What's it like to get period pain in middle or high school today? It's been 20 YEARS since my own pretty abysmal menstrual health education, and I wondered - has it gotten better? Has the internet helped? Are there more resources and support out there for a young cramper?

To answer my questions, I turned to Kat Samedova, who recently graduated from Kingston High School and is the former vice president of the Period Power! Club there. I also talked with the Period Power Club's advisor, Tina the Tampon Lady, and the TMI Project's Organizational & Programs Manager.

LINKS:

Period Power! Club website: https://www.periodpowerclub.com/

Period.org: https://period.org/

Period Power Stories: https://tmiproject.org/period-power-stories/

TMI Project website: https://tmiproject.org/

CRAMPED episodes are intended for informational and entertainment purposes only, and are not medical advice.

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Sasheer Zamata (SNL, Agatha All Along, Ghosts) hangs out for a little 2 person "clam bake" to tell the story of her period pain and fibroids, how she changed her approach to healthcare, and what it's like to do standup about her period pain to 22 million people.

CRAMPED episodes are intended for informational and entertainment purposes only, and are not medical advice.

Support CRAMPED by joining the Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/CRAMPED

Sasheer on Instagram: @thesheertruth

Sasheer's website: https://sasheer.com/

Watch Sasheer's new special, The First Woman, on Hulu.

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Have you ever sought help for your period pain and been told "just lose some weight", or "exercise more", or "just cut out [insert any food group here]"?

We know that diet and exercise is important, and when we're dealing with period pain (or any of the conditions that cause it), we try to "eat healthy" and "move our bodies". But is there something missing from this equation that's sabotaging our efforts?

Kate brings on Allison Yamamoto (certified fitness & nutrition coach specializing in menstrual disturbances) to answer her questions about about diet, exercise, and period pain.

CRAMPED episodes are intended for informational and entertainment purposes only, and are not medical advice.

Support CRAMPED by joining the Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/CRAMPED

Links Mentioned in Episode:

IOC Consensus Statement: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/57/17/1073

Allison's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allisonyamamoto/?hl=en

Allison's Website: https://www.koaathletic.health/

Direct link to subscribe to Allison's newsletter: https://subscribepage.io/f4BQFI

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Dr. Laura Payne, the best-named clinical & research psychologist studying menstrual pain, joins us to talk about how our brains process the sensations of pain. Are there psychological interventions that can actually relieve chronic pain? Does having severe period pain mean we're doomed to chronic pain forever? What's the difference between a doctor telling you "you're just anxious" and a pain psychology specialist helping you reprocess your pain pathways? Will Dr. Payne ever start a band? LETS FIND OUT!

Listen to the full episode and support CRAMPED by joining the Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/CRAMPED

CRAMPED episodes are intended for informational and entertainment purposes only, and are not medical advice.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In our last episode of 2025, Kate looks back on 2025 and attempts to answer the question "Are crampers better off in 2025?" We take a tour through SUPER FUN stuff that impacts people with period pain like federal funding decisions, new endometriosis research centers, new pain medications, and medical guidance releases. We get a zoomed-out sense of the state of dysmenorrhea in 2025, and what we have to look forward to next year.

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You know how many diseases are diagnosed or monitored by drawing blood from a vein in your arm and running tests on it? Would those tests still work if you ran them on menstrual blood? It's not THAT crazy, right? So why did the first research into this only start TWELVE YEARS AGO??

In this subscriber-only episode, Kate covers the (brief) history of how western medicine has thought of menstrual blood, and introduces you to three organizations currently developing diagnostic tests to be done on period blood. What if you could dip a test strip in your menstrual cup and find out if you have endometriosis?? Or diabetes, or cervical cancer, or an STI? What if a natural bodily fluid that's been thought of as "stinky and useless" throughout the course of modern medicine could...actually be the key to solving the mysteries of these diseases?

To listen to the full episode, join the CRAMPED Patreon at any level: https://www.patreon.com/c/CRAMPED

Check out the ROSE Study here: https://www.northwell.edu/news/insights/outsmarting-endometriosis

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Kate brings on a friend for a Case Study episode all about recurring UTIs and the vaginal microbiome. They take a microbiome test and talk to a health provider to understand how whats living in their "villages" impacts yeast infections, UTIs, BV, fertility, and so much more.

CRAMPED episodes are intended for informational and entertainment purposes only, and are not medical advice.

Support CRAMPED by joining the Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/CRAMPED

You can find Vienna here: https://thecuntsultant.com

More info on Daye: https://www.yourdaye.com/en-us/

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Everybody's always telling us patient advocacy is the way to solve systemic issues in women's healthcare - ok so what exactly IS patient advocacy? What does it look like? HOW does it get us better care, research and treatments? Kate asks these questions to Noa Fleischacker, executive director of Tight Lipped, a grassroots movement by and for people with chronic vulvovaginal and pelvic pain that's actually been able to make change in OB-GYN education programs.

CRAMPED episodes are intended for informational and entertainment purposes only, and are not medical advice.

Support CRAMPED by joining the Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/CRAMPED

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.