Posts tagged ‘neighborhood women’
Three medical experts address topics most women are too embarrassed to discuss
You probably know people who’ve thrown out their back or pulled a hamstring, but did you know it’s possible to throw out your pelvic floor muscle?
That little nugget was one of the many fascinating facts gleamed by attendees at a Girl Talk: Shhhh! Ten Taboo Topics event on Thursday night, where participants had the opportunity to bring up health concerns they may otherwise keep to themselves. The women wrote down anonymous questions that were answered by a panel of medical experts. The event was part of Swedish Covenant Hospital’s Wise Woman Week and took place at Flourish Studios.
The discussions about pelvic health didn’t stop at muscle pulls; the women—most of whom were meeting for the first time—delved into details about incontinence, bowel control, sexual function and beyond. The evening’s panelists, women’s health physicians and specialists, fielded the questions with ease and not so much as a blush.
“It’s just like any other muscle,” said Dr. Shameem Abbasy a urogynecologist at Swedish Covenant Hospital who specializes in pelvic floor disorders. “If you injure it or have problems, like leaking urine, there are pelvic floor physical therapists who can help.”
She explained to the group that three sets of 12 Kegel exercises daily may help to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. But she warned that it is very important to work the right muscles during the exercises.
“I often see patients who are pushing and straining when doing a Kegel, and that’s not what you want to do,” Dr. Abbasy said.
For more advanced pelvic floor muscle training or help activating the right muscles, she recommended the Total Control class at Galter LifeCenter or making an appointment with a urogynecologist or pelvic floor physical therapist.
From there, the group’s conversation transitioned to digestion concerns and periods.
Dr. Kavita Singh, a gastroenterologist at Swedish Covenant Hospital, fielded questions about Celiac Disease, colonics, colonoscopies, constipation, hemorrhoids, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and functional bowel disorders. She explained that all of these conditions are very common among women and nothing to be embarrassed about.
For people worried about discomfort during a colonoscopy, she emphasized that this life-saving procedure is worth a few hours (or days) of possible cramping afterward. The procedure is an examination of the colon and the opportunity for polyps growing in the colon to be removed.
“One-third of the population makes polyps, but there are no symptoms,” she said. “You can have a large polyp in early or advanced stage cancer and never feel it.”
She recommends a first colonoscopy at age 50 unless there is a immediate family history (parent, grand-parent, or sibling) of colon cancer, in which case you should begin at age 40 or 10 years earlier than when your relative was diagnosed—whichever comes first.
Regarding the increasingly trendy colonic procedure, Dr. Singh recommended staying away from them. “I don’t recommend colonics because the body already has a natural method for cleaning itself in one specific direction.”
When asked about methods to lessen or control heavy bleeding during a period, Dr. Abbasy discussed endometrial ablation, a procedure where the uterus lining is thinned.
“It’s a good option for people who don’t want to undergo a full hysterectomy,” said Dr. Abbasy.
Treating the Mind and Changing Behaviors
With many bodily functions and concerns covered, the conversation switched to a topic that women too often ignore: mental health.
Dr. Julia Rahn, a psychologist and owner of Flourish Studios, addressed questioned about Bipolar disorder, “crazy thoughts,” depression and the therapy process.
She encourages people feeling anxious or experiencing insomnia to start with a few minutes of writing and deep breathing.
“Take a journal, don’t edit yourself, get it all out,” she said. “Most people immediately feel better once they’ve done that.”
If a person wants to explore counseling or therapy, Dr. Julia recommended looking for a therapist who will “listen and recommend changes,” and not one that insists on “telling you what to do.”
Missed the Event? No problem.
Dr. Abbasy and Dr. Singh host talks like this two-to-three times a year to grateful crowds, so watch for updates about future Taboo Topic events.
Participant Danielle Washington of Lakeview appreciated the “free forum to ask anything and not feel judged.”
Her friend Jasmine Sayeh of Lakeview said she was leaving the event with “lots of good information.”
Flourish Studios is a multi-faceted learning gallery in Lincoln Park, which motivates and prepares adults, teenagers, and children to bring about significant, self-selected life changes.
Heidi Lading is a freelance writer in Chicago.
Photo credit to Heidi Lading
Well Community was an online news magazine and discussion forum specifically focused on health and wellness in several North side of Chicago neighborhoods. It ceased publication in 2014.
Dining & Dishing about Health
This week I read The Heroines by Eileen Favorite. I started reading it on Tuesday and finished it Saturday afternoon. I wish I finished before 7pm Thursday because I attended a book club for The Heroines and Eileen was there. Eileen lives in my old neighborhood and she and I know each other through a neighborhood women’s networking group I started with another former neighbor of mine, Emily.
The book club meeting this week wasn’t a regular book club. It was a one time meeting that Emily put together to encourage more people to read Eileen’s book. It worked. Twelve people came, maybe fifteen. The neighborhood independent book store, The Book Cellar, benefitted from this event by selling several copies of the book.
I’ve been in a regular book club since March 2011 and on a couple occasions I came without finishing the book. Inevitably, the ending is spoiled. But, that’s my own fault for not having read the book in the allotted amount of time. I’d rather talk about the part of the book I’ve read (and learn the ending) than not talk about the book at all. Of course the ultimate scenario involves reading the entire book before meeting with my friends and experiencing the surprising twists and turns of the book as I’m reading. In second grade a friend of mine educated me on the truth about Santa Claus, so I suppose I’m used to people pulling back the curtain on the mysteries of life (and literature), rather than discovering them myself.
But the book club this week was different. It was epic. The author was coming. And I’m one of the cool people who knew her. I’m also one of the douchebags who didn’t finish the book before Thursday. Still, I got to sit in a room and listen to a published author speak about her work and her process, and hear her read from her latest novel-in-progress. Inspiration tingled through my veins. People asked questions. Some prattled on more than others. There was tea. There was wine. There, to my right, was a woman with her own ISBN number. My hero. Or, should I say, my heroine.
The Heroines is an adventure, a look back on the life of 13-year-old Penny Entwhistle and the heroines from literature who (took a break from their stories and) stayed at Penny’s mother’s bed-and-breakfast. Rapunzel, Deirdre of the Sorrows, Emma Bovary, Franny Glass, Ophelia, Blanche DuBois, Scarlett O’Hara, Hester Prynne and Pearl, and Catherine Ernshaw all board for a spell at the Homestead. The weaving of classic fictional characters into a modern piece of fiction is ingenious. It crosses literary fiction with young adult and a splash of romance. It’s a delight to read and I am its newest advocate.
But I must confess…I walked away feeling dumber after reading it than when I started. Why? Because the majority of the classics from whence the characters are plucked are works I’ve never read. I’m sure they are all on a reading list for high school or college students. There’s no excuse for my ignorance. I read Hamlet and The Scarlet Letter (and saw movies adaptations of both books), but twenty years later my memory of Hester is vague at best. Ophelia offered the only familiar face to me in this literary fête.
This gross lack of knowledge on works of classic fiction plagues me. It tortures me with wet willies when I’m trying to write, encourages me to give up and watch shows like The Bachelor, makes me think I’m not smarter than a fifth grader (or at least not a college freshman). How am I supposed to be taken seriously as a writer if I can’t recount the classics in a cocktail party conversation? What’s more troubling is knowing I’ve read several of the “recommended reading” novels/short stories, but I can’t remember them. How is it I recall minutia from my boyfriend’s anecdotes but I don’t remember anything by Hemingway? If I have to start all over and reread the books my memory abandoned and then read all the others I’ll never write another word again. It’s a daunting thought trying to play catch up to people ten, twenty years my junior with literary knowledge at the ready. And how do people ten, twenty years my senior retain these plots? I haven’t even had children, so pregnancy or parent brain isn’t a factor. What gives?
I’m able to support myself, but I’m not yet able to support myself as a writer. That day may never come. Corporate communications, copywriting and public relations projects supplement my income. Who am I kidding, they are my income. Lately, the thought of teaching entered my subconscious. A lot of writers are professors. Then I read this book and imagined a scenario where 18-year-olds laughed me out of the lecture hall for not knowing Hamlet from Green Eggs and Ham. It’s terrifying. The problem is that most writers are professors of writing and/or literature. My degree is in Communications with a minor in Marketing. Yes, I took English and Irish Literature classes in college, but that’s a far cry from an MFA in creative writing or English or something important indicating you are qualified to teach at the college level. I haven’t even been published anywhere. What could I possibly teach these kids, these kids who already know about books, these kids ready to stone me in public like The Lottery by Shirley Jackson?
Then I take a deep breath, collect myself and think about two real life Heroines inspiring me. Eileen: for loving books, rereading certain ones every year, never giving up on publishing (or having her own family), writing every day, bringing wine to her own book club reading, and always offering me advice on the writing life when I ask her (which isn’t often for fear of revealing myself as a total amateur). And Emily: for daring to wear a sundress and espadrilles on the back of her husband’s motorcycle, knowing every man, woman, child and canine in the neighborhood, auditing corporate telecom bills like a rockstar and growing a business around this special skill, living in the city and teaching her children food comes from the ground, and being the first follower of my blog.
You two are the Heroines of Lincoln Square.
