Ladies: about your time of the month (sorry, tmi!)

MandaKayMakesIt
MandaKayMakesIt Posts: 81
in Fitness and Exercise
Is anyone else out there who's losing weight noticing how it effects their cycle? This may be an over share (sorry!), but my cycle has happened three times in the last five weeks, were normally (before I started this whole thing) I was running a cycle about every 24-27 days.

I'm noticing more mood swings, more cramping (it's bad!), and of course, more of the other stuff as well. Everyone I've asked has said it's probably just my body trying to adjust to these big changes I'm making, but I'm getting frustrated, because every time it comes around (no matter what I do) I bloat and stall on my weight loss for a good week. I don't know what to do. Is it worth seeing a doctor? Advice?
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Replies

  • Caitlyl
    Caitlyl Posts: 29
    I definitely think it's worth getting checked out.
  • bikermike5094
    bikermike5094 Posts: 1,752 Member
    It hasnt affected mine at all... sorry no help here..
  • jerzypeach
    jerzypeach Posts: 176 Member
    go to the doctor.
  • barefootbeauty
    barefootbeauty Posts: 188 Member
    Yeah, I'd probably get that checked out. I read somewhere that weightloss can effect hormones, so maybe that is the issue? But, it is always good just to make sure. And maybe they can put you on a low dose pill to help even things out...?

    No fun! :(
  • NNAhuja
    NNAhuja Posts: 669 Member
    I'm with you 100%. The length of my cycle changed along with cramping and whatnot. I have really wacky horomones so I know the cause of it.
  • PaperThinLips
    PaperThinLips Posts: 79 Member
    get that checked out.. you may have a hormonal balance issue.
  • Helenatrandom
    Helenatrandom Posts: 1,166 Member
    I bleed less now, which is good, because it was pretty bad before. I think that since the reverse is true for you, you should make an appointment with your gyno. (I saw mine about the heavy bleeding, and it turned out I needed my thyroid medication adjusted...)
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
    It generally shouldn't if you are eating enough (too few calories can cause your period to stop - that like under 1000 calories for a long time, probably even fewer). In my experience, healthier habits generally gives a more regular, less painful period. It might be your body adjusting, but I would call your gyn anyway. To me, this doesn't sound normal.
  • myrahonbarrier
    myrahonbarrier Posts: 191 Member
    I have also had issues...I have an IUD and would go months without a period. Well since I've started this journey, I get it about every 3 weeks with the moodiness and bloating. I don't think it's anything to worry about, it is just your body adjusting. Just be sure when you go for your yearly exam (and please make sure you ARE doing that every year) you mention it to your GYN.
  • deadgirl81
    deadgirl81 Posts: 412 Member
    Don't think its affected mine, then again I don't appear to of had one since the start of May (I stopped Depo injections so this may have something to do with it)
  • mommyhof3
    mommyhof3 Posts: 551 Member
    I used to get mine every two months and now that I have been losing weight and exercising I get it every month :sad: I am done having kids so I would like it to just disappear. Oh and moodiness is WAY worse than it ever was but cramping is less. I think I would get it checked if I were you. Better to be safe than sorry
  • kwin91
    kwin91 Posts: 128
    That's really strange to hear and I would get it checked out. Usually exercise helps with shortening and lightening your period and controlling your cramps so they aren't so painful.
  • thompson000
    thompson000 Posts: 38
    i began having problems during my weight loss, it would come one month but not the next, super heavy one time and hardly nothing at all the next. 2 times in a month, etc. I ended up going on birth control so I never have to have it again, doc. said no medical reason to have it anyways and it increase your chances of cervical cancer. yikes.
  • smaugish
    smaugish Posts: 244 Member
    Very interested to hear how this resolves for you. I've had a constant period for the last two months, and getting it checked out on Thursday, but so far all any doctor has said to me is 'it'll be because you're overweight and producing too much oestrogen'. Well... it's not exactly as if I suddenly became overweight! I was regular as clockwork until two months ago, and I wasn't even at my HW when I started to lose weight this time.
  • FitJenJen
    FitJenJen Posts: 22 Member
    Your body's fat and hormones are connected. I remember seeing a Dr. Oz episode where he was showing a large fat deposit from a cadavear taken from that mid part of the body where many women carry fat. He was explaining how extra fat (in overweight women, I don't mean like 5-10 lbs only) it can effect cycles, moods, hormones, sex drive, etc.
  • fifileake
    fifileake Posts: 1
    i completely understand where u are coming from (the cramps and the affected cycles) my cycle was affected the first month, but if i can get the cramps under control it wouldnt be so bad, and i also tend to eat to eat the wrong foods when i am on mine. then i gain some of my weight back, makes me really depressed, but i guess that is expected. I wish u the best, and hope that your issues go away soon!
  • reallyally1
    reallyally1 Posts: 82
    I feel your pain. March-April I got it every two weeks and then May-June I didn't have it at all. I was going to make a doctor's appointment about it, but now it seems normal again. If you really feel worried, I'd go to a doctor, but really it should sort itself out in a few months.
  • LawyerGal1908
    LawyerGal1908 Posts: 41 Member
    I am not sure how much you have lost but when I hit about 50 pounds all hell broke loose! I had to go back on birth control pills my Doc siad its normal with a lot of weight loss its the hormones going out of wack due to the weight loss. Mine has leveled off for the most part even when i am not 100% on point with the pills!
  • Kara_xxx
    Kara_xxx Posts: 635 Member
    Sorry can't help, it's the opposite for me. When I gained weight my TOM was heavier and I suffered more discomfort, and was much more fatigued, so when I lose weight it's not much of a bother at all. I usually train throught it.
  • emnk5308
    emnk5308 Posts: 736
    I'd go to the gyno. =/ If you exercise, you might have moved something around, maybe a cyst or something.. maybe an infection. Worth getting checked. I knew someone, she got hit in the uterus area, and it started her period... any rough movement would do it.
  • munny_p
    munny_p Posts: 73 Member
    Mine should be starting this week and I have been using MFP for 2 weeks now...I have only noticed the mood swings are more controllable and my cravings are minor compared to what they used to be- probably because I am getting enough food a day and it is of more substance.
  • Cupcakehippiemommy
    Cupcakehippiemommy Posts: 457 Member
    I would def make an appt with an OB asap! Your diet may be lacking something that your body might be trying to compensate for ie, iron,calcium,vitamin D etc. My cycle was way off and lacking their of before I lost weight now thank GOD it is finally normal,Good luck!
  • MandaKayMakesIt
    MandaKayMakesIt Posts: 81
    Thanks everyone! I've made an appt. with my dr. for early next week, so hopefully I'll have a solution and something to share with you all then!
  • CindyM0605
    CindyM0605 Posts: 18
    When I first started being serious about my weight loss, there were drastic changes in my cycle too. Then again, I'm in pre-menopause so who knows! LOL

    But it wouldn't hurt to check it out anyway. :D
  • jyuubi
    jyuubi Posts: 109
    I've heard exercise and diet change can affect your cycle, but when I say affect it, I mean stopping it. I've never heard of anyone having more than the usual periods because of diet and exercise. Of course, I'm not a doctor. I would definitely go to your doctor to find out what's up.
  • Linbo93
    Linbo93 Posts: 229 Member
    Most definitely see a doctor. That is not normal.
  • Annette_rose
    Annette_rose Posts: 427 Member
    It hasnt affected mine at all... sorry no help here..

    lol...give it time bikermike...give it time :laugh:
  • keem88
    keem88 Posts: 1,689 Member
    i know that stress, weight loss and gain can kind of make things screwy. if you are able to, go to the gyno and get checked out to make sure everything is okay. my cycle had gotten hella ****ed up when i was 19 and i eventually stopped getting my period b/c i did not have enough bf and was under weight. better to be safe than sorry and make sure everything is okay. i have not experienced this again but i have also been on bc almost 3 years so i think it is always the same for me regardless of my stress or weight changes.
  • lavieboheme1229
    lavieboheme1229 Posts: 448 Member
    I asked my gyno about this.

    I just wasn't getting my period. I am on a generic form of Yaz. She explained that my birth control works to suppress a certain type of hormone. When you lose weight, it changes the amount of estrogen in your blood by decreasing it. Because my birth control works with estrogen, a lack of estrogen can stop my period all together.

    I know that isn't your specific problem, but I think the bit about the amount of estrogen in your body changing affecting your period is pertinent.

    It might be worth a simple call to your doctor's office to clear up any confusion. The nurse will be able to tell you if it is normal, or if you should see the doctor. I made sure to have my mobile app handy, in case she wanted to know what I had been eating.
  • onyxcougar
    onyxcougar Posts: 22
    (warning, probably TMI)

    I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, and was having periods maybe once or twice a year. It was great, but my endocrinologist said I need to have one every 3 months and put me on Provera for a week to force my body to cycle. I have a super high level of Estrogen, to the point that my Progesterone (which is what triggers the period) isn't enough to make me cycle.

    Well, my endo says that fat (which I have alot of) stores hormones (both Estrogen and Progesterone). I'm not losing alot of weight, but I **am** losing inches (down two dress sizes from 28 to 24 now) and as that fat is coming off, it's releasing those hormones into my system, so my periods are coming once a month (30 - 34 days) now with no medication. (Not liking that. Not one bit, no ma'am.)

    Since they are more frequent, the flood that used to occur once every 6 months is now a comparative trickle. I still flow for 8-10 days, but it's no where near the heaviness that it used to be. Also, cramping more now. More moody before hand now. And that 4 pounds I keep losing the other three weeks, goes right back on the week before I start. My chest and hip measurements go up .5 to 2 inches, as well, then back down when I'm done.

    I would see your gyno or endo, have them run some hormone tests, make sure everything is where it's supposed to be (and establish a baseline), then go back when you get your pap next year and have them run them again, to see what they are. That's the only way to really be sure what's happening with them.

    Meantime, Pamprin is your friend.

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