by yoursl | Aug 21, 2016 | Chromosome Disorders, Fertility, LGBT, Men's Sexual Health, Sexual Discussion, Sexual Dysfunction |
I took a writing hiatus due to experiencing an ongoing medical crisis. I am still sorting out how to live with my new diagnosis, which sadly interferes with my ability to write, to think, to sleep, to laugh and to live how I want to live my life. My diagnosis doesn’t just affect me; it affects my partner Dutch, my entire family, my friends and my pets and my ability to perform at my bill-paying day job. I am not back to being 100 percent myself yet. This is my first blog post in nearly two months. I am considering this to be a small win in my battle back to health and wellness. A friend told me about a young colleague undergoing gender reassignment surgery. This was not an act of malice or of gossip. It was simply my friend, who is of an older generation, wanting to better understand the situation. We now talk about gender reassignment surgery in the news and at the coffee maker at work where previously this was a taboo topic that wasn’t discussed openly. My friend’s colleague was diagnosed during his youth with partial androgen insensitivity syndrome (PAIS). Androgen insensitivity is a condition that affects sexual development before birth and during puberty. People with androgen insensitivity conditions are genetically male, with one X chromosome and one Y chromosome in each cell, yet their bodies are unable to respond properly to male sex hormones, or androgens, which includes testosterone and dehydroepiandroesterone or DHEA. As a result, the person has some or all of the physical traits of a female with the genetic...
by yoursl | May 5, 2016 | Fertility, Sexual Discussion, Women's Sexual Health |
Miscarriage is the medical term that describes a pregnancy that ends on its own, within the first 20 weeks of gestation. Pregnancy occurs in three trimesters: the first 12 weeks of a pregnancy are the first trimester, weeks 13 to 27 are the second trimester and the remainder of the pregnancy makes up the third trimester. Most miscarriages occur in the first trimester of pregnancy. Second trimester miscarriages can occur as well. Miscarriage is the most common type of pregnancy loss. According to the March of Dimes, “about 10 to 15 out of 100 pregnancies end in miscarriage.” The organization reports “as many as half of all pregnancies may end in miscarriage.” In these pregnancies, known as chemical pregnancies, the miscarriage occurs shortly after implantation of the fertilized egg, resulting in bleeding that occurs around the time of expected menstruation. For this reason, women may not even realize they have miscarried. During the first trimester, the most common cause of miscarriage is chromosomal abnormality within the zygote, which is the fertilized egg. Most chromosomal abnormalities are caused by a damaged egg or sperm cell or by a problem that occurs when the zygote undergoes cell division. Other causes of miscarriage include maternal hormonal problems, infections or health issues; maternal lifestyle choices such as smoking, drug use, malnutrition and exposure to radiation or toxic substances; improper implantation of the fertilized egg into the uterine lining; maternal age; and maternal trauma, especially to the abdomen. There are several different types of miscarriage, although most people use “miscarriage” as a blanket term to describe all of these varying conditions. A threatened miscarriage...
by yoursl | Feb 25, 2016 | Fertility, Heterosexuality, Men's Sexual Health, Sex and Science, Sexual Discussion, Women's Sexual Health |
The Department of Defense (DoD) announced at the end of January that it is expanding fertility benefits for active duty service members to include the cost of egg and sperm freezing. These services will be covered during a two-year pilot program designed as part of the Force of the Future Initiative, which is a move to make the military a more family friendly employer and to encourage troops, especially women, to remain enlisted. Egg and sperm freezing will only be available to active duty service members who either request the benefit or who are anticipating a deployment. Deployed service members run the risk of sustaining injuries that can reduce or eliminate their ability to father children or to carry a pregnancy to full term. According to Military Times, more than 1,300 veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffered injuries to their groin regions and genitalia that required advanced reproductive surgeries. These injuries are mostly from encounters with improvised explosive devices (IED’s) or shrapnel from explosions. “We can help our men and women preserve their ability to start a family, even if they suffer certain combat injuries,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said of the new program. The DoD already offers in vitro fertilization (IVF), artificial insemination, sperm extraction and embryo preservation at no charge to severely wounded, active duty personnel and their spouses. Neither Tricare, the military’s civilian health benefits program, nor the Department of Veterans Affairs, which provides health care to former service members with service-connected conditions, cover the cost of IVF or other advanced fertility treatments, such as egg and sperm freezing. After the two-year pilot program...
