Ep.132: Severe period pain at 14 -- Hope's Story

Hope began her period at age 12 and, by age 14, was already experiencing extreme menstrual cramps with her period. She went to her OBGYN to seek answers and began a journey of discovery, health, and healing. Today she shares about her experience as a teenager, her timeline and process for diagnosis, and what she's doing now to invest in her reproductive health even as a young woman who is not in a relationship. Fertility awareness for single women is just as important as anyone else. Whether you have painful periods or simply want to know when you ovulate, there are fertility awareness based methods like the Creighton model system available to you! 

NOTE: This episode is appropriate for all audiences. 

GUEST BIO: 
Hope is a young adult discovering the design of her body through charting with the Creighton Model. She has a history of difficult and irregular cycles as well as stage 2 and stage 4 endometriosis. She currently works at an organic, sustainable orchard and enjoys snowboarding in her free time. 

SHOW NOTES: 
Interested in learning about the Creighton Model System? You're in the right place! 

• Register for Creighton Introductory Session: Register here for our next Introductory Session

Looking for ways to implement fertility awareness into your life and faith? Check out out most helpful resources: 

• Substack Newsletter (free)
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Have a question or want to give us feedback? 

Transcript

Caitlin: 0:06

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 to the Woven Well podcast. We have another client story today. And you know, these are some of my favorites. It's so easy to feel alone and isolated. Certainly there's no one out there dealing with issues I'm dealing with or asking the questions that I'm asking, but there are, and you're not alone. And these client stories are designed to show you that there are other real women out there using natural fertility resources to transform their fertility journeys, whatever they may look like. So today we're talking with a young woman named Hope, who began learning Creighton because she believed it could be used to improve her cycle issues. So she's young, she's single, but she knew Creighton had something worthwhile to offer her, and I'm so glad that she gets to share a bit of that with us today. Hope , welcome to the show.

Hope: 1:19

Thanks, Caitlin . Thanks for having me. I'm so excited. It's going to be great.

Caitlin: 1:23

Yeah, I'm really excited too, and I think you really have a lot to offer with your story. So let's start off with just sharing a little bit about yourself so listeners can get to know you a bit

Hope: 1:34

Sure. Well, like I, like she said, I'm very young. I'm 21 and I'm one of six kids. I'm the second oldest and still live in my parents' house, but I'm okay with that. And I haven't, I'm not, I've not been in college and I'm actually working at an orchard that's close to me . It's a sustainable organic orchard. Yeah. It's, it's a new transition for me, but I, I love it. So that's, that's currently where I am. I snowboard on the side when there's snow in my area.

Caitlin: 2:05

Which is also really cool. So , I love that you do those things. I love that snowboarding is your hobby. I wish that I could snowboard, but maybe one day.

Hope: 2:15

It's never too late to learn.

Caitlin: 2:19

I tell you, when you grow up in the south, snowboarding is not really on your list of possibilities.

Hope: 2:24

That is a fair point . I understand.

Caitlin: 2:29

So we began working a little bit ago. You were not yet 21 when we started working together, but you had had menstrual health struggles for a while . So I'd love to hear a little bit about what you were dealing with and maybe what you already knew. Menstrual cycles in general at that point.

Hope: 2:51

Sure. You know, that's a great question. So, I was 12 when I got my first period. And I want to say I had a fairly solid, easy year and a half maybe. And my introduction to periods was fairly, like an overview. It wasn't very in depth , but it was probably good for me because probably all I could handle, like, you know, having my first period and just kind of learning it all, taking it all in. And, so all I knew was that generally you were to bleed every 28 to 30 ish days. And that's, I mean, that was kind of the extent of it. As I got a little older, I knew that somewhere in, in the middle of the month, you know, the egg was released, so you had ovulation as well. But , so yeah, I got my first menses at 12 and then 14 I started having some issues. Mostly pain, A lot of pain. And it actually started more gastrointestinal first. I had a lot of inflammatory things. Like, it was like weird. I would throw up every other month, like have a series of just being sick, but no reason. And then it kind of further progressed in seeing my gynecologist and her having a suspect that it was endometriosis. So then in 2018 when I was 15, I had one surgery to remove stage two endometriosis and went into, I think what they would consider it remission, went into remission. But then like after, after I'd say three years, I got to the point where like the tricks and tips that I learned along the way to manage the pain symptoms, and then I had new ones popping up. It was just pain at random times, pain during ovulation, like back pain and like inflammation, body inflammation. So like my knees were, you know, stiff and my joints and things like that, and migraines as well. So I went back to my doctor and she said, I, I suspect it's come back. And so then in 2021 November I had the first surgery, and diagnosed with stage f our endometriosis. And then I had, they couldn't do it then. They needed the Da Vinci Robot, which is a very cool machine if you've not known about it. It's very unique. So then in February of 2022, I had two surgeries to remove and repair the damage I had done in my body. So now since then, I'm still kind of on that journey of total recovery, but that's where I found Caitlin. So here we a re.

Caitlin: 5:42

Yeah. And I just, I want listeners to hear that you started having painful periods at age 14. And by age 15 you already had stage two endometriosis.

Hope: 5:57

Yeah.

Caitlin: 5:59

It can happen early and it can happen fast. And then

Hope: 6:04

It really can

Caitlin: 6:05

It came back for you and your description of how you felt it and all the different places and all the different symptoms you were having. A lot of times we get so compartmentalized that we would think, oh, we're having stiff joints, so I need to go to a joint doctor, or I'm having migraines, so I need to go to a neurologist. But it's like, no, we have to look at the whole person, whole body, and we knew that endometriosis was something that you dealt with in the past, so maybe let's look there next. And that was the cause of so many of those symptoms. So it's really important to see that full picture and know how it can affect all the different parts of your body.

Hope: 6:49

Yeah. And I, I am, I consider myself a lucky one because a lot--typically I believe the like time it takes to get diagnosed with endometriosis is like an average 10 years. You're right. So the fact that I got diagnosed, you know, three years, four years after I actually had my first menses is huge. And I'm forever blessed for that because, you know, not only did I have stage two, but then it increased to stage four , which is kind of, you kind of see it the other way around. It's intense and then it decreases over the years. So I try not to imagine, but I do for a little bit of time to give me perspective that, you know, if it had gone on and I haven't had anything, how much worse it would be. So

Caitlin: 7:31

That's a great point, a really great point. And you mentioned that it was at that point that you were led to Creighton. And so I'd love to hear, you know, what that process was like, what appealed to you about Creighton and, and how you decided to use it ?

Hope: 7:49

Yeah. So once I, my initial thought was like, okay, let's just get Endo taken care of. So we had the surgeries and my doctor is, is a strong advocate, NaPro fertility care obstetrician. So she, she loves all those types of things. And so she was encouraging me for, and you know, a while, and she was being very persistent, but very kind to let me decide when to do it on my own. And so finally , she, in one of my appointments, she kind of sat me down and said, look, like I understand you're having trouble with your cycles, but I would be so much , I would be in a better position to help you if you were to chart with Creighton and to actually physically see what your body is doing and what's happening so then I can better treat you. So that was kind of the first moment where it's like, okay, that's why it's beneficial, that's why I should do it. And that's really the appeal to me. That was the biggest thing. And my mom had done it before, so it wasn't completely unfamiliar to me. She didn't talk about it all the time just because she did it for like a stint of time, but it was hugely helpful for her. That's kind of how I got introduced.

Caitlin: 9:03

You mentioned that your doctor kept mentioning it, kept mentioning, kept mentioning it, but you were kind of pushing it off, like, oh , you know, maybe, maybe. Tell me about those hesitations that you had about starting Creighton. What were your thoughts?

Hope: 9:17

So , this might be a little , this is very honest. Yes. And it might sound funny, but my initial hesitation was it just, it was an unknown. That sounded just weird. Like all just, I couldn't comprehend it and I didn't, I didn't at that point have the desire to try to understand it. And so I just kinda like, I don't know about that. That just kinda seems weird and like, it's another thing to do and it just doesn't make me feel comfortable. So that was my initial hesitation. So once I got over myself, now I've seen the benefits of actually like learning the deeper things about your body and how it's created to work and the benefit that can come from.

Caitlin: 9:58

Well, I appreciate you being honest, because I want everyone to be honest, because the people who are listening are also feeling that same way. Like, this is kind of weird, it's kind of different. I don't know exactly what it is and what I would get from it. So those are really authentic thoughts to have as you're trying to decide if you're going to start something new. So I am very glad that your OBGYN was really kind of pushing and encouraging you to do it because like you said, you feel like you've gained a lot and you've learned a lot from Creighton. So , tell us about that process of learning Creighton, you know, what you feel like you have gained from it or maybe how it was challenging or anything you'd like to share.

Hope: 10:42

Yeah. Well, so before I'd started Creighton officially, and I was trying to find, when I ovulated on my own, that proved as a very stressful challenge because I was being directed that I should look for my ovulation in a certain timeframe. What I've learned and observed is that I actually ovulate much later than a lot of females or the typical normals I would say. And so it became very stressful and I couldn't, I couldn't figure it out. So now, like now I understand like how my body works and the patterns that like I myself can see. So now I actually know when I ovulate and I can give my doctor a better accurate date versus the, here's when it's supposed to happen for normal people or for most women try that, you know ? And for , for blood work, a lot of them want to do hormone blood work, and those are reliant, heavily reliant on P+3 and the following days after and when you ovulate and all that. So yeah , that's been the huge benefit.

Caitlin: 11:56

Being able to identify not just a window of fertility, because I love that you're using the term ovulation and trying to identify that, because so often we talk about a window of fertility, a window of infertility. But you're not talking about it as it relates to fertility. You're talking about it for health purposes. And so identifying when you likely ovulated within a cycle is extremely beneficial for reproductive health reasons, and like you said, , your OBGYN your physician needs to know roughly when that happens so that she can time hormone tests, she can supplement hormones if she needs to. Or provide whatever services that she wants to, to be able to help to diagnose and treat whatever you're dealing with. And so it's important to know that information for ourselves , even if we have no need of knowing when we're fertile or infertile, it's not reliant on that. It's simply good information to know as an individual.

Hope: 12:58

Definitely.

Caitlin: 13:00

You also mentioned that yours isn't "normal," that other women have it all during this time, but you're really different. I just want to clarify that it is so varied and everyone has a different window of time when they are more likely to ovulate. And so we really don't want to go based on what we see online or on those apps that we can download on our phone that say, oh, you're probably ovulate on cycle day 14, or whatever they tell you. Instead, it is pretty simple as you're explaining. It's pretty simple to learn when you're actually ovulating. And so that may be closer to cycle day 16, 20, 24. There's just so much variety there. So I just, I want to encourage listeners, but I also want to encourage you that it's not that other people are normal and you're abnormal. Okay. There is a good natural variety there too. So

Hope: 13:55

That is a good reminder. Definitely.

Caitlin: 13:58

So would you recommend it for other young single women, you know , what do you feel like is the biggest benefit for others who are in your same stage of life?

Hope: 14:11

I definitely would recommend it. Initially, Jumping back to your other question, initially, one of my other hesitations too was that it was categorized as like , a fertility tool. And I was like, I am not in a relationship that's going to lead to marriage or in any relationship period. And I , I don't need it for not getting pregnant or getting pregnant. So that was also sort of, I didn't know the other benefits besides that. So my encouragement to single, single women like me who are not in a relationship or, or married or even concerned about whether they're getting, getting pregnant or not putting , like, trying to avoid or anything like that is that it's still very beneficial and even more so beneficial I feel like, because if I were to enter into marriage, I feel more equipped now because if I want to avoid or I want to get pregnant, I know what to look for and I know the specific windows. So yes, definitely I would definitely recommend it and educate yourself because it's, it's so valuable to have that education of, of your body, but also like how our bodies in general are made. So work so that way you can kind of think for yourself.

Caitlin: 15:30

Mm . I love that advice because we are sort of in a cultural time and we've been there for a while that tells women that we can't really trust ourselves to know what's going on in our bodies or to understand our fertility, that it's too big, it's too scary, it's too other, but what you're saying is actually we all can understand what's going on in our cycles, in our hormones a nd our reproductive health overall. And t hat, that is a very empowering thing. I also think that the ability to use that with a medical professional who wants you to have a seat at the table, who wants to hear about your experience, who takes you seriously, who offers you respect. When you gave your story telling about how blessed you feel that age 14 or 15, you already had a physician who was listening to you and believing you and taking it seriously. Sometimes I feel like having that data can also be beneficial in that, especially if you have a medical professional who's not quite as initially, you know, kind a nd interested and invested as your provider was. So I think having that data and being able to bring it and say, Hey, this is what's going on in my cycles can be really helpful regardless of your age, regardless of your marital status or relationship status or anything else like that. Would you say that's been true for you t oo?

Hope: 17:05

Definitely. Yeah. That I, a hundred percent.

Caitlin: 17:09

Yeah.

Hope: 17:10

You couldn't have said it better.

Caitlin: 17:12

Well, I really appreciate your willingness to be on the show, share a little bit of your story and certainly how Creighton has been helpful, but also how you've been working with this more restorative reproductive approach for years now and how that's been beneficial for you on your journey of dealing with endometriosis.

Hope: 17:34

So , well, thank you. I'm so happy I was able to share and hopefully it, you know , occurred to somebody out there that, you know , not alone and you know, even though we're young, it's not too early to learn.

Caitlin: 17:45

That's exactly right. Well , thanks so much. Well, listeners, like she said, this is a reminder no one is disqualified from the benefits of Creighton or any restorative reproductive medical support. So you have options and resources and alternatives. There are providers out there who want to know about your health and want to work with you to investigate root causes of those concerns and then work to heal them together. You do not have to be pregnant or married or even out of your teenage years technically to begin investing in your reproductive health. So if you want to learn more about the Creighton model system like Hope did, then we actually have upcoming introductory sessions that you can attend online. So be sure to click the link in the show notes to see what those upcoming dates are and how you can join us. You can also listen to other client episodes where we talk about what's going on in different scenarios and how working with trusted medical providers or learning the Creighton system was transformative for them. We can create change in our own menstrual health when we have the knowledge and the resources that we need. Hopefully Woven Well can provide just a few of those for you. As always, thanks for listening as we continue to explore together what it means to be woven well .