancer, and more weekend links
April 6th, 2013 by Elizabeth Kissling- A federal judge ruled yesterday that the FDA must remove any age and sale restrictions on emergency contraception (Plan B One-Step and its generic versions) within 30 days. This drug will now be available to women of all ages over-the-counter. Judge Edward R. Korman of Federal District Court wrote, “The F.D.A. has engaged in intolerable delays in processing the petition. Indeed, it could accurately be described as an administrative agency filibuster”.
- Mayo Clinic researchers have identified a gene they believe makes women more susceptible to ovarian cancer. Results of the study are published in the current issue of the journal Nature Communications.
- Tampax is on Instagram. If you’re there too, you can tell them what you think of this “sneak peek” of their new ad for their Radiant line of tampons. Radiant: You stand out. Your period doesn’t.
- Approximately 20% of gynaecology referrals are for heavy menstrual bleeding, but research indicates great variety in how these women are treated. A new study in Gynaecology recommends greater training and awareness of evidence-based management guidelines such as those from National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE).
- The Front-Bottom Buffet: On DIY cures for cystitis, yeast infections, and our need for body literacy. Read the comments, too.
- What’s it like to work while pregnant? It’s like getting fired, especially if you work in a low-wage job in the U.S.
- Check out the trailer for the 21st century re-make of Carrie. The infamous scene of period humiliation in the girls’ locker room has been updated for the times, too — Carrie’s classmates memorialize the incident with their cellphones for Instagram and Facebook. Of course they do.
Readers should note that statements published in re: Cycling are those of individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the Society as a whole.
