06-04-2012, 05:36 PM
The following was posted to Wahaika's board. It's adressed to wahaiaka but Im hoping to get answers from other people here. I'm wondering what my irregular periods say about my hormonal state. I doubt anyone will be able to give me a goid answer, but it seemed worth a try. Brace yourselves because it's VERY long 
Here's my copy/paste:
I don't know if you remember, but a long time ago I mentioned that I had extremely irregular periods. Of course you said it was serious and that I should go to the doctor and so on. I felt fine, and it's been going on for such a long time, and I hoped a healthy diet would sort things out, so I just ignored the problem like I always have. At the time that I was asking about my cycle, I think I had already had 2 or 3 perfectly normal cycles, but I assumed they were a fluke. It was not uncommon for me to have 2 or 3 normal cycles followed by 2 or 3 "missing" or unusually long cycles. I assumed my periods would go right back to being irregular. The thing is, they didn't. I have had regular cycles for the last 7 or 8 months. That's by far the longest I have ever gone without a missed period. I have never been late by more than 2 days during that time. The trend began before I started herbs, so I dont think they are the reason for the changes in my cycle. I ate very healthy for a while recently but it was interspersed with serious cheating, and it was just a normal healthy diet, not one designed for hormonal balance specifically. There were plenty of times during my teenage years that I followed a very healthy diet for even longer periods of time, and my cycle was still irregular.
I think I might have had some sort of age related hormonal changes possibly aided by the diet. Just to remind you, Im 26.
I think I should explain my history, in case any of it is relevant. I first got my period at 10 yo :o I had severe mood changes, migraines, and bloating. I want to emphasize that all of these things were very severe. Everything except the bloating occured all month long but worsened during PMS. The bloating only happened at the "normal" time, but it was so severe that you could see obvious swelling in my face and extremities. I had to buy a whole different wardrobe for that time of the month. The migraines were pure torture. I could barely do anything and I missed days and days of school. There were times the pain made me puke until I was dehydrated or throwing up bile. I think the nausea was due to the pain, and not directly hormonal. My actual periods were pretty heavy, much heavier than they are now, but I don't think they deserved to be called "severe".
After suffering with all this for a while, I finally goaded my parents into taking me to a general practitioner. I wish they had taken me to a gynecologist. All my doctor did was recommend Motrin and iron. It barely had any effect. Months later I managed to get a second opinion. He recommended I add in a B vitamin supp. That also acccomplished nothing. Blood tests confirmed that I was anemic, so the iron and b vitamins were a good idea, but they did not make me feel any better at all.
Fast forward to age 14. My symptoms had been improving by leaps and bounds every year until only the mood swings were left. By 15 yo the mood swings were gone, and I had no other symptoms at all. I just can not remember when my period first became irregular, but it was definitely extremely irregular by age 14. It could have started much earlier. I just don't know. For the next 10 years I had irregular cycles but no other hormonal symptoms. Physically I felt great.
There are a few more random things I think I should mention.
Now that my cycles are regular, my periods are longer. They used to be 4 or 5 days. Now they're 7 days.
Im chunkier now then Ive ever been. I have weighed slightly more in the past, but I believe I had much more muscle and my body fat percwntage was much lower. I hesitate to mention the body fat issue, because it might lead you astray. Im 5'3" 120 lb, so Im not exactly a manatee. I only mention it because there's a slim chance that the bfp increase helped regulate my hormones. That doesn't mean that the chubbiness is a change for the better, IMO.
Speaking of body fat, I was never severely underweight during puberty. I was slightly underweight for short periods of time when I was 16, 17, and 18. The rest of the time I was actually a bit chubby, but only slightly. I tended to eat healthy foods, but a few too many calories. I definitely did not avoid meat or fat.
During my teen years, I would sometimes complain about irregular cycles to various doctors during my checkups or when I was sick. They always brushed it off and said that not all women have a 28 day cycle, everyone is different, it's perfectly normal blaaah, blaah. None of them ever referred me to a gyno >
I should have gone to one on my own, especially after I became an adult. When I was a very young adult (18, 19) I managed to find several gynocologists online who specialized in hormonal disorders. I was afraid I would be laughed out if a real gyno's office, and unfortunately their answers confirmed my worries. I can't quite remember the details, but Im pretty sure nearly all of these women (none were male) were members of special clinics or advocacy groups that focus on women's hormonal disorders. I also looked at plenty of answers to similar questions asked by other women. No matter what, the answers was always some version of the following: "Not everone has a 28 day cycle. It's no big deal. Irregular periods are rarely a sign of a serious problem unless it crosses the line into "official" amenoreah
Here's my copy/paste:I don't know if you remember, but a long time ago I mentioned that I had extremely irregular periods. Of course you said it was serious and that I should go to the doctor and so on. I felt fine, and it's been going on for such a long time, and I hoped a healthy diet would sort things out, so I just ignored the problem like I always have. At the time that I was asking about my cycle, I think I had already had 2 or 3 perfectly normal cycles, but I assumed they were a fluke. It was not uncommon for me to have 2 or 3 normal cycles followed by 2 or 3 "missing" or unusually long cycles. I assumed my periods would go right back to being irregular. The thing is, they didn't. I have had regular cycles for the last 7 or 8 months. That's by far the longest I have ever gone without a missed period. I have never been late by more than 2 days during that time. The trend began before I started herbs, so I dont think they are the reason for the changes in my cycle. I ate very healthy for a while recently but it was interspersed with serious cheating, and it was just a normal healthy diet, not one designed for hormonal balance specifically. There were plenty of times during my teenage years that I followed a very healthy diet for even longer periods of time, and my cycle was still irregular.
I think I might have had some sort of age related hormonal changes possibly aided by the diet. Just to remind you, Im 26.
I think I should explain my history, in case any of it is relevant. I first got my period at 10 yo :o I had severe mood changes, migraines, and bloating. I want to emphasize that all of these things were very severe. Everything except the bloating occured all month long but worsened during PMS. The bloating only happened at the "normal" time, but it was so severe that you could see obvious swelling in my face and extremities. I had to buy a whole different wardrobe for that time of the month. The migraines were pure torture. I could barely do anything and I missed days and days of school. There were times the pain made me puke until I was dehydrated or throwing up bile. I think the nausea was due to the pain, and not directly hormonal. My actual periods were pretty heavy, much heavier than they are now, but I don't think they deserved to be called "severe".
After suffering with all this for a while, I finally goaded my parents into taking me to a general practitioner. I wish they had taken me to a gynecologist. All my doctor did was recommend Motrin and iron. It barely had any effect. Months later I managed to get a second opinion. He recommended I add in a B vitamin supp. That also acccomplished nothing. Blood tests confirmed that I was anemic, so the iron and b vitamins were a good idea, but they did not make me feel any better at all.
Fast forward to age 14. My symptoms had been improving by leaps and bounds every year until only the mood swings were left. By 15 yo the mood swings were gone, and I had no other symptoms at all. I just can not remember when my period first became irregular, but it was definitely extremely irregular by age 14. It could have started much earlier. I just don't know. For the next 10 years I had irregular cycles but no other hormonal symptoms. Physically I felt great.
There are a few more random things I think I should mention.
Now that my cycles are regular, my periods are longer. They used to be 4 or 5 days. Now they're 7 days.
Im chunkier now then Ive ever been. I have weighed slightly more in the past, but I believe I had much more muscle and my body fat percwntage was much lower. I hesitate to mention the body fat issue, because it might lead you astray. Im 5'3" 120 lb, so Im not exactly a manatee. I only mention it because there's a slim chance that the bfp increase helped regulate my hormones. That doesn't mean that the chubbiness is a change for the better, IMO.
Speaking of body fat, I was never severely underweight during puberty. I was slightly underweight for short periods of time when I was 16, 17, and 18. The rest of the time I was actually a bit chubby, but only slightly. I tended to eat healthy foods, but a few too many calories. I definitely did not avoid meat or fat.
During my teen years, I would sometimes complain about irregular cycles to various doctors during my checkups or when I was sick. They always brushed it off and said that not all women have a 28 day cycle, everyone is different, it's perfectly normal blaaah, blaah. None of them ever referred me to a gyno >
I should have gone to one on my own, especially after I became an adult. When I was a very young adult (18, 19) I managed to find several gynocologists online who specialized in hormonal disorders. I was afraid I would be laughed out if a real gyno's office, and unfortunately their answers confirmed my worries. I can't quite remember the details, but Im pretty sure nearly all of these women (none were male) were members of special clinics or advocacy groups that focus on women's hormonal disorders. I also looked at plenty of answers to similar questions asked by other women. No matter what, the answers was always some version of the following: "Not everone has a 28 day cycle. It's no big deal. Irregular periods are rarely a sign of a serious problem unless it crosses the line into "official" amenoreah