1. Welcome to I'm Hormonal

This episode was released on 9/11/23.

Episode Transcript

Hello everyone and welcome to I’m Hormonal. This is a podcast where we talk about how to support our hormone health, menstrual health, and how to lean into cyclical living. If you want to start understanding the signals that your cycle is sending you then you’re in the right place. I’m Hormonal is here to share practical tips and information with you that will support you on your quest for hormone balance. My name is Bridget–I’m a functional hormone specialist and menstrual cycle coach, and I’m here to guide you along this journey.

I want to welcome you to I’m Hormonal! It is great to have you here, listening to my first episode ever. I’m so excited to be putting together helpful content for you and to share with you everything that I’ve got in the works. Today I just want to pop into your earbuds to give you an introduction to I’m Hormonal. I’ll give you the rundown on what you can look forward to hearing from I’m Hormonal and share a bit about how I’m Hormonal came to be. We’ll wrap things up with three practical tips for you so you can get in the flow with your hormones and have happier periods. And I want to get to know you too! Take a minute to connect with me on Instagram and let me know who you are, what kind of support or information you need, and anything else that you might want to hear from the show. You can find me on Instagram at @bridgetwalton. 

Alright, let’s get into it. Depending on how you found me, you may already know that I’m Hormonal is a podcast that will be here as your guide to all things relating to your menstrual and hormonal health. For example, you can expect to hear current, practical, and relevant information on things like:

• How to optimize your gut health in order to support your hormones

• What to consider if you have irregular or missing periods

• The benefit of DUTCH testing

• How to prepare your hormones for pregnancy

• How to interpret your changes cervical mucus

And, much more on how to understand what the heck is happening in your body.

Let me pose a few questions for you now so you can see how this might be a good fit:

• Are you someone who wants to understand how your menstrual cycle works and what’s happening in your body throughout the month? 

• Is your period a mystery every month and just pops up unannounced? 

• Has something has been off about your period–maybe you have been working through terrible PMS and period pain? 

• Have you been considering getting off of your birth control and want to make sure that it’s a smooth transition? 

• Or maybe you’re hoping to prepare for pregnancy and want to make sure you’re ready!

If any of this sounds like you–you’re in the right place. So again, welcome! Know that everything that we touch on will be discussed through a climate-friendly and functional lens. There is a lot that we can do to help both our own health, and mother earth’s health as well. 

Honestly, if nothing else, I want you to walk away from each episode of I’m Hormonal feeling more empowered to take charge of your health than before you clicked ‘play.’

Why? Because, if you ask me, there are just way too many menstruators out there who go to their doctor with a problem and are told “oh, that’s normal.” Or before they get to their doctor, society tells them “stop complaining, that’s normal and just a part of being a woman.” I’ve absolutely dealt with this myself–and honestly still do–but this podcast will be one that helps to fill in some of these blanks that we were never properly taught. Health is a journey and there’s no destination of “perfect health” but hey, we can start to figure out some of these things together. And you should know that you deserve to feel good! 

It’s time for this sort of information to be widespread and available to everyone who bleeds. I’ve created I’m Hormonal so that I can share these insights with you for free, because it shouldn’t be the case that support for your health is only available to those who can afford to pay for it. I’m Hormonal is here for you because you need to know that your wellness is within your control and there are things that you can do everyday to advocate for your health and your future self. 

So at this point you might be wondering who I am? Who’s voice is this? So lemme tell you about how I got here. My name is Bridget I am a certified functional hormone specialist and menstrual cycle coach; my training is through IAFHH and Lisa de Jong. The journey to get here started year ago as I was trying to figure out my own menstrual cycle and women’s health mysteries. I really started to dig into exactly how my body works because I was facing questions like: Why are my period cramps so painful? Why am I having so many pelvic floor muscle spasms? What’s the best contraception option for me? What’s the best period product for me? 

Today is just a short intro to who I am and the background on how we got here, but as promised I just want to share close out with three quick tips. Three actionable items that you can integrate into your lifestyle to support your hormonal health. 

The first thing I want to share with you is the amazing beautiful gift of menstrual discs! I’ve been using a disc or cup for 5+ years and I love it so much. I literally bring it up with everyone–you can even confirm that with my dental hygienist after my last visit. If you haven’t used one before, a menstrual disc is a silicone cup that you’ll insert inside your vagina during your bleed and it catches your blood so you don’t have to deal with tampons or pads or anything else. Pads and tampons are made with so many chemicals and things that can irritate your vulva and get into your blood, so that’s why I love the menstrual disc. Also it’s a one-time buy that will last you for years. And it’s great to just change it once or twice a day instead of always having to think about it. Check it out if that’s new to you. I use the Nixit menstrual cup and have done so for the last two years–there’s no suction, like there is with cups, which is great if you’ve got an IUD up in there too. Overall–we interact with so many endocrine disrupting chemicals everyday, the menstrual disc is a great way to cut out some of that exposure. Plus, it’s the best option for the environment. Give it a try–I think you are just going to love it.

My second tip for hormone balance: please prioritize your sleep. I know this one is more trendy lately, but I don’t think it can be overstated. Getting high quality sleep is essential for feeling your best, and it really does impact your hormones in the day or days following a night of poor snoozing. Shoot for a consistent bedtime and wake up time everyday if you can; same times on weekends as on weekdays, more or less. Support your sleep quality by avoiding blue light after the sun goes down; you can do this by wearing blue light glasses when you’re looking at screens, and turn off overhead lights too so you’re using something more dim. I like to use candles and I’ve got a salt lamp as well as another smaller table lamp to keep it feeling cozy and help my brain get ready for sleep. Last notes on sleep: caffeine and alcohol will both negatively affect your sleep, so just keep that in mind. Your whole body and all of your hormones will thank you and reward you for getting in enough hours of shut eye.

Third and final–if you think something is off.. Trust yourself! Unfortunately in conventional or allopathic medicine, it can take years and years to get to the final and correct answer about what’s plaguing your health. Advocate for yourself and don’t accept ‘no’ or ‘that’s normal, you’re fine’ for an answer. You know your body best. I spent years having my OB/GYNs dismissing my concerns and I’m so glad that it’s led me to where I am now, but you deserve information and guidance. Work with a certified practitioner to give you insights on your hormone imbalances or your gut. Or whatever ends up being the root of your symptoms. I’ll do my best to share lots of resources with you so that you can understand what’s going on in your body, but one of the best ways to really pinpoint your specific hormonal situation might be to do testing. If there’s anything that I can do, my hope is to help empower you and show you that you have the capacity and ability to optimize your health, your happiness, your fertility, and your cycle.

Alright gang–I think we did it. Let’s wrap it up there for today with a couple of reminders:

• If you haven’t already, please go ahead and follow me on instagram @bridgetwalton. I’ll be sharing information and tips on hormone balance so you can learn to interpret your body’s signals. Connect with me there and let me know where you’re from and what you thought about this intro episode today.

• While you’re on Instagram, go ahead and download my Cycle Syncing Guidebook if you want to dip your toes into what cycle syncing is. We’ll get more into that next week, but take it for some light reading and start to get familiar with the four phases of your cycle. You can go to the link in my bio and download the Cycle Syncing Guide from there.

Thanks again for listening and for making it all the way to the end! I appreciate you so much, and I can’t wait to see you again next week–same time, same place. See you then!