Women’s Wellness

Could Ureaplasma Be Affecting Your Fertility or Urinary Symptoms?

Could Ureaplasma Be Affecting Your Fertility or Urinary Symptoms?

If you’ve been dealing with recurrent urinary symptoms, vaginal irritation, or unexplained fertility challenges, you may have heard of Ureaplasma—or maybe you’ve never heard of it at all. Ureaplasma is a very small type of bacteria that can live in the urinary and reproductive tracts. It’s actually fairly common, and plenty of people carry it without ever having symptoms. So, a positive test doesn’t necessarily mean Ureaplasma is causing a problem or needs to be treated. But in certain patients, I do think it can be worth looking for.

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Anti-Ovary Antibodies (AOA): A Functional Medicine Perspective

Anti-Ovary Antibodies (AOA): A Functional Medicine Perspective

Anti-ovary antibodies (AOAs) are autoantibodies directed against proteins within the ovary. Their presence may suggest that the immune system is recognizing ovarian tissue as a target. Although testing is not part of the standard infertility evaluation and the assays have not yet been standardized, ovarian autoimmunity is increasingly recognized as a potential contributor in a subset of women with reproductive challenges. In Functional Medicine, we view anti-ovary antibodies as one piece of a larger immune assessment, rather than a stand-alone diagnostic test.

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Cortisol & Menopause: Why Stress Can Feel So Different at Midlife

Cortisol & Menopause: Why Stress Can Feel So Different at Midlife

If you’ve reached perimenopause and suddenly feel like you just can’t handle stress the way you used to, you’re not imagining it. Maybe you’re waking up at 3:00 a.m. with your mind racing. You’re exhausted in the afternoon but somehow get a “second wind” at bedtime. Your anxiety feels heightened, your body composition is changing, or you simply feel more easily overwhelmed by things that wouldn’t have rattled you a few years ago. There are many reasons this can happen during the menopause transition, but one important piece of the puzzle is cortisol.

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Progesterone IUDs in Perimenopause and Menopause: When Is It Time to Remove Them?

Progesterone IUDs in Perimenopause and Menopause: When Is It Time to Remove Them?

A lot of my patients in their 40s and 50s have progesterone-releasing IUDs such as Mirena, Liletta, Kyleena, or Skyla. These devices can be incredibly helpful during the reproductive and perimenopausal years, but one question comes up frequently in my practice . . .

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Navigating Life Transitions: Supporting Your Health at Every Stage with Functional Medicine

Navigating Life Transitions: Supporting Your Health at Every Stage with Functional Medicine

Life is marked by transitions—some expected, others abrupt. New roles, shifting hormones, changing responsibilities, and evolving priorities all ask something different of our bodies. At Tendwell, we see these transitions not as problems to fix, but as invitations to listen more closely to what your body needs now.

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Why Cholesterol Often Rises During Menopause — And What You Can Do About It

Why Cholesterol Often Rises During Menopause — And What You Can Do About It

As women move through perimenopause and menopause, one of the most common changes we see on lab work is a noticeable rise in cholesterol levels—sometimes for the first time in a woman’s life. This shift can feel surprising or concerning, but it’s actually a well-documented and physiologically understandable part of the menopausal transition.

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Understanding Vaginal Changes in Perimenopause: Estrogen, BV, Yeast & the Microbiome

Understanding Vaginal Changes in Perimenopause: Estrogen, BV, Yeast & the Microbiome

As estrogen levels begin to fluctuate and drift downward in perimenopause, many women notice changes they didn’t expect—more irritation, new (or recurrent) yeast infections, increased discharge, or episodes of bacterial vaginosis (BV) that feel out of nowhere. These symptoms can be frustrating, uncomfortable, and often surprising, especially for women who never struggled with vaginal health before.

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Testosterone and Women: Real Benefit, Real Caution

Testosterone and Women: Real Benefit, Real Caution

Recently a popular media piece (e.g., in the The New York Times “Sunday Read”-style coverage) spotlighted women receiving testosterone pellets and portrayed it in very dramatic terms. Yes, there are real benefits of testosterone (T) for women — especially in the context of perimenopause/menopause — but the “miracle cure” narrative is misleading and may gloss over important risks and proper practice.

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