Women Helping Women Who Struggle with Period Problems: A Call To Action
Megan Tantillo, RN
I started having period problems when I stopped taking the Pill in 2014.
When I was prescribed Yaz in the eighth grade for acne, I was pumped. A tiny pill each day that promised to clear my skin and I could skip my period whenever I wanted? Consider me sold.
It worked. Until it didn’t.
After almost a century on the Pill, I felt dull, depressed, and my digestion was a wreck. With some digging, I learned the Pill had everything to do with the current state of my gut health, affecting every piece of my wellbeing.
I didn’t know the little pill I took for clear skin and contraception could damage my gut lining causing bacterial overgrowth, irritable bowels, inflammation and subsequent mood changes and hormonal imbalances.
I stopped taking the Pill and my gut health has been a work in progress since. We truly started from the bottom and I’m proud of my microbiome for making the come back of the century. 😅
Stopping the Pill abruptly without medical guidance was not the best idea thinking retrospectively but every provider I consulted wanted to prescribe hormonal contraception for my symptoms.
I didn’t know how I was going to get better but I knew going back on hormonal birth control wasn’t an option for me.
When I stopped cold turkey my period didn’t return for over a year.
I had sleepless nights, mood swings, hot flashes, zero libido and cramps that felt like labor pain when my period finally did return.
I jumped from provider to provider until I found someone who took the time to understand my story and give me personalized care. It took a while to find an open minded provider and I suffered!
The Great Awakening
A nurse-midwife opened my eyes to the impact gut health and detoxification had on hormone health and along with that, she gave me several days of the month back.
I felt like I cracked the code and wanted to share my hormone secrets with everyone who was alive and menstruating.
That was one of the many experiences I had as a patient that has solidified my position in holistic nursing. I knew there was a better way to care for my hormone health, and with persistence and experience, I found it.
A Call to Action
I asked myself, “Why wasn’t this information widely known? And why wasn’t my primary care provider able to connect the dots for me?”
Culture surrounding periods has historically been taboo and I think that, at least in part, is the reason why so many women suffer in silence with period problems.
It’s time to speak up! Because there is a better way. Women don’t need to suffer each month!
Periods are normal.
Painful, unpredictable periods are not.
As a nurse health coach, my ultimate goal is to educate, advocate and empower you.
I truly believe when we know better, we do better, and it is my hope, that the information within The Period Fix (and the content shared on this site and social channels) becomes widely known.
My hope is that our community and the women enrolled in The Period Fix eCourse share their experiences and pass their new found knowledge to their mom, their girlfriends, and their daughters, so they don’t have to search for answers like I did.
Women shouldn’t have to suffer and suffer alone with period problems.
I’m standing up for you.
Can you stand up for her?
our social mission
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TPF Winter 2020 @holistichealthcode
Megan Tantillo BSN, RN is the founder of Holistic Health Code, on a mission to provide accessible holistic care and education for all. Megan is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Nursing Practice with special interest in women’s health and Telehealth technologies.