The next time your doctor orders a progesterone test, ask yourself: “When is the right day to do this test?” Forget “day 21 progesterone.” There’s no reason to test progesterone until you are approximately one week before your period. That will depend on how long your cycle actually is. Here’s what you need to know ... Read more Lara Briden's article The Right Way to Test Progesterone with the Menstrual Cycle appeared first on Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary ..read more

Some basic body literacy: A proper period or menstrual bleed is a bleed at the end of a natural ovulatory cycle. Any other type of bleed is either a pill bleed (a withdrawal bleed from stopping contraceptive drugs) or an anovulatory cycle (a bleed when there has been no ovulation). A menstrual cycle is, therefore, an ... Read more Lara Briden's article Basic Body Literacy appeared first on Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary ..read more

Does hormonal birth control impair metabolic health or cause weight gain? If so, which types are the worst? First of all, most types of hormonal birth control suppress ovulation and, therefore, switch off estradiol and progesterone. That means most types of hormonal birth control switch off the metabolism-enhancing benefits of those natural hormones. In that ... Read more Lara Briden's article Does Birth Control Cause Weight Gain? appeared first on Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary ..read more

Did you know that what’s happening in your gut can affect your periods and hormones? In episode twelve of my podcast and Youtube video, I discuss small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and its role in IBS; how SIBO can drive or worsen endometriosis, insulin resistance, premenstrual mood symptoms, and the fibromyalgia of perimenopause; plus how ... Read more Lara Briden's article How IBS and SIBO Can Affect Periods and Hormones appeared first on Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary ..read more

What do post-pill acne, hair loss, and weight gain all have in common? They can all be the result of a temporary surge in androgens when trying to come off certain types of hormonal birth control. In episode eight of my podcast/YouTube video, I discuss post-pill androgen symptoms including why pills like Yasmin are the ... Read more Lara Briden's article Help for Post-Pill Acne, Hair Loss, and Weight Gain appeared first on Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary ..read more

If you’re going to take hormone therapy, it’s safer to take hormones that are identical to human hormones. In other words, hormones that are body-identical or bioidentical. The concept of bioidentical used to be controversial but is now conventional and mainstream. In episode five of my podcast/YouTube video, I discuss hormone therapy including why the ... Read more Lara Briden's article A Safer Type of Hormone Therapy appeared first on Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary ..read more

The pill is commonly prescribed to “regulate periods,” but it can’t actually do that because withdrawal bleeds from contraceptive drugs are not real menstrual cycles. In episode one of my podcast/YouTube video, I discuss real periods versus pill bleeds and why there’s no medical reason to bleed monthly on the pill. I also look at ... Read more Lara Briden's article Why Pill Bleeds Are Not Periods appeared first on Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary ..read more

Were you told you have polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS based on a pelvic ultrasound? That may or may not be an accurate diagnosis because PCOS cannot actually be diagnosed or ruled out with ultrasound. In episode three of my podcast/YouTube video, I discuss PCOS including topics such as: why PCOS is an umbrella term, ... Read more Lara Briden's article PCOS Cannot Be Diagnosed by Ultrasound appeared first on Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary ..read more

Endometriosis is an inflammatory disease that’s affected by hormones but is not caused by hormones. Instead, endometriosis is, at least in part, a disease of immune dysfunction. In my latest podcast/YouTube video, I discuss some of the new endometriosis research including the link with genes that increase the risk of autoimmune disease, the role of ... Read more Lara Briden's article Endometriosis is a disease of immune dysfunction appeared first on Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary ..read more

If you suffer hair loss, facial hair (hirsutism), or acne, then you know all about androgen excess or high male hormones. You may have been given the diagnosis of PCOS but there are actually several different reasons for androgen excess in women including androgen hypersensitivity, adrenal androgen excess, high prolactin, menopause, and hormonal birth control ... Read more Lara Briden's article 4 Causes of Androgen Excess in Women appeared first on Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary ..read more