Warning – possible too much information for some fellows. It’s another super feminine focused post again! Though really, I’m not sure about the male to female ratio of my readers. There might only be one. So for you, whom I probably already know, watch out!
A few months ago, there was yet another development in my cycle. It started getting longer, much, much longer. At first it was only a couple of days. No big deal for me. Pre-birth control, I had irregular periods in times of stress. Well, basically they got more irregular during times of stress. Complete predictability didn’t occur.
Then they(the period gods or whatever) started adding more days. The funny thing is, it’s predictable, it starts almost like clock work. The middle of the month I start “spotting”. Barely anything, but I wear a small pad just in case. This goes on for a week. Some days there is no spotting on the pad, just a smig on the toilet paper. During this week I’m irritable, a tiny bit bloated, sleepy, foggy headed, and my “girls” (yes, I call my breasts “the girls”) get a little tender.
Then right around the 23-26 I get crampy and Aunt Flow officially arrives. Then I swell up like I’m pregnant or something – only for a couple of days. For the remaining week, I progressively feel better until finally it’s all over. Then I have two weeks – yes, two weeks – until it starts all over again.
What in the world is going on and what the hell am I supposed to do about it? The easy answer is to talk to a doctor, preferably a naturopathic doctor. However, I don’t have health insurance and don’t have enough cash to see a doctor. I am lucky enough to know someone going through nutritional counseling at the moment, and I’ve met an awesome Ayurvedic consultant and bought a couple of her ebooks. I’ll be writing about her in the near future. And then there is the internet. Of course not everything you read on the internet is true or tried. However, it is possible to weed through the crap and find lovely bits of truth.
From my nutritional counselor I’ve been suggested to do a colon and liver cleanse. The idea is that if either are overloaded then your whole body is affected negatively, including hormones. I believe this is especially true for the liver. I don’t know all the details but I’m reading and learning. It is also a good idea to take bad things out and put good things in. So, at the moment, as boring as it might be, I don’t drink alcohol. I eat almost entirely organic foods and drink lots of filtered water. I’ve added probiotics, green powder(barley greens and sea veggies), and digestive enzymes. All in the hopes to support my body to find it’s natural balance as it cleans it’s self out.
It was also suggested that my girly hormones are not balanced. I had done a small amount of reading just before the wonderful Ayurveda woman mentioned that I might have too much estrogen and not enough progesterone. I’ll be adding extracts and herbs one at a time to see how I feel.
I’m also planning to get off my bum a bit more. It’s well know that exercise helps to regulate your body. Since my poor sleep has been improving(thank goodness for acupuncture!) and because I was able to get away on vacation, I am feeling much better. I have a little more energy to be more active. My goal is to do 20 minutes of exercise daily. This week hasn’t been completely successful, but it’s a work in progress.
I’ll keep you updated! I’m excited to feel the positive changes in my body and life!
For other related posts, check out the list below.
Aunt Flow – Part 1
Aunt Flow Part 2 – Feminine Products
Raspberry Leaf Tea – A Woman’s Tonic
Moon Time meet Aunt Flow
Accessories for Aunt Flow
I also had some issues with the length of my flow. Im talking over a month, every time.
It was all hormonal for me, not too sure with your situation but this happened on the pill, depo-provera, mirena and after all that, i was pretty much too scared to try anything else hormonal. I gave depo just under a year, and mirena over a year and a half to settle down with no success. With nothing hormonal in my system, my period may be a bit heavier, and I do get more pain (2 days), but at least it only lasts for the normal 5 days or so, not 5-6 weeks.
Just my experience with hormonal birth control, obviously others don’t have the same problems but for me, a diaphragm has been an absolute lifesaver. Its expensive upfront but works out cheaper in the long run, is reusable, and doesn’t put chemicals into my body that don’t need to be there.
Hope you manage to figure something out that works for you.