Welcome to Period Besties Podcast

This transcript is done by my video editing software and I look it over during editing, but the audio is my focus when I’m editing. It’s just me, so please forgive any mistakes.

Lion, Tigers, Tampons OH MY!

Stasha: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Period Besties Podcast with Stasha and Katie. Think about it as chatting with your best friends about all the TMI stuff you’ve never talked about before with two period coaches who’ve been helping hormones collectively for over 20 years now. I’m Stasha. And
Katie: I’m Katie. And we’re pulling back the curtain on what it’s like in the world of menstrual coaching.
From puberty to menopause and everything in between. We’re here to show you how period coaching can save the day. We’ll share practical tips and information you can put to immediate use to improve your hormones and happiness.
Stasha: We’re removing the mystery, ending the taboo, and shining a light on just how powerful period coaching can be.
Katie: So whether you need period [00:01:00] coaching, Or are considering becoming a period coach yourself. These episodes are going to help you. We’ll share stories, coach live on air, and bring smart, savvy guests to share their wisdom too. Let’s start today’s episode.
Stasha: We are coming to you today with a special episode. This is not our normal Tuesday drop. We’re doing this as just an extra because there has been a ton of talk about this. And we waited intentionally because we wanted to see what came out of it instead of having a knee jerk reaction, and we thought this would be a really great way of having this conversation, giving you the information that you need to make a decision that works best for you. Right. Because again, You know, it’s like everything else, birth control has its time and its place. Yes, there’s downsides, but yes, there’s some instances where you need to do this.
So we just want to bring this episode to you talking about tampons and the study that came out recently about [00:02:00] all of the heavy metals and toxins that are in them and have a conversation so that you can make an educated decision about your preferences, what works best for you, what feels good for you.
So Katie, why don’t you kick us off with what this study came out and said,
Katie: so it came out earlier this month, so that will be early July, depending on when this episode officially does air. But basically, this study came out of UC Berkeley, and it found that many tampons on the market, including both non organic and organic, and I think most of us were under the assumption that if it was organic, it wouldn’t have Chemicals in them, but they do contain toxic heavy metals like arsenic and lead.
Now, why this is something we should be mindful about is that toxic tampons., the vaginal tissue is much more Permeable than other parts of the body. And then the vaginal wall is also full of blood vessels, which [00:03:00] basically means that your body’s absorbing these heavy metals because they bypass your liver and directly enter your bloodstream.
So that’s why we want to talk about this because we are exposed to every day to toxins and to chemicals, right? Arsenic and lead are in many places. They can be in cosmetics. They can be in clothing, food containers. They can be in contaminated food. Obviously the number one thing that We knew, especially growing up in the 80s and 90s, like the lead based paint.
Every time I moved apartments in New York City, I had to sign a release form that acknowledges that there was lead based paint because the apartments I was living in were so old. Yeah. Right? air pollution. And I think just in general, when we’re thinking about toxins and chemicals, we, won’t be able to avoid them completely 100%.
So it’s up to us to figure out ways to reduce the toxic load [00:04:00] any way that we can. And one of the most important studies that I’ve read about that is just by taking your shoes off before you come into your house is one of the best ways to do that. So even though we’re talking about tampons and pads and different feminine care products today, There are other things that you can do that will have benefit to your overall health that It’s easy, right?
Just taking your shoes off before you go into your house can be one of the best things you can do. And I wanted to share that right off the bat, because it was a scary study when you look at it. And then when you actually go down the rabbit hole of what’s going on in the world and with microplastics and all of these different things, it’s definitely concerning.
So what you can do on the daily makes a huge impact on your health and small, simple things. Just by taking off your shoes. I know I said that before, but I think that’s something really important to remember as we dive into this conversation today.
Stasha: [00:05:00] Yeah, absolutely. One of the things that didn’t surprise me was the fact that the organics were no different than the inorganics in the study.
And when I was doing the research for the revolution will be bloody, I looked at organic versus non organic tampons, disposable menstrual products. Are the number two disposed of thing in the world, right behind diapers, AKA nappies. So we know that disposable menstrual products are a huge problem in the world.
It is a, it’s a very large contributor to greenhouse gases because it’s organic material, but it’s just thrown away in the garbage. So it creates a lot of greenhouse emissions. it’s the number two thing disposed of. So it’s obviously. A huge worldwide thing, and because it’s not food, the organic label is not the same as we would think of as organic foods.
So the regulations around organic tampons is [00:06:00] not the same as organic food. It’s different regulations. Organic takes More water than non organic. So if you’re doing it for a purely environmental reason, organic is not exactly environmentally friendly. And I forget the exact amount.
I have it in the book, but it’s organics use a lot more water. Especially when we’re talking about tampons, it’s not exactly this, you know, end all be all of cleanliness. Good for you. Good for the environment.
It’s actually not. It takes more resources in different ways. And tampons do have plastic, even organic ones. So a pad has about the equivalent of four plastic bags worth of plastic in it. Tampons also have plastic, not as much as a pad, a disposable pad, but it also has, plastic in it.
So you’re not, again, it’s not as environmentally friendly as we’ve been led to believe. So it makes that struggle with organic versus [00:07:00] non organic. now you’re kind of going, okay, well, what’s my budget? Is it really worth spending the extra, so you really have the ethical check in right there is tough.
So those tampon discussions already are fraught with, emotion and trying to do good and trying to do right, but then finding out that you’re not actually, and it’s not really making that much of a difference. And it’s still hugely disposed of, and it’s still a huge contributor to problematic greenhouse emissions and those kinds of things.
So the organic label, I wasn’t surprised. I wasn’t surprised at all, knowing that the regulations are different, knowing that they’re already not any really much better environmentally, knowing all those things. I was not surprised at all by that. And my first thought was, Okay. On one side, everything has some level of lead and arsenic and those kinds of things, you know, vegetables can have arsenic in them.
There’s, you know, different foods have different things in them that are considered [00:08:00] toxins. So on one hand, I was like, okay, but how much, because I’m a skeptical person. And I, I saw that study come out and I was like, okay, but like how much, but then on the other hand, this isn’t something that’s going through your digestive system.
system, it’s going straight into your bloodstream. So I was like, okay, but you know, even a little bit is going straight into your bloodstream. So that’s not good. So I was really like back and forth seesawing on this study when it came out, because we do tend to catastrophize, but then this is something that’s straight into your bloodstream.
So, you know, what’s the pros and cons. And I remember that. A whole thing coming out about the period underwear, having the PFAS in them. So then it was like, okay, but now what do you do? And ironically in the nineties, I had a keeper, which was a menstrual cup made 100 percent from rubber. They started in the eighties.
I heard of them [00:09:00] in the nineties and I started using one in the nineties and I giggled because it was like, Oh, a hundred percent rubber cup is still from the nineties. the best environmental and body safe option. And I just had to laugh that, it was like back in the nineties when I found this thing, not knowing anything about any of this stuff, not knowing anything about, the toxicity and the plastics and the environment, none of that.
And I just had such a giggle that the original keeper, the original, like that first menstrual cup really out on the market was actually the best environmentally friendly. And body friendly body safe period product that you could buy. Yeah.
Katie: And I love, Laura Adler. She is an environmental toxin educator. We’ve talked to her before and she always has great information because she’s sharing about the study, but [00:10:00] she’s also like, okay. Don’t panic. There’s no need to panic because she was even saying that we easily consume more lead on a daily basis via our food.
Then the levels found the tampons, obviously it enters our bloodstream. So we want to be concerned, but basically not panic. I do think it’s interesting though, because they found that no non organic tampons had the higher levels of lead while organic tampons had more arsenic.
Stasha: Oh, so there was
Katie: a difference, a little bit of difference, obviously not with the plastics and everything else we just talked about. But I thought that was. Interesting to note and let an arsenic are part of the earth. And because of that, they’re found in lots of natural things as well. So some exposure is just unavoidable.
Like we’re going to be exposed at some point, but if you, anyone listening that wants to dive deeper into this, I think she’s a really great resource [00:11:00] because she shares the facts. She does the research for us and then she’s like, okay, we don’t need a panic about X, Y, and Z. What you should be concerned about is A, B, C.
And here’s what you can do. this is where I learned about just taking, I’ve always taken my shoes off. I’ve always lived in a home where we never wore shoes, but now I’m like, oh, it’s added incentive to even take my shoes off. Anywhere I go.
Stasha: Yeah. I mean, that’s the thing we, you have, there’s a balance in life, right?
What we should be angry about is that no one cared enough about us to do a study in the first place. Like the anger should be towards the fact that we’ve never done these studies on women or on our menstrual products or used real blood to test menstrual products. until last year, right? So the, the real anger should be the fact that we’re just getting these studies now and just starting to [00:12:00] care in fact, but in the first place, but yeah, it does seem to me that it’s one of those situations where if you are somebody who uses tampons, Maybe you can’t use a cup or you know, there’s a physical disability that makes it hard to use or you just plain don’t fit.
They don’t feel good. You hate them, whatever. You don’t want to use an external method, a pad, a cloth pad, a bamboo, something like that. And you’re still using tampons. You don’t have to freak out. If you’re looking for ways to mitigate those circumstances, there are other ways that you can have a bigger impact. Right. Don’t use plastic food containers. Don’t microwave foods in plastics. Don’t put your leftovers hot into a plastic container. You know, like you’re going to leave those water bottles, those
Katie: plastic water bottles
Stasha: in
Katie: your car.
Stasha: Yeah. Skip the plastic water bottles, get a glass water bottle, get a metal, skip the plastics, like skipping the plastics in your day to day [00:13:00] life would make a bigger impact then say, you know, making yourself miserable for four days, five days out of the month and skipping tampons, but then making yourself miserable on that front.
So I think one of those things is if you do want to make a difference and you want to make an impact for yourself, but tampons are just the only thing that works for you, then make that difference somewhere else. Make the intentional switch, get a different shampoo, get a different body lotion, really body lotions.
are huge place that you can make an impact on the toxins in your body because you’re slathering it over your entire body. Your skin is your largest organ and it’s absorbing everything. So if you really want to make that difference, look at your foods and look at your skincare definitely.
Katie: I think that’s a really great point.
Makeup too, if you wear a lot of makeup, switching that over. What I say all the time to my clients too, and I said this to myself because when I started really learning about this, I went down a [00:14:00] deep rabbit hole and I got very overwhelmed and a little scared honestly. I was like, one time we ordered Thai food and it came and it was like so hot and it was in plastic and I was like, oh my god Like we’re gonna die.
Like I had this whole thing. This was like 15 years ago, and then i’m like katie calm down what do I use the most of I swear I wash my hands a thousand times a day So i’m like, okay, that’s the first thing i’m gonna switch is my hand soap i’m gonna get rid of the hand soap that has any sort of fragrances in it and get better hand soap Okay, what what’s next shampoo switch that I barely wear makeup anymore.
You can all kind of tell, but when I do, I wear mascara the most. So I switched that out. And then because I barely wear makeup in general, I was like, okay, once in a while, like this is fine. So really finding that balance. But I say that to my clients all the time, because we definitely want to not have anything that we’re using consistently.
That’s an endocrine disruptor. [00:15:00] But if you’re only using it once in a while, that’s fine. So what I think could be really helpful is walking through some alternatives, what we’ve tried, what we liked, what we haven’t liked, and maybe some other things that you can all just, switch out
Stasha: yeah, absolutely. I think that’s a great idea. I have to say one of the things that I noticed, maybe it is part of the heavy metals and, all these kinds of things that are in tampons that a lot of the times when I had clients with really heavy periods or really painful periods, getting rid of the tampons, immediately made their cramps easier and lessened their flow.
And I noticed it with myself as well that when I had, tampons that I did have a heavier flow.
And then it changed when I switched over to cups and cloth pads, and I’ve noticed it in clients as well. So if you are somebody who has. painful periods or migraines or PMS symptoms, [00:16:00] heavier flows, clots, those kinds of things, fibroids, cysts even.
You may want to try eliminating tampons and just see. If there’s a difference because I have seen it in clients over and over again, I know you have as well, and my students say the same thing when they make that switch, they notice it as well. And maybe it’s partially because of the metals and the tampons.
And maybe these studies will help us learn more about it. But yeah, so we’ve done a lot of switching over, and one of my favorite modules that I teach in Period Coaching School is Green menstruation. So how can we make our menstrual cycle a little bit more eco friendly and help mitigate or reduce or even eliminate those PMS symptoms, those and potentially other things, reduce the endometriosis symptoms, reduce cysts fibroids, those kinds of things.
And I love that class because we get to dive into all of these different alternatives. So I’m gonna kick us off with, one of the ones [00:17:00] that I’ve been really loving and that’s bamboo cloth pads. Or bamboo core period underwear. I love the bamboo because it’s more absorbent than cotton. It’s way more absorbent than cotton.
So you can get a really very thin pad, but it’s really, really absorbent and bamboo is an eco friendly thing. It grows quickly. It’s easy to use. It doesn’t take a lot of resources to use and to grow and make.
Katie: Do they have period underwear,
Stasha: too, that’s bamboo? I don’t know, but I’m gonna guess that they probably do by now. I mean, I haven’t bought period underwear. But
Katie: they
Stasha: seem soft. But I love them. I mean, I have bamboo cloth pads, and I have the period underwear, but I love my bamboo cloth pads, and I got cloth pads that are also bamboo fleece.
So they’re really soft, like sitting on a cloud, just a beautiful, [00:18:00] soft, cozy, like they’re perfect for that feeling during your period of just something soft and cozy. So it has the bamboo fleece in it. As the top and that has the bamboo core in the inside that does the absorbing and their magic. I love them.
Katie: I’ll have to try that. I’m going to Google bamboo period underwear. Cause I’m in need for new period underwear. And I think that would just even saying them, like, I better be just so soft and like more comfortable than the ones that I have.
Stasha: Yeah. Next time I’m doing that. Which I mean, maybe I won’t need a new pair.
Ever again, we’ll see how long perimenopause takes,
Katie: but yeah, I might just like get one. I don’t really like the ones that I have. I feel like I’m just, they’re old. I feel like a new pair would feel better on my body.
I just feel like sometimes they by accident get put in the dryer and they’ve just like shrunk a little bit. They’re just not comfortable. So I just, I keep saying I’m going to do it. So I’m going to, I’m going to look, we’ll have to compare notes and we’ll let you all know if we find some like really comfortable [00:19:00] bamboo period underwear.
Yeah, I
Stasha: will say that when you’re using stuff like that, don’t put them in the laundry with fabric softener because all that stuff coats
Katie: it
Stasha: to be able to absorb. So a vinegar rinse. is the best way to wash them. You can throw them in, but then you need to do a vinegar rinse afterwards.
And oftentimes when I’m washing my cloth pads, I will throw them in with my regular laundry, but then I do a vinegar, in the, little place where you’re supposed to put fabric softener. And I’ll put on the fabric softener cycle, but, we just fill it up with white distilled vinegar which actually vinegar is a nice fabric softener and the smell doesn’t stick.
So, yeah, we
Katie: do that with every load of wash we actually put white vinegar in. But period underwear is also great
Stasha: as
Katie: well. Um, menstrual cups.
Stasha: Yep.
Katie: So I would suggest because it took me a while to figure this out.
Stasha: [00:20:00] Yeah,
Katie: I would put it in when I was in the shower and I would take it out when I was in the shower when I was starting out and it really helped me get more comfortable and figuring out the best way to maneuver and do that.
So that’s definitely something to try. And I also feel like I had to retrain my brain because when you’re doing tampons, you have to change them more often versus when you’re doing a menstrual cup, it feels like when you have a tampon, like you’re just bleeding a lot, right? But when you’re actually doing the cup, you’re like, Oh, that’s really not that much.
blood. So it was also a really big mental shift for me too. And there’s usually two sizes, like one size before you have children and one size after you have children. So if you’ve had kids and you’re still using the same one from previously, you probably might need a different size. So just be mindful of the sizing on those as well.
Stasha: Absolutely. I like the put a cup in it quiz. It’s I think it’s actually put a cup in it. [00:21:00] Quiz. com. I have it on the green menstruation slide and I tell all of my students that if they’re having a client who’s switching over to have them do this quiz, it’s going to ask a bunch of questions.
And then it usually, at least when I did it, it gave you three different brands that it recommended for you because there’s so many different sizes and shapes of cups. Yeah. So it was a really great way to make that investment as they usually are more expensive.
But to make an investment in something that was more likely to fit and work for you. So I really liked the put a cup in a quiz. It helped a lot to make that original. I mean, I got mine when there was only one cup available. It was the one. The keeper, the rubber, it was it, you had big and small and those were it.
Those were the options, but I did lose it eventually in one of my many, many, many, many moves. And I thought I should replace this and that’s how I found it. And I did that little [00:22:00] quiz and it popped up three different brands that would, probably work best and fit best for me. And I tried those, and I liked it.
It was really helpful. So it makes it a little bit more like, Oh my gosh, there’s so many options and so overwhelming. Put a cup in it quiz, take the quiz, get your suggestions. And then you have just a handful that are more likely to be comfortable for you to start with. So I really
Katie: show notes then for sure.
I think that’s a great resource because it’s
Stasha: fantastic.
Katie: Yeah.
Stasha: Yeah. It was great, but in the same vein, there’s discs now. So they’re much more flexible. And they are, they just sit under the cervix just like a cup does but they’re a lot more flexible. They certain ones even hold more fluid.
So if you’re a really heavy bleeder, a disc might be the better option for you, especially if it was shorter vaginal canal and the larger cups don’t [00:23:00] sit in you, right? A disc can be really helpful. And I do like the discs. a lot of the girls have told me that the discs, because of the way they fit when they go to pee, if it’s full, they can actually empty it without even taking it out.
Oh, slow. They can just pull the tab, like just pull it just enough that the disc will empty. They don’t have to take it out. So when they’re on the go, it’s really easy, especially my bartender friends that are doing, you know, a 12 hour shift and don’t have time to go deal with it. Changing a tampon even they really love it because it’s so easy and then they can just spill over the excess when they go for a pee break, and then they don’t have to deal with the changing anything.
And it’s really easy for them. So a disc is also a really, there’s some that are. I think single use. So if you want to try one, you could try it with disposable version. And then if you like it, you can invest in a reusable version.
Katie: Okay. Yeah. I haven’t tried to just [00:24:00] get, I’ll have to add that to my things to try to share, see if I, how I feel about it.
Yeah. That’s awesome.
Stasha: Yeah, there’s a lot of brands of those out to, so, finding one, you can get them usually right in the same aisle as any other menstrual products, your drug store or grocery store or whatever.
Katie: Yeah. That’s what, that’s the cool thing of watching this whole landscape change too, is like, you can go into CVS now and get a cup where I think my first one I went, I think I got it.
Oh God. It was either whole foods or sprouts. Yeah. Yeah.
Stasha: Yeah.
Katie: Mm
Stasha: hmm. Mm
Katie: hmm. If I didn’t, if you don’t order it online, like those were kind of the only stores and now you can go into a drugstore, pretty much any drugstore and see that, which is pretty amazing.
Stasha: Yeah. I love it. It’s so cool to see the different things coming up and, and that same vein back in the day, people use sponges as an internal tampon like thing.
Okay. And. I used sponges as well. Back in the day, [00:25:00] you know, there was the keeper and this. So I actually use sponges a lot back in the day. The only thing is that they are very porous, which they have the same rates of TSS potential because , it’s the same thing as a tampon. So it has the pores. But it’s natural. It’s there’s no weird stuff in it. It’s just a sea sponge and you just have to clean it really just have to be very careful about cleaning. That’s what it comes down to is you have to give it a nice good thorough soak. I make sure it’s really clean between uses, but I really like the sea sponge as well.
The only downside to those is that if it is full and you sneeze, you are screwed. , oh God.
Katie: Yeah, I, I can, I can see that.
Stasha: Yeah. That’s the only downside to the sponges is that you do have to empty them regularly. Otherwise, if you sneeze, you’re done .
Katie: Okay. Good to [00:26:00] know.
And if you are like many people and you’re like, I don’t want to give up my tampons like there are other options as well too. There’s natural care. There is Organic see there’s it’s at August, there’s lots of different companies as well that have more or more reputable and contain less. So there are options.
There’s lots of and I feel like who knows what’s going to come next. There’s now that there’s research involved. We know that when we have research. Companies start making changes because people demand it. So this was a, even though it seems a little overwhelming and scary, this is great that there’s even a research project on this.
The study came out and now we can all be mindful and make the changes that feel the most comfortable to us. And I think the best thing is that there are options. So if you were thinking you didn’t have any options, there’s lots of [00:27:00] things. And we’ll even like some tags, some of our favorite The bamboo pads that you use and different things that we like and that we also know are safer.
So, and if you have any questions as well, please just reach out to us anytime. And Stasha has tons of information. She teaches us in school in her period coaching school, and it’s also a great resource as well to ask questions and see. But hopefully this helped everybody just feel a little bit more at ease with what the study said,, what’s actually going on, and then knowing that you have good options moving forward.
Stasha: Yeah, absolutely. Take a breath, find the places where you can help lessen that load. As you said, it’s the cumulative nature of these things. That’s the problem. And then, you know, don’t panic when these things come out and there’ll be more, as you just said, we’re starting to do more studies, right?
So there’s going to be more, there’s going to be more studies that come out about [00:28:00] other things that are attached to our, our health, our menstrual health, all those kinds of things. So there’s going to be more of these studies. So when you see those studies come out, take a breath, sit back a minute, observe, see what’s going on.
Don’t panic in the moment. The knee jerk reaction is what they’re looking for. That’s, it’s the click bait, right? Yeah. I like
Katie: being mindful of who you’re getting your information from.
Stasha: Yes. Yes. And that’s why I say, like, look at several sources. You know, I try not to just read one person’s anything same. Look at several different sources. Look at several different opinions.
Katie: Yes. Moral of the story. Moral of the story. Take a breath. Okay. Take a breath. We’re all going to be okay.
Stasha: All right. Thank you so much for listening. I hope this helps. I hope this puts the mind at ease. Take care. Questions, comments, email us, send to the DMs as always.
We’ll see you in the next regularly scheduled episode. Bye for now.
Speaker 9: A big shout out and thank you to our sponsors for today’s episode, Period Coaching [00:29:00] School and Katie Bressek Wellness. Thanks to you, our favorite bestie, for listening to the Period Besties Podcast, where no topic is TMI. And of course, share this episode with your besties. Remember to leave us a five star review.
Nothing less than the best for us besties. And subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. You can follow us on Instagram at Sasha Washburn and at Kares Act, or email us at Period Besties podcast@gmail.com. Check out more about us@karesact.com and period coaching school.com. And of course, check the show notes for free goodies and extras that support this episode.
We’ll see you on the next episode. Bye for now. Besties.

This transcript is done by my video editing software and I look it over during editing, but the audio is my focus when I’m editing. It’s just me, so please forgive any mistakes.

Charting versus Period Tracking
Stasha: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Period Besties Podcast with Stasha and Katie. Think about it as chatting with your best friends about all the TMI stuff you’ve never talked about before with two period coaches who’ve been helping hormones collectively for over 20 years now. I’m Stasha.
Katie: And I’m Katie. And we’re pulling back the curtain on what it’s like in the world of menstrual coaching.
From puberty to menopause and everything in between. We’re here to show you how period coaching can save the day.
We’ll share practical tips and information you can put to immediate use to improve your hormones and happiness.
Stasha: We’re removing the mystery, ending the taboo, and shining a light on just how powerful period coaching can be.
Katie: So whether you need period [00:01:00] coaching, Or are considering becoming a period coach yourself. These episodes are going to help you. We’ll share stories, coach live on air, and bring smart, savvy guests to share their wisdom too. Let’s start today’s episode.
Hello besties, welcome to the Period Besties podcast. We are super excited to talk to you about charting versus period tracking today and really walking you through the differences between the two. And whenever I think about just tracking, I just remember way back in the day, I’m talking like when I first got my period, I always loved calendars.
I always had a calendar in my room, even in elementary school. I always loved calendars. And when I got my period the summer before sixth grade, I would just draw a little circle around the date. And I started kind of like tracking way back then. [00:02:00] And so I love this conversation because it always brings me back to you know, 11 year old me being like, Oh my God, I got my period.
I have no idea when it’s coming again, but I’m just going to track it. So I keep everything. When my parents were moving out of our house in New Hampshire, then they sold our house. I went through like containers of. And I had these calendars. I don’t have them anymore because I was like, I cannot physically get these to LA when I was living there.
But it was really cool when I was going through little old me way back in the day. Was curious about this and now we’re having this conversation. So I just wanted to share that because it always brings me back , to that time when I was like, I don’t know what’s happening, but I’m going to write it down.
So it feels like I have some sort of control over this
experience.
Stasha: That’s amazing. I love that. I did not write it down because I knew it was coming because the week before I was like on death’s [00:03:00] doorstep. So I didn’t really need to pay attention. I knew it was coming. I like it or not, you know, signs. Yeah, very clear signs, including throwing up and passing out right before I would get my period.
So I knew it was coming well before I needed to know it was coming. But yeah, I love that. I did do the calendar thing though, as I got a little bit older and was like, okay, I’m having sex. I need to keep track of what’s going on here. I did do the same thing. I circled the day on the calendar and was like, okay, well at least I can kind of pay attention to this.
So yeah, I did do that as well. Circling the date on the calendar, which I think is like the old school, that was sort of. Right. The first calendar was notches on a stick that are on a, on a stone, something like that. And, for the longest time, they’re like, Oh, men made this to have a calendar.
And everyone was like, why would men want to know what 28 days was? Obviously a woman made this and she was counting 28 days [00:04:00] because she needed to need in her period to come or not. We don’t know which way she wanted it to go, but obviously there was, it was a woman, come on. Like it was just, it was a funny moment in, in a history that like really made me change, shift my perspective on stuff.
And I remember thinking, yeah, why would a dude care about 28 days? Whereas a woman would care much more about that. So, yeah,
apparently we’ve been tracking these things. Since the beginning of being able to, probably before being able to slice a piece of wood, or notch a piece of wood, we were probably tracking it with stones or other things, so period tracking is as old as humankind.
Katie: Yes. And speaking of period tracking, before we jump in, what phase of your cycle are you in right now?
Stasha: I’m really hitting peak follicular. I’m day 10. I feel [00:05:00] good, which after this last period is a blessing because I broke out in hives right before I got my period. So my whole body was full inflammation. My period was extra crappy because of that full body inflammation. So yeah, I’m feeling much better very thankfully and definitely hitting that peak of my follicular phase and my temperature has not started to rise yet.
So we’re not in and around ovulation yet. So definitely peak follicular phase at the moment.
Katie: This is so funny. I’m day 11. I just had to like, I just had to like recount because I’m like, wait a second. This sounds really familiar. I’m day 11. So also peak, but I’ve been like, I don’t, I think it might be the heat.
I’ve just been like a little, usually the heat, like really Gives me energy and I feel super social and creative, but this heat’s been draining me. It’s been about seven to eight degrees hotter than normal in June in North Carolina. [00:06:00] So it’s been in like the 95 ish range for a good few weeks. And we kind of went from like 80 to 95 really fast.
So I think my body’s just trying to find that adjustment to the heat, but yeah, day 11. So also temperature hasn’t gone yet, but it feels like it’s coming soon. Cause I’m definitely feeling. My my brain’s working really well.
Stasha: Yeah. Yes, exactly. I did so much book editing yet editing yesterday. I wrote blurbs.
I was on a roll. So I was like, yes, definitely peak follicular right here. I am on my wordsmith journey.
Katie: Thank goodness, because
when it starts going down that hill I’m like, Oh man, my brain mushy.
Stasha: Nope. As soon as I flip over into luteal, I’m gonna start doing book covers, because I need to make a final decision on book covers, and I’ve been working with this placeholder this whole time.
And [00:07:00] now it’s okay, I seriously have to decide if the placeholder is the book cover or if I want to actually, go through and do so, but I’m going to do that in luteal when my spatial awareness skills go up.
Katie: I love it.
Stasha: Awesome.
Katie: So let’s jump in and let’s talk about, we talked a little bit about tracking, so maybe we’ll start there, continue the conversation since we both use our little handy dandy calendars back in the day.
Stasha: Yeah, I mean, I like period tracking. It’s really where everyone starts, right? Where you’re just Tracking your period. You’re putting it on your calendar, whether it’s digital or paper or,, however you are both I’m a yes. And person, I have it on my paper calendar as well as my digital calendar.
So period tracking is definitely something that we should all be doing anyway, just so that we have an idea, you can see it coming up, you can go, Oh, Hey, look. On my digital calendar, it’s set as a reoccurring every 27 days is that’s kind of my average [00:08:00] length. And, so I have to bump it up a day or back a day or whatever, as things change, but for the most part, then you can see it coming and you’re like, Oh, Hey, next week, I’m getting my period.
Maybe I should block my calendar off a little bit or ask for some extra help or support or whatever. So you can, make those kinds of plans and adjust. So I really, I’m a huge fan of period tracking and I think it’s a great place for people to start.
Katie: I do too. And I think it’s like almost just the easiest way, right?
It’s just like you put down when you got your period and then you can, like what I just did, I was like, wait. Let me go back and count because I think I’m also right where you are and it’s been really helpful and what I like about it is the pattern, because it’s easy to see oh, I had a 25 day cycle then all of a sudden I had a 23 day cycle, then maybe a 27, I’m in perimenopause my cycles changing a lot lately in the past six months.
So it helps me because math is not. My favorite subject. So it just like adds it up for me. I [00:09:00] could just see it there and I can show my doctor when I go in just the pattern of the length of my cycle. So I find that like extremely helpful and it definitely is one of the, it takes two seconds, which is nice, right?
When you just want to like have the data there. But It only gives one side of the story.
Stasha: Yeah, it does. It doesn’t confirm ovulation because you can have a period without ovulating. So confirm ovulation. You could write one of those first signs of perimenopause is that you still get your period regularly, but you’re not ovulating as regularly, but you wouldn’t know that if you weren’t tracking ovulation, you would just think you’re getting your period as normal, not realizing you’re actually in the first stage of perimenopause.
So it doesn’t track those important things at all.
Katie: And. PSA, Public Service Announcement. Like [00:10:00] I tell my kids, turn your listening ears on. If you’re trying to get pregnant or you’re trying to not get pregnant, you cannot rely on the app. Yeah. I hear this often. I tell this to my clients all the time, like you cannot rely on the app.
It’s an algorithm just like any other app and or and or calendar. If you’re doing it like. yourself versus on an app. I just feel like a lot of people are using apps these days. It’s basically saying this is when you should ovulate. It does not mean that you are about to ovulate or you have ovulated.
So just really, really be mindful about that because it’s just gonna, tell you when they think that’s what’s going to happen.
Stasha: Yeah. You can’t use their predictions. You have to really be in your own body. And it’s tough to do that with an app because the app is telling you, Oh, you should be feeling like this, or, Oh, you should be doing this, or you should be expecting that.
But you, that’s not [00:11:00] necessarily true because if something is happening, you won’t feel like that. And that won’t be what happens next. And it might take days longer or your fertility window could be longer than you think because you ovulated a week late, or it could be shorter than you think, or yeah, it could be, you really can only know by being in your body in that moment, instead of.
Letting something tell you what you should be thinking, feeling and expecting, knowing based on your own body’s signs and signals, what is actually happening. And that’s a big difference.
Katie: Yes. So if you get sick, if you get a stomach bug or cold, if you’re traveling, if you have added stress, If you are not sleeping as well, this all will affect your cycle and it will, you’ll know when we’re going to really talk about charting because we love charting, but that’s how charting is so beneficial because you can really be more mindful of what’s going on in your body.
And the app won’t [00:12:00] know all of these other factors and or your calendar. If you’re not sharing that information because It’s life, right? Like life happens and our cycles change based on what’s happening in our life.
Stasha: Yeah, 100%. I will also chime in and just say if you’re a listener in the United States, you may want to hesitate using an app simply for legal reasons.
Apps aren’t covered under HIPAA, which means they’re subpoena able. So if you’re using an app, especially if you’re in a state where your reproductive health laws have changed using an app. is just giving data that can be used by a prosecutor if they want to charge you. And they will, and they can, and they do.
It’s not, I’m not being hysterical. It’s, it is done. They do use app data to prosecute women. So a [00:13:00] lot of apps try and do different things. They may say different things. Maybe things will change, but at the moment, No app is HIPAA covered, so it’s not legally anything that can’t, even if it’s an app based in another country.
It doesn’t matter.. It’s still in the United States. They can subpoena the data on your app. So just as a word of caution, because it’s getting scary here, and it’s just getting worse and worse and worse. If you are using an app and you can get pregnant.
So I use an app, but my partner has a vasectomy, and I have endometriosis, which is a 50 50 chance of infertility so my odds of getting pregnant are very low very low, vasectomy low. So I’m not worried about it. Also, I’m in a blue state. But if you’re not, if you have any chance of being pregnant, I personally wouldn’t be using an app to track just because of that.
What if something happens? [00:14:00] And it can be completely out of your control. It can have nothing to do with you or your choices at all. And you can still wind up in a situation where you’re being prosecuted. So I just, it’s scary out there to be a person who can get pregnant. And I just want to throw that out there.
Cause I just don’t want anyone to have incomplete information and keep an eye on things, but as it is now, you just don’t know what the laws are going to do. You don’t know how the Supreme court’s going to rule on anything right now. I just wouldn’t trust it. If there’s any way, shape, or form that you can get pregnant, I would not trust it.
I mean, what if you end up in Texas for a work thing? And even if you live in a blue state and something happens and you end up in a red state for a work thing where now you can’t access any healthcare and now they have your health data and now they’re, it’s just, it’s too scary in the States right now.
So I’m, I love apps. But oh gosh, I’d be really wary of them. So I’m just throwing that out there as a word of caution. [00:15:00]
Katie: Oh, definitely. And I’m so glad we talked about this before we started recording about how important it is to bring that up because I remember dates are so hard, but it was either six months or maybe longer than that when that came out that in the new cycle.
And I remember everybody on social media, just, sharing that information and then, The news cycle so fast that I think a lot of us forgot about that or as we’re talking about this, it will, you’ll trigger your memory like yes I’ve heard about this. So, yeah, it’s really important that we discuss that based on what’s.
happening in the world. Well, in the United States right now, I should say.
Stasha: Yeah. For our international listeners, we’re jealous of you. And will you adopt us?
Yes. Yeah. But in any case, this brings me back to charting, which is what’s really the gold mine of your information, right? Because in my mind, one of the key things about charting is that [00:16:00] you’re checking in with yourself each day. And assessing what’s happening. So rather than being told, this is what you’re going to feel like today.
You’re going, this is actually what I felt like today. And so you start to make those kinds of connections of Oh yeah, I did have a lot of energy today. I felt really great. Or, Oh no, I felt really anxious and moody and was just mad at everything and everyone. And so, you’re much more in control of what.
You really are feeling what’s really actually happening, and it’s helping to rebuild that mind body connection that intuition connection that you’re not going to get through, an app or just period tracking just tracking your period on a calendar. That’s not going to help rebuild that connection either.
So the process of charting. at its core to me is recreating that bond between your body, your consciousness, your intuition. It’s bringing you back [00:17:00] home into your body. And it’s a place where you can suspend judgment for a moment and just really be like, this is how I am. This is what I’m feeling. This is what I need to really nourish and replenish and take care of myself properly.
And that’s something that you can only get through that process of charting where you’re taking that time to tune in and tap in. And there’s a lot of practical everyday applications, which obviously we’ll talk about and I love, but I just, this coming home to your body, to your womb, to your cycle, to that really powerful tide is to me where the magic really lies.
Katie: Yes. And I just, I love that. It’s just like in a time just for myself where I can just Sit and be, and I love that you mentioned like the no judgment where a lot of times I’ll look back on the previous month and I’m like, okay, like I’m glad that I knew where I was in my cycle and I’m glad I was able to communicate [00:18:00] that because I was feeling a little bit more agitated and it had nothing to do with anything that was going on.
It was just, hormonal. And I always joke that I wish, I was always tracking, but I wish I was charting back in the day when I was dating. I just remember a few instances with different relationships being like, probably wouldn’t have been a fight. It probably would have been a more of a discussion versus an emotional.
Distress moments,
Stasha: emotional fist de cuffs.
Katie: Yeah, or even like growing up, with my parents and, just having a deeper understanding as a teenager of Oh, like my period is coming. If you’re on the same page, emotionally, it would have been like a little bit more supportive as well.
Right. So I think for anyone that has teenagers listening, or if you are a teenager, Younger and you’re just getting into it. This is a great way of just being able to understand your body, but also letting other [00:19:00] people around , what’s going on so that there aren’t a lot of. You can still fight.
You can have all, you can have all the emotions. It’s not, it’s okay to feel, but just so people around you know that you’re going to be heightened. And maybe this is not the time to ask you a deep, important question about your life. Wait, wait a few days and let’s circle back.
Stasha: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely. Yeah. And I think one of the things that’s really important in charting is tracking your ovulation. Yes. Right. So confirming that you’ve ovulated, which is really the sign of health, because the first thing your body will do if something’s going wrong is withhold ovulation. That’s precious resources that they can, that it’s going to use for you.
for other things, and it probably doesn’t want you to be pregnant in that space because of those kinds of things. And obviously, you can ovulate in extreme circumstances. Obviously, people in, in, in places with famine and war and whatnot still ovulate, still [00:20:00] have periods, but it doesn’t mean that stress and those kinds of things can’t stop you from ovulating as well.
So it’s very individual. But everything can affect your ovulation and can throw it off course and off kilter. And so if you are tracking your ovulation, then, you know, what’s going on, how your body is handling and all that kind of stuff. And in fact, we have a great episode on ovulation and Laura Bryden talked about ovulation and her interview with us.
So go hit those old podcast episodes up for more in depth on ovulation, but yeah, charting for me is a big part of it is tracking your ovulation. Confirming ovulation going. Okay. I have the cervical mucus of ovulation and my basal body temperature went up for three or more days and now are for confirming ovulation.
So that’s a really important part of charting versus period tracking.
Katie: Yes. And going back to the basal body, we, everybody listened to our thyroid episode, but [00:21:00] that’s something also if you’re really tracking your temperature for a while and it’s really much lower, that’s information you can bring to your doctor, your endocrinologist and say, Hey, let’s really do a full thyroid panel.
I’m noticing my temperature is much lower consistently. That gives us such more information as well that. With the whole system in place that’s going to give us like next steps like easy concrete not easy but like concrete next steps in terms of like how to support yourself. So I think that gives us so much information as a whole.
And the thing about basal body tracking to is it something that you want to do. And I had a client recently asked me, so, okay, I can do this for a few months and then I’ll know my cycle. And I was like, well, no, because your cycle changes. Like what we mentioned, if you get sick, if you’re traveling, stress.
Yes. So this is something that I really highly encourage doing every single day, so that throughout your [00:22:00] whole yearly cycle so that you can gather that information, but it’s. Making it more of that morning habit of just doing it first thing in the morning.
Stasha: Yeah. I realized when I had those hives, my basal body temperature was a little higher than normal now it was right during my period.
So it was very obviously not an ovulation or anything. But I did have a higher temperature during my first couple of days of my period than I normally do. Cause I was just so inflamed by the hives. I’ve also caught a flu early because of basal body temperature. I didn’t feel good. But I didn’t feel terrible and I would have 100 percent worked a normal day and had all my calls and done all the things and probably been bedridden for weeks because I’d pushed through with a fever.
But I, my basal body temperature was high. It was like in the 99. And I’m never 99. So I was like, Oh, something is not right. And I just canceled everything for the day. And I got all the bone broth out of the freezer and I [00:23:00] like set myself up for like flu success. But then I was there and I was able to take care of myself properly.
Cause I had everything out and ready while I was still. able to get up and move. And then when the flu, like when that fever really did spike and hit, and I was just stuck in bed, everything was there and ready. So I mean, I love charting basal body temperature for a lot of reasons outside of
Katie: interesting, but it makes so much sense.
I love that you were able to just, Catch it and nourish your body and take care of yourself. And that’s why I love charting too, because it just feels like I’m just taking that time to really take care of myself and track my moods, my energy. Sleep that six months ago, I noticed. My sleep was a little bit off in the second phase of my cycle.
And I was like, okay, I know that I need to wheel this in and figure out what was happening like five days before my period was coming. And it hadn’t happened like that before. So it gives you so [00:24:00] much more information that just, it just helps me understand myself better. And I really love having that little tool, my toolbox, because when I can understand my own moods, sometimes I want to I don’t even know what the phrase I’m looking forward to, or they’re like waving my arms up, burn it all down wait, no, you know, that your period is coming in a few days this is not the time to make like big life changing decisions.
Like just chill, Katie, just chill. So it’s helped me just really deeply understand myself.
Stasha: Yeah, absolutely. I’ve learned so much from charting. Now, I have a mandala that an artist and I co created. In the teens years ago now and we put it together so that you could see your entire month on one piece of paper and you could see everything you could see your digestion, did you have a good poop every day or not?[00:25:00]
You can see your basal body temperature. You can see your cervical mucus, your energy levels, your food, what you were eating, like everything, sleep, the whole nine yards, like everything is on there. And then you could see it all laid out on one sheet of paper. And you could compare month after month after month, because it was a sheet of paper, sheet of paper, sheet of paper, and you could lay them all out and you could see the patterns really clearly.
And because it’s a mandala, you can use colors, right? So it’s a coloring thing. So you could use colors and you could see I can see in the last year day 20, I got irrationally angry for no reason. Or every day 25, I started to get cramps or somewhere around day 23, I would see this or okay, by day five, My energy levels are back up.
I can start to plan for, if I get my period, I can say, all right, well then in four days from now I can start to make plans again and I can know that I’ll feel good for that. So it was really [00:26:00] amazing to see all of it really laid out and clear and So easy to see, so easy to see what symptoms were coming up over and over again.
Okay, I tend to get a migraine on this day of my cycle. I’m going to make sure that I don’t have too many like computer things to do that day. So I won’t book in a lot of calls. I won’t, or I won’t book in any calls around that day of my cycle and I’ll just keep it chill. So it was really quite a fascinating journey when we started doing it.
And then just over the years, Seeing all of that data so easily accessible, so easy to look at and compare and contrast and, go, okay, well in the last 10 years, I’ve never had a cycle shorter than 24 days. But then this year I had two 23 day cycles. It is the beginning of perimenopause, like without a doubt, concrete evidence.
I’ve got 10 years of charts to back me up. [00:27:00] I can see it, right? So it’s really just such it’s been so fascinating and I wish I had been doing that since the beginning to I can’t even imagine what it would have been like having all of that data from all of those years of fascinating.
Katie: Oh, 100%, and I also find it so relaxing.
Mm hmm. I love coloring with my kids. I love coloring. And, that was a big thing a few years ago. Everyone’s buying those adult coloring books, right? So it’s also a time where you can just drop in and relax and feel soothed as well to do this. But then you’re getting all this amazing information about yourself.
That this is what we want you to talk to your doctors about these patterns, your feelings, emotions, your basal body, all of this stuff is what Every doctor should be asking you, you can always talk about like nutrition. If you [00:28:00] ate a little bit more sugar this cycle, or if you were craving a little bit more sugar, if you were hungrier than normal, if you weren’t hungry, if you didn’t have an appetite, all of these things are also super helpful for, Patterns and figuring out how we can support you better.
Stasha: Yeah, just making my grocery lists I don’t have a crisper full of vegetables that I throw away anymore. Because I know for a fact that I’m going to have zero salads from day 20 on. So rather than being like, yeah, babe bring home lettuce, whereas the rest, they say six through, I don’t know, after I ovulate.
So maybe 15, I am like a salad every day, like a whole head of Romaine lettuce or like huge scoops of fresh mixed spring greens. But I am a salad every day. Cause I love it. But I would be throwing away vegetables every year or like every month when I would get close to my period, because I wasn’t [00:29:00] putting together that my needs of food and my wants of food would change.
And I would go from wanting something raw and crispy to, and cold to wanting something warm and cooked. And so even those little things, like the amount of money I’ve saved over the years now of knowing this, of charting this. Just in groceries,
Katie: just awesome. Right? Everyone wants to save money on groceries these days.
No kidding. Yeah. It was, what are they doing? They raise their prices. I was like, stop.
Stasha: I know. I know. Yeah. So I think charting is just something that’s really amazing and it doesn’t take long. I know people often feel overwhelmed when they start charting. So my advice is always to start with.
Three things. So when we’re talking about the mandala, I always say, if you, if it feels overwhelming, just start with the moon phase, your energy levels and your cervical mucus. And when you get good at that, tack on your basal body temperature. And when you get good at that, tack on your moods. [00:30:00] And when you get good at that, tack on your food.
Like just pick one thing, start with that. And then as it goes, maybe the next month, maybe it’s, I’m going to just do these things for this month. And then next month, I’ll add one more in. And you can kind of just keep doing it that way. But it really only takes. Two minutes at the end of the night or in the morning to sit down and chart it all.
And I’ll be honest, I don’t do it every day. I absolutely have days where I just don’t think about it and elapse or date multiple days. I mean, when I was on our European trip, a week went by and I was like, well, I’ll just have to sort of remember to the best of my ability. And I went in and refilled what I could.
and moved on. So it’s not
Katie: about perfection.
Stasha: No, it’s just about remembering what you can, putting it on there and keep going. And today is the day to start. Don’t wait for day one of your period. Today is the best [00:31:00] day to start.
Katie: Yes. And if you’re curious to, about this, you should definitely check out the live coaching call we did with Ava because we were talking about her charting, but also her teenage daughter’s charting and how to support her and also her children.
So that could also be a really fun episode to listen to as well. If you want to dive a little bit deeper into how we. To the whole life coaching session, period coaching session with her on that too.
Stasha: Yeah. It’s such a good one for that. Especially when you have teens in the house to bring it all together.
I love it. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So charting that’s where the gold is it’s so amazing. It’s super helpful. It’s one of those just. You really see the changes and you really see the cause and effect. You can look at your chart and go, Oh yeah, I ate a bunch of sugar. And then I was a moody bitch. Like I can see that very clearly on my charts or Oh yeah, I was working [00:32:00] out and I felt really good, but then I was working out and I felt really bad.
So I, now I need know that I need to stop working out so hard around this point because I can see my energy levels were great. But then they started to plummet and I started to feel depleted and then I got really moody and then I wasn’t sleeping well and it’s okay, well then let me rein in and do yin yoga instead of, power yoga, or I’m going to just do a stretch class, whatever it is, but like you can adjust because you can see the cause and effect.
So clearly. So if you’re one of those people, that’s Oh yeah, I do not. I didn’t know I was in a fight with my significant other. And then I got my period two days later and all became clear chart. And then you’ll never have that problem again.
Katie: And again, I just think charting is a way that we can really be kinder to ourselves because we have a deeper understanding of what’s going on in our bodies.
And I find myself having less [00:33:00] judgment about. different choices, different things that I’m doing because I’m not like, why don’t I have this energy? Why am I not a robot? Like, why can’t I do this? It’s oh, I’m not a robot, obviously. And I’m also on day 23. So that’s why. So I just find it’s all, it’s so helpful for all of us to be kinder to ourselves and have less judgment.
And this really, really taps into that and helps us deeply understand why we’re feeling the way that we feel. And then it’s. Okay. This is how I feel. I’m moving on versus dwelling on it and wondering why we can’t push through because let’s go in the flow a little bit more. Let’s be kinder to ourselves instead of trying to like, just keep doing the same thing every day because our hormones, as we’ve been talking about for months are different every single day.
But this just helps us be aware of that on a deeper level.
Stasha: Yeah. I love that. That’s such a great point. And I think that’s really like [00:34:00] that letting go of the judgment. letting go of the self judgment and just being really kind at the end of the day. That’s all we really need in this world at this point is to just be kinder to ourselves.
So I think that’s a really good note to wrap this up on.
Katie: I do too. Kindness, kindness, kindness for ourselves, please.
Stasha: Yeah. Well,
Katie: thank you all so much for being here today. If you have any questions, let us know, because. I think this is going to bring up a lot of questions. So we’re expecting those questions, DMS, and leave us a review.
And also if you would like to do some live period coaching, like we talked about today, if you really want to dive deeper into charting or anything that might be going on, definitely let us know as well too.
Stasha: Oh, and you know what? I’ll pop in the free mandala in the show notes. So if you want a free mandala to color chart your way to better periods, it’s free. You can use it forever. I’ll put it in the show notes. [00:35:00] Yes, I use it. Grab it. All right, guys. Bye. Bye.
A big shout out and thank you to our sponsors for today’s episode, Period Coaching School and Katie Bressek Wellness.
Katie: Thanks to you, our favorite bestie, for listening to the Period Besties Podcast, where no topic is TMI. And of course, share this episode with your besties.
Stasha: Remember to leave us a five star review. Nothing less than the best for us besties. And subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
Katie: You can follow us on Instagram at Stasha Washburn and at Katie Bressack or email us at PeriodBestiespodcast@gmail.com.
Stasha: Check out more about us at KatieBressack.com and PeriodCoachingSchool.com. And of course, check the show notes for free goodies and extras that support this episode.
Katie: We’ll see you on the next episode.
Stasha: Bye for now. Besties.
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