#teen endometriosis

[pro-birth]

From Natural Womanhood on Facebook:

Doctors often prescribe hormonal birth control, like the Pill, to manage endometriosis symptoms in teenage girls instead of performing definitive laparoscopic surgery. This delay in diagnosis is fueled by the misconception that menstrual irregularities and pain are normal for women. However, relying solely on the Pill can worsen the condition, impacting a woman's fertility when she eventually stops taking it.

#teen health #endometriosis #endo awareness month #women’s health

[sorrowandpride]

Gotta love seeing people shame women in your endometriosis group for enjoying their own infertility, and flat out tell them that they "don't actually suffer from the disorder" 🥴

#Srry one of the immutable criteria for endometriosis is 'wants to birth biological children more than anything' #If you don't give a shit about birthing biological children you just have speckly demon reproductive system Hell disorder #I feel for those who want to birth biological children and can't I really do #But I'm very very very tired of potential infertility being considered the WORST part of the disorder #When it full out disables so many of us #Also childfree women are allowed to make memes that reflect how they feel about their own medical condition #Mishka's Ramblings #I lost so much of my youth to this disease and I consider spending much of my teens and twenties bedridden and anemic #more tragic than maybe not being able to conceive and birth biological children #Women are more than our fertility #Misogyny CW

[kindaeccentric]

on the one hand, it's nice to have an official confirmed diagnosis. on the other it means I really am chronically ill and that exhaustion I always feel won't ever go away. so there's that.

#it's endometriosis #sick persy poor persy #i was tired my whole life ever since I was a teen. and people never took me seriously. I'm going to rub that diagnosis in everyone's face #i deserve it

[mental-mona]

#endometriosis 101 #endometriosis awareness month #endometriosis awareness #endometriosis #endometriosis in teens

[redgoldsparks]

February Reading and Reviews by Maia Kobabe

I post my reviews throughout the month on Storygraph and Goodreads, and do roundups here and on patreon. Reviews below the cut.

Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross read by Alex Wingfield and Rebecca Norfolk

This book started a little slowly for me, as I waited for Roman to regain his memories and for Iris to get back to reporting at the front. Luckily, the magical typewriters once again play a major role in this story as they did in the first one; Roman and Iris's letters are the emotional heart of this series. I also love how it fore fronts the importance of journalists during wartime. Iris's bravery and constant willingness to move towards danger and the unknown in service of sharing the truth makes her a very compelling character. Unfortunately, the magical divine conflict behind the war just didn't compel me very strongly in this book. I think the gods were introduced too slowly into the narrative, and that a lack of a human motivation behind the war simplified the conflict in a way that sucked some of the tension from the text. If you are looking for a solid romance with a strong epistolary element and the aesthetic of wartime setting, this series delivers; if instead you want a complicated, devastating, deeply emotional story of young people surviving a real historical war, pick up Code Name Verity or Rose Under Fire.

Mamo by Sas Milledge

Jo has lived in her small seaside hometown her whole life, and loves it there. But then things start to go wrong- curses, bad luck, mysterious illnesses. She seeks out the town witch and finds a teen girl about her own age, named Orla, who Jo has never met before. It turns out Orla has just returned to town after the death of her grandmother, the previous witch. She wasn't buried properly and her bones are scattered around the town, stirring up bad energy, disturbing the local fae and trolls. Jo and Orla set out of lay the old witch properly to rest, but there's more going on than either of them realize. This is a fairly short but well told tale, queer and magical, and with a little bittersweet edge.

Look on the Bright Side by Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann 

This is a very charming follow up to Go With The Flow, taking place over the friend group's following high school year. Brit, who was diagnosed with endometriosis at the end of the previous book, had a surgery to remove it over the summer. When she goes back to school, she finds her affection caught between two different boys. Christine has finally admitted to herself that she likes Abby as more than a friend... but telling Abby that is another matter. Abby is still working on her campaign of menstrual justice on campus, while Sasha struggles to balance her homework, sports, and time with her boyfriend. The girls learn, grow, make mistakes, and support each other.

Gathering Moss written and read by Robin Wall Kimmerer

It took me a little longer to get into this one than Braiding Sweetgrass, mainly because I had much less personal knowledge of mosses than the larger types of plants which Kimmerer wrote about in Sweetgrass. It doesn't help that mosses do not have common names, so are referred to mainly by scientific names, and I was rarely able to picture them well in my head. However, by about a third of the way through I had fallen into the miniature world of mosses and the striking and insightful ways Kimmerer links them to all other organisms in their ecosystems. I loved learning how mosses, like tardigrades, with which they probably co-evolved, can survive desiccation and be revived by water even after all seeming signs of life have disappeared. I was intrigued by the story of a moss species which changes its gender over its lifespan, starting out producing only female reproductive stalks in its early days, shifting producing a mix of male and female stalks as it matures, and then producing solely male stalks as the patch reaches peak density. I was frustrated by stories of the illegal moss harvesting which is stripping Oregon rain forests bare. And I was once again completely charmed by the beauty and generosity of Kimmerer's writing and worldview. She's a bestseller for a reason; I highly recommend everyone pick up at least one of her books at some point.

The High Desert by James Spooner 

James' white mother and his black father divorced when he was in elementary school, and he moved around a lot. For high school, he moved with his mom to Apple Valley, a barren small town in the desert an hour inland from Los Angeles. Already a skater, James encountered punk music just went he needed it most: as an isolated and angry teen in a racist town with little to no underground scene or counterculture. The music, and later, the politics, of punk raised James in the semi-absence of parents and role models. This memoir, chronically roughly a year, is an unflinchingly honest look at the cruelty, creativity, friendship, and solidarity of teens. It has the density and scratchy texture of a 90s zine without ever sacrificing clarity. I was very impressed by how clearly and in what detail Spooner was able to recreate his high school angst and activist awaking in this coming of age tale. Punk wasn't the music that found me, but I still remember the high of finding a new favorite band or song that felt as if it spoke right to my teen soul. This book is a testament to the power of music to reach into the dark and pull someone out into the light.

Falling Back in Love With Being Human written and read by Kai Cheng Thom 

Short and sweet, this book is half confession, half spell book. Each chapter is written as a letter- to trans women, to activists, to sex workers, to johns, to those contemplating suicide, to TERFs, to children's book writers- each followed with a little action or ritual. I listened to it as an audiobook and loved hearing the letters in the author's voice, but I can also see how reading it in print and lingering over each letter one at a time would be wonderful too.

The Great Beyond by Lea Murawiec translated by Aleshia Jensen 

Manel Naher is an anti-social and idiosyncratic young woman living an endless city in which everyone advertises their own names on street signs, sandwich boards, at social events, on business cards, and by simply shouting them at strangers. This may not sound so different from our own world except that it's driven by an even more intense desperation: if one's name is not known, and one's presence fades fully from people's minds, and the forgotten person will literally die. Manel wants nothing more than to escape the city into the wilds beyond it, but her presence is so low she suffers a near fatal heart attack and is scared into a fearful scramble to gain enough fame to live. Her attempts to claw her way into people's memories is surprisingly successful, and in the process of becoming one of the 1% she leaves behind everything and everyone she loved. Never before have I read a comic that felt so much like literary spec-fic. The concepts are fascinating and the cartooning knocked me off my feet. A visual masterpiece I'll be thinking about for a long time to come.

The Spectred Isle by KJ Charles read by Ruairi Carter

Saul Lazenby is a disgraced archeologist who served time for a war crime during the recent WWI. Back in England, disowned by his family, he struggled to support himself. The only job he is able to secure is as a personal assistant to a batty old major who believes in fairy stories and keeps sending Saul off to various parts of London to investigate supposedly occult sites. Saul knows it's all fake but he keeps investigating anyway... and then a tree bursts in flames in front of him. And a mysterious gentleman keeps showing up at the same sites of sacred groves or ancient wells which Saul's been sent to look at. That gentleman is Richard Glide, who just happens to be the heir to one of the oldest arcane families in England. And he can't tell if Saul is causing the spiritual problems that keep occurring around him or if it's all an unlikely coincidence. This historical romance is a fun and quick read, shorter than most of the KJ Charles books I've read before. Be warned, the end sets up a sequel which has not, and may not, ever actually come out- but I still enjoyed this one on it's own.

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson 

A gorgeous, nonlinear novel about three generations of a Black family living in New York between roughly the early 1990s to the mid 2000s. The chapters rotate between multiple POVs, covering moments of change, tension, or reflection for the family. The opening scene is the evening of a debut party for sixteen year old Melody, who wears the dress her own mother was supposed to wear at her debut... except that she was already pregnant. From that moment, the narrative spins back time to how each character arrived there: Iris, a teen who refused to give up her baby but also refused to settle into motherhood; Aubrey, a young man in love with a girl who was already leaving him; Iris's mother Sabe, a daughter of a survivor of the Tulsa massacre, a women who stores her money in gold bars hidden around the house; Iris's father Po'boy, who as a young man ran races, and as an old man holds more love for his family that his body can carry. The character work here is so strong- I was immediately swept away into the cares, worries, secrets, and longings of the family. I read the whole book in one day, but I'll be thinking about it for a long time.

We Are The Land: A Native History of California by Damon B Akins and William J Bauer Jr 

It took me a long time to read this book, as it was challenging to read a history of genocide while also seeing genocide in my phone every single day. But I'm ultimately very glad that I finished it. This is a well researched, approachable, indigenous-authored history of the native people in the land now called California. I enjoyed how place specific this book is. I felt much more connected to the history recognizing nearly every place name, and once the book got passed around the year 1900 I started to also recognize names of organizations that still exist and activists who I'm familiar with. I have a much better understanding of the patchwork creation of and the broken promises of the reservations, land allotments, and rancherias. I was happy whenever the book mentioned Pomo master basket weavers Elsie Allen and Mable McKay, who my mom has been telling me about for years, or Greg Sarris, Santa Rosa based chairman of the Graton Rancheria and author. I have a better understanding of this land where I have lived and worked all my life after reading this book.

Zodiac: A Graphic Novel by Ai Weiwei, Elettra Stamboulis and Gianluca Costantini

I've been following Ai Weiwei's work since about 2010, and was absolutely delighted to learn he was releasing a comic memoir. I managed to snag a signed copy though the Comix Experience Graphic Novel of the Month Club and I will treasure it. This book is organized into 12 chapters, each themed around one animal from the zodiac. It weaves together slice of life moments from Ai Weiwei's day to day life, stories of his father (the revolutionary poet Ai Qing), memories of Ai's time as an art student in New York, his incarceration, time spent with his mother, his partner, and his son, conversations with artist friends and some of his international exhibitions. It is not a tight narrative; it wanders, it indulges in myths and fairy tales, it is open ended and I enjoyed it so much. It was written along with Elettra Stamboulis, and draw in a delicate lose line art style by Gianluca Costantini. A few of the lines from the end of the book haven't left my head since I read them: "Freedom of speech and human rights are not given to anybody for free. They always come through fighting and struggle" (101); "Any artist who isn't an activist is a dead artist" (165) and "... the purpose of art, which is to fight for freedom."(166)

Witchy Vol 2 by Ariel Salmat Ries 

This volume was just as beautifully drawn as book 1; the cartooning is masterful, but I don't have a very good sense of where the larger plot is going. This book was mostly a long side quest in which Nyneve learned how to make a broom under an exiled gay broom making master. I enjoyed this! However it didn't particularly seem to move the story forward. I will keep reading, but the sense of drama and urgency from the beginning of the first book is slightly missing here.

No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull read by Dion Graham  

What a ride! I went into this book knowing almost nothing, and I think that was the right way to go so I shall not summarize the plot. This is the first book of a series; it's ambitious, it's weird, it's got a very large and extremely diverse cast; it is such a fresh and original take on a contemporary sci-fi in which the world realizes that monsters, gods, and magic have existed all along. I worried a little in the first third that the book maybe had too many POV characters, most of whom seemed very unconnected from each other except by geographical proximity to either Cambridge, Mass, or the island of St Thomas. However by the end almost all of the characters had been at least tenuously linked by plot events in a way that really worked for me. The book also has trans, nonbinary, asexual, queer, and poly characters whose identities are only revealed slowly, and usually after you've known the character for a while. I am very impressed by the scope of this story and definitely plan to continue with the series.

Arrive In My Hands by Trinidad Escobar 

Sensual, at times tender, at times haunting, this beautiful little book is a collection of lesbian erotic comics from a poet artist at the top of her field. I am definitely biased, having been friends with the author for years, but I also deeply admire this work. The women, witches, and creatures in these stories yearn for pleasure and for freedom; they chase both through oceans, forests, broken suburban towns, and through dreams. The book is perfectly sized to hold close to your heart.

Bird by Bird by Annie Lamott read by Susan Bennett

I've been hearing about this book for years as a writing guide, but it is almost equally a memoir or collection of anecdotes about the writing life. Parts of it worked for me and other parts didn't. The author has a very different type of brain than I have, and the chapters on working through the anxiety, neurosis, and depression she suffered from when trying to write didn't really speak to me at all. I also did not enjoy the handful of flippant jokes about killing yourself when the writing isn't going well. However. There are also some genuinely really moving pieces about writing books as gifts to loved ones, especially loved ones who are soon to leave us. I thought a lot of the advice in the middle about focusing on details, on recording memories, on research, and on character development was really solid, and I want to keep some of it in mind when I start developing my next book. There was also a set of lines in the introduction, about how writers are able to participate in public life while also working from home and without leaving the house which hit the nail on the head of why I entered this career!

Recitatif by Toni Morrison read by Bahni Turpin with an intro written and read by Zadie Smith

I've been wanting to try another Toni Morrison, since the only one I had previously read in high school went completely over my head at age 15. Recitatif is Morrison's only short story, and this audiobook version is read by the wonderful Bahni Turpin (who you might recognize from Angie Thomas or Akwaeke Emezi's audiobooks). Also included in an excellent essay written and read by Zadie Smith. This comes first in the audio, but if you are new to the story as I was, skip the essay and listen to the story first! Then go back and listen to the essay afterwards. This way the cleverness and impact of the story can hit you fully. It is so smart, so well crafted, and such a master class in writing that both reveals and conceals so much about the complicated relationship of two damaged women.

Delicious in Dungeon vol 1 by Ryoko Kui 

I can immediately see why so many people are charmed by this world and these characters! This is the start of a really fun D&D infused adventure story, with a small group of down on their luck adventures deciding to cut their adventuring costs by eating the monsters they kill in the dungeon. The man behind this idea, Laos, is also searching for a missing sister who may or may not have already been eaten by a dragon. I already have books 2 and 3 on hold; I haven't been so captured by a manga series since starting Witch Hat Atelier.

Delicious in Dungeon vol 2 by Ryoko Kui

I devoured this book as quickly as book one. Our adventure party gets a bit deeper into the dungeon and begin to have more meaningful interactions with the beings who dwell there, including an Orc family just trying to get by, golems which grow vegetables on their backs, and living paintings which might reveal more of the buried castle's history.

Delicious in Dungeon vol 3 by Ryoko Kui

A flashback reveals more of the school friendship of Marcelle and Falin; a deep underground lake leads to many encounters with watery monsters of various types. I continue to have a very fun time with this series!

Bunt by Ngozi Ukazu and Mad Rupert

Molly grew up in Peachtree, Georgia, in her lesbian moms' hardware store, in the shadow of the town's prestigious and expensive art college, PICA. Every since she can remember, she's wanted to attend PICA- despite the fact that her best friend dropped out last year and says the school chews people up and spits them out. But Molly got a full ride scholarship, so her first semester should be a breeze, right? No! Because when she shows up to orientation, no one can find her scholarship or even her registration. It turns Molly will have to pay for her first year after all; she takes out some dodgy loans and scours the financial aid booklets for any other scholarship she can apply for. It turns out, if she can scrape up a full team of softball players... and they compete against other college teams in the same division... and they win at least one game over the course of the semester... the whole team gets a free tuition! Is it possible to win one game with a bunch of big-ego, burned-out, athletically-challenged artists? I loved the energy of this story, with many well-informed digs at art school culture and hypocrisy. The team has great chemistry and the art style is full of action, physical humor, and delightfully expressive cartooning.

#comics #book reviews #reading #comic book reviews #book recs

[chiqitadave]

2016 tumblr teens were talking about their ovaries way too much

your ovaries are bursting because you have endometriosis not because of benedict cumberbatch girlypop

[edai-crplpnk]

Some Team 7 + Team 10 chara sheets!

I did more chara sheets for my modern AU. (I did Team 8 + Sand Sibs here!) They don't appear much in the fics I already wrote, I don't know if they will in the future (maybe some plan for Naruto & Jiraiya fic one day?) but I have headcanons for them!

1 - The Girlfriends

Additional facts!

Sakura:

She's been best friend with Naruto since childhood and was quite scared to come out to him as a teen, not so much because she thought he'd reject her entirely but more because she was scared it would change their dynamics if they weren't boy friends anymore. Naruto was very excited about the whole thing, and supported her plenty in her transition.

She's training to be a surgeon and met Ino in med school.

In Seeing Stars, she is roommate with Lee and Tenten, but she'll move in with Ino later, and Gaara will take her place (well, more like he'll take Lee's bed room and there is one free now but-)

This is my "everyone is gay, everyone is disabled" AU and she is the token abled chara for now, but that might change if I get inspired. Not fully set on that.

Ino:

She's known she was a lesbian (although maybe not in this word) since very young. Also, at the time, Shikamaru and Chouji were perceived as such too, so that made them a trio.

She graduates to be a physical therapist around the year of Seeing Stars. She trained a lot on Sakura (lovingly) and Lee (more brutally).

Her endometriosis is somewhat managed by progesterone but she still has some flare-ups from time to time.

2 - The Boyfriends

Chouji:

They are Brazilian through their mother and Japanese through Chouza.

They struggled a bit figuring out their gender and tried presenting more masculine earlier in their transition, cutting their hair short and all that, but really didn't like it and, after some distress and talking it through with Ino and Shikamaru, let themself own that they were, really, a femboy. He is cool with masculine words (like being Shikamaru's boyfriend).

They considered stopping T after a while but liked how it felt for the most part, and it also helped manage PCOS symptoms.

He is rather sensory-seeking and loves being able to play around with textures, colours and sparkles.

He manages chronic pain with compressive clothes, knee braces and crutches.

Shikamaru:

Identified as a boy for about forever, and was very uncomfortable with being perceived as a lesbian with Chouji as a teen (which Chouji didn't really mind on his end), in a good part because of dysphoria, but also because he's never been into girls? (Dating Chouji has been a lot of confusion until they both figured themselves out, but it did feel right, somehow. Now he knows why.)

It might not have happened yet by the time of Seeing Stars because this shit takes time, but he is eventually getting phalloplasty and a cool tattoo sleeve on his left arm afterwards to hide the graft site.

Between his fatigue and Chouij's pain, they are a very cuddly pair and spending a lot of time in each other's presence at home. It's not always easy to go out and do things whatever they may be, but they make sure that the time they spend home together feels significant and not just routine.

3 - The Not Boyfriends

Naruto:

After some chaotic and pretty traumatic time in the foster care system as a baby and young child, he was taken in by Jiraiya, a relative of Kushina. He still lives with him as an adult, though they have a more roommate-y relationship than father/son.

He has struggled a lot with school the whole time, and it got worse after being separated from Sasuke (see below) and Sakura (because he failed and had to repeat some years along the way). He didn't graduate from high school in the end.

He does restaurant delivery by bike for a living, which provides him with both a lot of time spent working the hyperactivity out, and social contact with all the cooks in the neighbourhood (who all love him and have adopted him like a stray cat.)

He is very good friend with Kiba. They met in group therapy but Kiba is not great at that so they mostly meet to smoke together.

He is bi but probably too obsessed with Sasuke and the faith he have they'll be together again to really put himself out there for anyone.

Sasuke:

He and Naruto were close (and eventually sort of dating) as children and teens, but they got into a fireworks accident together where they both lost an arm (and Sasuke some hearing). Fugaku moved him to private schooling after the events, and they haven't reconnected since then.

He has sort of convinced himself he is straight, not even out of complicated feelings for his sexuality, but really just to be able to think he isn't and has never been into Naruto, because he resents him a lot for the accident and doesn't want to come to term with forgiveness or even just admitting he is still important to him.

He's tried using a prosthetic arm for years after his injury, but never quite found one he managed to work with. He also has important phantom pain that plays into that.

For now, he's joined the police like Fugaku. Let's all hope he'll get himself together eventually.

#team 7 #team 10 #sakura haruno #ino yamanaka #choji akimichi #shikamaru nara #naruto uzumaki #sasuke uchiha #inosaku #shikacho #sasunaru #narusasu #sns #trans choji akimichi #trans shikamaru nara #trans sakura haruno #non binary choji akimichi #naruto headcanon #modern au

[a-room-of-my-own]

The FDA hasn’t approved them for gender dysphoria, and their effects are serious and permanent.

The fashion for transgenderism has brought with it a new euphemism: “gender-affirming care,” which means surgical and pharmacological interventions designed to make the body look and feel more like that of the opposite sex. Gender-affirming care for children involves the use of “puberty blockers”: one of five powerful synthetic drugs that block the natural production of sex hormones.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved those medications to treat prostate cancer, endometriosis, certain types of infertility and a rare childhood disease caused by a genetic mutation. But it has never approved them for gender dysphoria, the clinical term for the belief that one’s body is the wrong sex.

Thus the drugs, led by AbbVie’s Lupron, are prescribed to minors “off label.” (They are also used off-label for chemical castration of repeat sex offenders.) Off-label dispensing is legal; some half of all prescriptions in the U.S. are for off-label uses. But off-label use circumvents the FDA’s authority to examine drug safety and efficacy, especially when the patients are children. Some U.S. states have eliminated the need for parental consent for teens as young as 15 to start puberty blockers.

Proponents of puberty blockers contend there is little downside. The Department of Health and Human Services claims puberty blockers are “reversible.” It omits the evidence that “by impeding the usual process of sexual orientation and gender identity development,” these drugs “effectively ‘lock in’ children and young people to a treatment pathway,” according to a report by Britain’s National Health Service, which cites studies finding that 96% to 98% of minors prescribed puberty blockers proceed to cross-sex hormones.

Gender advocates also falsely contend that puberty blockers for children and teens have been “used safely since the late 1980s,” as a recent Scientific American article put it. That ignores substantial evidence of harmful long-term side effects.

The Center for Investigative Reporting revealed in 2017 that the FDA had received more than 10,000 adverse event reports from women who were given Lupron off-label as children to help them grow taller. They reported thinning and brittle bones, teeth that shed enamel or cracked, degenerative spinal disks, painful joints, radical mood swings, seizures, migraines and suicidal thoughts. Some developed fibromyalgia. There were reports of fertility problems and cognitive issues.

The FDA in 2016 ordered AbbVie to add a warning that children on Lupron might develop new or intensified psychiatric problems. Transgender children are at least three times as likely as the general population to have anxiety, depression and neurodevelopmental disorders. Last year, the FDA added another warning for children about the risk of brain swelling and vision loss.

The lack of research demonstrating that benefits outweigh the risks has resulted in some noteworthy pushback in the U.S. and abroad. Republican legislatures in a dozen states have curtailed or banned gender-affirming care for minors. Finland, citing concerns about side effects, in 2020 cut back puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to minors. Sweden followed suit in 2022 and Norway this year. Britain’s National Health Service shuttered the country’s largest youth gender clinic after 35 clinicians resigned over three years, complaining they were pressured to overdiagnose gay, mentally ill, and autistic teens and prescribe medications that made their conditions worse.

Still, the U.S. and most European countries embrace a standard of care that pushes youngsters toward “gender-affirming” treatments. It circumvents “watchful waiting” and talk therapy and diagnoses many children as gender dysphoric when they may simply be going through a phase.

Gender-affirming care for children is undoubtedly a flashpoint in America’s culture wars. It is also a human experiment on children and teens, the most vulnerable patients. Ignoring the long-term dangers posed by unrestricted off-label dispensing of powerful puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, combined with the large overdiagnosis of minors as gender dysphoric, borders on child abuse.

#gender critical #transgender #radfem please interact #radfem

[amywritesthings]

✨ March is Endometriosis Awareness Month! ✨

I just wanted to take a short moment this morning because, although it's nearly the end of the month, it's an important topic I want to cover with any of my uterus-owning followers. I know I don't often talk about real-life things on this blog, but repro-issue visibility is important to me and so is healthcare!

If you don't already know, I have a chronic disease called Endometriosis which has effectively stunted my quality of life for most of my teen and adult years. I am Stage Four, but have been in remission since 2019.

If you ever feel immense emotional changes or pain during cycles, please know you are seen and you are valid! Your pain is not normal. Your suffering is not normal. So many doctors dismiss uterus owners but I just want to tell you that you can fight for advocacy and push back.

You are not alone in this world if you have anything like Endo, PCOS, PMDD, Adenomyosis, etc. Awareness and conversations about these diseases that diminish quality of life to millions are so important, and my inbox/dms are always open to my followers and mutuals if you're going through something and need someone to listen. Much love to everyone, and best of health and wellness! xo

#tw medical #tw reproductive heath #tw health #endometriosis awareness month

[chaithetics]

A Cinematic Lover Chapter 1

Pairing: Dieter Bravo x f reader

Word count: 3.7K

Chapter/content warning: 18+ MINORS DNI (no smut in this chapter), mentions of substance use, chronic illness, endometriosis, fibroids. (Reader doesn't have any physical descriptions or implied characteristics but does have chronic illnesses and is explicitly diagnosed as having endometriosis, fibroids and vaginismus, which will be mentioned in more detail in further chapters).

Summary: Dieter Bravo is a fan of a screenwriter and may have a small crush on her. He seizes the opportunity to finally work with her on her latest project but is this more than a crush?

Note: I plan to finish/post the next part of The Miller's Buttercup on Monday or Tuesday. I've just been toying with this idea for a couple of weeks now and really wanted to finish part 1 (I wanted to procrastinate) and was inspired to finish it after reading some of the wholesome Dieter x horror lover fics by @coulsons-fullmetal-cellist (I was procrastinating and reading their fics, would recommend you do the same).

Let me know what you think! I hope you enjoy :)

P. S the Dieter Bravo gifs are killing me

*********

Sati Gajjar was talented, there was no doubt about it, she was finally getting the recognition that she deserved and her name was becoming a hot one to work with. She was down-to-earth but assertive, articulate yet kind, and passionate with a clear vision always in sight. She was your best friend and had been ever since you two met in middle school maths, a subject you both couldn’t stand. 

You’d both quickly bonded over books, music, films and television. Media marathons quickly became a staple in your friendship. You both loved storytelling and started making short films together in your early teen years. Sati was articulate but she wasn’t quite the wordsmith or poet that you were, you had a way with words and a million ideas for stories. Sati brought your words to life, she was direct and she knew how to make people listen, she knew exactly how to utilise a set, actors, and a camera to make your ideas better. 

You were a dynamic duo. Most of the work in both of your filmographies were collaborations but with more opportunities, schedules and life you’d both recently done some non-dynamic duo projects. This film was not one, it was your first time working together properly in what really wasn’t long for industry time but felt like forever for the both of you. Your last project together was technically writing an episode of Black Mirror that Sati directed, it didn’t line up though as you were working on something else in Australia so you weren’t on set together and during the writing process it had just been the usual influx of back-and-fourth messages and some video calls. 

Sati wished that you were here now, you both had producing credits, Sati was directing and you had written the script, it was a Blumhouse Productions feature which was big for both of your careers. You were in Australia wrapping up filming of an HBO Max limited series you’d created, written and were a co-Showrunner of. It had been your biggest creative responsibility yet and you were anxious and sleep-deprived, which Sati was well aware of. 

Your presence was missed more in the current circumstances, Sati had a meeting with the lead actor in your new picture, Dieter Bravo. It was clear that he wasn’t super interested in being at this meeting, which didn’t please Sati but she didn’t let it show. 

Sati absentmindedly tapped her fingers against her chair as the actor sunk further into the chair in the office, he looked like a slob and had his sunglasses pulled down low on his nose. He was visibly hungover and his head was pounding, his agent Abby was far more involved in the small talk than him. As the conversation continued it became clearer that nobody else was joining, Dieter interrupted Sati and Abby by snapping his fingers and then saying your name. 

“Hmm?” Sati asked looking over at him. She wanted to like him as they’d be closely working together but while she found this behaviour somewhat intriguing for the enigmatic reputation of Dieter Bravo, she was finding it off-putting and concerning for his potential work ethic. 

“Where is she?” Dieter asked. Abby sighed and rolled her eyes, she had already told Dieter that this meeting was just with the director and that you were unavailable, it was no secret to her that your involvement was a significant factor in him taking on this role no matter how much he tried to downplay that fact. 

“Unfortunately for us, she’s wrapping up a project at the moment, post-production in Australia. She sends her apologies though and will be with us for production.” Sati calmly responded, smiling at Dieter. 

Dieter groaned lightly then pushed his glasses up a bit more and nodded. It was too early in the day to be talking about work for his liking especially with a hangover. Meeting you was the main incentive for being up this early, he knew you wouldn’t be here but he still held out hope that maybe you’d have shown up. Dieter was a fan of your past work and he wouldn’t admit it to his agent or the director across from him but he had a little crush on you, despite the fact that you’d never met. He was sure that Abby knew this though.  

As the meeting eventually wrapped up, he lazily shook Sati’s hand and left. She was nice enough and she was firm, Dieter could tell she wouldn’t be impressed with his antics, he imagined you wouldn’t either if you two were so close, he’d have to keep that in mind. 

**********

You didn’t know what a healthy sleep schedule was, your sleep schedule had always been atrocious. Cramps were in full swing and could feel a distinct pain in your ovaries and bladder, yay for endo and fibroids you bitterly thought. You didn’t have your period but you were experiencing a mild flare-up, which was part of what was keeping you up, along with the general stress of life. You were an anxious bean to your core, a fact you’d never argue with. 

You sat at a desk, sipping some peppermint tea and with a heat pad down your pants as you reviewed the final cuts of episodes while following along with a heavily annotated and doodled-on script. This show had been filmed in Australia and post-production was based here as well, a lot of the creative talent on this show was local which you’d liked being involved with. But you would also be the first to admit that this job and the timezone difference certainly didn’t help with your already problematic sleep schedule. 

It was almost 2 AM for you, you heard your phone vibrate on the desk and looked over. It was Sati, seeing her name and picture light up your phone screen made you smile, you loved her more than anything. Rubbing your eyes, you picked your phone up quickly, almost clumsily dropping it 

“Hey boss,” you answered, somewhat tiredly but your tone was still chipper, more than what was natural for this hour. 

“Not sleeping huh?” Sati playfully questioned, well aware of your sleeping habits and what you’d say.

“You’re the one that called,” You responded matter-of-factly with a smirk on your face that you knew she’d somehow know about despite not being able to see your face. “Turns out that a whole new timezone just keeps the sleep schedule just as troubling.”

“So I shouldn’t move to New Zealand and become a sheep farmer?” Sati asked with a chuckle, “Wait for a few more jobs I reckon. But you know I’m in Australia and not New Zealand right?” You joked in a deadpan tone, causing Sati to laugh, “Yes, I know they’re two different countries. New Zealand just seems nicer, less spiders!” Sati dramatically exclaimed. Which made you laugh, nobody had a phobia of spiders quite like Sati, you wouldn’t remind Sati that you hadn’t been attacked by any spiders or seen any gargantuan ones. You’d already done it and she wouldn’t have a bar of it. 

You remembered that Sati had had a meeting with the talented but notorious Dieter Bravo and that was probably part of the reasoning behind this call so you finally dared to ask “So, how did it go?” 

Sati sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose before answering. “He was well, bored to say the least? And hungover? His agent Abby was fine, he didn’t really have much to say.” “Oh?” You queried, his substance use was highly publicised, and his reputation included him being a brilliant actor but an eccentric personality, to say the least. All of these were facts you both were aware of. 

“He asked about you, it’s like the only time he spoke.” Sati teased with a confused but amused tone. “Wait what?” You were surprised at that, Sati’s name was obviously bigger than yours, her role naturally meant that she was more of the face of behind-the-scenes work and you had no problems with that. You loved storytelling but you hated the spotlight from a young age. You’d had people compliment your scripts but you’d never had someone as big as him express an explicit interest solely in you, well your work. 

“Yeah, I swear it was the only time he spoke! He’s a big fan of May, Abby made that clear, that the script and working with you was why he wanted the role.” Sati stated, she was well aware of your disdain for the spotlight and your difficulty with praise, and she was glad that you at least got the flowers you deserved out of her awkward meeting. 

“That’s so wild-” you said, pausing to yawn and push some loose strands of hair behind your ear. “I can’t believe he’s seen it-” “Of course, he’s seen it and of course he loved it. It was a hit! Remember?” Sati said excitedly with a playful tone in her voice. You smiled and rolled your eyes despite remembering Sati couldn’t see that, “Shut up,” you said playfully, then sighed as you rubbed your eyes, “It’s just still so surreal.” 

“Yeah, I know.” Sati laughed softly, recognising your voice was becoming a bit more tired. “Well, I’ll let you go, sleep with the Crocs and whatever else it is you’re doing down there.” 

“I prefer brunches with koalas actually Sati.” You remarked. “Well, at least the Crocs don’t have chlamydia.”  Sati quipped back, you chuckled dryly and rolled your eyes at that. 

“I love you too Sati, well good night and morning to you.” You replied as you felt sleep catching up more with you. 

“I love you. See you soon.” Sati said and then she hung up. 

You didn’t know what to think, you expected that Sati’s meeting with Dieter would either be an absolute trainwreck or he would somehow disprove his reputation, that maybe it was all an act. You’d never expected in a million years that while the meeting wouldn’t be the highlight of Sati’s day that he’d somehow end up turning out to be a fan of your work. You felt yourself smile at that, and you tiredly scolded yourself, you didn’t need the validation of a stranger and it felt weird knowing that the enigmatic, finicky Dieter Bravo liked your work. It felt even weirder that that had made you smile. 

******** 

It had been a few months since Sati had had that meeting with Dieter and called you.  Post-production had wrapped up in Australia and you were now back home in the USA, you were glad to be back home, the familiarity was comforting and put you at ease a bit. Filming was still almost a month away but you had already had some meetings with Sati and other cast and crew members which had gone well and you were having one with Dieter this afternoon. You were curious to meet him and this curiosity grew alongside anxiety with knowing that he had specifically mentioned your work. 

You were now at a cafe waiting for Sati, you’d worn one of your black turtle necks with black trousers with an emerald green coat hanging off your shoulders. You weren’t in a creative block but had a million ideas, which was typical as you were entering a project, you’d been typing away when Sati came over.

“God, do you ever take a break?” 

“Ain’t no rest for the writers. We’re wicked creatures.” 

“You’re not Mike Flanagan, you don’t need to be pumping out at least one amazing thing a year,” Sati scoffed as she sat down. 

“It’s just future ideas.” You replied and Sati quirked an eyebrow which made you smile, “I’ll spam you and pick your brain about it later, okay?” She smiled and nodded as she made silly plot guesses as she rested her chin on your shoulder, reading what you were typing as you both waited for Dieter to come.  

Little did you know, Dieter was also genuinely anxious to meet you. Dieter looked around the cafe and he quickly saw you and Sati. He felt a blush creep up his neck to his cheeks as he saw you, it was surreal to see you in person. Your face was scrunched up in concentration, you were typing away and Sati was leaning on you. You said something which made her double up with giggles, and whatever she responded with broke the look of concentration etched onto your face with a smirk. You then laughed and took a sip of your water. As Dieter made his way over to the table, he couldn’t help but think how gorgeous you looked when your face was screwed up in conversation but also when you laughed. He wanted to make you laugh and he hoped he’d be able to hear that sweet noise in person today. 

“Hey,” Dieter started as he awkwardly fidgeted with his hands, you and Sati looked up at him. You smiled warmly at him and closed your laptop. 

“Hey, it’s lovely to meet you-” You put your hand out to shake his as he responded. “Uh, yeah, you too.” He shook your hand gently but firmly, your hand felt so small in his big one, and you felt a tingle as your hands touched which made you smile softly. Dieter felt it too and blushed at the sensation. 

Dieter sat down and drummed his fingers softly against the table. Sati got up and looked over at Dieter, “I’ll go and order, what do you drink Dieter?” Dieter answered with his order which made you and Sati both raise your eyebrows at the amount of caffeine but Sati went off to the line. 

“How are you?” You asked Dieter genuinely but anxiously. It was bizarre seeing a celebrity as big as him in front of you, you’d be working with him and he was apparently a fan of your work? It was wild. You knew he was attractive but he was also somehow more attractive in person, there was something charming about his tousled curls and the way he seemed to fidget. Was he anxious as well you wondered? Dieter looked at you like he was taken aback, you noticed his eyes changed but you weren’t quite sure what the change meant. 

He was taken aback by your question but smiled, he could tell by your tone and the way you were looking at him, it was genuine. It wasn’t the small talk or robotic answer with an expected vague and positive answer kind of question. “I’m alright, how are you?” He answered, he was, he was more anxious than anything but he didn’t want to admit that. You nodded and answered that you were alright as well. 

“Were you working on something?” Dieter asked, his warm chocolate eyes flicking over to the now-closed laptop. You nodded sheepishly. “What is it?” Dieter was genuinely curious and wanted as much of a glimpse into your mind as possible. 

“Just a few ideas in my head, nothing concrete super concrete at the moment. I’ve been talking to Sati about something based on Violet Paget’s works. I’ve also been toying with the idea of a Medea adaptation for a couple of months, a psychological drama with subtle horror elements.” You replied, feeling a bit self-conscious over a borderline rambling, Dieter nodded and smiled as you spoke though, it didn’t seem forced and it reassured you a little. 

Dieter hadn’t heard of Violet Paget before and made a mental note to Google that name as soon as he left. But he could easily see how a story like Medea’s could be adapted into something deeply emotive and visceral, especially by you. He smiled at the thought of how you’d adapt a story like that, something already heartbreaking and expand it in that provoking way into something also beautiful. 

“Maybe I could read Jason? If that helps your process or fits a future casting call.” He beamed with a growing smile. You smiled in return which reassured him that his offer wasn’t a cocky move. But you raised an eyebrow in surprise at his knowledge of the story. “What?” He asked, worried for a moment that maybe he’d overstepped and did indeed make you uncomfortable. 

“I was just surprised you knew Medea and Jason.” You answered with a warm smile which made Dieter relax again. 

“I did my tragedies,” Dieter responded proudly. 

“Huh,” You chuckled which provoked him to raise an eyebrow. “Well, we’ve only just met but you strike me as more of a Shakespeare guy I guess.”

“Am I that brand of pretentious?” Dieter asked in a teasingly offended tone. You laughed and shook your head reassuringly which made Dieter laugh. 

Dieter was secretly a people pleaser and he desperately wanted to impress you and the ease in the conversation and the laugh he’d gotten out of you relaxed him. It was as you laughed that Sati sat back down. 

She was quick to notice the difference in Dieter’s attitude and persona with you present. He was sober for starters but he was engaged in the conversation and he seemed to hang on to every word that left your mouth, which Sati knew you didn’t notice. 

The conversation flowed for a couple more minutes and then your drinks were brought out. You sipped on your chai as Sati then spoke about some pacing and shot sequences she had in mind that impressed Dieter. He asked some questions about his character and context which you answered thoughtfully, Dieter knew this would be a hit and easily one of the best projects he’d be involved in. 

As the conversation went on he was quickly picking up on your mannerisms. Like Dieter, you were also a fidgeter, you would fidget with the corner of your clothes, he assumed this was an anxious habit but he picked up on that it was something you also seemed to do subconsciously. Sati was clearly the more extroverted of the two of you, she was a bit bolder and it was clear that she adored you but Dieter quickly knew you were the warmer one of the pair. He wasn’t too surprised but he had expected you to be more gloomy based on your works and how you seemed to stay out of the public eye. 

You also had quite an expressive face, it would be great for the stage he thought, he also quickly learned that when your expression shifted into neutrality it wasn’t necessarily you being upset but that it was a shift for deadpan delivery. You were witty and some of your humour was silly but you definitely had a dry sense of humour. It always made Sati laugh and she didn’t seem as much of a serious person as he’d assumed when they’d met. You seemed to delight in making Sati laugh, which made Dieter want to make you laugh even more. You weren’t just ridiculously talented but you were kind, caring and funny, wanting to bring laughter to your loved ones. It was true though, you often used humour as a coping mechanism (you still loved a good, big fat cry) and you just wanted to make everyone happy. 

Dieter was easy to talk to and you felt surprisingly charmed by him, the knot of anxiety in your stomach slowly untangled throughout the conversation. You knew you shouldn’t have made assumptions but he was surprisingly a good listener, he was attentive, and he asked good questions regarding the project which you appreciated. You wanted to work with passionate people, people who cared and that was always more of a gamble on the slightly bigger projects. 

After a couple of hours, cinematography came up and you all spoke about Bones and All, at this point Sati checked her phone for the time and looked up. 

“I’m sorry but we should probably head off now, for the next item on the agenda,” Sati remarked. 

“How long do we have?” You asked Sati, being absolutely unaware of the time with your phone in your pocket and your laptop closed. “Just under an hour,” Sati responded, you nodded and Dieter tilted his head to look at the both of you. 

“I’m sorry, it was so lovely to finally meet you.” You said looking at Dieter, he smiled and blushed slightly, “It’s okay, it was great to meet you too.” He said smiling at you, he then turned to Sati “And it was great to catch up again. Thanks for making the time for this.” He answered. 

You all got up and said your goodbyes, he went in the car with his driver that was just outside of the cafe. You put your hands in your pockets and looked at Sati as you both waited for your Uber. “You made it sound a lot more professional than what it is.” You said. Sati looked at you and raised an eyebrow teasing, “It’s important.” 

You chuckled at that and playfully rolled your eyes, the next item on the agenda was going to a local cinema for its special screening of Dario Argento’s Three Mothers trilogy. It felt almost rude to end the meeting on that but you had been looking forward to this with Sati so you didn’t say anything. 

As Dieter sat in the backseat of the car, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and quickly Googled you. The fact that you and Sati seemed to be going to the same “item on the agenda” reassured him that this meeting didn’t end because you had a date. Plus he was certain that you seemed almost disappointed in having to leave, he hoped that wasn’t a delusion. But he still needed to check. 

You didn’t have a ring on your finger but that didn’t mean much, your Wikipedia page didn’t mention a partner but there wasn’t much there under ‘Personal Life’, he’d gathered you were a private person anyway. He checked your Instagram and it didn’t look like you had any partners. He knew you and Sati were assumed to be partners often but you’d both denied this and Sati had a long-term girlfriend that the public knew of. 

He exhaled and leaned back into the seat, it looked like you were single, well he took the lack of evidence of a relationship as a good sign. He then remembered you’d mentioned Violet Paget, he typed her name in and clicked on her short Wikipedia page. Part of Dieter had hoped that meeting you would squash his little crush but now he just felt smitten.

Tag list: @pedritosdarling @read4funz @undermoonlightwalk @daddy-din @cowboychickenlittle

#dieter bravo #dieter bravo x you #dieter bravo x reader #dieter bravo fic #the bubble #pedro pascal #pedro pascal fandom #pedro pascal characters #chronic illness #chronic illness reader #endometriosis #endometriosis reader #fibroids #horror #the bubble fanfiction #dieter bravo fanfiction #jose pedro balmaceda pascal

[wosoamazing]

Beth Mead (+ some Viv Miedema)

Bad Timing You have endometriosis and get your period at your first Lionesses camp (+ Leah) - Teen!R

Against All Odds You get a career ending injury and Beth & Viv are there to help you (so is Leah) - Teen!R

Diabetes - Teen!R Part 1 - You move in with Beth and Viv Part 2 - You have an all day low because your pod malfunctions

#masterlist #beth mead #viv miedema

[sharpegirl]

Content Warnings for THE GIRL IN QUESTION

Hi all,

ARC's are arriving in less than 48 hours, so I've posted the content warnings for THE GIRL IN QUESTION below behind the cut.

THE GIRL IN QUESTION is a contemporary thriller that concludes teen con-artist Nora O’Malley’s story which began in the novel THE GIRLS I’VE BEEN.

This is a sequel that does not stand-alone. Meaning you need to read the first book in order to understand the second. Nora has no time to explain backstory to anyone, she’s got a man to destroy.

THE GIRL IN QUESTION is about Nora O’Malley, the daughter of a con-artist who targets criminal men in a sweetheart con. When her mother fell for an abusive criminal mark instead of conning him, a pre-teen Nora engineered her escape with her sister, Lee, putting her mother and her crime-lord Step-Father in prison while she stayed hidden under a new identity all through high school. But now high school is over...and her Step-Father is out of prison. He knows her name. He knows her location. He knows what she looks like. And he knows who she cares about.

The GIRL IN QUESTION takes place a year after the first novel and covers several weeks over the summer after Nora, Iris and Wes graduate high school.

The novel is set in the Cascade mountain range on a backpacking trip. Nora, her girlfriend Iris, her ex and best friend Wes and Wes’s girlfriend Amanda find themselves in predicament when, on their trip, Amanda gets mistaken for Nora and kidnapped by Raymond—all because she was wearing Nora’s flannel.

Stranded in the forest with no weapons, dwindling gear, a one-eyed dog named Turbo and a group of men determined to kill her and everyone she loves, Nora finds herself facing a nightmare. She can’t run. She can’t hide. It’s kill or be killed. So it’s time to fight.

Content Warnings for THE GIRL IN QUESTION are behind the cut.

Violence & Abuse: violence related to surviving domestic violence, past and present, children and teens in life-threatening peril, threats to a child (past and present), surviving psychological & emotional abuse, surviving parental abuse (psychological, emotional and physical), disclosure of being a survivor of childhood sexual abuse to a teenaged peer, the aftermath of childhood sexual abuse and surviving childhood sexual abuse, drug abuse (prescription pills).

Assault: verbal threats of physical assault, physical assault, physical assault when victim is asleep, physical intimidation, hand to hand fighting, bullying, gunshot and stabbing wounds,, fire, references to a previous dismemberment, strangulation, kidnapping, eye gouging, booby traps with wooden spikes, wooden spear injuries, numerous foot injuries (shooting, stabbing, set on fire).

Death: murder, threats of murder, references to an off-screen character over-dosing on pills.

Misc: discussion of menstruation, discussion of reproductive health, choice and justice, references to living with chronic pain, references to menstrual spotting due to stress and endometriosis, mentions of drug addiction, mentions of endometriosis excision surgery. 

Animals: Turbo the one-eyed dog is an important character in THE GIRL IN QUESTION. Turbo is a rescue dog with only one eye because she had an infection when she arrived at the rescue Wes and Iris volunteer at. Turbo’s eye surgery is mentioned in the novel, but happens before the narrative starts.

Turbo is not harmed in the novel. Pets do not die in my books. People are another matter.

If you have read THE GIRL IN QUESTION and feel like I missed anything and you have the time, please send me an email at [email protected] and let me know. Sometimes I miss stuff!

#tess sharpe #the girls i've been #the girl in question #content warnings

[divinebunni]

How did you find out you may be intersex?

~ i’ve been visiting my recent gyno for about a year and a half now, had a lot of trauma from my previous visits as a teen so i steered clear as long as i could. turns out having endometriosis wasn’t the only thing fucking up my body, and from childhood i had been taking estrogen pills against my knowledge (until i was 16 and had to be told so they could force me onto birth control) but apparently my entire life i’ve been dealing with severe lacks of estrogen, hormone imbalances, literal body dysfunction because of my internal workings

so because of all this, my gyno was just like “hey this might be hard news” but little did she know it made everything in my past make sense, and being able to decide now as an adult that estrogen and birth control are what i want vs what was being forced upon me, i decided i like having boobahs and being curvy and all that feminine stuff while also not being fully a woman

#ask #bunni answers

[crossdreamers]

The New York Times fuels disinformation about puberty blockers and transgender youth

No, giving puberty blockers to transgender kids is not dangerous.

Anti-trans activists easily latch on to the dangers of trans gender health care, as if not doing anything is a better option. 

So going through puberty as a boy, when you truly experience yourself as a girl, is less dangerous than getting help to live your life as the one you truly are. 

They never say this to cis girls, for sure: “Samantha, we do understand that you see yourself as a girl, but we need a son to take over the family company, so a boy you will be!”

Both trans activists and health personnel understand that kids have less life experience than adults and that they need guidance. They also need time to understand who they truly are, which is why trans children are normally not given hormones or surgery. 

This may vary from country to country, but the age limit for that kind of more intrusive treatment is normally around 16 to 18, and only if the youth has consistency identified as their  gender for some time. Given the long waiting lines for transgender health care, this is not a rash decision.

Puberty blockers

Instead younger trans kids are offered so-called puberty blockers, medicine that delays puberty, giving the child more time to reflect on and test out their gender identity, without having to go through the harrowing process of seeing their body transform into something they are not.

Are there risks involved? Sure, any medical treatment, including taking an aspirin, entails risk, but given the risks associated with the alternative (extreme bodily changes causing dysphoria, depression and even death), you would think the risk is manageable.

Yet, the anti-trans activists are increasingly focusing on the risks of taking puberty blockers, and journalists are falling into their trap. 

Puberty blockers work as intended

Evan Urquhart writes this over at Slate:

On Monday, the New York Times published an article billed as an in-depth look at puberty blockers as a treatment for gender dysphoria in youth. It wasn’t a guide to the science of the medication, or even just a look at the disagreements in clinical protocol among specific doctors who treat teens. Instead, the piece grappled with whether young trans people should be treated with puberty blockers at all.

... It’s true they have downsides and that they aren’t right for every young person with gender dysphoria—but this is true of every medication, no matter the patient population. The mainstream medical consensus is that blockers are a useful tool in treating gender dysphoria, and more data is coming in all the time to support their efficacy in the patients for whom they’re indicated. They are currently used only by a small percentage of trans-identifying youth.

Puberty blockers are drugs that disrupt the release of sex hormones. The primary drug used is called Lupron, and it has been prescribed for over 30 years, in a variety of medical contexts, to treat both children and adults. In addition to being used for prostate cancer, for endometriosis, and to address the distressing psychological effects of early puberty, it’s used (rarely!) to halt puberty for adolescents experiencing severe gender dysphoria.

A good starting place for thinking about puberty blockers—one the Times mentions only in passing—is to consider their use in children with precocious puberty. This is a deeply distressing condition, for both children and parents, in which a young child begins to develop the secondary sex characteristics more typically found in adolescents. This results in looking different from their peers, which can cause social issues. There can also be a lot of stress associated with early menstruation or other pubertal changes.

However, there are no physical health risks associated with precocious puberty. Drugs that halt early sexual maturity provide children with the opportunity to be more like their peers in appearance and maturity. The side effects of Lupron are generally considered tolerable enough that these psychological benefits are well worth the risks of treatment—though this can of course vary on an individual basis.

Bad journalism

Over at LGBTQ Nation Erin Rook writes:

The [New York Times] piece hinges on what the authors describe as “emerging evidence of potential harm” related to the use of puberty-suppressing medications for transgender youth. 

But transgender health experts say that the data referenced in the Times‘ reporting comes to a different conclusion. The Times’ analysis of this data is so misleading that some advocates are questioning the motives behind the piece.

The New York Times article is, for instance, based on the premise that puberty blockers are bad for bone health. But there is no data to support the claim that puberty blockers are giving teenagers osteoporosis.

“I’m tired of repeatedly refuting the same points,” Dr. AJ Eckert tells LGBTQ Nation. “But I have to keep doing it until mainstream media starts platforming trans voices alongside these biased and transphobic editorials.”

More about this here!

#trans #transgender #lgbtq #lgbt+ #lgbtqa #puberty blockers #transgender youth #queer #nonbinary #enby

[the-guilty-writer]

Could you do an hotchner x teen daughter reader ( about 16/17) where she has endometriosis which causes her more painful periods than normal (which hotch forgets sometimes) and they get into an argument because he comes back from a case and the house is still a mess so he is a bit on edge and he just thinks she’s being lazy. And when she gets up to clean she ends up on the floor due to the pain. And hotch comes back downstairs after hearing a loud noise and helps her after remembering what she goes through.

I can try! (Note that my requests are technically closed but some requests cause me to make exceptions 😅)

[thescrumblingmidwife]

So what are the ways to stop a period (and fertility) as an adult? I need to figure out my plans for when that time comes. I mean permanently, btw.

Hi Anon,

I'm getting a lot of asks like this. Here's another one:

Anonymous asked: whats the safest way to stop getting a period as quickly as possible? i was told by my gynecologist that id be given birth control that'd stop them but i keep getting them and it's been months

So let's do a menstrual suppression post.

MENSTRUAL SUPPRESSION (AKA, Secondary amenorrhea)

What can be done depends a lot on your age, where you are, what kind of healthcare access you have, as well as your reason for seeking menstrual suppression.

If you experience medical complications like endometriosis, serious menstrual pain (dysmenorrhea) or heavy menstrual bleeding that causes anemia, etc., you may find you have an easier time accessing treatments beyond BC than if you just "don't want a period." (FWIW - I think that's a completely valid reason for menstrual suppression!). Trans and GNC people will fall somewhere in the middle - depending on where you are, it may be considered a legitimate medical indication all on its own, and in other areas may result in a roadblock and discrimination.

Disclaimer - my scope as a midwife will be limited to the use of hormonal birth control until I complete separate training on offering gender-affirming care. So please take what I say here only as a rough guide to your own research. If I've missed anything or get anything wrong, please let me know!

PREPUBERTAL (have not yet gotten a period)

Leuprolide (lupron) is an antiandrogen medication that basically stops sex hormones from working. When used in prepubertal/early puberty kids, it's called a "puberty blocker." It's meant to be a temporary solution until the kid can be sure what they want to do next, as its effects are completely reversible. Pediatricians will usually refer you to an endocrinologist or a gender clinic rather than provide themselves.

Otherwise, I'm afraid that you must first go through the initial period of menarche until normal periods are established before you can then go on menstrual suppression.

ADOLESCENT (teen, not yet an adult)

Progestin-only birth control is the first-line treatment. The good news is that pretty much everyone can take it, and it's relatively easy to get. This works by keeping the uterine lining thin, and keeping a level of progestin high enough that you don't experience the withdrawal that triggers menses. Methods include: IUD (intrauterine device), Nexplanon (implant), Depo shot, and pills. In all methods, it takes several months to work, and spotting/breakthrough bleeding is a possibility.

---->If you take the pills, you have to take them at the exact same time every day, so the hormone levels stay even, or you risk breakthrough bleeding. Different brands have different progestins in them, so if one doesn't work for you after several months of taking it properly, you could ask your provider about switching to a different pill.

---->The IUD has the best record with total menstrual suppression after a few months, but it is the most invasive of the LARC methods to insert.

----> Nexplanon can take some time to achieve menstrual suppression, and some people still get breakthrough bleeding, but it is also the single most efficacious BC besides hysterectomy. Yes, even more than tubal ligation.

----> Depo shot is pretty good at achieving amenorrhea, but has more side effects (low libido, dry vagina, risk of bone loss) that can take a while to resolve after you come off it

Testosterone - If you are trans and go on T, it may stop your menstrual cycles/ovulation, but it is not a guarantee. People on T are counseled to also be on BC, because it is does not eliminate the possibility of pregnancy and is teratogenic (can cause birth defects). You should not go on T purely to stop menses, as it has other permanent effects - go on T for those effects and be pleased if it happens to stop your period.

ADULT (18/21+ up)

All of the above methods, plus:

Estrogen-containing birth control may offer more suppression but also increases certain health risks (like clots), and it has a number of contraindications (reasons why someone can't use it safely). Generally don't advise teens to use it.

Tubal ligation for FERTILITY CONTROL ONLY. This will not stop periods!

For transmen: Hysterectomy (uterus removed) and/or salpingectomy/oophorectomy (tubes/ovaries removed). This is a component of gender-affirming care - but you will likely need to find a specialized provider for it. The average gynecologist is not going to do an elective (no medical indication) hysterectomy ----> https://transcare.ucsf.edu/guidelines/hysterectomy

I have seen some evidence that Lupron can be used for menstrual suppression as well, but I haven't heard much about it being used outside of certain medical indications (like if someone has cancer).

GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE

If you identify as trans or gender non-conforming and there is a gender clinic in your area, I recommend trying to get in with them, as they deal with this sort of question regularly. They have interdisciplinary teams (mental health providers, gynecologists, endocrinologists, surgeons, etc) that can meet all your needs. Someone trained in gender-affirming care will be best equipped to help you.

Here is a list of gender clinics in the USA:

Ok, all you Anons out there - I hope this is a good jumping-off point for you to find what you need. The TLDR is please try to find a provider who is willing to work with you and help you find what's available to you in your area!

#menstrual suppression #gender affirming care #trans health care #menstrual health #reproductive health #birth control #menstruation #midwifery #endrocrinology #contraception