6 Ways Your Period Tells You to Ask More Questions About Your Health
Chances are, if you’ve followed along here for a bit, you know that I can discuss the power of the menstrual cycle at length. Not only is it so much more than just a week of bleeding or a way to a baby, but it acts as a woman’s fifth vital sign.
Unfortunately, in the mainstream, women are often handed hormonal birth control as the only way to navigate simple health annoyances, as well as disruptive cramps or premenstrual syndrome (PMS). That’s like a fire alarm going off, and instead of putting out the fire, you simply take the battery out.
After years of research, personal experience, and discussion with dozens of women, I can confidently say we don’t need a pill to turn off our cycles. Rather, we need answers to our questions. Maybe you’re wondering why your period is never the same length. Or you have debilitating cramps and are told to take a Tylenol and rest. Or you fill a pad within an hour, and nothing slows the flow.
Although these situations may be common, they aren’t normal. The menstrual cycle can be something that doesn’t put your life on hold and cause major inconvenience. Now, I’m not saying you should run a marathon on your period; in fact, I discuss living cyclically here. But, manageable cramping and bleeding that doesn’t stop you in your tracks is possible.
In this article, I’m going to discuss some of the most common ways your body is telling you something is off and what might be causing it. Let’s dive in!
Please remember: this article is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice.
Why the Menstrual Cycle Matters
The menstrual cycle is a phenomenal part of a woman’s health. Not only is it essential to brain, bone, and heart health, but without a functioning menstrual cycle, a woman can’t get pregnant. It’s not as though we can just “turn off” the menstrual cycle when we don’t like what it’s saying and see no consequences.
Your menstrual cycle plays a role in nearly everything your body does. Your sex hormones: estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, play a role in pain management, stress regulation, blood pressure regulation, and more.
So when I say that what happens in your menstrual cycle can be a cry for help, I’m not exaggerating. A heavy period, uncontrollable pain, or a short luteal phase can all be explained with a deeper look.
A Quick Review of a “Normal” Menstrual Cycle
A standard menstrual cycle is broken up into four phases: menstrual, follicular, ovulatory, and luteal. Some people say that the menstrual and follicular phases are the same, and though there is overlap, they have distinct differences. For a full review of each phase, check out my full article here.
Additionally, contrary to popular belief, the standard cycle is not 28 days with ovulation happening on day 14. In fact, Natural Cycles did a study of over 600,000 cycles and found that the average cycle is closer to 29.3 days, with ovulation happening around day 16! But what was more profound was the variation in the follicular phase (first half of the cycle) and the luteal phase (second half of the cycle).
All that to say, that a menstrual cycle from woman to woman is going to look different! While the average falls between 21 and 35 days, your specific pattern will depend on many different factors. One thing is for certain, though: a period that stops you from going about your normal tasks isn’t normal.
6 Common Cries for Help
When we take a look at what is commonly expected with your period, it’s easy to see why women want to turn their periods off. Daily, our hormones are bombarded with inputs that cause stress and inflammation. Artificial fragrances and light, plastics, vaccines, pesticides, and highly processed food (just to name a few) all impact hormone function. It’s no wonder that many women experience period irregularities.
1. A Non-Existent Period (Amenorrhea)
A non-existent period is not a good thing. Women need to ovulate and shed their uterine lining every month (unless pregnant or postpartum) to regulate their hormones and overall health.
Common reasons for skipping a period are:
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
Undernourished
Too much exercise
2. Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS)
Researchers, doctors, and FAM instructors alike, struggle to find what actually causes PMS. Yes, it’s a very real condition that can be debilitating for some women.
Common PMS symptoms include anger, apathy, depression, anxiety, just to name a few. Before your period, your progesterone falls in anticipation. Progesterone is a wonderful hormone that brings vibrancy and enthusiasm, so a small drop in mood is understandable. But if your PMS symptoms are dramatic and stop you from living your life, it's worth investigating.
One thing that can really help you with PMS symptoms is charting your cycle. With your own objective data, you can see what might make your PMS symptoms better or worse. You can come up with your own care plan on what supports your hormone health and hopefully mitigate PMS symptoms.
3. Variations in Period Length
There are two ways your period can vary in length. The most common is variation in your follicular phase (the first half of your period). You might experience a few “rev-ups” of fertile signs, only for it to die down, and you don’t achieve ovulation.
The other variation can come from your luteal phase (after ovulation), but this is less common. A normal luteal phase length is 12-16 days. If you have luteal phase changes every month or it is less than 12 days, you should ask why.
Common reasons for variable period length:
Follicular phase variations include stress, undernourishment, sickness, and lack of sleep.
Luteal phase variations include low progesterone, high prolactin, or pregnancy.
4. Super Heavy Bleeding
The normal amount of blood loss during your period varies, with the majority of blood loss occurring during the first three days. But if you’re soaking “super” pads or tampons every few hours, you need to ask why.
Common reasons for super heavy periods include:
Low iron
High estrogen/imbalanced hormones
Endometriosis
Uterine fibroids
Polyps
5. Painful Periods
Painful periods have two main causes: inflammation or reproductive disorder.
Primary dysmenorrhea is caused by too much inflammation. The uterus must cramp in order to shed the lining but when there are too many prostaglandins, the shedding is painful.
Primary dysmenorrhea usually starts when a girl first gets her period, but if she supports your body through nutrition, stress management, and supplements, when needed, it should decrease the more periods she experiences.
Secondary dysmenorrhea is caused by a reproductive disorder, like endometriosis, uterine fibroids, or ovarian cysts. This type of pain usually comes when a woman is older, after years of “mostly normal” periods. There is usually pain before the period begins and can continue after the bleeding stops. These diseases can be influenced by diet, sleep, and environmental stressors, but they are also influenced by genetics and if left unmanaged can cause infertility.
If you’ve had painful periods for as long as you can remember and over-the-counter medicines help with the pain, you likely have primary dysmenorrhea, and you should try to focus on decreasing your overall inflammation. If, however, your painful periods have reared their head later in life, it's worth talking to your doctor or a reproductive specialist.
6. Spotting Mid-Cycle
Mid-cycle spotting is not only annoying but also a sign that your hormone health needs attention. There are some understandable times of mid-cycle spotting, like after a pap-smear or cryosurgery, or cervical biopsy. Implantation spotting early in pregnancy or after you’ve had a baby, and you experience a withdrawal of hormones about 6 weeks postpartum.
But, unusual bleeding from hormonal imbalance, cervical erosion, luteal phase insufficiency, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) or STIs, endometriosis, fibroids, or dysfunctional uterine bleeding (DUB), all warrant further investigation.
If you’re not sure if your mid-cycle spotting is normal, charting your cycles and consulting with a FAM instructor can be very helpful.
What Can Influence Abnormal Periods?
Your sex hormones are influenced by several factors, some of which can be controlled and others that cannot. And though genetics play a role in your menstrual cycle, your genetics can be encouraged to work better or worse depending on multiple factors.
Lifestyle
Lifestyle choices like
where you live,
What you eat,
When you sleep,
What you do for work,
What clothes you wear,
What cleaning products you use,
All have an impact on your overall health, but especially your hormone health and menstrual cycle. Did you know that artificial fragrances in cleaning products and plastics around the house can have catastrophic effects on your hormones? This is because it creates unhealthy levels of estrogen in your body, which creates unhealthy levels of inflammation as discussed above.
Your lifestyle choices matter! Every choice you make will impact your hormones for good or ill. So when you’re able, choose a non-toxic option.
Stress
The stress hormone, cortisol, inhibits the proper functioning of progesterone. Short-term stress, like moving or a death in the family, can delay ovulation. A single cycle with delayed ovulation won’t always turn into a long-term issue, but chronic stress, 6 or more months of high-stress situations, can negatively impact your ovulation and overall menstrual cycle.
Nutrition
We are what we eat, right? So it’s no wonder that what you eat impacts your menstrual cycle. As mentioned above, primary dysmenorrhea (painful periods early in life) is linked to inflammation caused by a diet high in inflammatory foods.
Seed oils
Ultra processed foods – wheat, rice, corn, soy, and sugar
High levels of alcohol
Additives
Alternatively, a calorie-restricted diet doesn’t give your body the fuel it needs to support a healthy menstrual cycle. Sure, eating quick processed food may seem easy, but I strongly encourage you to eat whole food, the way God intended it to be eaten.
Exercise
Exercise is a tricky one because it’s important to move your body but too much exercise can result in too much stress and calorie loss, which can negatively affect your menstrual cycle. It’s all about balance! Move your body in a way that feels good, and make sure to replenish your nutrients properly.
Environment
There are some environmental factors that we can control, and others we have to let go of. For instance, pesticides on our food, chemicals in the air, or byproducts in water are out of our control.
But we can control what’s in our home. Buy organic food when you can, and if you can’t, wash it properly. Use air filters, house plants, or essential oils to help filter your home air. Use a quality water filter for drinking water and bathing water.
These seemingly small steps can have a large impact on the stress your body faces and, therefore, what your hormones endure.
Remember, our bodies don’t need us to be perfect to function. God created us with detoxing organs and systems to ensure that even in a polluted world, we can get rid of the yuck and function properly. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t support our hormones to run properly, thereby having a menstrual cycle that works for us instead of against us.
Next Steps When Your Period is Asking For Help
If you’re unhappy with your menstrual cycle, I’d encourage you to start by taking a look at what you eat, how you sleep, and what you bring into your home. Remember that our hormones need our help to function properly.
So start with small steps. Throw away the artificial fragrances, eat whole foods, decrease your sugar, and get to bed a bit earlier. If these steps don’t help your menstrual cycle, reach out to a qualified professional for help. Instructors trained in Fertility Awareness Methods (FAM) are knowledgeable about more than just helping women get pregnant, and many have helped many women repair their periods.
You can also find a functional medicine doctor who will help you get to the root cause of your period issues. And if you only have access to a conventional gynecologist, don’t be afraid to ask for specific tests that can help you narrow down why your period is causing you trouble.
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