Tag Archives: menstruation

March is Endometriosis Awareness Month

What is Endometriosis (Endo)?

The Mayo Clinic defines Endo as:

…an often painful disorder in which tissue that normally lines the inside of your uterus — the endometrium — grows outside your uterus. Endometriosis most commonly involves your ovaries, bowel or the tissue lining your pelvis. Rarely, endometrial tissue may spread beyond your pelvic region.

In endometriosis, displaced endometrial tissue continues to act as it normally would: It thickens, breaks down and bleeds with each menstrual cycle. And because this displaced tissue has no way to exit your body, it becomes trapped. Surrounding tissue can become irritated, eventually developing scar tissue and adhesions — abnormal tissue that binds organs together.

This process can cause pain — sometimes severe — especially during your period. Fertility problems also may develop. Fortunately, effective treatments are available.

Suspect you may have Endo?

The Endometriosis Research Center provides a self test on its site.

ENDOMETRIOSIS SELF-TEST

(Developed in 1999 by the Endometriosis Research Center.)

Not sure if you have endometriosis?  Pelvic surgery is the only current way to definitively diagnose the disease, but symptoms can lead you and your doctor to suspect it.  Review the following and consider if any of these common symptoms apply to you.  Review your answers with your gynecologist for further discussion.

  • Do you experience so much pain during or around your period that you find yourself unable to work, attend school or social functions, or go about your normal routine?  YES  /  NO
  • Do you have any relatives diagnosed with endometriosis?  YES  /  NO
  • Do you find yourself with painful abdominal bloating, swelling or tenderness at any time in your cycle? YES  /  NO
  • Do you have a history of painful ovarian endometriomas (“chocolate cysts”)? YES  /  NO
  • Do you have a history of miscarriage, infertility or ectopic pregnancy? YES  /  NO
  • Do you experience gastrointestinal symptoms during your cycle, such as nausea or vomiting and/or painful abdominal cramping accompanied by diarrhea and/or constipation?  YES  /  NO
  • Do you have a history of fatigue or feeling “sick and tired” all the time?  YES  /  NO
  • Do you have a history of allergies, which tend to worsen around your periods? YES  /  NO
  • If sexually active, do you experience pain during sexual activity?  YES  /  NO
  • Do you suffer from autoimmune diseases or other conditions e.g. thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, chronic migraines? YES  /  NO
  • Have you ever undergone pelvic surgery like a laparoscopy, in which endometriosis was suspected but not definitively diagnosed? YES  /  NO

If you have answered “yes” to three or more of these questions, you may have endometriosis.  Talk to your trusted nurse or doctor about getting an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment today.  Dull aching and cramping can occur during menstruation in many women and teens, due to uterine contractions and the release of various hormones, including those known as prostaglandins.  However, period pain that becomes so debilitating it renders you unable to go about your normal routine is not ordinary or typical!  Pain is your body’s way of signaling that something is WRONG.  If you are suffering from pelvic pain at any point in your cycle, an endometriosis diagnosis should be considered.

To learn more about endometriosis, please visit these links:

Aching to Start

I crave chocolate.

Yes, I do. I could eat it by the pound right now, slowly savoring the taste, the texture…the feel of it on my tongue….

My breasts ache…no, make that HURT…my breasts hurt.  They passed “aching” hours ago.

And, my bottom feels heavy.

Fingers are so puffy that I can hardly type and my legs, well…they look like over-stuffed sausages.

My appetite?  Ha! Ravenous! Not only do I crave chocolate, I crave corn as well – cut or cobbed, creamed or chopped, Doritos or Fritos – I crave corn.  And, tomato.  Oh my…. You know…tomato as in pizza, spaghetti, ketchup….

I’ve eaten 4 Hershey Kisses since I began writing this post.  My corn allergy prohibits me from indulging in any corn products, so I’ll head back to my Kiss stash and partake of a few more….

A nap would feel so good right now. To just curl up and snooze for 15 minutes, or 30 or an hour…or two.

Hang on while I throw away my small pile of silver Kiss wrappers…get more…brb….

Back.

Ah…where was I?  Oh, yeah…hang on again while I open and pop another kiss into my mouth.

M-m-m-m-m-m…so-o-o-o-o g-o-o-o-od….

I have not yet begun the runs to the bathroom – they will come in waves as my bladder becomes sensitive and urination picks up as all this excess fluid leaves my body. And, of course, there will be the “check” trips because my vagina feels “leaky.”  Oh, and at some point, diarrhea will result…just too much fluid for my kidneys to deal with at one time, I guess.

Ouch my boobs hurt!

Perhaps removing my bra will help.  Ah…it helps somewhat.  Good thing I’m small breasted.  😉

My “seat” is aching like it’s been spanked.  Labia hurt, vagina hurts, everybody down there is cranky.

My mind is crazy today, for lack of a better word.  I type things I don’t intend to type.  Mispell simple words.  Change that to: Misspell simple words. My mind can’t get herself together no matter what I do.  5 cups of coffee by noon and still I’m fuzzy around the edges.

And, my bottom feels like it’s going to fall off of me.  ARGH.  This is getting on my nerves.  First the boobs and then the bottom.  It’s like they take turns calling my attention to them – boobs then bottom, boobs then bottom.

And, no…orgasm did not help. One did not.  Two did not. I’m certain three would not either.  If anything orgasm made matters worse.

What I would really like is to…ah…what time was it Hubby said he would get home?

I feel like my vagina is expanding within me…like everything is swollen…lush…ripe.

Usually, I’m able to control my cravings, but this weekend really did me in.  The family ate Kentucky Fried Chicken – a NO NO for me but I ate it anyway (sans skin and coating).  Saying “no” was just too difficult for some reason.  I wish now I had.  The swelling would be far less than it is if I’d stuck to my natural foods diet and the other issues would be nearly non existent as well.

Ah, well, it is what it is.  I gave her what she wanted and she’s doing a number on me now.  Ha ha!

You go, girl.  Enjoy every sensation.  Enjoy the cravings, the aches and pains, the fullness and bloating. One day all this will be a faint memory, if that.

Oh, I forgot about the bloating.  I’m in sweatpants today.  For the first time in ages my abdomen is bloated.

I’m miserable.

And, having light cramps, too.  They originate near my ovaries and extend down into my vagina.  Not really painful…but not all that comfortable either.  They end with a profound ache/tug at the top of my vagina.

My lower back aches.  A heating pad would feel nice against it but I’m too lazy and sluggish today to get up and get one.

Boo me.

I just want to go to bed and sleep…or eat.  Eating is good, but I’m tired of chocolate.  What else is there that I can nibble on?

No, no, no…I don’t want an apple….  I might make some fries….  Oh, or a chocolate shake…or fries AND a chocolate shake…OH!! I know…fries dipped in the chocolate shake….

And, a spoon of spaghetti sauce…I wonder if I have any in the cabinet….

I wish my period would start.  That would make my body so happy.

The chips…I found them hiding on the microwave.  Forget the fries…forget the shake.  I’ll go with greasy, salty crunchiness.

Several times I’ve headed to the bathroom to check and see – stopped myself because I knew flow had not started.  But, it felt like it had…such an odd sensation.

Crampiness is increasing.  CD 1 can’t be far off.

My breasts ache, upward into my armpits – I find myself with my hands cupping them, lifting and cradling them…attempting to ease their pain and find that I only add to it.

I’ve not checked my stash of menstrual products or cleaned my cup for use.  I’ll not place a pad, tampon or cup “just in case” I start. I won’t worry about bleeding on or staining anything I wear. And, I won’t insert my finger to check my cervix’ progress toward menstruation.

Why?

Because I no longer menstruate.  But, I do still cycle.

My cycles have become irregular in the past year and I thought I had reached menopause a couple of months ago as I experienced a cessation of symptoms associated with the various phases of my cycle.

It’s odd to experience everything up to the moment that flow should arrive – and for there to be no flow.  And, to experience everything during the period of time in which I should be flowing except for flow itself.

I lost my ability to menstruate when fibroid tumors enlarged my uterus to the size of a 26 week pregnancy and filled my abdomen and pelvis with softball sized tumors. Shortness of breath, intestinal worries and difficulty emptying my bladder signaled it was time to put my health ahead of menstruation. It was a sad day.

A very sad day.

My ovaries were uninvolved so I begged to keep them.  They have functioned well since surgery – at least up until late last year when I noticed changes in myself and in my cycle.

Each and every cycle, since the hysterectomy, has been a blessing. No, I don’t flow, and, yes – I miss it greatly.

It’s one thing to cycle through all the various frustrations and changes and arghs associated with the menstrual cycle and be rewarded by flow – and quite another to go through it all and not experience flow.

One day I will no longer cycle.  I’ll admit – I’ve wondered who I will be and what I’ll be like when I stop.  I can’t imagine living without the changes…without waiting for certain days in my cycle when I KNOW certain tasks will be easier to accomplish.

After all, I’ve cycled for 40 years.  That’s a long time.

But, that day has not arrived yet.  I am awaiting the start of my “period.”

No, I won’t bleed.  No, I won’t become menstrual in the truest sense of the word.  No, I don’t have a uterus to get grumpy and irritable – and crampy – as she goes about her business of expelling the old as she renews herself.  No, I won’t flow red.  But, I will flow.

Yes, I will flow. With all that’s in me, I will flow.

(This is the second in an occasional series that began with “Finding Normal.”)

Signs Your Period is About to Start


No one likes to be caught unaware or unprepared, especially period wise.

Knowing the signs your body displays when your period is about to start can mean the difference between ending the school/work day with confidence or with your sweater/jacket tied around your waist.

Read through the list below and think of your own pre-menstrual symptoms.  Knowing your cycle AND the signs your body gives – obvious as well as subtle – is period wise.

  • bloating
  • food cravings
  • nausea
  • increased appetite
  • constipation or diarrhea
  • light crampiness
  • nausea
  • headache
  • teary
  • easily irritated
  • hyper sensitive (to light, sound, smell, touch, etc)
  • acne
  • breasts swollen, painful
  • fatigue
  • general achiness
  • worsening of allergies or asthma
  • tooth pain
  • angry
  • moody
  • puffy face
  • dark circles under your eyes
  • hot flashes
  • changes in vision
  • increase in type and color of vaginal discharge
  • increased urination
  • lower back pain
  • prominent/visible blood veins
  • changes in cervix (lowers, feels larger, relaxes and opens)

By paying attention to the signs, you can learn to accurately predict the arrival of your period to within hours of her start.

What would you add to the list above?

Girls on Their Periods Info!

You may think it takes years to become period wise –  Ann Dillard proves otherwise!

If you’ve not seen her period wise YouTube video, “Girls on Their Periods Info!”, you’re missing out on something really special!

Here are some of her period wise quotes:

  • Don’t assume that we’re on our periods because we’re moody.  We could just not like you at all.
  • If you know a girl on her period don’t take it personal if she’s yelling at you.
  • It’s confusing as heck!
  • This is a subject that had to be spoken about.
  • Guys with girlfriends, buy her some pads or tampons or something – show her you support her. Buy her a chocolate box that’s this big!

Grab your favorite girl and check out “Girls on Their Periods Info!” here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfvjpofj6ZQ&feature=youtu.be

PMS a Problem? Iron May Help

If you are among the millions of women who struggle with PMS symptoms (or love someone who does), take a moment and read Annie Hauser’s article, posted yesterday in Everyday Health‘s Women’s Health section.

Her article, “Forget Midol: More Iron May Stop PMS, Study Says,” reports on the latest PMS information gathered by researchers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology. (Read the Abstract of the report here.) She also quotes Joan Salge Blake, RD, a clinical professor of nutrition at Boston University who did not work on the study.

Excerpts follow.

Women who eat diets rich in iron are 30 to 40 percent less likely to develop pre-menstrual syndrome, or PMS, than women who consume lower amounts….

The study suggests that the link between iron intake and PMS may reflect iron’s role in the body’s production of serotonin, a chemical that regulates mood and emotions.

Researchers used self-reported data from about 3,000 women enrolled in the prospective Nurses’ Health Study II.

The women who consumed the most non-heme iron — the form found in plant foods and in iron supplements — had the lowest PMS risk. Interestingly, the level of iron associated with a lower risk of PMS was slightly higher than the current recommended daily amount — 20 mg, up from 18 mg.

Blake says that…the key to plant-based iron sources is to pair them with a vitamin C-rich food to help boost iron absorption. “If you’re eating a whole wheat pasta that’s enriched in iron, pair it with tomato sauce,” she suggests. “If you’re having cereal in the morning, have a citrus fruit to go with it.”

Because a high iron intake can come with health risks, women should always consult a doctor and a registered dietitian before starting iron supplements, Blake says.

High intake of zinc was also associated with a lower PMS risk in the study.

Women consuming the highest amount of potassium — found in bananas and potatoes — had a higher risk of a PMS diagnosis than the women who consumed the lowest amount of potassium.

To hear what The Doctors have to say about nutrition and PMS, view the video below, but keep in mind the statement above about potatoes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zEoUZbqY_8

For more on PMS, visit Women’s Health.

I invite you to share your own period wise PMS thoughts, remedies, advice and what works for you.

Life-Changing Cups

Kim Rosas, the menstrualcupsfbbrains behind Dirty Diaper Laundry and Cloth Diaper Finder, wrote a delightful and informative piece – “Menstrual Cups: What Every Woman Should Know.”

“In all honesty using a cup can change your life for the better.  All women should know this is an option, especially teenagers who have decades of periods to look forward to.  This video will answer all of your questions about how and why menstrual cups are the greatest things since sliced bread.  If not I have some more information for you to read in this post and links to even more helpful resources.”  

In her post you will find

  • The video
  • Choosing a Cup
  • Using the Cup
  • Benefits of Using the Cup
  • Troubleshooting the Cup
  • Getting over the ICK factor and “Owing it”
  • Where to buy?
  • Win one!

Take a few minutes and view the video.  It’s well done and well worth the 8 minutes you will invest in it.

Menstrual Facts: 12 Things You May Not Know About Your Period

On February 12, 2013, Christina Huffington posted an absolutely wonderful piece entitled “Menstrual Facts: Twelve Things You May Not Know About Your Period”.

I became aware of it shortly after it posted and wondered how I could incorporate it into PeriodWise without plagiarizing.  Oh, how I wanted to claim what she had written as my own.  :)

Others had placed bits and pieces on their blogs, some with links to the original work…others leaving the reader to assume it originated with them.

I was in a quandary as to what to do and how to do.

After all, it contains great period wise information – and is well worth sharing.

Two comments lead into her Twelve Things:

  1. If you want to view VICE’s 2012 photo series “There Will Be Blood,” you have to confirm you are over 18 years old. The series is neither violent — as its title might imply — nor sexualized, so why the NSFW label? Because the photographer, Emma Arvida Bystrom, captured women visibly menstruating while engaging in otherwise ordinary daily tasks. Your period, as HuffPost Women Associate Editor Emma Gray put it, is something that we’re taught “should be covered, hidden and cleaned up.” 
  2. That may be why some women don’t seem to know important details about how their bodies work. For instance, a 2012 Australian survey found that only “13 percent of women could correctly answer which days of their menstrual cycle they were fertile.”

(I had seen VICE’s 2012 photo series “There Will Be Blood” last year before PeriodWise began – awesome pictures – and had forgotten about it.  If you’ve not seen the pictures, I encourage you to do so.)

I’ll admit, I was surprised by the Australian survey’s findings that only 13% of women could correctly answer which days of their cycle they are fertile.  I wonder…how period wise are my readers? Do YOU know which days of your cycle you are fertile/ovulate? Do YOU know how to know your fertile days?

Hardly a day goes by that I don’t learn something new about menstruation, the menstrual cycle or participants in it (female AND male).

Christina Huffington‘s “Twelve Things You May Not Know About Your Period” follows.  Take a moment and read through the list.  You might learn something.  I did.

Twelve Things You May Not Know About Your Period – by Christina Huffington

1. You can get pregnant on your period. Yes, it is highly unlikely but it’s not impossible so don’t use menstruating as an excuse not to use protection.

2. You are most fertile during — and around — ovulation. Ovulation — the release of an egg from an ovary — typically happens midway through a woman’s cycle. Ovulation calculators are helpful in tracking your cycle.

3. Irregular periods can mean any number of things. Irregular menstruation — whether in the form of missing a period, spotting between periods or a period lasting more than seven days — can be caused by everything from extreme weight loss or stress to pregnancy to the use of certain drugs to serious illnesses like uterine cancer. Consult your doctor if you are concerned about an irregular period.

4. Walt Disney made a movie about it. In 1946, Disney released The Story Of Menstruation as an educational aid for sex ed classes. It is rumored that the film was the first to use the word “vagina.” Betcha didn’t expect that from the pretty princess factory!

5. The average period releases less than a cup of blood. Complain about heavy flow all you want, but the fact is that most women lose between a few tablespoons and a cup each month. This is not to say that Tampax ‘super plus’ are not sometimes necessary.

6. Menstruation by any other name is still menstruation. Remember in middle school when you were embarrassed to say you were on your period so you and your friends made up code names? No? Uh, well… Code names through the ages include Crimson Tide, TOM (time of the month), Elmo riding the cotton pony, Aunt Flo, the rag and the, er, crime scene.

7. Views on period sex vary. We know sexual preference is individual — there’s a spectrum on everything from preferred gender to preferred position — so it makes sense that opinion on period sex would be individual too. (This goes for both men and women.)

8. On that note, your period might make you frisker than usual. Progesterone — the hormone believed to potentially lower your libido — is at its lowest during your period so if you’re craving more than a Snickers, chances are you’re not alone.

9. No one knows if period syncing is a real thing. Yes, it’s very well possible that you / your sister / your roommate / your partner share more than just secrets. The science behind the theory continues to be controversial, but as anyone who has ever found themselves reaching for Midol and a pair of sweatpants at the same time as their BFF can attest, it seems pretty legitimate.

10. Menstruation is still considered taboo in some places. While pre-teen girls in America may have to endure teasing from their less-than-understanding male classmates, in places like rural India girls are told not to cook food lest it be polluted, not to touch idols lest they be defiled and not to handle pickles because they will go rotten.

11. Always was the first company to show blood in an advertisement for sanitary napkins — in 2011. They broke the “women bleed blue liquid” trend but the ad still only appeared in print. Guess the taboo factor still stands.

12. The average age a girl in the United States gets her period is 12. Girls are getting their periods younger than ever and it is unknown what’s causing the puberty speedup, with theories ranging from environmental factors to higher fat diets to stress.

When Words Won’t Flow

Have you ever had days when you just can’t find the words?

Communication is harder and though there may be a conversation going on in your head, getting it out and sharing it with others is nearly impossible.

Rambling, disjointed thoughts jotted on paper are the extent of and result of any writing exercise.

Why is it some days we just can’t seem to find the words to express ourselves?

Can it be that hormones are to blame?

Dr. Laura Berman, in Hormones 101, says yes.

Hormones are the driving force behind our bodies, minds, and bedrooms.

Researchers have found that hormones control almost all our physical, emotional, and sexual functions. Hormones dictate hunger, sleep, sexual response, weight, and even your mood.

While her post centers on hormonal fluctuations experienced during menopause, she offers sound advice for all of us, no matter where in our menstrual experience we find ourselves.

We all experience frustration. We all experience days where we wonder what the heck is going on and if our minds/bodies will ever get in sync.

On days like this, patience is truly a virtue.

#PeriodTalk – Are You Missing Out?

If you’ve never attended the monthly TweetChat #PeriodTalk, I’d like you to glimpse what you’re missing.

This past Friday, www.bepreparedperiod.com hosted Learning to Love Yourself & Your Period.

A sampling of the #PeriodTalk follows.

nicolemjardim Women have many different opinions about their period based on their very first period experience #periodtalk -1:11 PM Feb 8th, 2013

MenMenstruation @nicolemjardim My first experience w/ periods (even if not my own) was of fascination and curiousity. It drove me to learn more! #PeriodTalk -1:17 PM Feb 8th, 2013

FebyTweets @nicolemjardim Communication is crucial. We have to break the cycle of shame. #PeriodTalk -1:18 PM Feb 8th, 2013

_EndoHappy @nicolemjardim it’s so important that girls are encouraged to talk openly about it #periodtalk -1:20 PM Feb 8th, 2013

MenMenstruation @nicolemjardim Unfortunately periods were a topic to be hidden from boys and all things around it was hush-hush. #PeriodTalk -1:21 PM Feb 8th, 2013

FebyTweets @nicolemjardim In a perfect world, every culture would treat menarche with respect and celebrate it. #PeriodTalk -1:23 PM Feb 8th, 2013

Lunapads A4: Positive, releasing, life-affirming, cleansing, powerful. #PeriodTalk -1:23 PM Feb 8th, 2013

JesDrummond A4: I adore my cycle now that I understand it. Hope it will b around for many more years. #PeriodTalk -1:23 PM Feb 8th, 2013

nicolemjardim Many of us have been taught to not acknowledge our periods because there are many more important things to worry about #periodtalk -1:24 PM Feb 8th, 2013

MenMenstruation The worst thing for boys AND girls is that attempting to hide all things #period only makes for a negative attitude towards it! #PeriodTalk -1:26 PM Feb 8th, 2013

nicolemjardim The first step to period love is to begin honoring your body and all that it offers you on a monthly basis #periodtalk -1:26 PM Feb 8th, 2013

GladRags My favorite reason for not going out is “sorry, i’m really busy menstruating right now.” It’s a task all by itself! 😀 #periodtalk -1:27 PM Feb 8th, 2013

Mommy_to_5 I also think I wouldn’t mind my period so much if it was an aunt flow kind of period instead of an aunt flood kind of period #periodtalk -1:29 PM Feb 8th, 2013

FebyTweets Understanding the menstrual cycle and honouring the different phases is empowering. #PeriodTalk -1:34 PM Feb 8th, 2013

Mommy_to_5 I am open to anything that makes aunt flood become a distant relative that I only have to deal with on occasion #periodtalk -1:34 PM Feb 8th, 2013

AlisonLeipzig Body confidence is loving and owning who you really are. THAT is self-love. #periodtalk -1:36 PM Feb 8th, 2013

Lunettecup @AlisonLeipzig Q6: I love that I’m not typical. I have curves. Although I hate the cellulite I love the curves! I am WOMAN! :) #periodtalk -1:41 PM Feb 8th, 2013

AlisonLeipzig I used to feel like my body betrayed me and that my body was my enemy and there was a ton of emotion attached! #periodtalk -1:42 PM Feb 8th, 2013

JesDrummond It’s hard standing on the cliff again watching my 9 year old girl. I’m careful to love even my flaws for her. #PeriodTalk -1:46 PM Feb 8th, 2013

The next #PeriodTalk TweetChat will be held on March 8, 2013 at 2 pm ET.

Performance Enhancing

Okay, I’ll admit…I’m not usually a fan of the Super Bowl Half Time Show.

But, this year I found myself drawn to it.

Not because the performer was Beyonce – but because the performer was a woman.

I wondered where she was in her cycle and if she used strengths found in this cycle day to aid her performance this evening.

And, I wondered if her performance would have differed had it fallen on any other cycle day.

As a woman, do you find that your cycle day influences your performance?

Do you use strengths found in each cycle day to aid and enhance your performance?