A note from Dr. Michelle
My embarrassing “down there” problem
Have you ever dealt with something so embarrassing you couldn't bring yourself to talk about it? I have.
For years I silently struggled with dryness, itching, and burning when I peed. I worried about leaking when I coughed or jumped. And sex? It couldn't have been further from my mind. I avoided it, because it hurt. I felt old, dried up, and anything but sexy.
Here's the part that should tell you how deep this taboo goes: I'm a physician who specializes in women's hormones. This is literally my job. And even I put it off, because the idea of going in for that exam made me cringe.
I'm also the woman who was told at twenty she'd never have children — primary ovarian failure, “the hormones of a fifty-five-year-old.” It took a decade of healing to prove them wrong; my son Paxton was born when I was forty-one. So I already knew, in my bones, that “there's nothing you can do” is almost never true. Your diagnosis is not your destiny.
When I read that only 4% of women ever get help for this, I stopped being embarrassed and got angry — on my own behalf, and on yours.
I already knew the science. Low-dose vaginal estrogen and DHEA have decades of research behind them. What didn't exist was a version that was clean, plant-based, and available without an appointment, an exam, a pharmacy lecture — or a tube full of petrochemicals.
So I made one. In my own kitchen, for myself first. I'll show it to you in a minute. But first you need to understand what's actually happening down there — because once you do, the fix becomes obvious.
