In this episode of Author to Author, Cynthia Toolin-Wilson interviews Shannon Sánchez on her book Xeno, Estro, Andro, Testo, WHAT?!: My journey with PCOS and how I conquered the disease (July 21, 2022)

Hormones are so confusing, especially for women who suffer from reproductive illnesses like PCOS. In Xeno, Estro, Andro, Testo, WHAT?!, author Shannon Sánchez describes her young and adult life living with PCOS, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, and how the Creighton Model FertilityCare System, Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN), and lifestyle alterations have helped her overcome this common autoimmune disease. If she can do it, you can do it too! If you or someone you know suffers from reproductive illnesses, or if you are a doctor who wishes to better understand your patients, this quick, easy-to-read book is for you!

Cervical mucus texture was definitely never a topic discussed in high school or college science classes. But understanding it has taught me so much about my body -- physically, mentally, and emotionally. And who would have thought that taking the tiniest sliver of a Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) pill at night would help with menstrual, sleep, allergy, and sinus problems that have plagued me for decades?! Lifestyle tweaks like intermittent fasting to help with insulin resistance, diet, exercise, relaxation (getting my cortisol hormone under control), and taking the right supplements have also been monumental for me. Twenty-five years into getting my period and I finally have my body figured out!

I'm a married, working mom of four little kids, so I get the lifestyle struggles that too many women have today -- balancing marriage, motherhood, laundry, cleaning, cooking, and careers. It's no wonder our hormones are out of whack! I have three daughters who will be nearing puberty in the coming years, so there are key things I do in my parenting to help my daughters avoid, if possible, developing PCOS or other reproductive illnesses -- all of that in chapter six.

If sharing my story can help even just one girl avoid menstruation and hormonal struggles, to some degree, writing this book is well worth it to me! Just beware of TMI at times!

https://www.amazon.com/Xeno-Estro-Andro-Testo-WHAT/dp/B09WH9GKT7/ Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/author-to-author--4129285/support.