LADYPARTS: taking a wide view on women's health

Andrea Muraskin

To make informed decisions about our health, we have to break taboos against publicly discussing our basic bodily functions - and most perplexing symptoms. Ladyparts takes a wide view, attempting to bridge the divide between mainstream medicine and holistic healthcare, and consider all of our options.

Episodes

  1. One in Ten: Taking a Wide View on Endometriosis

    03/17/2019

    One in Ten: Taking a Wide View on Endometriosis

    March is endometriosis awareness month. But here’s the thing about these months: they tend to highlight something we should be paying more attention to all the time. Endometriosis is a condition in which tissue similar to the lining inside the uterus (called “the endometrium”), is found outside the uterus, where it causes a chronic inflammatory reaction.  Symptoms include painful periods, painful ovulation, painful sex, heavy bleeding, chronic pelvic pain, and fatigue. It’s  also a major cause of infertility. The disease affects an estimated one in ten women in their reproductive years.  In Episode One, we took a deep dive into Orilissa, a new hormonal drug developed to treat endometriosis. This time, we’re  zooming out. Guests: Lucky Church, supportive husband of an endometriosis patient Linda Griffith, PhD, Founder & Director, Center for Gynopathology Research, School of Engineering, MIT, and endometriosis patient Serdar E. Bulun, MD, Chair  Dept. OB/GYN, Northwestern Univ. & Prentice Women’s Hospital Amy Jane Melhuish, patient and advocate Marc Possover, MD, President of the International Society Of Neuropelveology and Director, Possover International Medical Center Tamer Seckin, MD, Attending physician Lenox Hill Hospital and Founder, Endometriosis Foundation of America Ladyparts is hosted and produced by Andrea Muraskin, in partnership with Baobab Tree Studios in New Haven, Connecticut. Production help this week from Melissa Davis. The Ladyparts logo is by Jamie Squire, and our theme song is by Adam Ragusea.  Support Ladyparts on Patreon. Thanks to the Endometriosis Association of America for welcoming us at their annual conference. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    52 min
  2. Mind/Body

    01/21/2019

    Mind/Body

    This episode explores the mind-body connection from two very different angles. We hear Functional Medicine doctor and OBGYN Jessica Wei on how stress, hormones and the gut affect mental health and mood in women in particular. Psychoanalyst Jamieson Webster speaks about how women diagnosed with hysteria changed the way we treat mental illness, and why that seemingly outdated diagnosis still matters today. Jamieson's new book is Conversion Disorder: Listening to the Body in Psychoanalysis Also in the episode: a criminal justice reform package that somehow made it through Congress helps pregnant and menstruating prisoners. Get access to extended cuts of these and future interviews when you become a Ladyparts patron. (Yes, we're on Patreon!) Ladyparts is on Facebook. Like our page or request access to the private group. Other ways to get in touch: Twitter @andrea_muraskin, Instagram @andreamuraskin, email ladypartsradio@gmail.com Episodes from other podcasts we recommend: "Nursing the Mind" from Antidotes, Stories in Medicine "Resting Botox Face" from Household Name Ladyparts is hosted and produced by Andrea Muraskin. Production help this month from Melissa Davis. The Ladyparts logo is by Jamie Squire, and our theme song is by Adam Ragusea. Other music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions and Meavy Boy. If you liked this episode or even if you didn’t, consider giving it a rating in Apple Podcasts, iTunes, or Stitcher. Thanks so much for listening. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    54 min
  3. Bleeding Room

    12/17/2018

    Bleeding Room

    No-one wants to be in pain. In previous episodes we’ve discussed ways to help alleviate menstrual pain with medication, acupressure, herbs, and even surgery. But aside from not being in pain, if you bleed, when you bleed, what do you want? In this episode, we explore the concept of creating a special place in time and space for menstruation. Sometimes this happens by choice, as in the practice of “conscious menstruation,” and sometimes it’s enforced, as under cultural or religious taboos. What can we learn from taking a step back, turning away, in whatever small way, from society, from routine, and attuning to our internal cycle? Rate and review Links referenced in this episode: The Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute Sacred Artist and Hebrew Priestess-in-training Bekah Starr Call for submissions for "Cycles," a menstruation-based art show in Beacon, NY, curated by Bekah Starr (Deadline January 5, 2019) "A Girl Gets Her Period, And Is Banished To The Shed" 2015 NPR story on menstrual seclusion in Nepal, by Michaeleen Doucleff and Jane Greenhalgh, featuring Prakriti Kandel Non-profits working on menstruation sanitation and safety for women and girls: Nepal Water for Health, Wateraid, Wash United Recommended Podcasts Take Some Time Off Inflection Point with Lauren Schiller Credits Ladyparts is hosted and produced by Andrea Muraskin. Production help this month from Melissa Davis, Eamon Linehan , and Will Stratton. Parts of this episode were recorded at Boabab Tree Studios in New Haven, Connecticut. The Ladyparts logos are by Jamie Squire, and our theme song is by Adam Ragusea. Other music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions and Brevyn. Special thanks to Taya Shere. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    49 min
  4. Going with the Flow: Chinese Medicine for Women's Health

    11/19/2018

    Going with the Flow: Chinese Medicine for Women's Health

    Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) presents a completely different framework for understanding the body, and can be used on its own or in concert with conventional medicine. Guest Erik Harris is a holistic healing practitioner based in Connecticut. He holds a certificate in TCM from the Wu Healing Center in West Hartford, Connecticut, and he also has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Springfield College. Erik explains the TCM concepts of yin and yang, energy meridians and more. Plus: Chinese medicine approaches to infertility, painful periods and menopause symptoms. Research on Traditional Chinese Medicine for Women's Healthcare Effects of acupoint-stimulation for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea compared with NSAIDs: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 19 RCTs BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2017 Acupuncture and women’s health: an overview of the role of acupuncture and its clinical management in women’s reproductive health, Int J Womens Health, 2014 Effects of moxibustion or acupoint therapy for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea: a meta-analysis. Altern Ther Health Med, 2014 Treatment of menopausal symptoms with Er-xian decoction: a systematic review. Send to Am J Chin Med. 2008 Credits Production help for this episode from Melissa Davis, and from Eamon Linehan. Parts of this episode were recorded at Boabab Tree Studios in beautiful downtown New Haven, Connecticut. The Ladyparts logo is by Jamie Squire, and our theme song is by Adam Ragusea. Other music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions. Get in touch/share Website: ladypartspod.com Twitter: @Andrea_Muraskin IG: @andreamuraskin Email: ladypartsradio@gmail.com Please rate and review! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    36 min
  5. A New Drug for Endometriosis

    10/22/2018

    A New Drug for Endometriosis

    To make informed decisions about our health, we have to break taboos against publicly discussing our basic bodily functions - and most perplexing symptoms. Ladyparts takes a wide view, attempting to bridge the divide between mainstream medicine and holistic healthcare, and consider all of our options. The reproductive disorder endometriosis affects one in ten women. It can cause debilitating periods, pelvic pain and infertility. Endometriosis is most often treated with birth control pills or surgery. But this summer, the FDA approved the first ever medication formulated specifically to treat this disease. Elagolix, or Orilissa, suppresses the estrogen that fuels endometriosis, without putting the body into a full-blown menopausal state, as older drugs did. Yet expert disagree on its efficacy. And with a price tag of $1000 a month, is Orilissa worth it? Guests: Caitlin McDonough, endometriosis patient and advocate Hugh Taylor, MD, reproductive endocrinologist, chief of OBGYN at Yale- New Haven Hospital and endometriosis researcher David Redwine, MD, founder of the Oregon Institute of Endometriosis at St. Charles Medical Center, Bend, Oregon and expert in endometriosis surgery Resources: Report from phase III elagolix trials, New England Journal of Medicine ICER report on clinical and economic effectiveness of elagolix, full text ICER report, at-a-glance version Endowhat documentary Endometriosis patient information and advocacy: endopaedia.info (Dr. Redwine’s website) Endowhat.org Bad-periods.com [Endometropolis Facebook group] (this is a private patient group, you must request access) Credits: Ladyparts is hosted and produced by Andrea Muraskin, with editing help this week from Jenn Stanley. Special thanks to Casey Berna and Lucy Gellman. The Ladyparts logo is by Jamie Squire. Our theme song is by Adam Ragusea. Other music in this episode was provided by Blue Dot Sessions. Get in touch/share: Website: ladypartspod.com Twitter: @Andrea_Muraskin IG: @andreamuraskin Email: ladypartsradio@gmail.com Please rate and review! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    49 min
4.2
out of 5
23 Ratings

About

To make informed decisions about our health, we have to break taboos against publicly discussing our basic bodily functions - and most perplexing symptoms. Ladyparts takes a wide view, attempting to bridge the divide between mainstream medicine and holistic healthcare, and consider all of our options.