Dr. Amy Beckley Explains Why It's So Important To Understand Your Hormonal Cycles - Exclusive
Dr. Amy Beckley is on a mission to make sure that every person assigned female at birth has the power to understand their hormonal cycles. The mission is particularly personal to Dr. Becker, sparked by the struggles she faced trying to conceive.
After multiple miscarriages, she was diagnosed with "unexplained infertility," but Beckley couldn't accept that answer. Determined to explain why she couldn't get pregnant, Beckley used her background in medical research and the help of her very supportive doctor to investigate her own case.
Understanding her own hormones ended up being the answer. Dr. Beckley discovered that her body wasn't producing enough progesterone during the time period when the fertilized egg needed to implant in her uterus. So, Beckley started taking progesterone, and soon after, she got pregnant.
Dr. Beckley's experience inspired her to team up with another woman who'd dealt with unexplained infertility and develop Proov, at-home hormone tests that can help people with female anatomy understand their hormonal cycles. In an exclusive interview with Health Digest, Beckley explained why it's so important to understand your hormonal cycles and how Proov can help.
Hormones impact everything
Dr. Beckley explained that hormonal cycles have a major impact on the health of people assigned female at birth. If they want to understand their bodies and their overall health, it's crucial to understand how their hormones fluctuate throughout their monthly cycle. It's also essential to understand whether their hormones are being produced in the right amounts.
"The menstrual cycle controls every aspect of a women's life from puberty to menopause," she stated. "When the cycle is off balance, it can lead to PMS, heavy or painful periods, infertility, or major menopause symptoms."
Unlike ovulation tests that just determine whether or not a person is ovulating, Proov's at-home hormone test kits can give people with female anatomy a complete picture of their hormonal cycles. This can provide them and their doctors with the critical information they need to determine how their cycle is impacting their physical and mental health.
Understanding hormones to conceive
When most people are trying to conceive, they rely on ovulation tests to determine their "fertile window" – the days on which they're most likely to conceive. However, ovulation tests can't determine things like how many quality eggs a person has left or any problems with ovulation.
That's where Proov tests come in. Because the Proov tests track a person's hormones throughout their entire monthly cycle, they can estimate ovarian reserve and reveal any hormonal issues that may be interfering with conception. People trying to conceive can bring the information they get from the Proov tests to their doctors to get the answers they need.
"This information can guide a faster route to treatment," Dr. Beckley explained. "Ovulation induction is a simple procedure and is very successful, if diagnosed properly. Proov enables better diagnosis and personalized ovulation induction treatment protocols. This has saved thousands of women from needing expensive IVF procedures."
To learn more about Amy Beckley and the work she is doing at Proov, please follow the company on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and be sure to check out their blog for more insights into their innovative efforts for women's testing at home.