I love to keep track of how my menstrual cycle is going in my planner. This is because I am still trying to figure out my body and see how I can make my cycles easier.
This past cycle is an example of a bad one for me and I wanted to share it!
A reminder of what our hormones do
Our hormones fluctuate in different ways throughout our cycle. Here is a brief overview of what they do in a 28 day cycle and what we may feel because of it:
Days 1-7: On these days, estrogen levels are up. This is when we usually are bleeding if we do get our periods. For some, these days provide relief of symptoms that may have occurred leading up to their bleeding. For others, the uncomfortable feelings continue or get worse.
Days 8-14: This is when estrogen and testosterone are high. Many may feel great at this time-mentally and physically. Those that are really sensitive to hormonal fluctuations may report PMS-type symptoms.
Days 15-22: The first part of this time in our cycles has progesterone levels rising as estrogen and testosterone fall. Estrogen rises up again towards the end. One may have mild PMS pop up from time to time during these days. This is also when more fat is burned.
Days 23-28: Estrogen and progesterone plummet during this time. This is typically when one will have more intense PMS symptoms if they get any at all.
As far as PMS symptoms go, there are said to be 150 different ones. Here is a list of them: https://drlisawatson.com/150-symptoms-of-pms
My recent, 28 day cycle
Days-
1-2. A little bit on the sad side. No real physical symptoms aside from bleeding.
3-9. Happy and motivated. Bleeding ended on day 5.
10. Horrible GI issues including stomach burning/cramping, severe bloating and intense nausea. Also, moody throughout the day.
11. Still felt sick but better than the day before.
12-17. Happy and motivated for the most part.
18. Horrible issues early in the morning- crampy abdomen, pain in ovaries, nausea, bloating, gassiness, irritability, air hunger and increased heart rate.
19. Full on PMS symptoms- headache, fatigue, lightheadedness, nausea early in the morning, air hunger, increased heart rate and moodiness the whole day.
20. Happy, feeling slightly sedated and lightheadedness.
21. Calm and happy.
22. Horrible day- Insomnia, crying spells, bloating, nausea, headaches, post nasal drip and feelings of panic.
23. Feeling off-balanced, neck pain, focused, motivated and itchy.
24. Pink eye, neck pain, itchy, motivated, calm and really hungry in the evening.
25. Itchy, really hungry, sad and groggy.
26. Really hungry, mild body aches, smelling like blood and craving chocolate.
27-28. Feeling cute for whatever reason, forehead zit showed up and had a good amount of energy.
Why did I have so many physical issues?
I can not figure that question out for myself.
I did not change my diet, take new supplements nor did my sleep habits change (in a bad way). Stress was also not a problem during this cycle.
After looking this all over, my thoughts have gone to a possible COVID-19 reinfection despite a negative swab test (they can be wrong) during this cycle. I am unsure of this though.
I have continued to take vitamin B6 each day but I do not think it is helping that much. Also, I had been trying out hemp for nausea but I determined that it was causing stomach pains so I did not use it during the cycle.
All that being said, I have no idea what makes my cycles more severe seemingly every other month. *Shrug*
Health Journaling will happen daily
Although I have not figured out what to do to make my cycles easier on me, I will still write down how I am feeling each day. Hopefully in the near future I will be able to look at my journals and find a clear pattern(s) that will lead to a reduction in symptoms.
Do your menstrual cycles vary in their intensity like mine do? Let me know!
Thanks for reading!
#menstrualcycles #periodproblems #pcos #womenshealth #hormones #sick #symptoms #journals
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