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Many women live with pain they鈥檝e never mentioned to a doctor. Everything from painful periods to pelvic discomfort. Many women assume pain is normal. But staying silent can delay diagnoses for years.
For 海角精品黑料鈥檚 2026 Get on Top of Your Health series, we asked Dr. Erica Contreras (OB/GYN) and Dr. Pooja Uppalapati (GYN) from the to share details about how women can break free from pain.
Pushing back against painful periods
鈥淭he biggest thing is understanding that a period is just a part of your month, and it doesn鈥檛 have to be something that is debilitating or that you鈥檙e looking ahead to with fear,鈥� Uppalapati said. 鈥淚f you feel like this is really significantly 鈥� altering your life or your day to day 鈥� then it鈥檚 something that we should talk about.鈥�
She recommends women share information about their cycles and pain:
- When your period started
- What your cycle has always been like
- How many pads, tampons or cups you are using daily
- When you experience pain (with bathroom use, intercourse or other pain)
- How pain affects your life
Uppalapati said if a woman is building her life around symptoms, the doctor needs to know. In some cases, symptoms are clues to a bigger diagnosis.
鈥淥ne of the conditions I tend to treat and see is endometriosis, and most people don鈥檛 know enough about it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f someone doesn鈥檛 put those pieces together, it can go undiagnosed for a really long time.鈥�
Preparing for perimenopause
鈥淧erimenopause is normal. This is an expected transition, just like going through puberty was when you were younger,鈥� Contreras said.
She said every woman鈥檚 experience is different. Some may have hot flashes, while others experience vaginal dryness. Perimenopause can last years too.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 important is to talk to your physician so they can talk to you about and manage expectations,鈥� Contreras said. 鈥淪ometimes just knowing what is going to happen is sufficient. But obviously, if these symptoms are distressing, then that鈥檚 the reason that we might consider medication to try to help manage that until you get to the point where it鈥檚 not a problem anymore.鈥�
Managing menopause
With menopause, people 鈥渁lways think just hormone replacement or nothing, whereas there鈥檚 a lot in between now,鈥� Contreras said. 鈥淭here are medications that have been used to help with depression, that have been shown to be helpful with hot flashes.鈥�
She added that in some cases, women might want to consider herbal medications. Contreras also said there are newer treatments that help with the temperature regulation center in the brain to help with hot flashes.
Screening for HPV to prevent cancer
A concerning medical condition is human papillomavirus, or HPV. It鈥檚 a leading cause of cervical cancer.
鈥淏ut it can also cause vaginal, vulvar, anal and throat cancer in women, as well as HPV-related cancers in men, which are generally going to be anal or throat. But unfortunately, there is no screening that exists for men,鈥� Contreras said.
Traditionally, HPV testing was done via a Pap smear. But she added there are new options for women today.
鈥淩ecently, they鈥檝e come out with technology that allows patients to do this at home, which is called the Teal Wand,鈥� Contreras said.
Ensuring heart health in women
鈥淗eart disease is one of the main killers of women, and we just don鈥檛 talk about it enough,鈥� Uppalapati said.
Medical conditions from earlier in life could impact the heart later.
鈥淚f you had gestational hypertension, if you had preeclampsia, these are going to be things that obviously happened earlier in your life but that can dictate and increase your risk for cardiac issues later as well,鈥� Contreras said.
Uppalapati said high blood pressure, diabetes and a family history of heart issues are additional risk factors.
鈥淎nd with medications, there are certain ones that we do want to avoid in someone who has a high risk for having a stroke or a pulmonary embolism, and so it鈥檚 important so that we make sure that we鈥檙e putting you on safe medications that will help treat what鈥檚 going on,鈥� Contreras said.
Debunking online misinformation
Many women are now seeing health information on social media. But in some cases, AI influencers, and not humans, are presenting medical advice.
鈥淭here are a lot of actually great resources on TikTok, Instagram, X, et cetera,鈥� Uppalapati said. 鈥淕enerally, I would want it to be a practicing provider, someone who鈥檚 actually still seeing patients, still has their hands in the clinical scenario, so that they鈥檙e really staying up to date.鈥�
She said legitimate health professionals online are easy to verify in real life by checking their affiliations and credentials. She said there are also red flags to lookout for.
鈥淎 good person giving you medical advice is also not going to be trying to sell you something. So if they鈥檙e giving all this information, and then they say, 鈥楤y the way, here鈥檚 a link to all these supplements,鈥� or, you know, 鈥楾his is the company that I work with,鈥� take their information with a grain of salt.鈥�
A real physician can give information based on each patient鈥檚 personal case. 鈥淭alk with your physician because we鈥檙e trained for this, so we鈥檙e going to give you good information that鈥檚 accurate for you,鈥� Contreras said.
Sharing information with your doctor
Uppalapati and Contreras said it鈥檚 important that women share a wide range of information with their doctors. Here are some examples:
- The first day of your last period, cycle pattern and flow
- Any pain
- Contraception use
- Breast changes or concerns
- Mood and emotional health (persistent anxiety, low mood, irritability or sleep disruption)
- Menopause or perimenopause symptoms (hot flashes, night sweats, brain fog, sleep disruption or cycle changes)
- Fertility goals
Whether women are being seen for a fertility-related issue or not, Contreras said it鈥檚 important to share family planning goals.
鈥淚f we know that fertility is very important, then our treatment plan is going to be designed to help preserve that,鈥� she said.
They both noted that women should see their doctors at least once a year 鈥� and more often if concerns arise.
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