Gretchen Addison is a running coach and fitness instructor in southwest Virginia through her business, Run 4 the Hills Coaching.  Her passion is helping others to live fit and healthy lives in a way that is sustainable for them.  She loves to talk about women's health topics with anyone and everyone, because it affects everyone in some way, and women especially need to know more about how their bodies work so that they can advocate better for themselves. When she's not working, she enjoys spending time with her horse, hiking, cooking, and reading. In this conversation, she shares her story of experiencing extreme pain and heavy bleeding during her menstruation for over two decades, until she finally got a prescription for a medication that relieves those symptoms significantly. Some of the tools that contributed to her treatment included the Creighton Model of cycle tracking, and a certified NaPro physician who was able to think beyond birth control to find a more targeted treatment.

She shares these resources:
Pearl and Thistle by Christina Valenzuela:
https://pearlandthistle.com/

Femammal Episode: "Energy and Mood Throughout the Menstrual Cycle" with Christina Valenzuela:
https://femammal.buzzsprout.com/1996844/11156748-energy-and-mood-throughout-the-menstrual-cycle

NaPro Technology:
https://naprotechnology.com/

Creighton Model:
https://creightonmodel.com/

FAbM Base with Emily Frase and Mary Bruno
https://fabmbase.org/about-fabm-base/the-founders/

Ashwood Fertility Care
https://www.ashwoodfertilitycare.com/

Lysteda information from the National Institutes of Health:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3183964/

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