A short exchange in the Journal of the American Medical Association, September 10, 1997:

To the Editor.—The Clinical Crossroads article discussing menstrual irregularity in a young woman displays some disturbing attitudes regarding menstruation. For example, Dr. D, the physician who cared for the patient, used words like "anxious" and "big source of aggravation and inconvenience" to refer to the menses and reflect a negative perception of women's experience of menses....

In Reply.—I completely agree with Dr. Fogarty that menstruation is a normal physiologic function and should be viewed as such. A video of Ms. K, the patient, describing her problem was played prior to the discussion of the case. Ms. K stated that her irregular cycles were a source of "aggravation." These terms were direct quotations from the patient.

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