Have you met Elvie yet? Or Ava? They’re fancy women's health tech devices that have hit the market in recent years. Here’s your cheat sheet to the who, what, and why of the most popular. If you've tried them, let us know what you thought!
Read MoreFor those who don't know, THINX are a period underwear that can substitute for (or give back-up to) tampons or pads. They're reusable (so they scratched my environmentalist itch), they're made by a woman-owned company (scratching my feminist itch), and they're utterly natural (scratching my itch to have transparency for those things I put in or on my body).
Read MoreSex proved a bit tricky to untangle. I looked it up in every dictionary in the house, but dictionaries are surprisingly and disappointingly silent on this point. Maybe the anti-sex-ed lobby is in bed with Merriam-Webster, or maybe there are fears that sexing up (definition below) the dictionary would cause the mass removal of dictionaries from American family rooms and classrooms. Even today, 20 years later, Dictionary.com provides a stunningly unhelpful definition.
Read MoreMy first period was dreadful from the first drop. I grabbed several pads and headed to my room with a tear-stained face. For the next few hours, until my mother returned home, I checked my underwear every few moments. Each time that I saw blood, I changed the pad. I think I probably changed it every 20 minutes until she came home. I had no idea what I was supposed to do and was woefully unprepared for this moment.
Read MoreSex after pelvic pain is f*#&ing scary (no pun intended). Nevertheless, I somehow DID find the courage to hop back in the sack, and I’m really glad that I did. This time, it didn’t feel like my PT’s voice was in my head the whole time, narrating where my knee should go, whether my pillow was at the right height, and whether I should reapply my Lidocaine.
Read MoreComing off years of chronic pelvic pain including surgeries, medications, excruciating pain, fear, and endless medical appointments, I’m understandably skeptical about what pregnancy would mean for my body. My providers have, over the years, offered advice that ranges from horrifying to reassuring.
Read MoreMy last post ended with my arrival in Chicago. After a two-day, cross-country drive from New Mexico, our UHaul pulled into town. We arrived in the midst of the 2014 Polar Vortex, the coldest winter that Chicago had seen in 30 years. My pain was so severe that I couldn’t wear pants or underwear, and the thick sheet of ice covering most of the city didn’t make it any easier to walk normally or navigate a wheelchair.
My husband and I unpacked our UHaul as the snow poured down, and then, surrounded by boxes, we sat on the floor of our apartment (above someone’s garage) and sipped hot chocolate. What had we done?
Read MoreIn 2011, I lived in New Mexico and was navigating the challenges of law school, as well as ongoing pelvic pain (which, at that point, I was simply ignoring for lack of available care). Facing mounting stress, I started developing GI issues (big surprise, right?). So, I made a doctor's appointment (crazy idea, huh?).
I wrote this letter to the hospital's patient advocate after my appointment that day. It tells the story from there.
Read MoreI recently wrote a blog entry for my law firm, Jackson LLP, about insurance discrimination against women in pain or suffering from chronic conditions. It's so relevant to Inspire Santé's mission that we're also sharing it here.
Read More"When was the first day of your last menstrual period?" Every woman who has gone to the doctor for any reason can relate to this. Upon your first interaction with the nurse or medical assistant, you're asked a series of questions, usually while they take your blood pressure, and they ask about your LMP (last menstrual period) in a monotone way. If you hesitate, they hand you a mini-calendar.
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”Inspire Santé”, “Hope Dealer,” and “Patients are people.” are all trademarks of ours. They stem from our founder Erin Jackson’s personal retelling and writing of her experience with pelvic pain. Words matter, and these are hers and ours. Don’t steal; it’s bad karma, and we’re trying to do good. If you use them, attribute them.
