Send us a text with a question or thought on this episode ( We cannot replay from this link)
Kate Downey shares her 22-year journey through debilitating period pain and her quest for answers that ultimately led to creating her podcast “Cramped.” Through extensive research and interviews with experts, Kate uncovers why period pain remains so misunderstood despite affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
• 30% of menstruating people (approximately 522 million worldwide) experience debilitating period pain
• The widely accepted explanation for period cramps is being questioned by researchers at the GYRL lab
• Female bodies are systematically excluded from medical research, leading to gaps in treatment effectiveness
• Even medications like antidepressants work differently depending on where you are in your menstrual cycle
• The stigma around periods keeps us isolated in our pain, which neurologically can make the pain worse
• Women’s health research is making progress, but requires more advocacy and awareness
• Creating community through “women’s circles” or “clam bakes” helps share crucial information about treatments
• Resources like cureperiodpain.org offer opportunities to participate in studies that advance menstrual research
You can find Kate Helen Downey’s podcast “Cramped” wherever you listen to podcasts, and follow her on Instagram @KateHelenDowney or TikTok @KateIsCramped.
Website endobattery.com
Kate's Painful Period Journey
Speaker 1
0:00
Have
you
ever
wondered
why
period
cramps
happen
or
why
we
know
so
little
about
them
?
Or
maybe
you
felt
like
you
couldn't
talk
about
periods
but
weren't
sure
why
.
In
this
episode
,
I'm
joined
by
Kate
Downey
,
the
creator
of
the
podcast
Cramped
,
who
dives
deep
into
the
science
,
the
silence
and
the
stigma
surrounding
period
pain
.
She
shares
what
she's
learned
,
what
shocked
her
and
why
this
conversation
matters
.
You
won't
wanna
miss
this
,
so
stick
around
.
Welcome
to
EndoBattery
,
where
I
share
my
journey
with
endometriosis
and
chronic
illness
,
while
learning
and
growing
along
the
way
.
This
podcast
is
not
a
substitute
for
medical
advice
,
but
a
supportive
space
to
provide
community
and
valuable
information
,
so
you
never
have
to
face
this
journey
alone
.
We
embrace
a
range
of
perspectives
that
may
not
always
align
with
our
own
,
believing
that
open
dialogue
helps
us
grow
and
gain
new
tools
.
Join
me
as
I
share
stories
of
strength
,
resilience
and
hope
,
from
personal
experiences
to
expert
insights
.
I'm
your
host
,
alana
,
and
this
is
IndoBattery
charging
our
lives
when
endometriosis
drains
us
.
Welcome
back
to
EndoBattery
.
Speaker 1
1:13
Grab
your
cup
of
coffee
or
your
cup
of
tea
and
join
me
at
the
table
Today
.
I
am
joined
by
my
guest
,
kate
Downey
,
who
is
a
storyteller
,
podcast
powerhouse
and
the
creative
mind
behind
Cramped
,
a
podcast
investigating
why
period
pain
is
so
misunderstood
and
mistreated
.
She
has
produced
hit
shows
for
Wondery
,
built
live
podcast
events
with
names
like
Malcolm
Goodwill
and
co-founded
Caveat
NYC
,
where
she
made
science
and
history
hilarious
and
human
.
Kate
has
a
knack
for
making
boring
things
fascinating
and
today
she's
here
to
talk
about
how
she
combined
her
skillset
and
her
story
with
the
curiosity
surrounding
periods
.
Please
help
me
in
welcoming
Kate
Helen
Downey
to
the
table
.
Thank
you
,
kate
,
so
much
for
joining
me
today
on
this
podcast
.
It
is
such
an
honor
to
have
you
sit
down
with
me
and
go
over
all
the
things
that
you're
doing
.
Thank
you
so
much
.
Speaker 2
2:04
Thank
you
so
much
for
having
me
.
I'm
so
excited
to
be
here
,
of
course
.
Speaker 1
2:08
Now
,
this
is
something
that
I'm
excited
to
talk
about
,
because
you
have
a
podcast
which
I
think
is
phenomenal
.
It's
called
Cramped
,
but
you
didn't
start
this
overnight
and
for
no
reason
Can
you
tell
us
how
this
all
came
to
be
and
the
process
it
took
you
to
get
to
this
point
to
want
to
do
a
podcast
like
cramped
.
Speaker 2
2:28
Yeah
,
I
mean
the
long
story
is
22
years
ago
,
when
I
was
14
,
I
got
my
first
period
and
then
I
got
my
second
or
third
period
and
it
was
horrifically
painful
.
I
was
in
science
class
,
I
think
in
eighth
grade
,
and
started
a
full
body
sweat
.
I
thought
maybe
like
I
had
a
stomach
bug
or
food
poisoning
.
I
asked
to
be
excused
to
go
to
the
bathroom
and
realized
I
couldn't
stand
all
the
way
up
,
that
my
whole
midsection
was
just
completely
clenched
down
and
like
twisted
.
I
tried
to
get
to
the
bathroom
and
had
to
keep
stopping
in
the
halls
with
my
hand
against
the
locker
like
trying
to
catch
my
breath
,
trying
to
stand
up
Didn't
think
I
was
going
to
make
it
Suddenly
realized
like
how
far
it
actually
is
to
the
bathroom
,
started
thinking
like
am
I
going
to
throw
up
in
the
middle
of
the
hallway
?
Like
this
is
horrible
.
Speaker 2
3:20
So
after
I
went
to
the
bathroom
and
threw
up
,
I
went
to
the
nurse's
office
and
I
was
convinced
I
was
having
like
that
my
appendix
had
burst
,
because
I
couldn't
imagine
what
else
could
possibly
hurt
this
much
.
Like
I
was
a
pretty
healthy
kid
.
You
know
this
was
me
at
14
.
I
had
never
experienced
pain
like
this
before
,
pain
like
this
before
.
And
so
in
my
fantasy
,
as
I'm
dragging
myself
down
the
school
halls
,
I'm
like
this
is
what
a
medical
emergency
is
.
This
is
what
they
talk
about
,
this
is
what
they
describe
,
this
is
what
you
see
on
TV
.
I'm
going
to
get
to
the
nurse's
office
.
She's
going
to
immediately
see
how
bad
it
is
.
She's
going
to
call
an
ambulance
.
They're
going
to
take
me
to
the
hospital
and
do
emergency
surgery
.
And
then
I'm
going
to
wake
up
and
a
doctor
is
going
to
explain
to
me
like
what
crazy
thing
went
wrong
inside
of
my
body
to
cause
this
much
pain
.
Speaker 2
4:12
I
was
like
I
just
have
to
get
to
the
nurse's
office
.
I
just
have
to
get
to
the
nurse's
office
.
And
when
I
got
there
,
she
asked
me
if
I
she
knows
.
She
asked
me
what
was
wrong
.
It
was
like
oh
,
I've
thrown
up
a
couple
of
times
.
It
hurts
so
much
.
Speaker 2
4:23
You
know
was
describing
what
was
going
on
was
still
sweating
,
full
body
sweat
couldn't
stand
up
straight
.
She
goes
oh
,
do
you
have
your
period
?
I
was
like
,
yeah
,
but
kind
of
like
what
does
that
have
to
do
with
anything
?
And
she
was
like
oh
well
,
here's
a
hot
water
bottle
.
You
know
you
can
lie
on
the
cot
for
a
little
while
,
but
like
you
do
have
to
go
back
to
class
eventually
and
I
was
like
hold
on
,
there
must
be
some
misunderstanding
.
Like
are
you
?
Like
?
No
,
call
an
ambulance
.
Speaker 2
4:53
And
so
instead
I
just
I
lay
on
this
cot
with
a
hot
water
bottle
and
got
up
every
10
minutes
to
throw
up
in
her
bathroom
until
she
finally
called
my
mom
and
was
like
,
yeah
,
I
guess
you're
not
going
back
to
class
.
She
called
my
parents
.
My
mom
came
to
get
me
.
She
was
very
concerned
because
my
mom
had
never
had
these
kinds
of
cramps
before
,
so
she
did
what
she
could
for
me
.
After
we
got
home
,
I
kind
of
passed
out
from
the
pain
and
when
I
woke
up
the
cramps
were
gone
.
My
mom
took
me
to
the
gynecologist
like
a
week
later
and
the
gynecologist
explained
to
me
that
some
women
just
have
very
bad
cramps
and
it
would
probably
get
better
when
I
had
my
first
baby
,
which
is
something
that
is
not
super
helpful
to
say
to
a
14-year-old
.
Speaker 1
5:32
Yeah
,
and
that's
like
the
last
thing
you
want
to
hear
when
you're
14
.
Speaker 2
5:36
Right
.
And
so
the
rest
of
my
adult
life
,
the
rest
of
my
menstruating
life
,
up
until
last
year
,
I
went
to
doctor
after
doctor
.
I
switched
insurances
a
lot
in
my
20s
.
I
went
to
doctors
in
rural
Maine
,
I
went
to
doctors
in
Boston
,
where
I
went
to
college
.
I
went
to
doctors
in
New
York
,
where
I
lived
for
almost
a
decade
,
and
I
went
to
doctors
in
LA
where
I
moved
about
five
years
ago
,
and
no
doctor
could
give
me
no
gynecologist
.
Nobody
could
give
me
an
explanation
of
what
was
happening
.
Speaker 2
6:06
When
my
periods
hurt
that
bad
,
when
my
cramps
got
so
bad
that
I
was
throwing
up
,
I
ended
up
in
emergency
rooms
with
doctors
who
tried
to
give
me
IV
anti-nauseas
.
That
did
not
work
,
even
when
I
would
explain
to
them
.
I
have
horrible
cramps
.
This
is
what
happens
when
my
cramps
get
really
bad
.
They
did
not
believe
me
.
I
did
my
own
research
,
brought
my
research
to
the
doctors
that
I
was
seeing
,
said
hey
,
could
it
be
endo
?
Could
it
be
adenomyosis
?
Could
it
be
PCOS
?
Could
it
be
all
these
things
?
And
every
time
I
was
told
no
,
it
couldn't
be
that
,
because
blank
.
No
,
it
couldn't
be
that
.
It
couldn't
be
endometriosis
,
because
otherwise
you'd
have
very
heavy
periods
and
I
have
very
light
periods
.
And
no
,
it
can't
be
endometriosis
,
because
otherwise
,
because
if
it
was
,
that
you
would
be
having
pain
throughout
your
cycle
,
not
just
during
your
period
.
Nope
,
turns
out
it
can
totally
just
be
on
your
period
,
anyway
,
and
so
on
and
so
forth
.
And
so
it
meant
that
I
got
to
the
age
of
36
with
no
diagnosis
,
no
effective
treatment
,
and
I
kind
of
got
sick
of
it
.
Speaker 2
7:05
I
ended
up
,
in
the
course
of
my
weird
meandering
career
,
I
became
a
podcast
producer
and
so
I
decided
this
is
something
The Medical Mystery of Period Pain
Speaker 2
7:14
I
want
to
do
a
podcast
about
.
I
want
to
find
out
for
once
and
for
all
what
is
wrong
with
me
,
why
I've
been
in
unexplained
and
untreated
pain
for
22
years
.
That
,
after
talking
to
people
about
it
,
like
as
I
got
older
,
I
realized
is
actually
not
uncommon
.
It's
very
common
to
be
having
extreme
,
debilitating
pain
during
your
period
.
And
yet
why
did
every
doctor
look
at
me
like
I
was
some
medical
mystery
?
So
that
kind
of
cognitive
dissonance
always
interested
me
and
always
made
me
really
want
to
like
,
dig
into
that
,
like
what
could
possibly
be
going
on
Right
.
Speaker 2
7:53
Plus
,
I
wanted
a
diagnosis
and
treatment
Right
,
and
so
I
got
a
grant
from
the
Simons
Foundation
in
New
York
City
and
I
was
able
to
make
10
episodes
of
a
series
called
Cramped
where
I
dug
into
all
of
my
questions
.
That
seemed
like
really
basic
questions
and
,
of
course
,
once
you
start
digging
into
them
,
it
turns
out
they're
not
so
basic
.
Questions
like
,
hey
,
why
do
cramps
hurt
?
Like
what
is
actually
cramping
,
what
is
actually
hurting
.
They
seem
really
basic
,
seem
like
there'd
be
simple
answers
.
There
aren't
.
Speaker 2
8:26
Questions
like
why
don't
doctors
know
what
I'm
talking
about
when
I
bring
them
my
symptoms
?
Seems
like
there
should
be
an
easy
answer
for
that
.
Seems
like
it
should
be
simple
.
It's
not
.
It
turns
out
there's
a
deep
history
.
So
that's
really
what
I
went
into
it
trying
to
find
out
.
That
was
about
a
year
ago
.
I
started
working
on
it
.
Over
the
course
of
the
year
I
went
to
see
some
specialists
,
which
were
expensive
,
but
I
decided
to
invest
in
that
finally
and
I
got
diagnosed
with
endometriosis
as
part
of
my
constellation
of
diagnoses
,
because
I
feel
like
,
as
endometriosis
is
becoming
more
prevalent
in
conversation
,
it
still
seems
to
be
largely
ignored
in
the
medical
system
when
it
comes
to
general
GYN
or
family
care
.
Speaker 1
9:25
And
again
,
this
is
much
,
much
deeper
than
I
think
any
of
us
really
understood
when
we
first
started
exploring
this
.
But
what's
interesting
about
you
is
that
you
even
mentioned
like
my
periods
aren't
heavy
,
but
I'm
in
so
much
pain
.
But
the
curiosity
stopped
at
that
point
,
it
sounds
like
,
and
that's
where
your
curiosity
took
you
to
where
you
are
now
with
your
podcast
and
what
you're
doing
and
discovering
about
periods
and
discovering
about
women's
health
and
menstrual
health
and
all
of
those
things
that
we
deal
with
day
in
and
day
out
,
but
no
one's
talking
about
it
.
And
then
all
the
nuances
to
the
period
why
are
they
painful
?
Why
aren't
we
talking
about
these
?
Pain
is
one
thing
and
discomfort's
another
.
How
do
we
differentiate
that
?
Speaker 1
10:07
And
so
I
feel
like
this
podcast
has
been
so
needed
.
So
thank
you
for
doing
it
and
exploring
that
.
I
encourage
everyone
to
listen
to
it
because
it's
incredible
and
you
do
an
amazing
job
at
it
.
But
I
think
what
it
highlights
more
is
that
there's
different
facets
of
your
period
.
What
is
one
thing
from
your
podcast
that
you
have
learned
that
just
kind
of
blew
your
mind
?
I'm
sure
there's
a
lot
,
but
what
is
maybe
one
or
two
things
that
you
have
taken
away
from
having
your
podcast
.
That
just
was
like
.
I
never
even
would
have
thought
of
that
.
Speaker 2
10:41
Oh
,
yeah
,
okay
.
So
there's
two
things
that
come
to
mind
immediately
that
,
for
me
,
just
blew
my
mind
right
away
.
One
was
in
trying
to
answer
the
question
what
is
actually
hurting
when
I
have
cramps
,
what
are
the
mechanics
of
this
pain
,
and
why
do
sometimes
I
get
quote
unquote
regular
cramps
that
are
like
unpleasant
,
uncomfortable
but
not
debilitating
,
and
then
sometimes
I
get
what
I
call
death
cramps
,
which
are
excruciating
,
debilitating
,
they
make
me
throw
up
,
they
make
me
pass
out
,
and
so
what
?
Is
something
different
actually
physically
happening
,
or
is
it
just
regular
cramps
,
like
turned
up
to
a
15
?
You
know
,
I
had
this
question
.
Doctors
couldn't
answer
it
for
me
,
so
I
went
to
a
lab
in
Evanston
,
illinois
called
the
GYRL
lab
,
the
gynecological
research
lab
,
and
they
are
specifically
studying
dysmenorrhea
,
which
is
the
medical
term
for
severe
period
pain
,
and
they're
doing
things
that
I
thought
were
like
very
basic
research
questions
that
you
would
think
at
this
point
in
2025
,
had
been
answered
in
the
60s
or
70s
,
right
,
but
they
haven't
,
and
so
I
think
.
So
what
I
learned
is
that
if
you
Google
,
you
know
why
do
period
cramps
hurt
?
You're
going
to
get
an
explanation
that
tells
you
about
prostaglandins
,
which
are
messengers
,
kind
of
like
hormones
that
are
released
when
your
progesterone
dips
,
basically
your
progesterone
dips
telling
your
body
like
,
okay
,
time
to
have
a
period
,
that
causes
prostaglandins
to
get
released
.
Speaker 2
12:24
The
prostaglandins
bind
with
receptors
in
the
muscle
of
the
uterus
and
tell
the
uterus
to
squeeze
or
contract
.
That
is
what
like
squeezes
the
blood
out
of
your
uterus
and
the
uterine
lining
and
when
your
muscle
is
squeezing
that
can
hurt
,
it
can
get
sore
.
It
can
also
pull
on
the
muscles
in
your
back
,
your
pelvic
floor
muscles
.
They
kind
of
compensate
for
that
squeezing
.
The
prostaglandins
also
flood
into
your
system
.
They
don't
just
affect
your
uterus
,
they
also
affect
other
muscles
in
your
pelvis
,
but
they
also
affect
things
like
your
colon
and
your
intestine
,
which
is
why
you
get
period
poops
,
which
are
amazing
,
yes
,
yes
.
Speaker 2
13:05
And
so
that
process
just
learning
about
that
in
my
own
research
,
I
was
like
oh
,
okay
,
and
in
my
research
they
say
the
pain
comes
from
something
called
ischemia
,
which
is
when
a
muscle
squeezes
so
tightly
for
so
long
that
oxygenated
blood
can't
get
to
the
muscle
fibers
and
the
muscle
fibers
will
die
if
they
don't
get
oxygenated
blood
.
So
they
basically
try
to
get
your
attention
and
experience
pain
.
They
say
like
this
is
you
know
?
If
it
happens
in
your
arm
or
your
leg
it's
called
a
Charlie
horse
,
right
,
that's
ischemia
.
And
so
you're
essentially
getting
a
Charlie
horse
in
your
uterus
and
that's
the
widely
accepted
cause
of
all
dysmenorrhea
.
All
period
pain
is
like
it's
ischemia
from
the
prostaglandins
telling
your
muscle
to
squeeze
,
right
,
I
was
like
,
okay
,
I
didn't
know
that
before
.
Like
,
I
knew
the
uterus
was
squeezing
to
get
blood
out
,
but
I
didn't
really
know
all
the
details
behind
it
.
That
makes
sense
.
So
I
guess
my
death
cramps
is
just
like
too
many
prostaglandins
,
like
so
much
ischemia
that
it's
like
locking
up
those
muscles
and
causing
so
much
pain
.
But
like
I
still
don't
really
understand
why
it
happens
sometimes
and
not
other
times
,
right
.
Speaker 2
14:19
So
I
go
and
visit
this
lab
and
I
like
,
lay
,
I
go
to
the
lead
researchers
and
interview
them
and
I
say
,
okay
,
here's
how
I
understand
period
pain
to
work
.
Is
that
right
?
And
they're
like
no
,
you're
like
.
I
was
like
what
?
Like
?
Because
that's
literally
what
every
textbook
,
every
research
paper
that
I
was
able
to
find
like
on
in
my
own
research
that's
what
it
said
causes
period
pain
.
And
they're
like
well
,
that's
probably
only
part
of
it
.
And
I
was
like
okay
,
well
,
what
are
the
other
parts
of
it
?
And
they're
like
we
don't
know
.
Yet
you're
like
wonderful
,
because
what
they're
doing
is
they're
putting
,
so
they're
you
know
they're
doing
what
a
good
scientist
would
do
and
they
are
testing
the
accepted
theory
.
So
they
are
saying
,
okay
,
is
ischemia
what's
causing
all
period
pain
?
They
are
putting
people
who
are
having
dysmenorrhea
,
who
are
having
cramps
,
they're
putting
them
in
an
MRI
and
they're
having
them
squeeze
a
little
sensor
whenever
they
are
actively
feeling
pain
from
a
cramp
and
so
what
?
They're
able
to
see
what
the
uterus
is
actually
doing
and
see
when
they
are
experiencing
pain
.
And
so
if
it
was
ischemia
causing
the
pain
,
you
would
expect
when
the
uterus
contracts
to
line
up
with
when
they
feel
pain
.
And
it
doesn't
Interesting
theories
that
actually
the
pain
is
from
other
muscles
in
the
like
abdominal
muscles
contracting
in
anticipation
of
pain
or
after
the
contraction
has
already
happened
.
There
are
a
lot
of
theories
around
,
like
inflammation
,
that
the
body
can
react
in
a
way
that
sends
more
inflammatory
mediators
to
that
area
.
But
ultimately
we
don't
know
and
it
probably
has
more
to
do
with
our
brain's
pain
processing
pathways
than
it
does
with
The Reality of Menstrual Stigma
Speaker 2
16:28
the
actual
activity
of
the
muscles
.
And
that
was
fascinating
to
me
.
That
is
fascinating
.
Speaker 2
16:40
30%
of
menstruating
people
experience
enough
period
pain
that
it
is
in
some
way
debilitating
.
It
keeps
you
from
living
your
day-to-day
life
Right
.
And
that's
millions
of
people
,
that's
30%
of
menstruating
people
worldwide
would
be
about
522
million
people
,
over
half
a
billion
people
worldwide
having
debilitating
pain
once
a
month
potentially
and
we
don't
know
why
we
haven't
really
studied
.
The
GYRL
lab
is
one
of
the
only
labs
getting
NIH
funding
,
at
least
right
now
,
currently
to
study
dysmenorrhea
and
period
pain
,
and
so
they
are
making
progress
,
but
this
is
progress
we
should
have
made
years
ago
,
and
it's
because
of
what
you
were
talking
about
that
there's
just
doesn't
seem
to
be
this
curiosity
.
Prostaglandins
were
discovered
in
,
I
think
,
the
1970s
and
we
stopped
there
.
Science
said
,
like
great
,
we
did
it
,
we
get
it
,
that's
what
it
is
,
no
further
questions
,
and
that's
where
we
stopped
.
And
so
I'm
very
,
very
grateful
and
excited
that
more
research
is
being
done
and
more
progress
is
being
made
,
and
I'm
also
angry
that
there
was
not
more
curiosity
or
interest
in
like
half
a
billion
people's
pain
.
Speaker 1
17:58
Right
,
Well
,
and
I
think
and
have
you
experienced
this
in
all
of
the
work
that
you've
done
that
the
lack
of
curiosity
is
more
so
in
women's
and
reproductive
or
menstrual
health
.
Like
it's
not
.
It's
been
such
a
taboo
topic
for
so
long
and
people
haven't
talked
about
it
.
I
mean
,
think
about
it
Like
did
when
you
were
growing
up
,
when
you
had
your
period
?
Were
you
outwardly
excited
to
talk
about
your
period
?
Or
was
it
something
that
you
didn't
talk
about
and
you
didn't
hear
other
people
talk
about
,
unless
you
were
in
,
like
your
little
friend
group
,
you
know
,
in
middle
school
,
and
then
you
would
like
,
when
did
you
have
your
period
?
Yeah
,
you
know
.
Like
I
don't
know
why
the
period
was
so
excited
to
get
in
the
first
place
.
Like
,
yeah
,
I
don't
know
why
the
period
was
so
excited
to
get
in
the
first
place
.
Yeah
,
it's
a
sign
of
womanhood
.
Speaker 2
18:43
We're
also
terrified
to
have
anything
happen
to
us
that's
not
quote
unquote
normal
,
yeah
,
and
our
experiences
,
in
anyone
who
gets
a
period
,
our
experiences
are
so
different
and
it's
normal
to
have
a
variety
of
experiences
.
Not
that
it's
normal
to
be
in
extreme
pain
,
not
that
it's
okay
.
Right
,
it
is
very
,
very
hard
to
be
12
,
13
,
14
,
15
and
be
forced
to
reckon
with
this
idea
that
there
is
no
normal
for
this
experience
.
It's
going
to
happen
when
it
happens
,
you
can't
control
it
Right
.
Normal
for
this
experience
?
It's
going
to
happen
when
it
happens
,
you
can't
control
it
,
right
.
And
all
of
your
friends
have
different
experiences
and
different
things
they
think
are
normal
and
that's
terrifying
.
And
so
we
also
are
really
given
.
Speaker 2
19:32
And
I
grew
up
with
a
very
progressive
hippie
mother
who
and
I
say
that
with
love
and
admiration
who
was
very
open
about
reproductive
stuff
periods
like
it
was
never
a
taboo
issue
in
our
home
.
And
I
still
got
the
message
very
clearly
from
the
world
I
live
in
that
you
do
not
talk
about
your
period
.
The
consequences
of
talking
about
your
period
are
you
are
shunned
,
you
are
laughed
at
,
you
are
tittered
about
,
and
so
you
avoid
it
at
all
costs
.
And
even
when
we
get
older
and
we
don't
consciously
make
that
choice
.
We
are
trained
,
we
are
conditioned
not
to
talk
about
it
,
and
it
damages
us
because
,
like
the
only
our
doctors
,
our
gynecologists
don't
necessarily
,
I
have
learned
do
not
necessarily
have
accurate
information
on
our
health
and
our
bodies
and
what
is
normal
or
possible
and
where
we
could
get
more
help
.
We
have
no
information
,
right
,
unless
we
are
lucky
enough
to
have
,
you
know
,
a
doctor
who
does
have
good
information
or
is
willing
to
look
stuff
up
or
refer
us
to
a
specialist
and
not
all
doctors
are
.
Speaker 2
20:57
Our
experiences
with
our
periods
harms
us
in
both
psychologically
and
physically
,
because
we
are
isolated
in
our
pain
,
which
,
like
psychologically
,
gives
us
more
pain
.
Our
pain
is
worse
because
we
are
isolated
and
alone
in
it
.
We
are
social
animals
.
Our
brains
have
developed
to
want
to
be
around
other
people
,
to
want
to
know
we're
not
alone
,
and
so
if
you
are
having
pain
and
your
brain
is
going
to
tell
you
there's
something
wrong
,
if
you're
alone
in
this
pain
,
if
you
don't
know
why
it's
happening
,
that's
worse
,
right
?
So
,
literally
,
our
pain
is
worse
because
we're
not
talking
about
it
,
and
if
you
think
about
who
benefits
from
us
not
talking
about
our
pain
,
it's
not
us
.
Speaker 1
21:44
Nope
,
it's
to
make
people
less
uncomfortable
.
Speaker 2
21:48
Yeah
,
and
not
just
people
,
it's
men
.
Speaker 2
21:51
It's
people
who
do
not
get
periods
,
and
they
do
not
.
One
,
talking
about
our
pain
would
potentially
make
them
uncomfortable
,
because
it
is
a
part
of
the
body
that
they
don't
have
and
an
experience
they
don't
have
.
And
two
,
being
open
about
our
suffering
and
our
pain
would
force
them
to
do
something
about
it
,
even
if
that
is
just
accepting
that
we
can't
that
.
Okay
,
I'm
in
pain
,
I
can't
show
up
to
work
today
.
I
can't
do
.
I
do
childcare
today
.
I
can't
pick
up
my
mom
from
,
like
,
her
appointment
today
.
You
have
to
do
it
.
Speaker 2
22:26
And
when
we
shut
up
about
our
pain
,
when
we
keep
it
to
ourselves
,
when
we
just
,
like
white
knuckle
our
way
through
it
,
that's
not
benefiting
us
,
that's
harming
us
.
That's
benefiting
the
people
who
rely
on
our
labor
,
who
rely
on
our
emotional
,
social
,
unpaid
labor
and
paid
labor
,
and
so
that's
another
reason
that
we're
encouraged
not
to
talk
about
it
.
It
may
not
be
direct
I'm
not
suggesting
that
every
man
in
your
life
is
trying
to
,
you
know
,
extract
labor
from
you
when
you're
on
your
period
but
that
is
what
ends
up
happening
when
we
don't
Why Period Science is Shockingly Limited
Speaker 2
23:00
talk
about
our
pain
and
demand
support
when
we
are
in
debilitating
pain
.
Speaker 1
23:07
Yeah
,
and
it's
so
true
.
I
remember
my
husband
and
I
were
talking
about
in
the
midst
of
my
pain
with
my
period
and
this
is
when
we
first
got
married
and
he
went
to
the
store
to
get
me
tampons
and
pads
and
and
this
like
90
year
old
woman
he's
probably
not
90
,
but
like
older
woman
was
like
I
get
that
time
that
kind
too
,
and
he'd
forgotten
that
he
had
like
some
potting
soil
right
there
with
the
pads
and
tampons
and
he
automatically
was
like
the
pads
and
tampons
Okay
,
and
she
meant
the
potting
soil
.
But
he
I
was
like
did
that
embarrass
you
?
I
remember
asking
him
did
that
embarrass
you
?
It
was
no
,
that
didn't
embarrass
me
.
He
said
I
shouldn't
be
embarrassed
because
I
have
a
woman
that
has
a
cycle
Like
I'm
proud
of
that
,
I'm
proud
that
I
can
do
this
for
you
.
He's
like
you're
in
pain
.
Speaker 1
23:59
But
I
will
tell
you
that
I
myself
didn't
want
to
even
check
out
pads
and
tampons
unless
and
this
is
like
before
self-checkout
was
really
a
thing
.
I
would
always
find
the
checkout
that
had
like
the
oldest
woman
at
the
register
,
because
I
didn't
want
to
be
embarrassed
by
it
and
that
is
.
And
so
I
think
just
how
that
plays
out
with
not
only
us
as
menstruating
people
,
but
also
like
how
that
plays
out
in
society
and
how
we
get
embarrassed
,
is
not
okay
,
because
I
think
it
is
more
harmful
.
It's
more
we're
not
talking
about
the
serious
things
and
that's
why
I
think
for
a
long
time
not
fully
,
I
think
this
is
only
a
component
of
it
why
research
wasn't
done
on
women
,
why
we
don't
know
why
we
have
these
cramps
.
Speaker 2
24:46
Yeah
,
I
think
because
we
didn't
talk
about
it
.
It's
one
of
those
things
that
if
you
stop
and
think
about
it
for
two
seconds
,
it
makes
no
goddamn
sense
.
No
,
because
half
the
population
of
the
world
,
for
at
least
half
of
their
life
for
potentially
,
you
know
,
potentially
half
of
their
lives
is
menstruating
12
times
a
year
ish
.
And
so
why
are
we
living
in
a
world
where
we
are
going
through
these
,
like
crazy
acrobatic
,
you
know
tricks
to
hiding
tampons
,
like
hiding
menstrual
products
,
not
talking
about
it
in
public
,
like
going
through
all
of
this
labor
to
hide
it
?
Who's
doing
the
work
to
hide
it
?
Us
,
while
we
are
at
our
lowest
point
,
sometimes
while
we
are
feeling
the
worst
,
we
are
also
putting
in
all
this
effort
to
hide
it
or
being
made
to
feel
uncomfortable
about
it
,
and
it
is
no
sense
.
And
also
,
the
species
wouldn't
continue
if
we
didn't
menstruate
you
know
like
it
makes
no
sense
.
Speaker 2
25:44
And
to
your
point
about
women's
bodies
not
being
studied
,
I
mean
that
was
a
huge
part
of
the
podcast
as
well
,
of
like
I
understood
,
like
I
kind
of
intellectually
like
knew
that
women
were
less
represented
in
medical
studies
and
I
vaguely
remembered
that
,
like
in
the
past
,
there
was
like
a
whole
thing
where
women's
bodies
weren't
studied
at
all
.
And
I
vaguely
remembered
that
,
like
in
the
past
,
there
was
like
a
whole
thing
where
women's
bodies
weren't
studied
at
all
.
And
I
was
like
yeah
,
yeah
,
yeah
,
I
know
,
when
I
actually
looked
into
the
actual
history
of
it
and
the
facts
around
it
,
it's
wild
,
like
,
truly
wild
,
the
like
contortions
that
the
medical
and
scientific
industry
goes
into
to
not
study
female
bodies
.
And
part
of
the
reason
that
they
will
say
is
that
women's
bodies
and
women's
cells
,
like
down
to
they
don't
use
female
lab
rats
,
no
,
a
lot
of
the
time
because
they
say
it's
because
of
these
hormone
fluctuations
.
Oh
,
dear
Women
,
female
bodies
,
female
animals
have
these
hormone
fluctuations
and
that
makes
it
much
harder
to
study
.
Speaker 2
26:50
It's
another
factor
that
you
know
could
complicate
it
.
Female
lab
rats
have
like
four
day
hormone
cycles
or
something
and
so
like
,
oh
,
you'd
have
to
replicate
the
experiment
like
four
different
times
to
make
sure
that
the
hormone
fluctuations
are
not
like
changing
the
results
of
the
experiment
or
whatever
.
And
so
they're
like
we're
just
not
going
to
do
it
because
male
you
know
,
male
lab
rats
,
male
humans
,
like
they
don't
have
these
kinds
of
hormone
fluctuations
that
could
really
mess
up
the
data
we
have
hormone
fluctuations
.
Speaker 1
27:21
Right
.
Speaker 2
27:23
So
it's
not
only
Half
the
people
who
are
taking
this
medication
or
whatever
are
going
to
be
having
these
hormone
fluctuations
.
So
like
,
even
if
it's
a
little
more
complicated
,
isn't
that
effort
?
That's
well
worth
it
.
And
it
turns
out
,
no
,
not
to
them
.
For
a
long
time
,
it
was
sort
of
accepted
in
science
that
whatever
results
you
got
from
male
rats
,
more
male
human
participants
,
you
could
just
also
apply
to
female
participants
and
or
female
you
know
female
people
who
are
going
to
be
taking
this
drug
.
And
it's
not
true
.
Speaker 2
28:00
If
you
are
ovulating
,
if
you
are
cycling
,
your
hormone
fluctuations
affect
every
single
organ
in
your
body
and
the
way
that
it
functions
.
Like
I'm
on
an
antidepressant
,
I'm
on
an
SSRI
.
That
SSRI
is
the
same
dose
all
month
,
yet
my
hormone
fluctuations
mean
that
it
is
much
more
effective
in
my
follicular
phase
than
it
is
in
my
luteal
phase
,
which
is
when
I
need
it
more
,
and
so
there
are
lots
.
There
are
,
just
recently
,
some
pushes
to
change
some
of
the
dosage
,
and
this
is
,
by
the
way
,
this
is
true
about
cold
medicine
,
this
is
true
about
so
many
different
medications
that
if
you
take
it
in
your
follicular
phase
,
it
might
work
very
differently
for
you
than
it
will
in
your
luteal
phase
,
because
the
vastly
different
levels
of
hormones
affect
your
digestion
,
it
affects
your
liver
and
your
kidney
function
.
It
affects
all
these
different
organs
and
yet
that
medication
has
not
been
tested
on
people
at
different
stages
in
their
hormone
fluctuation
.
Speaker 2
29:04
So
,
they
don't
know
.
It's
also
why
women
experience
a
much
higher
rate
of
adverse
reaction
to
medication
,
and
it
doesn't
seem
to
matter
.
Our
quality
of
life
and
our
experience
and
our
level
of
pain
does
not
really
seem
to
matter
enough
to
science
and
medicine
to
get
them
to
change
and
change
is
hard
.
I
have
an
aunt
who
is
a
scientist
and
she
has
explained
to
me
things
that
I
didn't
think
of
before
that
just
starting
to
include
more
women
in
clinical
studies
would
make
it
much
harder
to
compare
results
to
studies
done
in
the
past
with
different
populations
.
It
would
mean
that
you
would
have
to
replicate
it
,
which
would
double
the
budget
for
a
lot
of
these
studies
which
,
especially
in
today's
climate
,
would
be
really
hard
.
Speaker 2
29:50
But
again
it's
like
well
then
,
what
are
we
?
What
is
the
point
If
half
the
people
taking
this
medication
are
going
to
be
reacting
to
it
differently
?
What's
the
point
of
not
doing
it
this
way
?
Speaker 1
30:02
Well
,
and
it's
also
like
not
only
are
we
lacking
the
curiosity
,
we're
also
lazy
in
research
,
like
that's
the
bottom
line
too
,
is
you
want
to
get
and
I
don't
know
this
for
100%
certainty
,
but
I
would
guess
that
if
you
are
given
a
certain
amount
of
grant
funding
to
do
research
,
you
need
to
get
that
research
done
within
a
specific
period
of
time
,
or
you
don't
finish
it
.
So
when
you're
making
something
more
complex
,
when
you're
researching
something
more
complex
,
you're
going
to
need
a
bigger
budget
,
and
if
you
don't
have
that
,
you're
just
going
to
go
the
easiest
route
and
hopefully
the
best
route
for
that
budget
.
Now
,
I'm
not
saying
that's
exactly
what
happens
,
but
I
would
have
to
assume
there's
some
of
that
at
play
when
it
comes
to
researching
women's
health
.
Speaker 2
30:47
Right
,
and
you
know
,
one
of
the
frustrating
things
about
digging
deep
into
this
issue
is
that
,
you
know
,
we
want
to
be
mad
at
the
doctors
,
right
.
We
want
to
be
mad
at
the
people
who
are
not
well
informed
and
are
not
giving
us
the
information
that
we
need
or
giving
us
the
treatment
that
we
need
.
We
want
to
be
mad
at
the
scientists
who
are
choosing
to
do
the
work
this
way
,
who
are
choosing
not
to
include
more
women
participants
in
these
issue
.
It
is
the
definition
of
a
systemic
issue
which
is
like
it's
not
a
problem
of
bad
actors
,
right
,
it's
not
a
problem
of
bad
apples
.
It's
a
problem
of
the
entire
structure
of
our
society
,
of
our
medical
industry
,
of
our
scientific
research
,
of
our
scientific
research
.
Speaker 2
31:51
The
way
that
that
is
funded
and
structured
discourages
and
disincentivizes
all
of
the
changes
that
need
to
be
made
in
order
for
women
to
be
fully
represented
in
these
studies
,
for
these
basic
questions
about
our
anatomy
and
functioning
to
be
answered
.
And
you
know
when
you
have
to
zoom
out
to
really
see
that
.
And
it's
incredibly
frustrating
because
,
short
of
mandates
which
,
like
the
NIH
,
does
have
a
mandate
,
it
just
doesn't
get
enforced
and
it's
very
hard
to
enforce
for
including
female
participants
in
these
studies
,
and
you
know
,
it
is
hard
to
imagine
how
we
can
get
there
,
because
without
completely
tearing
down
the
entire
system
and
starting
from
scratch
.
I
mean
,
this
administration
is
pretty
well
along
into
tearing
down
the
entire
system
,
but
I
don't
necessarily
trust
that
it
will
be
rebuilt
The Gender Bias in Medical Research
Speaker 2
32:36
in
a
better
way
.
Speaker 1
32:37
Well
,
and
we'll
see
.
I
think
one
of
the
things
that
I
have
become
more
aware
of
is
that
this
isn't
just
a
US
issue
.
This
is
a
worldwide
issue
,
and
this
is
something
that
you
know
,
I
feel
like
.
For
me
,
I
was
completely
oblivious
to
the
people
in
the
UK
who
are
still
struggling
with
this
,
and
we're
all
dealing
with
a
lot
of
the
same
issues
because
,
like
it
or
not
,
we
share
a
lot
of
the
same
research
,
and
so
that's
the
big
part
of
it
.
And
if
one
country's
on
it
,
unless
you're
like
of
the
same
research
,
and
so
that's
the
big
part
of
it
,
and
if
one
country's
on
it
,
unless
you're
like
really
wanting
to
research
it
more
,
can
they
just
don't
.
Speaker 2
33:14
And
that's
so
hard
,
and
I
mean
it
is
perversely
gratifying
,
I
think
you
know
.
I
think
we
look
at
a
lot
of
the
problems
with
our
healthcare
in
the
US
and
we
say
single
payer
healthcare
would
solve
a
lot
of
these
problems
.
But
this
is
a
problem
that
,
like
,
yeah
,
you
look
at
the
UK
and
places
in
Europe
that
have
,
you
know
,
single
payer
health
care
,
that
have
nationalized
health
care
,
and
they
might
have
slightly
different
problems
.
You
know
,
right
on
par
,
like
,
I
don't
think
you're
better
off
having
endometriosis
in
the
UK
than
you
are
in
the
US
.
It
is
maybe
in
Switzerland
or
Sweden
or
one
of
the
Nordic
countries
.
It
seems
like
they
have
some
stuff
figured
out
.
But
no
,
it
is
a
worldwide
problem
,
in
no
small
part
because
we're
all
in
.
All
of
these
Western
countries
are
essentially
based
off
the
same
structure
.
Speaker 1
34:07
Right
,
yeah
,
exactly
Exactly
.
We've
talked
about
the
challenges
and
the
shocks
of
what
you've
learned
doing
this
podcast
and
kind
of
sifting
through
,
not
only
figuring
out
what's
best
for
you
and
your
care
,
but
also
like
we
got
to
talk
about
this
more
what
is
one
thing
that
you
have
taken
away
from
doing
the
podcast
,
or
maybe
a
couple
of
things
that
encourage
you
about
what
not
only
you're
doing
,
but
the
direction
that
we
can
go
as
people
with
menstrual
cycles
,
people
with
endometriosis
.
What
encourages
you
most
?
Speaker 2
34:40
Okay
,
I
have
so
much
to
talk
about
.
I'm
so
glad
you
asked
this
question
because
there's
so
much
that
feels
hopeless
and
there's
so
much
that
feels
like
too
big
,
too
much
to
wrap
our
heads
around
or
to
do
anything
about
.
But
there
are
so
many
good
things
happening
at
the
same
time
.
One
there
are
so
many
incredibly
smart
,
incredibly
driven
people
working
on
these
problems
.
The
people
at
the
GYRL
lab
are
working
on
this
.
If
you
go
to
cureperiodpainorg
,
they
are
always
running
studies
that
you
can
actually
participate
in
.
Some
of
them
are
just
surveys
you
can
fill
out
,
and
so
I
highly
encourage
they're
always
looking
for
people
to
participate
in
these
studies
.
So
go
see
if
you're
eligible
.
Some
of
them
are
even
paid
.
So
go
,
go
,
go
,
go
.
Speaker 2
35:21
Yes
,
there
are
people
advocating
at
the
highest
levels
of
government
for
more
research
into
endometriosis
,
more
research
into
menstrual
pain
,
into
women's
health
.
People
who
are
like
lifelong
government
,
people
who
know
how
the
system
works
I
don't
even
know
how
it
works
well
enough
to
say
,
like
what
their
jobs
are
,
but
like
they're
not
lobbyists
,
they're
like
doing
this
for
the
society
,
for
women's
health
.
Research
is
doing
incredible
work
,
so
that
is
incredibly
hopeful
,
that
like
a
few
,
like
people
who
know
more
than
me
and
who
are
much
more
qualified
than
me
,
are
like
.
Working
on
this
is
so
,
so
good
to
know
.
A
Society
for
Women's
Health
Research
is
also
always
looking
for
more
people's
stories
,
so
if
you
go
to
their
website
,
you
can
just
write
your
story
there
and
they
can
ask
you
permission
to
share
it
on
their
various
channels
or
with
Congress
,
people
and
senators
.
So
that
is
a
way
that
you
can
immediately
just
like
help
them
,
help
you
.
Speaker 2
36:16
Another
thing
that
gives
me
a
lot
of
hope
is
that
,
looking
at
like
zoomed
way
out
,
looking
at
the
history
of
women's
health
and
how
we
have
been
treated
through
history
,
the
one
thing
that
I
see
as
a
through
line
is
the
more
access
to
information
we
have
as
individual
people
trying
to
get
better
healthcare
,
the
better
off
we
are
Right
now
.
If
you
look
,
before
the
printing
press
was
invented
,
it
was
really
hard
to
get
accurate
information
about
healthcare
,
the
way
your
body
worked
,
anything
like
that
you
were
reliant
on
,
potentially
a
village
wise
woman
or
a
midwife
,
and
that
these
systems
of
knowledge
died
out
.
And
now
we
,
at
this
point
in
our
history
,
we
have
access
to
more
information
,
and
more
quickly
than
we
ever
have
had
in
our
entire
existence
as
human
beings
.
Obviously
,
it's
a
double-edged
sword
,
because
we
also
have
access
to
all
the
bad
information
,
misinformation
.
But
if
we
can
be
media
literate
,
if
we
know
good
sources
,
if
we
know
how
to
check
and
validate
our
sources
,
we
can
have
access
to
all
the
information
out
there
.
Basically
,
I
read
a
lot
of
research
papers
,
medical
papers
.
I
don't
understand
all
the
words
,
I
them
.
I
have
a
friend
who's
a
data
scientist
and
sometimes
I
send
her
a
paper
and
say
here's
what
I
think
this
data
is
saying
.
Can
you
tell
me
if
I'm
right
or
not
?
And
then
she'll
call
me
and
we'll
talk
about
what
the
difference
between
an
average
and
a
mean
is
and
I'll
try
to
remember
my
high
school
stats
.
But
we
have
access
to
that
information
and
we
have
access
to
all
of
the
things
we
need
to
decode
that
information
.
And
so
,
yeah
,
it's
a
pain
in
the
ass
,
it
sucks
that
we
have
to
basically
get
amateur
medical
degrees
just
to
care
for
ourselves
,
but
that's
where
we
are
right
now
.
We
also
have
access
to
each
other
and
I
think
that's
a
hugely
important
piece
of
the
puzzle
.
Speaker 2
38:15
I
agree
there
are
a
lot
of
people
doing
what
are
sometimes
called
like
women's
circles
just
getting
together
with
other
people
who
are
menstruating
,
people
with
uteruses
,
together
with
other
people
who
are
menstruating
,
people
with
uteruses
getting
together
in
groups
from
,
you
know
,
three
to
a
hundred
,
over
,
zoom
over
,
like
in
person
,
in
your
living
room
,
in
a
local
coffee
shop
,
at
a
bar
,
wherever
.
I
had
one
recently
.
I
think
I'm
going
to
keep
doing
them
,
monthly
,
I
think
,
and
call
them
clam
bakes
,
because
that
appeals
to
my
sense
of
humor
.
Yes
,
but
just
literally
getting
together
with
a
group
of
people
who
are
experiencing
different
things
,
going
around
and
you
know
you
are
going
to
doing
it
this
way
,
you
are
going
to
find
other
people
who
are
experiencing
things
similarly
to
you
.
I
didn't
know
.
Speaker 2
39:00
You
know
,
I
invited
kind
of
a
random
group
of
people
that
I
knew
to
my
house
.
About
12
people
showed
up
,
I
think
.
I
invited
like
25
,
12
showed
up
.
We
had
some
wine
,
we
had
some
snacks
,
we
went
around
and
just
like
,
said
what
was
good
,
what
we're
each
dealing
with
.
Some
of
these
people
are
people
I've
been
close
with
for
years
.
I
had
no
idea
some
of
the
stuff
that
they
were
dealing
with
.
We
ended
up
having
a
long
conversation
about
IUDs
and
insertion
.
Oh
yeah
.
Speaker 1
39:30
And
some
people
.
Speaker 2
39:31
Some
people
in
the
group
had
experienced
an
IUD
insertion
where
they
were
given
lidocaine
,
where
they
were
,
you
know
,
given
topical
local
anesthesia
,
and
we
you
know
other
people
in
the
group
were
asking
where
did
you
get
that
?
How
,
like
,
cause
,
I've
tried
to
get
that
and
they
refuse
it
.
And
so
we
shared
information
about
,
like
,
which
locations
,
under
which
insurances
cover
like
,
uh
,
local
anesthesia
with
IUD
insertion
,
and
people
went
away
with
actual
actionable
okay
,
next
time
I
need
an
IUD
,
like
I'm
going
to
go
to
that
place
because
I'm
it
is
important
to
me
to
have
anesthesia
,
and
so
,
like
that
kind
of
that's
an
empowerment
,
that
kind
of
sharing
of
information
so
that
we
can
get
what
we
need
,
what
we
deserve
in
terms
of
health
care
,
and
know
that
we
are
not
alone
in
dealing
with
this
.
That
is
incredibly
important
,
yeah
,
so
those
are
things
that
give
me
a
ton
of
hope
with
this
.
Speaker 1
40:27
That
is
incredibly
important
.
Yeah
,
so
those
are
things
that
give
me
a
ton
of
hope
Hope on the Horizon for Menstrual Health
Speaker 1
40:30
.
I
have
hope
that
you
,
that
there
are
more
people
taking
their
platform
and
talking
about
it
and
being
open
about
it
and
being
vulnerable
.
I
think
sometimes
it
can
be
overlooked
.
You
know
what
we
do
.
It
can
be
a
very
vulnerable
thing
to
do
,
because
you're
talking
about
your
healthcare
A
lot
of
times
,
you're
talking
about
your
challenges
and
sometimes
that's
not
always
the
easiest
thing
to
do
,
but
I
have
hope
that
more
people
are
talking
about
their
care
,
they're
looking
at
it
more
,
they're
advocating
and
they're
showing
how
to
advocate
better
for
themselves
and
they're
demanding
more
from
a
lot
of
people
,
everyone
that
has
a
hand
in
our
care
,
and
I
think
that
that
is
what's
going
to
change
the
trajectory
of
healthcare
in
general
,
but
women's
healthcare
specifically
,
and
so
I
have
just
an
immense
amount
of
hope
,
given
that
women
are
tired
of
becoming
second-class
citizens
and
they're
speaking
up
and
they're
saying
this
is
not
good
enough
for
us
anymore
.
Speaker 1
41:26
Our
lab
values
shouldn't
be
based
off
of
men's
lab
values
.
Our
lab
values
are
our
own
.
We're
individual
humans
.
We
,
you
know
,
we
do
operate
differently
,
and
so
talking
about
it
,
bringing
it
to
light
and
putting
it
out
there
in
a
place
that
leaves
space
for
criticism
can
be
really
challenging
.
So
thank
you
for
stepping
into
that
space
and
taking
the
funding
that
you
did
get
to
do
something
like
this
,
because
this
is
so
important
and
it's
so
impactful
.
So
thank
you
for
doing
that
and
thank
you
for
sitting
at
the
table
with
me
and
talking
about
this
because
Of
course
,
it's
my
pleasure
.
This
is
how
it
changes
.
Speaker 2
42:02
Yes
,
and
I
will
say
there
is
a
lot
of
good
research
out
there
that
shows
.
I
forget
the
exact
number
,
but
you
only
need
about
3.5%
,
and
the
more
that
we
just
talk
to
each
other
about
this
,
the
closer
we
get
to
that
3.5%
.
And
doing
something
you
know
,
you
don't
have
to
go
to
a
physical
protest
Like
you
can
write
your
congressperson
about
this
.
You
can
share
your
story
with
the
Society
for
Women's
Health
Research
.
You
can
write
an
open
letter
on
social
media
about
how
dumb
it
is
that
this
is
the
way
our
system
works
.
Yes
,
because
I
think
the
more
yeah
,
completely
the
more
open
we
are
to
this
,
the
more
we
just
talk
one-on-one
to
each
other
,
the
more
awareness
there
is
.
And
we
talk
one-on-one
to
people
in
our
lives
who
don't
get
periods
,
who
don't
have
uteruses
,
and
help
them
understand
how
dumb
this
system
is
,
that
half
the
people
on
this
earth
can't
get
adequate
healthcare
or
accurate
information
because
of
the
way
the
system
is
set
up
.
You
know
it's
a
big
system
but
like
we
made
it
up
,
we
can
change
it
.
Speaker 1
43:18
Right
,
absolutely
.
And
if
you
don't
feel
empowered
to
say
all
the
stats
or
say
all
the
facts
,
point
people
to
the
right
direction
,
because
sometimes
that's
a
really
overwhelming
thing
for
us
to
do
,
because
we
are
so
inundated
within
our
own
things
that
we're
dealing
with
that
sometimes
it's
hard
for
us
to
convey
this
accurately
.
Nate's
podcast
is
amazing
Cramped
.
If
you
haven't
listened
to
it
yet
,
go
listen
to
it
.
It's
amazing
.
She's
a
phenomenal
communicator
.
Love
the
fact
that
you
open
up
the
door
to
so
many
different
conversations
and
things
that
we
should
be
paying
attention
to
more
,
and
you're
bringing
in
some
really
good
evidence-based
materials
as
well
,
which
I
think
is
crucial
to
the
way
that
we
approach
this
.
So
thank
you
for
doing
that
and
I
encourage
you
to
go
check
out
cramped
and
it's
streaming
everywhere
or
where's
this
.
Speaker 2
44:07
Anywhere
you
get
your
podcast
and
it's
cramped
.
C
,
r
,
a
,
m
,
p
E
D
.
My
name's
Kate
Helen
Downey
,
so
you
can
find
me
on
at
Kate
Helen
Downey
,
or
on
Tik
TOK
at
Kate
is
cramped
.
Speaker 1
44:20
Love
it
,
I
love
it
.
Go
follow
her
there
,
kate
.
Thank
you
again
so
much
for
sitting
down
with
me
and
this
has
been
so
fun
,
so
fun
.
Until
next
time
,
everyone
continue
advocating
for
you
and
for
others
.