Ep. 33: Client Story - Anna (Young, Single)
Caitlin Estes:
Welcome to the woven well podcast. I'm your host, Caitlin Estes. I'm a certified fertility care practitioner with a master of divinity degree. Each episode will cover a topic that helps educate and empower you and your fertility while honoring the deep connection your fertility has with your faith. Let's get started.
Caitlin Estes:
I believe that a part of empowering and educating women is to connect them with other women on the same journey. That's why we'll sometimes have episodes devoted to hearing the fertility journey of one of the women who are a part of woven. Whatever your situation or your fertility goal, it can sometimes feel isolating, but there is a whole community of women out there asking the same questions you are. That's why I'm excited to welcome Anna to the podcast today. I have enjoyed working with Anna for several years and am so glad to have her share her particular story with us today. Anna is a young woman who just graduated college and is starting her first job, but she began using the Creighton method back in 2015. So she's been using it for a while now. So Anna, thanks so much for joining us today.
Anna :
It's so good to be here. I'm glad that I get to share a little bit about my story.
Caitlin Estes:
Yeah. So let's start there with, how did you even initially hear about Creighton and what made you wanna give it a try?
Anna :
So I was a sophomore in high school and being very active with volleyball. I was having very irregular periods and I knew that something wasn't right. But I just, I kept getting told it's because I'm active it's because I'm always on the go. And just because of that, I will have irregular periods. But I knew something was wrong. And so my mom actually is the one that introduced me to the Creighton method and it helped me realize, you know, what was going on with my body and kind of be able to see it, which was nice.
Caitlin Estes:
Thank you, mamas <laugh> thank you mamas of the world for not settling for, eh, it's just gonna be like that.
Anna :
I know. I'm so thankful.
Caitlin Estes:
Oh man. So when you already mentioned that you started, you were able to see it in a paper form. You were able to see what was going on with your body in a paper form. And it was your mom that got you connected to it. I'm curious. How did she hear about Creighton? Do you know?
Anna :
I think it was through our church.
Caitlin Estes:
Okay. Okay. Through a church resource. Well, that's great. So as you've charted over the years, I'm curious what kind of valuable information that it's given you, was it what you had hoped for? And what kind of things have you learned over the years through your charting?
Anna :
So I'll be honest. I started charting and was very apprehensive about it because I thought that it was only for women with fertility issues or women who were trying to get pregnant or avoid pregnancy. And so I would chart, but then just get very frustrated. So like I'm not even, I'm a sopho ore in high school and I'm not trying to get pregnant or avoid pregnancy. And so what am I doing? But I think through the years, I really started to learn that it's not about fertility. It's so much more about health. And I was learning this wealth of information about my body and why my body was reacting in certain ways and why I was having acne and why I was having severe cramping and irregular cycles. And through the charting (I'm a very visual learner) and so through the charting, it allowed me to see what was going on with my body. And one month I might have had a different period than the next month and our bodies are so different. And it's, you know, you can't compare to another woman because everybody's body is so different.
Caitlin Estes:
That's so true.
Anna :
And so realizing that my body as an athlete might be different than my sister's body. And so seeing that chart was just very helpful because it allowed me to gain a better perspective of what my body was doing and with the acne and cramping and things and what my body was telling me.
Caitlin Estes:
Yeah. So it sounds like it was in the end, a very practical tool for specific issues that you were having, but also gave you insight into the fact that your reproductive health is a critical part of your overall health. And they're gonna play off of each other. Reproductive health affects your overall health, your overall health affects your reproductive health. And so having that insight into one specific area, it seems like gave you more insight into your overall health as well.
Anna :
It did, it did. And with my charting, I was able to see that I was low on progesterone. And so the charting and getting the blood work and everything that really helped. And so I was able to know like, okay, I'm low on progesterone and this is part of why my cycle is irregular. And so being able to get on progesterone supplements and things like that was really helpful.
Caitlin Estes:
I'm really glad to hear you mention the progesterone deficiency specifically, because I do think that that's something that women think is only important when trying to conceive, but you are living proof that it is a quality of life difference. It improves your overall quality of life. It takes care of so many of these cycle specific issues that are causing monthly or regular issues for women and can be resolved. And you deserve to have that treatment now, even in high school, even in college, when it doesn't have anything to do with starting a family. So I think that that's wonderful. So tell us a little bit more about how your understanding of your cycle has transformed how you see maybe your overall health or body.
Anna :
So through the Creighton method, it's actually been really interesting to see that every sign that has happened, whether it's acne, like I was mentioning earlier, or irregular cramping or lack of energy, that I've been able to see that our bodies, you know, we're told that that's normal, but with the lack of emphasis on women's health, that's not normal. And through the Creighton model, I've been learning that, you know, our bodies are very intricate and they give us these signs because there might be something going on. And with this model and NaPro and everything that we've just been discussing, it's really helped me get a better understanding that our bodies are so intricate and it's giving me signs that helped me understand.
Caitlin Estes:
Absolutely. I don't think I could have explained that better. I mean, everything your body is doing is a clue. I often explain it like, you know, we are investigating something and all the symptoms that your body gives are clues. And so we wanna gather all those symptoms together and find the common issue that's causing all of that. So good for you and good for your mom, you know, for taking the time to say something as commonplace as teenage acne. Okay. You feel like everybody has teenage acne, but a lot of times there is a cause for it. And so you took the time to investigate that and see if there was a cause behind it so that you could actually treat it at the root source instead of simply just trying a million different things that the dermatologist would suggest. So I think that's a great example for it.
Anna :
Mm-hmm.
Caitlin Estes:
So if you were talking with a woman out there who maybe she is in high school, maybe she's in college, maybe she's in her twenties or thirties or forties, and she's not, you know, in a relationship she's not married, she's not thinking about the fertility aspect of it basically, what advice would you give her when it comes to understanding her cycles or considering the Creighton method? What would you have to say to her?
Anna :
I would say that it's never too soon to address those concerns and looking back, I wish I had started when I was in middle school. Like we've talked earlier, these clues that our body gives us are so important to address. And I think we suppress so many of them until we might be trying to have children or, you know, we suppress these issues. And so I think that one, it's never too soon to adjust your concerns, but also just start with me starting in high school, it's given me so much knowledge over these past almost six, seven years, you know. As a 14 year old, I went in blind. I didn't know most of what I was being taught, but now it's been so beneficial because over the years I've been able to share with other women. And we really don't realize what we don't know until we learn about it. And with a lot of friends that have been getting married recently, they've been trying to figure out how they, you know, whether they go the birth control route or whether they look into more natural family planning for their family down the road. And it's been so fruitful having these conversations with these friends and being able to share a little bit about what I know with the women's health and just with the Creighton model. And you know, I feel very equipped because of what I've learned from you and everything that we've talked about in our sessions. And I just feel very equipped to be able to share my experience and to be able to share what I know. And what's been how it's been helpful to my journey.
Caitlin Estes:
I am thrilled to hear you say that because of course that's what I want for all clients. And that was kind of my story too. When I began learning, I didn't learn simply for health and wellness, but when I began learning, I became the friend that knew about reproductive health. And I'm like, how did I end up in this role? And you may feel similar to that, but it's like, how did I end up being the one that's answering friends questions about this topic? But it is something that every woman wants to know about because every woman has questions and cycle issues and symptoms of their own. And a lot of times they're not getting the answers from their doctors or wherever they're going to get them. And so I think that they are thrilled to find a friend who has those.
Caitlin Estes:
And I think it's great that you're having those conversations. So the advice is just get started and then you can find out what you need to know and how it affects what's going on in your life right now. Well, that is great. Anna, I want to thank you so much for joining, for sharing your story. And for consistently charting as a high schooler, that is a big deal! That is a really big deal. And I thought it was something that you said that you wish you had started in middle school. I would love for middle schoolers to learn this, but to also consistently chart may be an interesting aspect at that age, but I think that that's great. I really do, so thank you so much for being on today.
Anna :
Of course, I enjoyed getting to share a little bit of my story and I hope that other women are able to, you know, feel confident and know that this is not, it helps physically, but it also is just a mental, it's nice to be confident and know that your health is important. Your body is important and it's, you know, we're so intricately designed and we need to know about our bodies.
Caitlin Estes:
I love that. Yes. Your questions are valid. Your health matters right now. So you just mentioned that mentally, it was beneficial to you as well. What did that look like for you?
Anna :
So like we've talked about earlier physically, it is so important to know, but also mentally I was getting in ruts you know, of just getting frustrated when I kept being told it's because I'm an athlete it's because I'm active all the time. And I was just getting very frustrated. So I think using the Creighton model gave me a better understanding and allowed me to become more confident in my body and knowing that everybody's body is different. Like I mentioned earlier, being confident in that my body in the way that my body works was very, very beneficial.
Caitlin Estes:
Absolutely. So it was, it sounds like it was almost encouraging to you to know that there were answers and to know that there was something that you could do with it, there was a course or a way forward for you to getting answers. So thanks for sharing that. Well, I hope that this has been helpful to those of you listening, who aren't interested in the fertility aspect of Creighton, because like Anna just said your body and your education about your body matter, regardless of your marital status, relationship status or anything else. So your health right now, it matters. If you have painful periods, irregular cycles, unusual bleeding, maybe no period at all then I would love to help you investigate why and start to get the answers you need to feel better and have an overall better quality of life. And if you're listening as a married woman, I hope you'll encourage other friends to honor their body through understanding it more intimately through something like the Creighton system. So I'd say probably 25% of my current client load are single women. So they will not be alone. There are lots of other women out there learning for health and wellness specifically. So if you are interested in getting started, we are having an online introductory session next week, August 25th, 2022 at 5:00 PM central time. And you can register at wovenfertility.com/join-us. If you have questions you'd like answered before then you're wondering, is this really for me? Does this apply? I know my story is just like Anna's, but maybe I'm different. You're not, um, but feel free to email me personally. I'd be happy to answer any of those questions. My email is Caitlin@wovenfertility.com as always. Thanks for listening as we continue to explore together what it means to be woven well.