Some women might fear that self-stimulation could replicate the pain they've so frequently experienced with sex. While sex shops are filled with cylindrical vibrators and toys, there aren't many options for female shoppers seeking a decidedly non-penis-evoking experience.
Enter: Dame Products' Fin vibrator.
Read MoreA Women’s Health Tech Innovator Shares Her Personal Story & What Drives Her to Improve Conversations about Women’s Sexual Health
Read MoreHi readers — Erin Jackson here! I’m so thrilled to share this guest blog post from Estrella. She’s been a friend for the past couple years, and we’ve bonded over our shared passion for improving women’s pelvic health. I’m honored that she’s shared her story with us here. Please give it a read, and then head over to B-wom’s website to learn more about her app.
xo, Erin
My mother and I have been estranged for more than five years. While I was at my lowest point -- wheelchair bound, in excruciating pain, and suffering immensely -- she was critical and skeptical of my pain. That became intolerable, and my recovery ultimately required that I sever ties with her and work on rebuilding my emotional health and my strength. She's missed so much these past several years.
Read MoreI've been dairy-free for three years now and I've never felt healthier. Give these a try, and add your own to the list!
Read MoreIn the spirit of Thanksgiving today, I'm sharing my gratitude journey.... My yoga mat reminds me that I’m safe here, and that I’ve done this many times before. My mat has become a symbol of my strength and my ability to feel good. As I lug it around the city, it tells others “I’m a healthy woman!” But more importantly, it reminds me: “You’re a healthy woman. You did it. You made it. You survived.”
Read MoreWith the benefit of 20/20 hindsight and a joyously pain-free existence, I wish I hadn't given in so easily. I wish I'd searched harder for clothes that were both comfortable but also helped me retain a sense of me.
Read MorePeople who live in pain spend a lot of time smiling. But those smiles are different – they’re directed at others, they’re forced, and they’re intended to make other people feel more comfortable.
Read MoreI never wanted children until I decided I did. As I emerge a healthy, functioning human after being disabled by pelvic pain for years, my biological clock has begun blaring at me. It's an obnoxious take-no-prisoners alarm. There doesn’t seem to be an “off” switch, so I've been hitting "snooze" for the past two years.
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 MoreI’ve connected with many women around Chicago, holding hands across the table with them at Starbucks while we shed tears of sheer gratitude for the unique empathy and understanding we can offer to each other. I’ve giggled with them through mascara-stained cheeks as we wonder what nearby customers think of all this emotional vulva talk.
Read MoreI think we as patients would often be better off with no medical intervention. Because not all "intervention" counts as healthcare. And yesterday, while I saw a doctor and received an exam and had some tests run, I wasn't cared for. And it felt like shit.
Read MoreExercise feels good, it’s empowering, and it’s taught me to be in-tune with my strengths in a way I didn’t realize possible. I’ve formed friendships, gained confidence, and found community. And, had I listened to those providers who long ago told me I should live more gently, I would’ve missed out on the entire experience.
Read MoreMissy Lavender, CEO of Below Your Belt, has shared with us this primer on plane travel with a stressed-out bladder. Enjoy, and #flydry!
As a bladder health patient - part urge/part stress - I am on a constant 'bladder alert'. Yes, I know all the "to do's" and "not to do's" and, in general, I feel like I am winning the battle of the bladder. But then there is THE PLANE RIDE......(cue Star Wars theme, "dum de Dum, dum de Dum....")! How do you handle a one, two or in my case this morning, a three hour teeny tiny cylinder in the air, plane ride?
Read MoreToday, as I ran from my physical therapist's clinic to my yoga studio, I was reminded of something that I can't afford to moderate: my courage. At one point, as I've shared, going to my PT's clinic ("my PT") for tune-ups was a challenge. I wanted to be "better," and I thought that meant "having no need for any medical intervention." As I've grown these past two years, becoming an athlete, a yogi, a 40-pounds-heavier, living, breathing woman, I've changed my mind. My PT is vital to my enjoyment of life, because she allows me to continue to be courageous. She'll be there if I fall (as she's demonstrated oh-so-many times before).
Read MoreIf you’re a provider who treats those who hurt, I urge you to stay above the chaos of pain’s wrecking ball. You need to remain logical, focused on the end-goal and the pain science and the sensitivity of the patient’s nervous system. You need to be willing to refer patients to other providers. Be careful not to attempt treatments that are likely to worsen the patient’s suffering, simply because you’ve exhausted all other treatment modalities.
Read MoreFor years, my pelvic pain prevented me from having the fun, spontaneous, gloriously cliché 20-something sex that my friends were enjoying. You know – the kind of sex that they gushed about at brunch. Sex that was breaking their hearts and exhilarating their sense of liberated womanhood and adulthood. Sex that their doctors were lecturing them about. I couldn’t have that kind of sex because my vagina (and vulva and back and thighs) were excruciatingly painful. That was my dirty little secret.
Read MoreThese are my favorite lady products of 2016, but that doesn't mean they were all born in 2016. They're the sweet little nothings that made an arduous year (all those POTUS debates, amiright?) just a bit better or comfier or happier. So, without further adieu, enjoy!
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 MoreSo you have pain with sex, or you leak urine when you sneeze, or you feel a bulge in your vagina, or you have chronic constipation or any other “down there” health concern. Where do you begin? Having suffered from pelvic pain and an assortment of related health issues for years, these are my suggestions for finding the right provider, getting the help you need, and speaking candidly about tough issues.
Read MoreInspire Santé®
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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.
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