Changes in My Menstruation Cycle???

I've always had regular periods too. But I have noticed in the last year that my periods varied way more than ever before. I usually had a 28 day cycle with the occasional 30 or 32 day cycle. Now I am having more 32-34 day cycles. I will be 35 in November. My last child was born 2 years ago. She was the suprise bio baby that I was told I would never have. My oldest is adopted.

Over the last 5 years I have low thyroid and adrenal issues. And it seems that in the last 2 years they have gotten tremendously worse. After pushing my docs for tests and regularly communicating with my Naturopath and seeing an Integrative Health Specialist (an MD trained in Holistic medicine), we figured out that I have Fibromyalgia, that my Thyroid, Adrenal Glands, and Pituitary are way off again, and that all my hormone levels are a little low. Medically speaking all my results are in the normal range. But they are not normal for my body. I.e. the medical "normal" range for TSH (Thyroid test) is .5 to 5. I need to between 2.5 and 3 to feel normal and healthy. I am currently at 1.2 and miserable.

Symptoms include:
varied and very painful menstruation/cramps
Lots of clotting during menstruation
All over muscle and joint pain
Fibro "Brain Fog"
Low energy
Not being able to sleep
higher anxiety/panic attacks/PMS-ey all the time
extreme loss or weight gain
diarrhea or constipation

When things are really bad for me, I have all of these symptoms and it's horrible.

When my Thyroid and Adrenals are functioning well, I sleep better, the anxiety is minimal to none, and my digestive system works well. But as soon as I get off my Homeopathic Thyroid and Adrenal "medicines", within a month things get off track again.

So, the point of this long story, is that maybe you need to get your hormone levels, Thyroid (Cascade Panel, Free T3, and T4) levels, and your Adrenal Gland output checked. A lot of women, especially Mom's raising kids, have low thyroid or Hypothyroidism to some degree. Often times a few adjustments to diet, exercise, and a few homeopathic "medicines" or supplements will greatly help balance your body's hormones and Thyroid and Adrenal levels which will then help to regulate your menstrual cycle and alleviate many of the weird symptoms you are experiencing.

If you are interested in checking out my Integrative Health Specialist (Dr. Roya Kohani) who is helping me with my issues you can see her website at www.revivamed.com. She is primarily located in La Jolla, but she has office hours on Thursdays in downtown San Diego at her husbands office. I just got started with her, but I really like her personality, and can already feel a difference in how I feel.

Unfortunately my Naturopath that I worked with for the past 5 years is no longer taking new clients. And she recommended that I find an Integrative Specialist who has more experience with Fibromyalgia than she did. So that's why I am seeing Dr. Kohani.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

S.

Hi, M.,

What you are describing sounds fairly common. In my late thirties, my cycle length dropped from what was usually 27 or 28 days to 23 days. Now, in my early forties, I rarely have periods. I'm not sure if the lack of periods is caused by my age, my IUD, my nursing my younger child, who is almost two years old, or something else. I'm guessing a combination of factors.

L. E

Just to know, my girls, 32 and 20 have always had irregular cycles. They say many of their friends do too. Glad to hear you were able to get pregnant. They are both a little worried about that.

Hi M.,

I am going through the same thing. When I was younger my cycle was all over the place until I went on birth control. Then with the birth of my daughter my cycle seemed to settle into a reliable pattern. Then 2 months ago it changed completely! To make it even more of a problem I now have horrible cramps. My OB/GYN said that it was normal for my age (38) and that it would probably change a few more times before menopause. He said to watch my diet/weight and to make sure to take a vitamin to help. We just have to go with it.
Good luck! You aren't alone.

Hi M.,

Complementary and alternative medicine offers some wonderful solutions to help you balance your cycle naturally. Try acupuncture or homeopathy for starters...find a practitioner who has a lot of experience in women's health. You don't have to "live" with this.

Blessings,
S.

Hi M.,
I think the other ladies addressed the irregular periods well. If you are trying to get pregnant again, I would try the ovulation kits, they tell you when it's the right time to "try". I had my son at 40 and my daughter at 43. So now is the right time to try and have another if you really want one!
Good luck and God bless!

Hi,
Story of my life lately, but got turned on to Rasberry Leaf Organic Tea (get it at Whole FoodS) and if I am a day late I drink it. My period will usually come within two day. My cycle so irregular and this has been amazing for me. Any other questions contact me @ ____@____.com

This is sounding very familiar! The most re-assuring thing I've heard is that as long as you are having periods, that is a good sign. We have a 5.5 year old daughter. I went off the pill when she was 3...open to the idea of #2. I can't tell you how many pregnancy tests I've taken since then...my sister and I joke about buying them in bulk....My mom, my sister and myself have always had irregular cycles too. Currently I am checking my mucous...I have checked my cycles journals and have noticed that I seem to be "feeling" pregnant around what I think is actually ovulation time. I am 35...It took about 5 years for us to have our daughter and I'm so glad it happened. And that was not using anything to help...it just happened.

Sometimes I also have spotting in between periods....I began taking Macca Root powder and this cleared it up right away...I also notice I had more mucous with it...

I have decided not to use anything "synthetic" (like fertility drugs, IVF, etc) to help with our next baby...I fear this will actually make my issue worse...so I am hoping number two happens the same as number one. Our children will have a few extra years in between but there are bonuses to this too.

I wish you the best of luck. You are definitely not alone!

You are talking about sometimes a three day difference. That is much too small a time to even consider your period "changing". A week just begins to be significant.
I am 48 yrs old and just this year, my period got unpredictable. It started last yr with a period every 3 weeks for about a yr, then skipping alogether, and coming back. So a shift of a week REGULARLY is a change. 3 days difference in cycle, not.
All this is normal and you dont need to see a Dr yet. Wait 'til it's unpredictable.
My dad's a Dr.!

Wendy

I have always been wildly irregular. It was not unusual to skip two or three months, and I don't think I ever had cycles closer together than 35 or 40 days. I have 4 children, and yes, having them did cause my cycle to change. After my last child was born (I was 33), my cycles became the closest to regular that they've ever been. They're now fairly predictably 25 to 30 days apart. (I find myself thinking, "Again? Didn't I just have a period?") I've been told that as I get older, they'll taper off again.

If you need help conceiving, the doctor might have advice ormedications to help you get pregnant again.

Hey M.,
I was diagnosed as premenopausal at the age of 35, so it is very possible. However, if you are still having a period, you are still ovulating and can get pregnant. If you are wanting to get pregnant I highly suggest the book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler.
Some of the symptoms of premenopause are: lower energy levels, lower sex drive, less vaginal lubrication, moodiness, alterations in menstrual cycles, weight gain around the middle, night sweats, hot flashes, etc.
I ended up seeing a natural health doctor who was able to get hormone testing done to help me identify what was going on. She treated me with accupuncture and with herbs and it did make vast improvements on many of my symptoms.
I did eventually need to be put on hormones as mine were very low, but I was put on bioidenticals which are much safer than your standard birth controls. Once I went on them, I was back to my old self again.

I just turned 40 and the last few years they have been very different from flow to days. I had always been same flow and days since I first started. My OB and Regular doctor says it's normal.

I was 37 when I had my first child, and my cycle never did return to normal. I even skipped some months entirely. Looking back I wonder if I was going through peri-menopause. Anyway, I learned to track my ovulation by checking the mucus my body was secreting. If you aren't familiar with that there is probably some reading available. Unfortunately I don't remember how I learned to do that. I learned to identify my fertile periods that way and conceived and had a second child. After that my periods became infrequent. There was nothing wrong with me--it was just the natural time for my body.