Cramps suck. There’s no other way to put it. It just sucks. You can’t move, you can’t do anything productive, and you can’t focus on anything except the crushing pain coming from your abdomen…and maybe your relentless craving for pretzels and frosting. Thankfully, though, there are some cheap and easy at-home remedies you can use to make those 4-7 days less excruciating. Read More »

Q: I have been getting extremely horrible PMS symptoms. I’m incredibly moody – sometimes to the point that I can’t get out of bed – my cramps are awful and I keep breaking out. Is there anything I can do to fix this?

A: I’m so sorry your menstrual cycles have been torturing you.  Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) can definitely turn the sweetest angel into the evilest monster around that time of the month.  But it doesn’t have to be that way. If your PMS is seriously affecting your well-being, relationships, job, or life, you may have a more serious form of PMS called PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder), so you may benefit from seeing a doctor.  But until then, here’s some tips:

Improving your PMS symptoms naturally:
- Eat a whole foods diet. You’ve heard it before, but it really does help. That means cutting back on sugar, refined carbohydrates, dairy, caffeine, processed foods, and saturated and hydrogenated (trans) fats, and instead adding fruits, veggies, and whole grains, especially during the luteal phase (second half) of your cycle. Sorry, but that means bye-bye chocolate. Read More »

Dear PMS:

Why?
Just why?

Who do you think you are? I mean really. You come around once a month like that annoying friend you don’t really want to hear from, yet every month, without fail, she asks you for plans and you feel sort of obligated. So you give in, but then coffee turns into an all day shopping ordeal and by the end you want to tear your hair out because now not only did you learn that you can’t stand the person you are with, but  – bonus lesson! – you learned that eating cookies DOES in fact equal having to buy a size up in your jeans.

Well that’s how I feel with you. Only instead of a day, it’s 5 and the only person I can’t stand to be around is myself. (The part of the too-tight jeans rings true thanks to you making me feel the urge to eat a bag of something salty, which of course leads me to want something sweet, which then of course leads me to want a tuna sandwich. I know! I don’t get it either!)

You make me weepy. I cry at Disney commercials (true story) and when the cheesy music comes on as the lesson is learned at the end of Full House. Strike that – you make me actually want to watch Full House. Read More »

I’ll never forget the time that I was traveling with a bunch of dudes and found myself faced with a UTI. Having had the nasty infections before, I knew without going to a doctor what, precisely, was going on down there.

And I needed to pee. (But of course I couldn’t).

Being with a bunch of guys, no one understood just what I was going through. In fact, they thought it was really hilarious. And wouldn’t let me get near the bathroom. But while they laughed, my body ached. So I slapped the guy nearest to the bathroom and shoved my way in. Yes, I hit him…and I do not regret it.

Urinary Tract Infections are one of the most painful things that you can experience. They burn. They ache. They make your pee smell foul. They make you feel like you have to urinate constantly, but when you try to go-you can’t!

And if all that isn’t bad enough, they could lead to septicemia, which is a nice way of saying you could lose your limbs. For real. Just ask Brazilian bombshell (and Miss World contestant) Mariana Bridi da Costa. She recently had her hands and feet amputated and it all stemmed from a terrible UTI.

So, yeah, they’re absolutely awful.

Luckily, my years of getting the infection have taught me how to avoid it. If you’re in the market to avoid UTIs (and, trust me you should be), take my advice and follow these tips: Read More »

We talk a lot about birth control around here (a natural progression from our daily musings about sex). We think its ability to stop babies is pretty badass, but many of us aren’t sure if that is worth all the crappy side effects: headaches, bloat, moodiness, debilitating cramps….We seriously thought we had it pretty bad until we found out that all of our suffering was nothing compared to those unlucky ladies who opted for the birth control patch.

While it was marketed as every woman’s dream birth control option (“Lower estrogen! Lasts all month! No need to remember those pesky daily pills!”), it has recently become every woman’s worst nightmare.

“The patch actually delivered much higher doses of estrogen than the pill; Johnson & Johnson failed to reveal this to the public for six years. At least fifty deaths have been attributed to the patch because of this, with thousands more women reporting alarming symptoms.”

The people behind the patch have been dealing with major lawsuits from patch users who experienced blood clots, strokes and heart attacks! Read More »

I don’t know about you, but if I never had to take the birth control pill again I would be one happy lady. Remembering to take it every morning, paying for it every month, and all the damn cramps are making me angry.

But what choice do we have, really? Condoms aren’t perfect, abstinence isn’t gonna happen, and I can barely take care of myself, let alone bring a child into my world.

Oh, and guys are always expecting it now! Seriously; I once told my ex that I wasn’t taking the pill and he looked at me like I had just told him I pooped in his shoe. How is that fair?

If only there were a birth control pill for guys. Wouldn’t that be amazing? Let them deal with all the crap we’ve been taking care of for years. Do you think guys would take it? Do you even think they know how good they have it?

Angry (it’s not my fault; my hormones go nuts on this damn pill!) I asked a boy those very questions. His answers surprised me (and made me cry…again, the hormones). Read More »

Feel a little bitchier, a little easier to cry than normal? No, it’s not in your head. It’s those damn hormones. Strange feelings come over us all that week before our period comes. Is my boyfriend cheating on me?, am I fat?, blah, blah, blah. Don’t let these thoughts stay with you and don’t let cramps ruin your day! Yoga can help.

Supta Baddha Konasana, also known as Goddess Pose, is a great pose to soothe PMS, cramping, and detox all that hormonal negativity.

Here’s what you do: Read More »

Thankfully, I’m not one to get horrible PMS. I get cramps – oh yes, do I get cramps – and there are a few days there when I feel like my entire body is made of big, fatty bricks, but I’m not one of those girls who threaten to kick your ass when you cut in front of her in the beer pong line or bursts into tears in the middle of the street for no reason during her period.

But what if you or somebody you know is one of those girls? Like it or not, PMS can be brutal; for the person suffering, as well as the people on the peripheral of the sufferer. PMS has been known to start fights, cause boyfriends to stand in complete confusion, and turn your best friend into a sudden raging beeetch who screams in your face for no reason. This is why, friends, we all need PMSBuddy.

PMSBuddy is a new handy-dandy website that lets you know when the women in your life are about to step off the ledge known as PMS. Get your friends to give you personal information about their flow (weird? You decide), and then add it to PMSBuddy‘s colorful little chart. In no time, you’ll be keeping track of all those wayward tears, tempter flair-ups, and immediate needs for chocolate. Plus, you’ll be able to stop taking anything personally during that time-span! Read More »

So the other day I came across this article and as my eyes traveled down the page I could feel my blood boiling. Not only does birth control add a few extra pounds (to some of us girls) and possibly cause random health problems, now people are saying that it effects the way those of us taking it “smell” potential mates. Like, BC might actually make it harder to find the right guy.

As someone who’s been taking it for 7 years, I obviously flipped out upon reading, because what the hell I’m just trying to stop my monster cramps and not have a baby!??!!

Read More »

I have a love/hate relationship with my Aunt Flow (the only love is the fact that I get it, hence, no pregnancy worries). Periods are not pleasant; the back aches, lower stomach cramps and nausea is enough to make me want to call out of work for one week a month. Sadly, my schedule and bank account do not permit such activities and I am forced to suck it up and deal.

After getting my period at the age of 10 (yes, feel sorry for me), I have had over ten + years to perfect dealing with this monthly nuisance. I am one of those chicks that gets her period BAD, like, cry on the bathroom floor bad. So, here’s how I’ve learned to deal (and some of my favorite, get-me-through-this-week, tips):

Pain Reliever. Any type of anti-inflammatory will work fine, but Pamprin is the best solution for those bad back and tummy pains. You’ll feel like new in no time!

Exercise. While it may be the last thing you want to do, any type of exercise will raise your endorphin levels and alleviate the tension in your lower area. My favorite is to jump on my treadmill and, while I feel like a mess on there, I feel much better when my workout is over.

Heat. Applying some heat to your pelvic area will break up the muscle cramping. If you can’t have a hot blanket wrapped around you at all times, the Heat Factory warmers or ThermaCare Heat Wraps are perfect to stick on the inside of your underwear for eight hours of warm, soothing comfort! Read More »