This episode focuses on Ashley, a Woven client, and her journey to overcome PMDD with the help of Creighton Model System and NaProTechnology. Hear about her 10 year journey to have it accurately diagnosed, frustration over limited options, and how the Creighton System and NaProTechnology drastically changed how she understood premenstrual dysphoric disorder (not premenstrual syndrome or PMS) and how it could be treated. This is the happy ending we all hope for, and I know you'll enjoy hearing Ashley's story!
NOTE: This episode includes brief references to sex, pregnancy loss, anxiety, and depression.
This podcast is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services. The information provided should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, and those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health provider regarding a medical condition. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room immediately. Neither Woven nor its staff, nor any contributor to this podcast, makes any representations, express or implied, with respect to the information provided herein or to its use.
This episode focuses on Ashley, a Woven client, and her journey to overcome PMDD with the help of Creighton Model System and NaProTechnology. Hear about her 10 year journey to have it accurately diagnosed, frustration over limited options, and how the Creighton System and NaProTechnology drastically changed how she understood premenstrual dysphoric disorder (not premenstrual syndrome or PMS) and how it could be treated. This is the happy ending we all hope for, and I know you'll enjoy hearing Ashley's story!
NOTE: This episode includes brief references to sex, pregnancy loss, anxiety, and depression.
This podcast is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services. The information provided should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, and those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health provider regarding a medical condition. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room immediately. Neither Woven nor its staff, nor any contributor to this podcast, makes any representations, express or implied, with respect to the information provided herein or to its use.
Caitlin:
Welcome to the Woven Well podcast. I'm your host, Caitlin Estes. I'm a certified fertility care practitioner with a master of divinity degree. Each episode will cover a topic that helps educate and empower you and your fertility while honoring the deep connection your fertility has with your faith. Let's get started. Welcome back to the Woven Well podcast. You know, I love introducing you all to some of the great clients that I get to work with. I love these clients stories because I feel like they give real insight into real world stories. So they help all of us to realize that there are other women out there walking similar paths and asking similar questions. We are not nearly as alone as we think, and that community is important. I think it is, and I believe you think it is too. So to continue with that trend, I've invited another client, Ashley, to join the podcast today. I began working with Ashley and her husband in late 2022 and have so enjoyed seeing all that's occurred in this area of their lives. Since that time, Ashley and her husband Connor live in Tennessee with their sons who are five and a half and three months old. Ashley, welcome to the show.
Ashley:
Thank you so much, Caitlin . I'm excited to be here.
Caitlin:
I'm excited for you to be here too and for everybody to get to hear a little bit of your story. Now, I just gave a little glimpse into your family, but I'd love for you to share a little bit about yourself, just so our listeners can kind of get to know you a little bit.
Ashley:
Absolutely. So like you said, my name's Ashley. I just turned 30 this year, so excited to start a new decade. I have two sons. They're five and a half and three months, so our oldest is in pre-kindergarten and does TaeKwonDo and our littlest guy is just growing like a weed, which is exactly what he's supposed to be doing. My husband and I just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. So it's just, it's a year of just appreciating and enjoying the life that we're where we've been building together.
Caitlin:
Aw , beautiful. Beautifully said. Thanks for sharing all that with us. Well, why don't we start off by you sharing what brought you to Creighton in the first place. I, I know that you were coming off of birth control, so why were you interested in coming off of it personally?
Ashley:
So I had been on birth control on and off since I was 17 years old. I'd had some menstrual issues , where I bled for three or four months straight and that was the only option. That was the only answer that was given was we're going to do birth control. When I got married, year or two after I got married, my husband and I decided that for moral reasons we weren't comfortable with the birth control. And so we got off of it and didn't try, but didn't prevent pregnancy. And about a year and a half later we got pregnant with our first son. So after we had our first son, I started experiencing some pretty significant premenstrual dysphoric disorder symptoms, which for those of you who don't know, I refer to it as PMS on crack. So basically for two weeks outta the month, I literally felt insane. I had very little control over my thoughts and emotions and I could feel just the distress and discomfort and again, talked to my OBGYN, talked to my primary care provider, talked to my chiropractor, and the only answer I got was birth control. So my husband and I just accepted that more kids were not going to be an option for us. And then in early 2022 , my husband rejoined the Catholic church and I was received into the Catholic church. And a woman that I met during the confirmation class said, well, hey, (somehow we got on this topic) my daughter used NaPro technology. Have you ever heard of it? I was like, I have no idea what this woman's talking about. So fast forward , got in touch with the NaPro doctor in our very first session, he said, this is what we're going to try medically, but your job is to find a Creighton practitioner because we can't do what we need to do until you understand your cycle. So that's how we found you.
Caitlin:
You shared all that so well because I can tell that a lot happened over those years and anyone who has experienced PMDD knows that it is the worst. I mean to feel like you have no control over your thoughts, over your emotions, knowing how it affects your family, your friends, your work, I mean it is all encompassing. And to be told that you only have one option and that it doesn't actually treat it, it just right suppresses it for a while . No wonder you all felt like, oh well we're never going to be able to be off birth control because this is what happens when I'm not. That has to have been an extremely defeating sort of time in life to feel like that was the only option.
Ashley:
And to clarify, I've struggled with anxiety and depression disorder since I was 13. So mental health is not a new arena for me. This felt categorically different and it did not matter how many times I tried to express that to a medical provider. The answer didn't change either. It's a problem with your anxiety or you need to be on birth control. And when I express that to the physician who's a NaPro provider, he said, yeah, that makes total sense because it's a hormonal issue, it's different. But on and off for 10 years I had tried to tell different providers something. It's not anxiety and depression, it's something hormonal. I can feel it. And the only answer was birth control.
Caitlin:
Wow, that, thank you for sharing that too, because I think about how many women experience this PMDD and think, oh, this must be what it's like to have anxiety and depression. But as you're mentioning it is a categorically different thing. It feels different and it does have a solution. Yes, it's hormonally based , but what do you know? There are hormonal solutions to that. Yes. So I love so much that you were able to get connected with someone, a NaPro provider, and get that treatment that you need. So what was it like switching from birth control to using the Creighton system? So what was that learning experience like for you?
Ashley:
So, and you'll find this really funny , I'm not sure why, but I think because I was so focused on being able to get off of birth control for medical reasons, I did not compute until we were really getting into Creighton that that meant that like you have to be cautious of when you have sex had not entered my mind at all. And so thankfully my sweet husband was prepared for that and has been more than on board the entire time. Yeah , he has loved watching me learn more about my body and learn about how these things work . He's loved watching me embrace who I am as a woman and, and that health looks different. But I was not prepared for that part. But it was not as difficult as I anticipated. Caitlin, you were really good about reminding me like it's a month, two months tops. And I even had a unique, my situation is unique in that it took us a little longer to learn my patterns. But even so, it's not as bad as it sounds. I promise it's really not. And so it , remembering to do the steps was the biggest thing, but the steps themselves for Creighton are not difficult. And the tracking is not difficult. And I just remember thinking like, could it really be this simple? All these years we've been searching for a way for me to feel healthy and us have the option if we want it to be able to have more kids and could it really be this easy? And it really is.
Caitlin:
That is amazing to me that in the process of learning, you were opened up to this world where it's so much simpler than you thought it was before. And I'm not surprised though, because when you're only given that one option told this is it, it can sometimes feel like a hopeless path ahead of you. You know, like, this is my only option and this is how it's going to change my whole life. But instead, when you have that provider who's giving you a natural, more generally more holistic approach and really looking at the root cause and treating it, you know, hormonal issue, treating it hormonally, it also gives you that ability to start learning the Creighton system, to start understanding what's going on in your own body in your own cycle, not just when you're fertile and when you're infertile, but also all this other information. I love that you said that Connor loves so much seeing you understand what it means, this next level of what it means to be a woman or like embracing your womanhood. I don't remember exactly how you phrased it, but I love that part of it because it is something that we often feel so disconnected from. You know, our fertility feels a little foreign to us, but I do believe that the Creighton system helps us to realize that it is simpler than we think and we are able to understand. So when you think about your time on birth control and then you compare that to your time using the Creighton system, you've already kind of described it, but I love hearing the differences. Like do you feel like Creighton has had noticeable benefits compared to using birth control?
Ashley:
Oh my goodness.
Caitlin:
I know birth control may be easier, but do you feel like there h ave been benefits to Creighton instead?
Ashley:
Honestly, I don't even know that. I would say birth control is easier birth control, which a lot of people don't realize. I'm sure you do, but if you don't take it at the exact same time every day, you're , it's effectiveness just plummets. And we're actually fairly confident We don't have medical proof, but we know we had a miscarriage early in our p in our marriage due to me not taking my birth control at the exact same time every day . These are things that they don't tell . These are things that people don't tell you. It might be on the label, but your medical provider generally doesn't tell you. It's just not discussed. So I would push back and say, I don't even know that I would say birth control is easier, but Creighton, I just feel healthier. I feel clearer. And it's very difficult to describe if you've never gone from a place of feeling okay to feeling well if you've not experienced that, it's hard to quantify. But the closest thing I can think of is if you've ever struggled with drinking enough water and then for a month you drink enough water and you can just feel inside the difference. It's like that, but with your female and hormonal health.
Caitlin:
Wow. And thanks also for saying that birth control isn't necessarily easier. I mean, it is promoted as an easier option, but is it actually easier? I think that's really good to question and think about. Take a step back a little bit. So thank you for sharing that. Speaking of impressions or how things are promoted, I feel like there is this false impression out there that natural systems like the Creighton system aren't effective for avoiding pregnancy. So listeners to our show know that that is not the case. It is actually as effective as 99.5% for avoiding pregnancy. So we're pretty proud of that. But I found that using a natural system helps clients discern decisions related to family planning in maybe new or different ways than when they're on birth control. So did Creighton play any role in helping you all to discern when to conceive again?
Ashley:
Caitlin , your listeners can't hear this, but you can see me chuckling. I, and I can go into the, the longer version if you want, but we've been using Creighton for about six months when we decided to consider having more kiddos. And that discernment process, like I said, I can share more if you want, but the Creighton piece of it, we decided, okay, we're going to try this month. It took one cycle. One cycle, which you know, the handbook says that like 70% of people within the first cycle, and it's something, I don't remember the statistic, but there's another one for within three months. And you hear those numbers and you think, yeah, okay, but you look back and I'm like, we tried on and off for a year and a half before we got pregnant with our first son, so it'll be a while . Yeah. One cycle. And I took the pregnancy test because I was going out with some friends that night and I wanted to know whether or not I could have a drink. I was like, it's probably too early to tell anyway. And I'm sure it's negative, but what the hey , and by golly it was very positive and we now have our our sweet littlest guy. So, but had we not, something that you've said in our sessions that I appreciate is that discernment may look different from month to month and that's okay. And so knowing that we had the freedom, I mean, once you're pregnant, you're pregnant, but as far as the discernment, if something drastically changed and we wanted to change our minds, we had the power to do that until conception. So that was also very freeing.
Caitlin:
I'm so glad to hear that. Absolutely. I think that using a natural system gives you the most freedom because you have that ability to make choices every single cycle depending on what you need and want that particular cycle. And that kind of flexibility just can't be had with any other method. I mean, not in the same way and at the same time, you're maintaining your health in a new way as well. So, you know, those years that you tried to conceive your first child, you know, we, we can't know what kind of underlying hormonal issues may have been happening at that time or other things that were going on. But now as you're working with an A provider, as you're charting your cycles, you have the ability to see signs of health, signs of concern and kind of address that very quickly as well. So I love that it was one cycle. You know, sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. But I love it when it does just because it's always a, a real surprise and that's always a joy too. But we are all a community of women who care very deeply about our fertility and about our faith, how those things interact with each other. We may have different stories, but we all have similar goals. We want to understand and we want to honor our fertility and you know, I know you and I view it as a gift from God and how important that it is. When we think about talking to the listeners and giving them one piece of advice, whether they may be thinking about starting the Creighton system or just general advice as it relates to all of this, what would you like to share with them?
Ashley:
Just don't give up. There's, I mean, I searched for 10 years for an answer and I had just accepted that I wasn't going to get one. And I'm so glad that the Lord saw fit for me to meet this woman. And we just happened to have this conversation that led us down this totally different path for my life, for our family's life that we now have another little, and maybe someday we'll choose to have more. And that's, that's a ball that's in my court. Again, that's a ball that's in our court as a family again that I had just accepted wouldn't be. And so even if you're not doing it for birth control reasons, if , if just for general health to seriously consider Creighton, it is one of the best investments you can make in your personal health. And if you're married or have kids, one of the best investments you can make in your family's health as well.
Caitlin:
Thank you for that encouragement. I know that means a lot and I think about that woman who suggested NaPro technology to you as well. Like it can be really difficult to make a suggestion to another woman as it relates to fertility or women's health. So definitely discern wisely with the spirit, whether or not you should say something and in what way.
Ashley:
Oh, absolutely.
Caitlin:
But we are a community of women and it is important that we share with one another because we're not always going to get that information through other avenues. So sometimes it is our joy to be able to share with someone else that, hey, there's a different way or you're not stuck where you feel stuck. And I love that she did feel prompted by the spirit and she did go ahead and say it, and you were able to receive that and go, as you said, down this totally different path that you wouldn't have been on otherwise. Well, Ashley, thank you so much for being on with us, for sharing so much of your story. And I'm just letting us get a deeper look into your life and how Creighton has been a part of it.
Ashley:
Absolutely. Thanks for inviting me. It's an honor to get to share and hopefully offer some encouragement to other women as well.
Caitlin:
Absolutely. Well listeners, our woven community is made up of some pretty incredible people. We ask honest questions about our fertility and our faith. We believe that our bodies were made with beauty and purpose and that we are intimately designed and loved by our creator, that our fertility plays a meaningful role in our lives. We believe this matters for all of us, regardless of our marital status or pregnancy intentions. And I would love for you to be a part of that community if you're not already. Maybe you'd like to learn the Creighton system like Ashley did by attending an introductory session. You can do that with myself as your certified fertility care practitioner, and we always have opportunities to do that in the upcoming weeks . So I'll be sure to link that registration in the show notes so you can join us. But as always, thanks so much for listening as we continue to explore together what it means to be woven well .