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period advice, feeling so blahhh
Started
by birdie
on April 22, 2010
I've always had very heavy periods and my gyno has suggested the pill to lighten it up, but I really don't want to be on it (it seems too unnatural to me). However, during my period, I'm soooo exhausted. I'm only 5'1 and losing so much blood literally sucks the life right out of me, I'm a zombie. I've been considering seeing an integrated doctor. Does anybody have any experience with this? Advice for ways to get me feeling myself sooner?
I'm an acupuncturist - go see one! if you take the pill it's not going to "lighten up" your period.....it will stop you from getting your period and every month when you stop taking the synthetic hormones for a week you will bleed - but that is NOT a true period - there is no ovulation. Your instincts to avoid the pill are good - if there is a problem, you need to address the problem, not mask it by stopping your period! And if something is off with you hormonally (I am assuming since you spoke with the doctor this is not due to fibroids etc...) then it will eventually affect other areas of your health so its great to take care of it now. This is a very common thing to treat with acupuncture and herbs so try that - and give it a few months to work, a general rule of thumb I use is to work with someone at least three full cycles before expecting to see results - good luck!
I agree with Ann, and would also suggest you consider going superhero.
Thanks for the feedback. I've always thought it was something hormonal, but I assumed the only treatment would be the pill :( I've read people on here saying thier periods lightened up after going vegan but I have seen no signs of this yet.
Hey there. I've been vegan for 7 months now. The last 3 months I have noticed a change. I think it is because I started eating a way healthier vegan diet. I also had started drinking green smoothies in the morning(banana, mixed berries, spinach and kale). I've always had horrible cramps to where I've been doubled over in pain and just loading up on the advil. I really don't want to take medicine of any kind and the last 3 months I haven't needed advil at all. My periods have been lighter, shorter, and way less painful. I hope this helps :)
Hey, Thanks. I feel like i am really healthy, i run, eat lots of "good for me foods", but i think i have to get really strict. It's tough for me. I'd love to be a superhero, its just hard. Especially in social situations and eating on the run. Thats what really gets me. I manage vegan-ism with ease but its tough to be really healthy all the time (peanut butter Toffutti Cuties are just so gooood). I'll try the smoothies, sounds good. I have got to stop these crazy periods, it's debilitating and ruins nearly 1/4 of each month for me. It's nice to hear it can be done naturally :)
I have also always had very heavy periods, which have gotten lighter since going vegan along w/ all of the PMS symptoms. I'm in finals week right now and am getting more junky food so I think that's why I'm noticing a return of sweet cravings and mood swings. But my question is: "Haven't any of your doctors ever suggested an iron supplement?" If I don't take an iron supplement I can definitely tell: I get really pale, I have no energy, and my legs start to feel like lead, to the point walking is an effort.
Ann, what are fibroids and how do they cause heavy periods? I think I might have them. I haven't been to the doctor in years and I hate going. I have extremely heavy bleeding but wanted to see if the vegan diet helped first. Is it tumors of some sort. Now i'm freaked out. Any advice would help. And i know seeing a gynecologist is probably first on the list.
Suzy,
A fibroid is an irregular growth in the uterine wall. It is similar to the tissue that you grow and slough off every cycle. It is called a tumor but is not what you think. Being careful that you don't become anemic, you may find benefits to a diet change.
Just because you have heavy bleeding doesn't mean you have a fibroid but it is a possibility. A checkup is a good idea. Superhero is a must.
hey suzy! don't freak! fibroids are super common - they believe that up to 40% of women have them by age 40. They are benign tumors of the uterine wall, and one of the ways they result in heavy periods is their size: a normal utereus is about 8.5 cm big, you figure if you have a few fibroids that are a few cm (or even just one whomping 10 cm or larger one!), your uterus will be bigger. So each month, when you would normally be shedding the lining of the 8.5 cm big uterus, you are shedding the lining of a bigger uterus - more surface area equals more lining to shed equals more bleeding!Its super important to go to your gyno once a year - I hate going to the doctors and all of that, but thats one I never miss - there are just too many things that women can have going on that only a gyno could pick up and that can be easily headed off if caught early on. A great example is stuff like chlamydia (which is pretty epidemic now - even Miranda had it on sex and the city!), which in women has no symptoms and if caught early on a culture at your yearly exam can be easily eradicated with a brief period on a prescription. If left untreated, however, it can turn into pelvic inflamatory disease which can be much more serious and lead to issues like infertility and abcess. If you do have fibroids, what the general tx with western doctors has moved toward is just waiting and watching - unless you are having horrible constant bleeding and pain in which case they may want to remove them. As we age, our estrogen levels go down and when fibroids are starved of estrogen they naturally shrink. So go get checked and just see where you stand - find a friend who loves hers and make an appointment today! And I swear, I am not getting a kickback from the national gynecological association of America for each person who makes an appointment and mentions my name.....
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