I’m married to the love of my life, Hayden Bomer. Even though we were raised in two opposite places (California & Wyoming), we have a lot in common. He's been my biggest supporter ever since I came off the pill in 2021 and has been there every step of the way as I've fought to find the root cause of my health issues and with every triumph as I started to heal.
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His contagious entrepreneurial spirit is a huge part of what inspired me to start Cycleway. I had 0 business experience when I started this, but I had the dream and he had the skills.
My Period/Health Story
In addition to all that, I also have struggled with my health a lot, especially my period (including a couple trips to the hospital for extreme pain). I’ve struggled with severe chronic fatigue and pain to the point where I couldn’t even make it around the house some days. Every doctor I saw just said, “Everything looks normal,” but I knew that what I was experiencing couldn’t be right, and it wasn’t just all in my head.
How it Started
Now, about my period. Ever since I first got my period, I had cramps. It wasn’t so bad at first, but every month it got a little bit worse. It would start out being a bit uncomfortable, then it would escalate and be extremely painful within 15 minutes. After a few years, I learned that if I took ibuprofen, I could curb it and avoid having an “episode”.
That worked well enough until one day in high school I couldn’t get ibuprofen in time. As I waited to meet my friend in between classes, it hit me worse than ever before. I began throwing up, nearly passed out, and was in the worst pain I’d ever felt in my life. Even after my parents came, the school nurse still wanted to call an ambulance.
By the time I saw the doctor 30 minutes later, I felt okay again. I was given birth control to “help", and I stayed on it until just a year ago.
Trying to Find Answers
While my pain was gone (along with my period), my worries weren’t. Would I ever be able to come off of birth control? How will I be able to have kids if I can’t come off of it? Did anyone else go through what I did with my period? What was causing this to begin with? Why does it keep getting worse?
I saw several doctors during that time, including a few OBGYNs. Every time I would explain my symptoms, they’d look at me and say, “Huh. That’s weird. I’ve never heard of that before.” No doctor I saw could explain what was going on in my body, or gave me any helpful suggestions. When I talked about my concerns for a future family, I was told that we’d figure that out when we got to that point. None of that sat right with me.
God's Hand in it All
Of course, I can’t share my story without talking about God’s hand in it all. When I’d miss my pills for a couple of days and my symptoms would come back fiercely, I’d cry out to God for help and share those same concerns with Him. I got a few priesthood blessings for comfort and guidance where God told me to “put aside” the concerns I had with my health. That’s not the answer I wanted. I kept looking for answers, but couldn't find anything (yet).
Finding Answers & Hope
Right after we got married, I got another priesthood blessing and God said He’d lead me to sources that could help. Now when I was searching, I actually started to find answers. I somehow found a podcast episode on SHE, a channel I didn’t even listen to (I still have no idea how I got there) with Jordan Lee Dooley interviewing Alisa Vitti, author of In the Flo and founder of Flo Living. She talked about how the menstrual cycle works, things in our everyday life that get in the way of it, and how she had completely healed and reversed her PCOS. I was floored. I bought her books and started making changes.
I got up the courage to go off of birth control and try to figure out what my body needed and where it was at. I hoped that everything I was reading was going to help at least a little bit.
I also found Autumn Best on Instagram (@pilatesandpapaya), and a couple of days later she was talking about her period struggles- the same thing as me! I had never heard of someone else who had gone through that same experience, and now was experiencing easier periods. To find her and hear her story brought me hope that my specific issues could be healed too. I’m not a crier, but that moment brought me to tears.
Flash forward to about 2 years later, and I’ve had FOUR (almost) pain-free periods where I didn’t need ibuprofen and didn’t have an “episode" (one of which was completely pain-free). I have more energy than ever, and no longer struggle with chronic hip pain. I have my life back and can do what I love again. My physical, mental, and spiritual health have all improved dramatically since learning to listen to my body and understanding how to care for it.
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The best part? I knew I couldn't keep this to myself. I want you to find your own healing journey and have pain-free, healthy periods (& cycles) too.