#hormonal birth control

Making Periods Better Series: #3

HEAVY CRAMPING & BLEEDING due to hormones & nutritional deficiencies:

One reason for increased pain during your period is because of higher levels of prostaglandins, which are a hormone that causes smooth muscle (uterine) cramping.  It’s one of the hormones that stimulates labor in a pregnant person, and can also cause diarrhea and certain other symptoms since the intestines are also smooth muscle.

Always talk to a healthcare provider before deciding to do something that might affect your health, whether that’s a pharmaceutical medication or an herbal one.

Ways to decrease, or regulate, prostaglandin release & its effects on uterine cramping:

• Acupuncture is great for this kind of stuff.  Go back & read the last post in this series to learn more.
  
• Magnesiumis a micronutrient that is vital to muscle function.  It can also decrease stress & anxiety, improve bowel movement regularity, and lower blood pressure. Taking 300-450mg daily of magnesium can significantly improve menstrual pain and decrease the amount of menstrual blood shed over the course of a period.  Sources: X,X] (Has side effects & can interfere with other medications!)
• Coenzyme Q10 (Co Q10) is an enzyme that is found in every single cell in the body and is needed for the basic function of cells and is the source of energy for the mitochondria.  It is awesome for a variety of things, including menstrual pain & discomfort.  I like to combine supplements so people don’t have to take nearly as many individual pills, and because of this I like the Nordic Naturals Complete Omega + CoQ-10, which has all the omega fatty acids necessary + all the CoQ-10 necessary.  However, it’s fish based.  If you’d rather chose a non-animal version, Nature Made is pretty respectable.  Take 200mg daily. (Has side effects & can interfere with other medications!)
• Omega fatty acids can help to decrease inflammation, which is one of the main things at work during menstrual pain (this is why Motrin, a Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory medication works).  Again, fish oil is better (see Nordic Naturals above) but if you’d rather a veggie version, Omega Twin is great. (Has side effects & can interfere with other medications!)
  

Nutrition can make a huge difference too!  A good, healthy diet includes:

• High fiber
• Lots of fresh & cooked vegetables (at least one vegetable at each meal)
• Not much red meat
• Little to no added sugar.  

If making this change makes a big difference in your diet, you might see a huge difference in your menstrual pain.  See sources: X, X,X,X

• Smoking and caffeine intake can really make cramps worse.  If uterine cramping is really making a difference in your life & making things hard for you, consider what it would mean for you to stop smoking or drinking caffeine.  If you think you can, definitely try!  You will be shocked to see what a big difference it can make.
• Exercise for exercise’s sake, not for the sake of “losing weight” can make a huge difference.  Exercise releases endorphins that decrease pain on a short-term level, but also improves hormone regulation in the longterm. If you can get your heart rate faster than normal for 30 minutes at least 3 times a week (much better 5 times) you can see some huge differences in menstrual symptoms.
• Glutenmight make a difference.  However, cutting out gluten seems to be a slow-moving solution, and there definitely isn’t enough research to recommend it for everyone.  This study says that they see a decrease in pain scores during menstruation after 12 months of a gluten-free diet.

Supplements

• Calcium is sort of magnesium’s little sister - when taken together they may improve muscle function at a higher level.  The research here isn’t as clear, so I don’t have great sources to show you.  Consider taking a combined Magnesium/Calcium/Vitamin D supplement since Vitamin D is needed to digest Calcium AND, as you will see below, can help menstrual discomfort in its own right.
• Vitamin D decreases inflammation and helps to absorb calcium.  Some research has been done to show that extremely high doses of Vitamin D can significantly decrease menstrual pain.  Before you start taking very high doses of Vitamin D, though, talk to your provider about what makes the most sense since such high doses are not necessarily safe for everyone.  Source: X,X.

Again!!!  Don’t start any new treatment/supplement/herb without talking to a healthcare provider first about YOUR specific body & health needs!  Some of these can cause interactions with medications you’re already taking, or health conditions you have.

Making Periods Better Series: #2 | Making Periods Better Series: #4

MAKING PERIODS BETTER? ✨✨✨ 

After my last post lots of folks were asking me to talk about ways to improve heavy, crampy periods without using hormonal birth control. It’ll be hard to write just one post, since there are so many different things that can cause periods to be intense. I think maybe I’ll make this a series? I’m not sure how else to cram all this info together.

Bad cramps happen when the uterus has to work harder than normal to shed the uterine lining that has grown over the course of the cycle, which might happen because the contractions that do the work are uncoordinated or inefficient, maybe because of:

• Structural abnormalities (fibroids, polyps, uterine position)
  
• Endometriosis/adenomyosis (bits of uterine lining showing up where it shouldn’t be)
  

Sometimes irregular bleeding is caused by:

• Hormonal imbalances (age, PCOS, ovarian malfunction)
  
• Bleeding disorders
  

There are plenty of other reasons for heavy/crampy/irregular periods as well, but these are the main ones.  The CAUSE of the heavy bleeding/cramping will guide what you use to treat it, since there is no single cure.

SO WHAT DO YOU DO? 

If your periods are crampy and you decide that hormonal birth control isn’t for you right now, you have a few options. Herbs can help strengthen the uterus, physical manipulation of the uterus can improve its position to streamline contractions, and acupuncture can improve blood flow to both the uterus & hormone producing glands to regulate hormone levels.

See: Making Periods Better Series: #2