Last May, I wrote a post answering the question, What happens to your eggs when you don’t ovulate? Something I said didn’t make sense to one reader, and she was right about that! No clue what I was thinking. Here’s the comment:

Sarah
May 14, 2008 at 6:02 pm

I have a question - I was confused by the statement:

Logically, then, if birth control prevents ovulation from releasing the egg into the fallopian tube, it would eventually just break down and be asorbed back into the body in the uterus.

because the egg must travel down the fallopian tube in order to reach the uterus. So how does it get logically asorbed back into the body in the uterus if it was never released into the fallopian tube?

Now, what I was TRYING to say was this that the egg would break down and be absorbed back into the body in the OVARY, not the uterus. Thank you to Sarah and her eagle eye for catching that. I apologize for the confusion.

Tags: womens health blog, womens health, women, woman, health, what happens to your eggs when you don’t ovulate, correction, lively women, kristen king

Share This

"The unexamined life is not worth living." — Socrates

"Only a fool looks at the finger that points to the sky." — Translated from the French, from Le Fabuleux destin d’Amlie Poulain

"We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Stop delaying the amazing things that you were put on this earth to do. Dont sell the world short." — Wendy Piersall, at SOBCon08 in Chicago, IL

Today, the b5media Health and Wellness Channel is all about Mental Health Awareness — and I have a challenge for you: Look at where you are, really look. Now, answer me this: Are you happy?

Your life does not have to be perfect for you to be happy, but it does need to be purposeful. What is your purpose? Are you living it?

This month, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about what I’m doing with my life, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ve allowed myself to get into the habit of going through the motions instead of really, really living. I feel tired. I feel burned out. I feel bored. I’m too young to feel that way. This how I felt before I quit my job with the soul-sucking commute two years ago. That’s not good.

What about you? Are you satisfied with the way things are going for you right now? Are you satisfied with your job? With your relationships with family and friends? Do you feel weighed down?

It’s not selfish to want to be happy, to want to feel fulfilled. In fact, you SHOULD want those things. Life is about living, not about existing. If you could change anything about your life, what would it be? And what’s stopping you?

Tags: womens health blog, womens health, women, woman, health, mental health, mental health awareness, health and wellness theme day, socrates, unexamined life, amelie, wendy piersall, SOBCon08, happiness, lively women, kristen king

Share This

Don’t you just LOVE the anticipation of finding out who won a contest? I know I do! So, without further ado, here are the winners of the Lively Women women’s health giveaway of three Nalgene bottle and Brita faucet filtration system sets donated by Filter For Good:

• Merlyn Sanchez
• Huguette E.
• Patricia

How I came up with the winners

There were a total of 28 comments including my comments and trackbacks. I used the sequence generator at Random.org to create a random sequence of numbers between 1 and 28. Fortunately the first three numbers, or our winners, were neither trackbacks nor my comments, so we got the winners on the first try! And here they are:

* 5
* 27
* 14

Comment 5:

Merlyn Sanchez
Apr 23, 2008 at 5:10 pm

Id love a chance to win the prize! Found you b/c of Jennys tweet and your site is great. Youve now been added to my favorites.

Have a great day!
Merlyn

Comment 27:

Huguette E.
May 4, 2008 at 11:12 am

Thanks for the chance !

Comment 14:

Patricia
Apr 28, 2008 at 4:17 am

I am so happy that Brita and Nalgene took on this challenge to inform everyone just how much we do waste and how much can be prevented. KUDOS to them.

Congrats to our winners! Check back next week for another great giveaway from your favorite women’s health blog, Lively Women.

Tags: womens health blog, womens health, women, woman, health, nalgene bottle, brita water filter, brita faucet filter, brita faucet filtration system, contest, giveaway, filter for good, lively women, kristen king

Share This

All hormonal birth control comes with some risk of side effects, but birth control patch Ortho-Evra, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson (whose Melt Away Stress product line I recently reviewed), is coming under public scrutiny because of its apparent connection to potentially deadly blood clots in users.

A recent Reuters article sheds some light in exactly what the problem is:

In a petition filed with the FDA on Thursday, Public Citizen’s Health Research Group said the amount of estrogen released from the Ortho-Evra patch varies widely among individual women, and those who absorb too much were at greater risk for blood clots and other painful side effects.

"The considerable safety concern of high-dose, variable estrogen exposure tips the balance of risks and benefits against the availability of Ortho-Evra as a contraceptive," wrote Sidney Wolfe, head of the research group.

Ortho-Evra has seen its use slip in the wake of such data, which led to warnings on the patch’s label as recently as January, when a study of women ages 15 to 44 found blood clots known as venous thromboembolisms were about twice as likely in women using the patch versus birth control pills.

The FDA at the time said the patch was safe and effective when used as directed and urged patients to talk to their doctors about the risk.

Estrogen used in contraceptives has long been known to increase the risk of blood clots, which can trigger heart attacks or strokes. Women who use Ortho Evra can be exposed to about 60 percent more estrogen than pill users.

"If Ortho-Evra had been designed as a pill, it is unlikely to have been approved because of its increased estrogen content," Wolfe said.

Did you see that last line? Let me repeat it: "If Ortho-Evra had been designed as a pill, it is unlikely to have been approved because of its increased estrogen content." I have to be honest — that’s alarming.

The major benefit of the patch is that it’s birth control you only have to think about once a week. But if it carries much higher risk (in addition to being visible since you apply it to your skin), is the convenience really worth it? What do you think? Leave a comment.

(hat tip: Eliza at Babylune)

Tags: womens health blog, womens health, women, woman, health, birth control, the patch, the birth control patch, ortho-evra, johnson & johnson, blood clots, hormones, hormonal birth control, side effects, lively women, kristen king

Share This

You know that drinking water is healthy, and that drinking bottled water is an easy way to stay hydrated on the go. But what you may not know is that chemicals from plastic bottles may be leeching into your water, and could cause such major health problems as cancers and early-onset puberty.

Environmentalists and the very health conscious have long argued that plastic bottles, or at least the cheap plastic kind, are bad for the environment because of the waste they produce and the resources they require. And increasingly, many have voiced concerns about ingesting chemicals that seep into food and beverages, prompting the popularity of reusable containers like Nalgene bottles and Kleen Kanteens.

Of particular concern is how these chemicals, specifically BPA, can affect children and infants. Says a recent ABC News article:

There’s a possibility that the chemical found in plastic water bottles, baby bottles and the lining of many food, drink and baby formula cans could be linked to health problems, including prostate cancer, breast cancer and early-onset puberty, according to a chemical evaluation released Monday night by the Department of Health and Human Services’ National Toxicology Program.

…The draft brief found some worry that exposure to the chemical bisphenol A, known as BPA, could have neural and behavioral effects on fetuses, infants and children at existing exposure levels.

"The possibility that bisphenol A may alter human development cannot be dismissed," the evaluation noted.

Indeed, the study failed to put to rest long-standing worries about whether the widely used chemical is safe, and ensures that scrutiny of the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to approve BPA will continue. While some have argued the chemical is associated with health risks, the FDA and industry experts have stood by their controversial conclusion that the chemical is not harmful.

The chemical helps make plastic tough and shatter-resistant; the plastic is used in food and drink containers, bike helmets, dental sealants and more.

At the American Chemistry Council, Steve Hentges, executive director of the polycarbonate/BPA global group, said today that there’s still no evidence of serious health risks or need to remove BPA from the market. This evaluation echoes many of the already published findings about BPA, Hentges said.

You can get more details by reading the full article.

How do these findings make you feel about the water you drink and the products you and your kids ingest? Does this make you want to change anything, or do you think this is just an overreaction? Your opinion counts. Spout off in the comments.

Tags: womens health blog, womens health, women, woman, BPA, water bottles, chemicals from plastic bottles, cancer, early-onset puberty, american chemistry council, lively women, kristen king

Share This