8 - Seeded. Periods, Hormones and a Toolkit of Wellness with Bee & Ray.

In this episode of Seeded, Kyla sits down with Bee and Ray for a real, unfiltered conversation about periods, pain, perimenopause, and everything we were never taught about our bodies. 

From the awkwardness of first bleeds and being put on the pill way too young, to hormone-fuelled migraines and the shame that still lingers around menstruation - we go there.

With stories that will make you laugh, cringe, and maybe feel a little less alone, we talk about how food, plant medicine, and giving ourselves permission to rest have helped us reconnect with our cycles in a way our younger selves never could have imagined.

Topics we cover:

• Why migraines, mood swings, and anxiety might not be “just stress”
• What happened when we finally started tracking our cycles
• How CBD and THC can support painful periods and perimenopause
• The wild side effects of hormonal contraception (and how we figured it out the hard way)
• Replacing shame with sisterhood, and painkillers with proper toolkits
• Why we should all be journaling, celebrating our bleed, and maybe building a hut

Recommended Reading: 

Period Repair Manual and Hormone Repair Manual by Lara Briden
Referenced: 

The Business of Birth Control documentary by Riki Lake

Bee Mohamed has worked in health policy for over 10 years, bo th in the public and private sectors. Bee was the inaugural CEO of ScriptWise, a health promotion charity addressing prescription medication addiction and overdose in Australia. 

Bee is passionate about patient advocacy and working towards better drug policy reforms in Australia. She is currently an Ambassador for Harm Reduction Australia and Founder of Mata, an online platform sharing stories from the plant medicine industry.

You can find her storytelling at @mata_gathering

Ray Steele is a storyteller and connector, finding her path in this work through involvement in social responsibility, agroecology, regenerative and bioregional projects for over 10 years. She is a passionate living systems advocate.

After 15 years of severe migraines, a return to natural therapies offered her relief and heightened awareness of the interconnectedness between healing and living systems.

You can find her @ray.steele

Connect with Kyla de Clifford
Instagram: @cannacuriousaus
TikTok: @cannacuriousau
YouTube: @cannacurious

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, share, and leave a review - it helps the podcast reach more curious minds just like you.

Disclaimer:
We are not doctors, and this is not medical advice. Everything shared here is based on our personal lived experiences and the stories of others. Always speak with a qualified healthcare professional before making any changes to your health or wellness routine.

Transcript

So today's episode ladies we here at Seeded are actually going to talk about menstruation and the female reproductive system and how plants can actually help us in that manner. Perfect timing. Perfect timing. Yes and I think I'd like to start by asking what knowledge as a young person Bea you were given around your period monthly cycle menstruation with we're gonna call it all the names this morning. One advice did you say? Yeah did you receive any like advice or what did you perhaps know about your body and its reproductive system at the time of when you started menstruation? Hmm big question. It's a big question.

I guess that's something it's funny like now in hindsight I'm like my mom never spoke to me about it it's such a taboo question in a way it's it's sort of something I never like menstruation is always like when you're bleeding you don't talk about it. My nan was different like I remember when I actually got my first period she sort of did some ayurvedic concussions for me and so it's really different like she was trying to do that but not bypass my mom because she felt it was my mom's responsibility to do that. My mom was very different she just like here's a pad didn't even really show me how to use it and so the first night that I was bleeding I guess I I thought you just use the one pad for the whole time you're bleeding.

So I think for me it was more yeah just a shame like but to me it's now at 39 I'm like how amazing as women that our body goes through that and what our ability biologically what we're able to do it's pretty special. So it's taken me 39 to actually realize that or maybe afew years before but yeah I think my younger self I really wish someone had just spoken to me about it and it's something you don't like you don't even you know when you're changing your pads at school you don't tell anyone. No you hide it I for hiding it up my sleeve as far as I go across my arms. Whereas now I go to get my pads I'm like swinging it around like yeah my children are like okay mom okay mom thank you.

I mean I'll love to unpack at some point why we do that but that's that's definitely my story. Hey Rae what about you how did you go when it was the first menstruation? I was a late a late comer to the party so I was 15 when I had my first menstruation and I feel like it was an experience that was straddled between two worlds. So I was in Australia my mother's Tongan so there was like this kind of unspoken reverence for a woman's cycle and her bleed and this kind of stuff and at the same time a shame around bleeding itself the two worlds never really met. It was kind of like everything was very segmented or like in different silos so the arrival of my first menstruation was also like my migraines were a precursor to that.

So there were like three different things happening at once none of these worlds met I never really had a conversation with anybody about how the how my periods were affecting my hormones which were bringing on these huge like migraine spikes. I also had hid the you know in the sleeve but then at the same time it was like super common at home to ask my brother to go to the shop to like get everything I needed. So it was like it was almost like the different the concept of sex and period and pregnancy and pleasure was very completely different to like the the doctor's appointments and the pain and the migraines and the hormone spikes and again different to the notion of this being like a rite of passage into womanhood.

So also at 39 years old it would have been great to like in those early days have resources or like less shame to talk about it. Yeah or a trusted you know having a trusted woman and auntie and you know or even a celebration. A celebration would have been nice. Which reminds me I do have an American friend who did say that when she first met my daughter years ago and said oh when she starts bleeding we're gonna have a celebration and I was mortified. For me because I for me my experience was in this fast- paced world and you know by that age already I started noticing that men were treated differently and the boys were treated differently and I was not gonna let that get in my way.

So for me I was like rightio it's here. I was given a pad. I lasted one period with that. I was like there's no way I'm walking around with that boat between my legs. I can't move and someone's gonna see it and notice that I am different than the boys. So I remember mum going get out of the pool why are you in the pool Kyla? I was like I don't know what are you talking about lady? Mum come on don't embarrass me. She's like get up. She whispers to me don't you have your period? I was like yes I do. She said what are you doing? I said don't worry I've used one of your tampons.

She's like oh you know because super super tampons they're a bit bigger Iguessbitbigger IguessWereyouyourfirsttamponact I wasbarely13but I'thatwasitI'd I never ever looked back because for me it was you know a way to hide it to continue on like the men do and there was no way I was gonna let period pain or you know migraine same. I was a migraine sufferer. I didn't realize that it was because of the hormones. I thought it was because I ate too much peanut butter and not a joke. They told me cheese. Peanut butter. Yeah they told me peanut butter andcheeseYessameand Ilovepeanutbutterand IwenttoDenmarkI hadn't had a migraine for probably 12 months.

Mum sent me a care package with peanut butter. I ate a jar of it and ended up in hospital with the worst migraine I've ever had. So to me that was it. Okay it did peanuts. Did you say jar? If there was two I would have eaten both. I'm still the same with peanut butter but now I don't have any issues but that's what I believed at the time. So anything for me to not be seen as as having that womanly aspect at that stage and I feel like the behavior from of my parents changed because now I was bleeding there was a possibility I could get pregnant and the answer to that because my father was a doctor was as soon as I was 15 put me on the pill.

Wow. Sorry we have to pause on that. So I didn't realize until I moved to Australia how young people get on the pill here. Like it was a complete shock for me. Like you know I was in uni and I was 19 and a lot of girls were like what do you mean you're not on the Yasmin and I'm like what do you mean what is that like I didn't even know what it was. And I think that was the thing that I was just really blown away how young they get put on contraception here. And I don't know if anyone here or anyone listening to us has watched The Business of Birth Control but it's a fantastic documentary and you know you girls are saying you know you're 39 before you let this I'm 48 and it's only happened in the last four years where I have enough understanding now to know what has been done to us generationally what has been done to us as women and it is it is quite frightening but what helps is knowledge and I'm grateful for that knowledge now because I am able to support my daughters through this and you know taking the birth control pill which will happen you'll be talked to about that at puberty but also at the other end here where I'm in perimenopause the solution is go on the pill you'll hear them say it balances your hormonesthat's acompleteandutterliecrockofshititstopsyourhormonesand when you're a teenager it takes seven years for you to I know Lara Brydon she says out the hormonal river of where your hormones need to be it takes about seven years and instead I was given a year of a couple years of bleeding and then my hormones were stopped from then until the age of 32 and I realized that the pill was causing a lot of my problems I have goosebumps me too I literally was like whoa I never got seven years to carve out any hormonal river no it's it's quite it was quite a shock to me too you know reading that and again watching the business of birth control and there are ladies that have been campaigning and advocating and yelling this to us since the 1960s correct but I think other than you know these physical side effects that I was experiencing the first time I realized something was a little off was when I realized the first pill that I was prescribed Diane me too you as Diane mm- hmm got pulled from the shelves for killing people probably except like it was not good news and it certainly wasn't worth you know the possible migraines that it saved me in and we'll get into all the other things that happened and then the second one Yasmin also got pulled yeah you'll find a lot of them did yeah mm- hmm and do continually and I do also want to raise well I remember the fact that quite a lot of these hormonal therapies if you want to call it that are then pulled from the shelves renamed and placed back out on the shelf so you really got to look at your ingredients and and what you know what you're taking and and the safety inserts are important and doing your own research you know with anything just because I say it or even a doctor says it doesn't mean that mm- hmm you that that's the answer we need to research our own medications what would you like what questions would you ask a young person being prescribed the contraceptive pill in relation to for instance for me with migraines I didn't even understand how like what would be interconnected with my hormonal increases and decreases in terms of mood in terms of I had cystic acne for 15 years basically mental health mental health which you know for me I suffered from serious depression and anxiety as a child as a teenager and not knowing why or what the heck was wrong with me and it wasn't something that we discussed either and so I kept surviving with that and till I made the link that well hang on a minute it was when I started the pill yeah and now when you go back and look at the history and you look at the women that have cases against these big companies you know mental health is a big big one so and you know touching on this subject again too is the subject of sex because you know it brings back that you know parents I know with my parents they were just like oh that'll stop her getting pregnant even though I wasn't sexually active anyway so you know does that then make a young person think okay well I'm free to free to go and have sex and do whatever I like because I'm safe I'm not sure that's another conversation but then I wasn't taught about how my body works even now it's only taking me till now to work out okay well where am I at in my cycle I know that you know I'm comfortable with checking cervical mucus withyouknowwithchecking where I am at my cycle I don't think that we we naturally talk about that as women yeah it's not something I teach my children but they you know they laugh now because they're like okay too much too much information there's never such things but no and I say take take of it what you will but at some point you'll be like ah that makes sense yeah and that we we know our own bodies well enough to be able to stay away from pregnancy at the same percentage rate as being on the pill yeah which will blow everyone's minds too but that is that is the case mmm and I think it's also like what was interesting for me working in a dispensary space is how it's very rare for women to have their periods anymore like a lot of women that come into the space that I know with you know because they've been on the contraception for too long and they almost like will do anything to stop theirperiods completely so you'll speak to someone in their 20s and they're like I haven't had a period since I was 16 oh that blows my mind I never used it like that so I because I wasn't taught that they're taught that that is absolutely crazy that our uterus needs to bleed yes I know it's just so much there even to unpack because I'm like I didn't even think of that I'm recounting so many conversations with people that specifically go on the pill for that purpose correct and it's not getting that exactly to avoid their period to go on vacation to like I don't know I feel like this is probably a topic for another episode with a doctor to go into like what does that do to our bodies after so long mmm I know a friend of mine had a lot of trouble falling pregnant after you know having that relationship with a contraceptive pill so she was told the moment she would come off it she'd have you know a few months and then return back to normal it was years yeah yeah you find you hear that yeah and I guess that's why the whole IVF it's such a huge sector now but let's park that one as well we'll park it next to I think yeah let's not unpack but it's again it's to me it's it's that's the world we live in now we're getting as further and further away to the natural cycles of our body and you know we're almost like let's avoid that and the rhythms of nature we we really shouldn't be mucking around with our bodies in such a way and you know I mean you know we're gonna tie this in and bring it back to the plant because migraines period pain even when you're getting hormonal and angry and all sorts of things there there is CBD which can make a huge difference and I know some women that I've spoken to only use their around their cycle which I think again for those of you that don't feel that you need it in at any other time starting from ovulation and using it for those two weeks until you bleed and during can be so helpful for so many women and what other natural things do you use be when it comes to that stage or time for you tumour yeah I mean I remember when I just got my period my I mean shout out to Nan wherever she is now but she was the OG of lattes you know she bought a bar and selling turmeric lattes it's like but I just remember she just sort of made one you know this big glass of you know turmeric and a little bit of coconut milk and a raw egg in it she was like drink this but then me being me in that age I think I was like completely disregarding anything that was Indian or of that so I sort of never continued doing that and then obviously then led to me having really horrible periods and migraines in my teenage years and then remembering my Nan going like you should have listened to me you know yeah and the three of us having that same issue from different worlds different different generations it's unbelievable yeah but turmeric I feel is a really good one I mean you can have a lot of foods that has that's great for inflammation and everything but that's really helped me and I think for me avoiding dairy was the first big one that I had to do and it just helped you know I only got like really pain- free regular periods like four years ago and that was a lot of tweaking the foods that I eat and what I put in my body. Food is medicine yeah yeah hmm okay right I think the main thing that I remember from from those early years was obviously a lot of wholesome nutritious food but we had like with my mother I we always had a culture of respecting that time of the month and feeling no pressure to do anything so like to rest to not go to school if you didn't want to go to school which was at the time I didn't really understand how special that would be because later in life I had forced myself to go to work and you know do all kinds of things and not take that time to rest. Crazy. I did say someone putting on social media like the fact that we did we we would be sent out into a hut and we would bleed together and you know back when I was younger that sounds atrocious now. Now I would love to do that.

Imagine the conversations in that hut. Yeah and that's it women's conversations staying in the hut I didn't have anyone in my hut I was trying to I was trying to be a boy pretty much. Now you have us in your hut. I know now I've got a hut it's nice to have a hut. It is. It's important. What about you Kyla? Yes so for me now I'm in perimenopause you'll hear me talking about that a lot because it's a stage of life that we don't speak about again and your hormones really take a hit they start to peter out and we're going to a place where we don't need to be we don't I have high levels of pain unfortunately I have adenomyosis and I can find every couple of months that I have a really really bad one so I use the plant I use a CBD and THC suppository I use a patch I use a and I take CBD and I use THC for breakthrough so whilst that sounds like a lot it always depends on what day I'm having and having all of that available to me in my toolkit means that I don't have to worry like I don't have to okay I can't do that this week but I do plan around my cycle too I usually won't have meetings I am very careful to sort of have my creative time or time where I'm on my own so that I don't hate cancelling and not being able to do things so I think that as women we're not taught to work around our cycle and with it don't work against it it's natural it's part of who we are and the earlier that you can connect with that I think the better I have a

Carla some of the tools that you just mentioned I have very limited knowledge about could you walk us through like just a super high- level description of like what would be useful when so I did mention suppositories and the reason that I love them is that you they really keep the medicine localized to that reproductive area so you will get the pain you get the pain relief but also I suffer from nausea with the pain the nausea is reduced and yet I don't have that head high that we you know that we talk about with THC because of the way it's inserted but also you know you don't need a high THC to help in that area with a patch that is a transdermal patch that you can place over your back or uterus and that will deliver pain relief in a different way and it assists the brain in the cement hole in there it assists the brain to go okay the pain's not there now which is absolutely fabulous and by using you know a THC vape for breakthrough pain that's an automatic sorry instant instant relief and which can last me anywhere from 20 minutes to four hours depending on you know again which strain that I would pick that would help with pain relief so there's a three and the CBD systemically because it helps reduce inflammation and you know I believe that by taking that every day or twice a day that's helping me with that pain longer term be do you have any like what's your cycle like do you have any intersections with the plant on a monthly basis to be honest so I don't use the plant anymore with my cycle I think for me I've sort of been able to get to a stage where it's regular I sort of understand when my cycle happens what I have to do the week before the week during that I'm sort of sitting at that sort of slightly sweet spot but definitely I think now being 39 the whole hormones thing I think it's something I have to sort of start honoring the plant again yeah I think in terms of my cycle of the month it's something that I had to really work more with food because I realized that was what would really affect my pain like how I ate closer to my cycle yeah and that to me is really powerful because and it's a discussion that we need to ensure we keep threading in because diet and when I say people eat and then complain about pain and complain about pain and the way to see it you may think you know what I'm fine I don't need that food keep a journal people even if you do it for a month yeah and write your symptoms down because you'll see those patterns sorry no no you didn't There's no hijacking this book. I just was like, dude. Yeah, I think the whole like knowing how you feel is something that's really new to me as well. Like I used to just function for work and push myself and I used to do CrossFit as well and I'll be like, why am I feeling so weak this week?

Like, why am I not lifting this and that? And then now I'm just like, that week before, especially for me, like I really have to, same as Kyla, like no meetings. I can't really sort of, youknow it's almost like I go straight into yoga, something really slower. I'm just really like- I needed that reminder, thank you. Yeah, you're like preparing your vessel and I think the biggest struggle I have, you know, being a high functioning person is telling yourself it's okay to slow down pause and prep your body for it, youknow Because I'm sure if we look at historic events, I'm sure women would do that. You know, they probably would take a step back and just sort of come together and allow themselves to just pause.

So I think that's the one thing I only just learned two years ago is how do I fit my schedule around that? Because I'm also very vulnerable the week before and any conversation it's like- Resonates a lot. Yeah, it does and don't make any big decisions. Oh wow, oh my god. Can you- Which one? Whichever one. Don't make any big decisions. And it's okay, it's okay to say to somebody, I'll get back to you on that next week. Or, you know, you don't have to go announcing it to your whole team. Hey, everyone. I'm bleeding right soon and I can't make any decisions. But for you- I would love to be able to say that. I would love to be, I used to, I think I would love to be able to say that.

I used to say that to an ex and that's why he's an ex. I used to be like, I'm about to have my period, I don't want to have this conversation. Yes. And he did not take it well. It's almost like, you know, why and like- Or you're putting the blame on that or whatever it is. must say, I have a new relationship. So I've only been in a relationship for two and a half years and I use like an app called Period Calendar just to check and know where I am. And he's very interested in that. So I wanted to share that with him. Now, I couldn't and I went to have a look at all the apps, the period apps, none of them can you share with your And I know for us, if I'm a little bit, you know, he can go, ah, that's what I was after, right?

Not without me having to go. There needs to be a seated app that allows that. I'm sorry, but your mission- Don't you think so? Like, I couldn't believe that I couldn't find that in an app like that, you know, just all share that or with my best mate or with, you know, just so that you know, okay, she's probably needs to be in that place. Or if you're in a high anxiety state, so someone can go, well, that's why honey, like you're in that place. My mind is blown. That would be a game changer. I know, right? And whilst I can see also the negatives of that, you only sharing it with people who you choose to share it with and you have theability to stop that at any moment.

I'd be grateful. And again, I know my partner would too, because he's living it. I know, but that's beautiful that like, I think that's the one thing. It's like men get so uncomfortable. Some men get really uncomfortable. And I think we need to get them comfortable it as well, because it's important for them to really understand the woman's body and in a way be able to hold space for us as well. 100% 100% fact that people get uncomfortable about menstruation we have all of these stereotypes around mood swings, like this is all connected to not respecting the entire cycle, the entire like, it's a sacred time. It's a sacred like transition that I feel like the, we have so many silos connected to being a woman. Yes. And like. And shame.

It blew my mind. So much shame about being a Yeah, that you couldn't share it with your partner. So he can not understand when you're gonna have a mood swing, because that's like theembedded negative behavior that we all get taught. But he could then alter like, okay, this is when Kyla needs like maybe a little extra help with X, Y, And he's like that and he likes to make sure I'm eating properly too. So he can go, do you know what, she probably needs a bit more protein in that week or whatever it is. Shout out to Tim. I I know, he's a good man and I'm blessed to have him, but it. Future guest. Future guest. So he can tell you about how it all goes in the mood swing department.

But you know, it is, I automatically go to that too, that shame around that I might be in a worse mood. But to be fair, I've journaled and I am in a worse mood. I feel like I'm in like highly vulnerable the week before. And I used to like link it to being in a bad mood or like a negative context, but I realized I'm just super sensitive. Protecting yourself. And if I'm receiving energy that's a little bit confrontational, like this is if we go back to the plant, perhaps I would be, I would reply or respond in a really defensive or aggressive way. And part of the beautiful like journey with the plant is that it allows me to pause to choose whether to like engage in that or to understand, hey, I'm super sensitive.

Whatever's going on over there, not really my problem. That I have only learned in the last few years so that I can actually see that using the plant that got to go, actually, it's okay. It happens every month and it's okay. That's why you blew my mind when you said don't make any big decisions. I needed that little gem early in the But can only go back. Imagine having all this knowledge, not only having it, but accepting it. And then implementing it. Yes, the number ofrelationships are probably ended during my period. Probably for good reason. Probably for good reasons. I mean, I'm sure there was one that I probably regretted, but like it's like if someone told me like you'll be highly irrational. You know what?

Probably for a good reason, but you couldn't, well, I couldn't take the learning because I was so reactive at the time. Had I like been, you know, slowed down alittle I would have ended the but I would have integrated why I was ending it instead of just being, you know. But also disclaimer, I was on both the Yasmin and the Marina, so you could not make, you could not make any decisions on that. Absolutely not. I'm sorry, but a doctor shouldn't have you on both of those things. He was just saying, it's like, it was gonna help my period pain. And I was at a point where, yeah, that was when I was in my mid- 20s living in Canberra. And yeah, he was just like, be on this.

And then a few months later, I was like, my pain is still really bad. And he was like, well, there's actually a new thing called, you know, the Marina device. And me being me, I was naive and I trusted him. And you know, when something enters your body and you know immediately it's not good. Yeah, which we did have a brief conversation outside of this space before, but you know, touching back on Marina, I, in perimenopause, you will find that when you go to the doctor, they will say, go on the pill, it regulates your it stops your hormones, it does not regulate your or go on the Marina. Again, it will help with the pain and balance your So I, again, naively, just cause I had a lot ofbleeding with the adenomyosis and I didn't wanna go to hospital every month.

That was taking a lot of time out of away from my I lasted four, maybe five days. The depression hit me like a brick. Like it was horrific depression. I actually went into the bathroom and took out the Marina myself because I couldn't, I wasn't gonna wait to have to get in to see somebody to take that out. I Googled it. I know, not medical advice. Please don't do that. Go and see your medical professional. And I felt better within 24 hours. And that's when it really hit me about what these hormones were doing to us. And that sent me on the research path of what is the pill doing to us? Yeah. I mean, I wish I took it out in a few days cause I was suicidal for years.

And I thought it was me. I thought it was like, oh, I was unhappy. And that's not normal, anyone out there. It's not normal. It's not normal to have period pain where you can't do anything. It's not, I mean, they say it's not normal to have period pain. However, yeah, look, there's not, I'm not really sold on that as a story because I mean, I always remember something, even a little pinch or there's this, but nothing that we actually can't But when it gets to a point where you can't handle it, it isn't normal. It's not normal to bleed excessively. I mean, I was going through a tampon every half an hour and that is not normal or okay. And our bodies can't On the other side of that, you're losing all of your iron stores.

You're losing vital minerals that you need to So don't just put on a face and keep going. Go and speak to somebody who may be able to help you and keep asking questions. Don't just take what you're given verbatim. Ask until you get the answers that you want or need. think the biggest learning I had with the Mirena was it was a beginning of my realization that I wasn't listening to my body. So I had a, similar to you Bea, I had a physical reaction where it just didn't feel right. I bled continuously for the nine months that it was in. I hear that a And for that reason, I took it out. About a week after it came out, I realized I had not had any peak or like fall in my emotions for those nine months.

Like I was completely numb. So then I was thinking, how is this even possible? Because when I was at the he said this was fantastic. There are no side effects like the ones I had because it's such a slow dispersion of yada, yada, It was, yeah. If I had any advice, it would be to ask your doctor, what are the side effects? How soon? Because actually everyone kept telling me, if you're gonna bleed, it'll wrap up within six months. Which I think is a long time to continuously bleed. Nobody told me that it's super common for everyone to have emotional, like mental health issues. Yeah, that one for me was a big shock to hear that and to know that and to know that I'd been suffering for all that time and not saying anything.

But I don't know if anyone knew, if anyone really knew. They see the positives of it. The doctors are giving all the They wanna help you. And we trust these practitioners. We trust the And not to say not trust your practitioner, but it's okay to ask questions. And it's okay to not feel good when you've taken something. And to go back and to ask more questions. And I, for one, I am quite sensitive to what goes on in my body, unfortunately. Now I am. if you feel that there is something off, there is something off. I know. I feel like we should have brought a Mirena device and have it in the table and have a burning ceremony after. This has turned into a podcast about Mirena and. And burning them.

And burning them. In a sacred women's space, where we shall sit in a circle, which we will do soon, and then we shall burn. I mean, if they wanna come after us for saying that about the device, that's fine. Go for it, I say. is what it is. To bring it back to the plant, something I kind of wish I had known way back when was how to, basically what you described at the beginning of our chat, how to understand that at different periods in my cycle, there are natural, less invasive ways to, and everything, things work for different people. But had I known about suppositories, I probably would have avoided a good 10 years of intense period pain every single month.

Yeah, and touching back on to thefact that there is an opioid crisis, that having an opioid, I always laugh when we're talking about cannabis and you hear them talking about driving recently. There was another article saying, and workplace employees shouldn't be using medical cannabis because it might affect their operating machinery. I don't know if anyone's noticed what happens when you're on an opioid. We know that, and it is extremely destructive in so many ways. So being able to use the plant during those times for so many women, if you didn't know that it was an option, and again, I will always go back to CBD. A CBD suppository is your place to start. And if that doesn't work, your gold standard is a low- dose THC with a higher- dose CBD.

Phenomenally good. I think my first experience was CBD oil that I would be applying topically or rubbing on the which was such a game changer for me because I had always naively thought that it wouldn't actually be as effective as painkillers. But it was like, I was used to medicine that was like a slap in the face, basically. I wanted to take something and then for it to work four minutes later. And this is it, and this is how we've been taught. And the opioid may smack you in the face, but can you actually do anything while you're smacked in the face for that amount of time? And- Why did I use that analogy? She's right, you do. You wanna be like, bang, there you go, the pain's gone.

And that's the expectation of society. Yeah, and I don't know if it's my generation too that, oh my gosh, she's in quick, give her a painkiller. Oh my gosh, give her a painkiller.Takeapainkiller Oh my gosh. We also are capable of sitting in some pain. I'm not suggesting out there for anyone who is that you need to, but we are capable to a And we don't have to have it, I don't need to have it 100% gone, just enough, so yeah. Just enough for relief. I think while we were all talking, I was just thinking like, we've so become asociety where we don't wanna feel the whereas it's normal for your body to feel pain and it's actually good to feel the pain.

But like what Carla said, it's to a certain extent. And I think it's also within the medical system. Like I remember going to hospital for keyhole surgery because I had quote unquote cysts. And I remember waking up and they're like, oh, you know, we have to give you some morphine now. And I was like, I'm fine, because I, luckily enough, I'm actually allergic to a lot of pharmaceuticals. So I said, no, and the nurse was mortified. Like she was like, no, we have to make sure, like, you know, if you have pain and I it was just bizarre in that environment that they want you, their goal is to actually, actually make you feel pain free. And to me, that concept itself. It's dangerous. I believe it's dangerous.

And just briefly, I have a young daughter who has just turned nine and we were in hospital a few months ago because she just had having some difficulty with, you know, coughing and she was in a lot of and I couldn't manage that pain with an ear infection. It's difficult to manage in a child. And I took her into the hospital and first cab off the rank, they said, we're going to give her some Endone. I said, excuse me, can we just like take it back a little step there? Because number one, Panadol and Nurofen, I hate Nurofen, it's not good for your but in, you know, when you're in that point. First call. First call is not Endone. A nine- year- old girl. Not a nine- year- old, I was going to say.

Not okay. are other ways. Other ways. It helped me listen to my body though, that like pausing for a second, exactly. So let's not ignore it. Shut it And this slow introduction to CBD, oil, and then bombs at the time, like to understand exactly what you said, understand where you are in your cycle, when like the vulnerable pain sensitive times are there, like, you know, having a full toolbox. That's what I didn't have. That's it. And it is. And you know, you always hear me say that about, especially about cannabis, it is not the cure. It is not the answer, but by golly, what a fabulous tool to have in your toolkit. It's all about the toolkits in life. It is. how were these toolkits 10 years ago?

I mean, these conversations are great, but I also sit here and I'm like. But that's why we're here, so that we can help other women out there to pass that knowledge on. And if you hear anything that you align with, to let people know, talk, have that conversation with other women. We want to bring it together. And the more we share our the more knowledge gets shared. And you know what, there's this generation coming up and we can help them to live a pain, you know, a managed pain. We can help them manage pain, not live pain- free. Cause again, that's buying into that Manage pain in a better way. Manage their cycles in a better way. And ladies, journaling, journaling, All you have to do.

Cause when someone said that to me 10 years ago, I was like, as if I'm writing down my personal thoughts on a book where someone might see them. Yes. That's so. As if anyone cares what I write down. Now I leave them open everywhere. Goodness me, you could learn some things in my house. But it's about writing one, all you have to do, one sentence. Today, I felt like shit. Today, I feel good. And then when you get more into it, you can write more than one But that's enough for you to look back and go, gosh, those days, you know, I found those patterns and it's so helpful. And there's some great books out there. I can't think off the top of my head right now.

But if you haven't read Lara Bryden, she does a couple ofbooks She's a naturopath from New Absolutely changed my view and showed me how very little I know about my reproductive system as a whole, as a And she's written one, it's about your period. And it's great for also for young women. And then there's another one for people like me who are at that other stage of life where their hormones are gone crazy. They're going out the door and we're headed towards the menopause. Which I'd like to say right now, for those of you that are going through it like me, a group of men sat around a table and went, oh, when they're finished bleeding for a we shall call that the menopause. Oh, thanks. Outrageous. Thanks for that.

Of course That reminds me, the first female, you know, I think whoever's got a gift for sharing information that helps people is not gender- based. Having said that, the first woman that I saw as a medical practitioner, doctor, gynecologist, have been in my early 30s. Which now, if I was giving advice to a 18- year- old me, I'd probably say, interview your before you just like. And have a connection. Yeah, I have a strong connection with my doctor. And my doctor's a man, but it doesn't mean, whilst I'm very female- focused and I would prefer, it doesn't mean that it's always a female being the right spot. There are a lot of men that are very interested and wanting to help too. Trust and connection. I feel like that's sort of missing in the healthcare space.

Two- way conversations. Two- way conversation. I think a lot of patients feel that the current medical system is just, you come in, 10- minute consult, you're treating the condition, and then that's it. Band- aid patch, patch it on. Patching on. I bet most people now have doctors who don't even know what's going on in their lives. And going back to naturopaths too, because I love naturopaths, but for me personally, it's not something I can necessarily afford because people go, oh, they want me tested for this and that and the rest of it. They want you tested because that will give them the answers they need. It's amazing what you can learn from those tests. And yes, they can be expensive. Natural medicine and natural therapies. But if you can, get in to see a naturopath. Or a, oh, the doctor, you just said it before. Integrative doctor. That's the word. Integrative doctor. They are all wonderful. They are the best. And we will drop some integrative doctors that we adore in the show notes. Life- changing, wow.