GynoFiles

 Hormonal contraception provides ovulation suppression and eventually this correlates with overall hormone control and normalizing the menstrual cycle. Knowing that these methods are extremely effective, 'will I gain weight' remains the top question women ask their gyno before selecting a contraceptive. The issue of weight gain on contraceptives is complicated by the fact that many young women are beginning on hormonal contraception as they give up sports and physical activities for extra studying in college or as they start a new job that likely is more sedentary with travel or just desk time required. But contraception might have the ability to affect weight, affect weight gain, affect weight loss and cause fluid shifts that ultimately shouldn't alter the scale. In general we counsel patients that neither oral contraceptive, patches, rings, medicated IUDs, nor Nexplanons should cause weight gain. DMPA (you may know this as Depo Provera) is associated with 10-15 po...

Most menstrual cramps are not "in one's head." Most menstrual cramps have a cause and a treatment. But then apparently some gynos have come to see some as psychogenic! To be sure there are those women post hysterectomy who feel "cramps" just like their former periods, but otherwise, again, most cramps have a cause. Psychogenic dysmenorrhea is an actual diagnosis that is so obscure it appears in the billing codes, 306.52, but oddly doesn't appear in gynecologic text books. Psychogenic dysmenorrhea is apparently thinking you have menstrual cramps that you don't actually have. Dysmenorrhea, the actual disease, is a condition of painful menses. Like many conditions with pain as their major symptom your physician takes your word for it, and doesn't question the validity of 'did you really have a cramp.' We know that actual menstrual cramps exist. Researchers have documented physical contractions equivalent to the uterine contractions in labor, an...

Often women will walk into our practice stating their periods are so miserable they think they need a hysterectomy , but it's rarely the case that the miserable period not be treated with less extreme measures. Even if you have cancer risk factors, or have a strong family history for hysterectomy, or think you have already failed all the available therapies, there are likely treatments that your gyno will have not yet tried, and it may be worth listening to your choices. Heavy bleeding and dysfunctional bleeding are the two main reasons women consider having a hysterectomy; but evaluating the ways you can avoid hysterectomy is important as well. Some women can take oral contraceptives , others can take Lysteda, but for those done with having children endometrial ablations are an excellent choice. Endometrial ablation for avoiding hysterectomy has been around for several years and more data is being released regarding long term success. At a year, almost 80% of women are either b...