Changes in Menstrual Cycle

[MPZ]

HI, I am on my first whole30 and although I am on the pill, I got my period again on day 9, only one week after my previous (on schedule) one? this is not supposed to happen and has never happened to me, through many years of BC. do we know why this happens? is there an explanation? I am starting to feel like my hormones are being affected the wrong way?!!!

[MPZ]

Hi everyone,

 

For those on BC, were you wary that it may not be as effective during the whole30? I'm on Day 5 and I started spotting yesterday and I'm just wondering if my fiance and I should be taking extra precautions. 

 

Thanks!

Hi kmg4805.

 

I am also interested in your question, since I am having the same concern. any knowledge from the forum?

 

thanks,

MPZ

[Munkers]

Hi everyone,

 

For those on BC, were you wary that it may not be as effective during the whole30? I'm on Day 5 and I started spotting yesterday and I'm just wondering if my fiance and I should be taking extra precautions. 

 

Thanks!

 

 

If you are taking/using your BC as directed, then you should be fine. Spotting does not mean that something is wrong or that your birth control is no longer effective. Spotting is actually considered a side effect of hormonal birth control and can happen to any person at any time. Inconvenient? Yes. Cause for alarm? Not really.

[mdelesde]

So I am at day 17 of my first Whole30 and I feel like crap. I'm nauseated all day, my boobs hurt and tired. But my biggest question is I'm over a week late for my period. What is going on? I have the BC IUD that is non-hormonal. I thought for sure that I would be okay with Whole30. I haven't taken a pregnancy test but I shouldn't be pregnant. I also have felt crampy off and on for over a week now but nothing. I am starting to think some of my symptoms would go away if I just took the pregnancy test. Any thoughts on what's going on?

 

Thanks.

 

Michelle

[ladyshanny]

So I am at day 17 of my first Whole30 and I feel like crap. I'm nauseated all day, my boobs hurt and tired. But my biggest question is I'm over a week late for my period. What is going on? I have the BC IUD that is non-hormonal. I thought for sure that I would be okay with Whole30. I haven't taken a pregnancy test but I shouldn't be pregnant. I also have felt crampy off and on for over a week now but nothing. I am starting to think some of my symptoms would go away if I just took the pregnancy test. Any thoughts on what's going on?

 

Thanks.

 

Michelle

The Whole30 tends to rebalance all of your hormones, hunger, sex and stress as well as the rest of them that we are less familiar with.  Being late with your period despite some symptoms is pretty common.  Take a read through this thread you've posted in and you'll see lots of similar comments.  It's normally nothing to be concerned with but of course none of us here are medical professionals, if you are worried see your doctor.

[Mati]

I'm glad I found this thread too! I'm on the pill and am due to get my period in 3 days and just started bleeding. This has never happened before to me. Maybe a little spotting. I'm assuming it has to do with the Whole30 and am not very concerned. Has this ever happened to anyone else and do you think my hormones are shifting? I also had no noticeable pms like normal! 

[fmr_sailor]

I know the Atkins diet and Whole30 are NOT the same... But when I did Atkins I was on the Pill and got my period a week early, despite being in the pink pills still. I don't take hormonal birth control anymore. I am beginning my first Whole30 on July 1st, just after my period should start. My cycles are insanely regular since having babies. (Used to be about every 35 days. Post-babies about every 27-29 days.) curious to see how the 30 days could affect my cycles.

[courtneysue415]

Well this is a giant thread .... I got my period WAY early (1.5 weeks after my last on) the first week into my first Whole30. I'm on day 16 now and STILL have my period. It is normal in regards to menstrual flow and I have pretty bad cramps daily (which is normal for my period). I also have PMS moodiness. Really would love for this to change as it is hindering any positive thoughts about this Whole30. Feeling bloated and meh. At least I know this is normal for a lot of people to experience. Here's to hoping the magic comes when Aunt Flow leaves! 

[Noelle]

I'm just popping in to complain. I really want to get my cycle back naturally. I know Whole30/paleo eating will help. Nutrient-rich foods. Plenty of carbs (which is challenging right now, as I'm trying to manage SIBO symptoms). Patience, patience, more patience.

What I find most...demoralizing, I guess, is that everything I read and hear about boosting progesterone says "de-stress." Want progesterone levels to rise? No stress for you.

How exactly do I manage that, when my life seems to be a magnet for stress right now?!

Phew. I feel better now. Thanks, ladies.

[ladyshanny]

I'm just popping in to complain. I really want to get my cycle back naturally. I know Whole30/paleo eating will help. Nutrient-rich foods. Plenty of carbs (which is challenging right now, as I'm trying to manage SIBO symptoms). Patience, patience, more patience.

What I find most...demoralizing, I guess, is that everything I read and hear about boosting progesterone says "de-stress." Want progesterone levels to rise? No stress for you.

How exactly do I manage that, when my life seems to be a magnet for stress right now?!

Phew. I feel better now. Thanks, ladies.

Easier said that done and easy for me right now to "preach" to you because I'm in an ebb of stress.  But when you can't remove stress altogether you put focus on all of the other things.  Get enough sleep.  Get moderate activity (walk the dog etc, nothing high intensity).  Eat whole, nutrient dense foods.  Take as much time for yourself as you can to decompress.  

 

So you can't get rid of stress but you can remove all the other "stressors" on your body which means that your body is much more able to cope with whatever stress load you have at the time.

 

As Melissa teaches, you have a health bank account.  If all you are ever doing is making withdrawals (low quality or short sleep or poor nutrition/high anti-nutrition such as sugars/grains etc or no activity along with whatever high stress you have) your health account gets depleted.  If you have to have the high stress making withdrawals for a period of time that's fine but make deposits with the good nutrition, good sleep, gentle activity, good self dialogue etc).

[Noelle]

Thanks, ladyshanny. I'm totally on board with the health bank account concept—looking back, I can absolutely see all the withdrawals that got me into this mess.

Not to toot my own horn, but I feel like I'm really good at the things I can control. Sleep, food, hydration, movement, etc. I'm even getting better at how I react to the stress around me. Without going into a lot of personal details in a public forum, I got hit with some rough stuff yesterday and I handled it with grace and general awesomeness. But the stuff just keeps coming!

I guess rather than lament the fact that I can't just push "pause" on the stress and Heal All The Things really fast (my current fantasy), I can have compassion for myself, and appreciate how hard my body is working to heal—it really is! It's trying SO HARD—and do everything I can to support it.

[Bitton]

Yes, ditto here. On the 3-month pill and wasn't due to have my period for another 6 weeks. Surprise! And I'm normally 4-5 days light-to-normal, but this one is at 9 days and counting (!) and heavy. What gives??! Don't recall reading anything like this in either of the Whole30 books... How can eating healthy change menstral cycles (especially when they're artificially controlled via the pill)?

[Karen]

The pill doesn't control your cycle - it just maintains your hormones at certain levels to override the rise and fall of hormones that naturally causes ovulation and eventually your period. When you start taking the placebo pills, your body senses the drop in hormones, and that drop in hormones is what causes you to start to bleed.

That's the same trigger that causes anyone to bleed - pill or not. However, when your own hormones running in the background fluctuate due to changes in food - which is one of the benefits of paleo, your body may sense the same drop in hormones and starts to bleed because that's how our biology works. In a cycle or two, your hormones should settle where they should be and there won't be a that drastic drop again to trigger a bleed.

[Britishgal]

During my 1st whole30 I got my period twice in 30 days...after 7 months of not getting any periods at all. In the year and a bit since then I've been regular as clockwork

[Allia]

I have had amenorrhea intermittently so I hope Whole30 is not going to make it hard to get my period back (lost it because weight was too low for me at that moment). When I started this I thought it was going to be a good way to get healthier but I hope my doubts are not going to be confirmed ;v;

[missmary]

I have had amenorrhea intermittently so I hope Whole30 is not going to make it hard to get my period back (lost it because weight was too low for me at that moment). When I started this I thought it was going to be a good way to get healthier but I hope my doubts are not going to be confirmed ;v;

Allia- The whole30 is good for getting your period back. Nourishing yourself thoroughly and completely is good for getting your period back. That does not mean it will be magically synced up and perfect. Lots of people go through a transition where it might come early or late but continuing to eat this way usually helps rather than hurting. 

 

One thing that can hurt is when people go too low carb. That's one reason why we remind people to each at least a "fist-size" portion of starchy veggies every single day. If you are really worried, have more: more starchy veggies, more fat and more protein. 

[WholeUs]

I'm on day 21 and I started back on day 10 - and I'm still going. It's been 11 days!! I'm not terribly concerned, I feel certain it is W30 related. I didn't cramp leading up to it and I actually thought on day 6 of my period that it was going to end like normal. But then it kind of started back up on day 8...but a much lighter version. I'm still having to use something, but it's light enough that I can change at my leisure. 

 

Very interesting what such a "simple" thing like what we eat does to our body.

[Growing123]

Curious if anyone has had a correction of a luteal phase defect while following a whole 30 lifestyle? Or if it changed ovulation days for some? I have PCOS and typically ovulate late between cycle day 18-20 with a 28-30 day cycle.

Currently doing a whole 60 (day 51) and not on bc but know a luteal phase defect is present.I suspect it will take several more months and full rounds of whole 30 to see a difference and I would be interested to know if others have tracked this aspect previously.

Did whole 30 balance this out for you if you had a luteal phase defect? If so, how long did it take?

I am not sure it is possible to remedy without herbal or medical intervention but just thought I'd check in to see what others have experienced.

Thanks in advance for any information or advice.

[Vfward6]

Hello! Glad to have found this thread. I just finished my Whole 30 and whilst I had my period 2 weeks ago, I'm having another one now. That shouldn't happen, I'm on the pill!  It makes me very regular.

 

It's a bit strange. I'm hoping that things will even out a bit, but I agree that it's scary what effect food can have on your body.

I am on day 12 and on the pill as well- period always reliable to the hour almost but this cycle it came a day early. I was surprised and now I'm wondering if I should go off the pill & see what happens to my endometriosis?? Wish I'd known of Whole30 when struggling with unexplained infertility and before letting go of the dream of being a mom.

[Noelle]

I really want to get my cycle back naturally.

Guess what? It worked!

My doctor (who is an ND) started me on some supplements, and those plus lots of nutrient-dense foods got my body back on the right track. I've had a normal, easy period once a month for the past four months. Yay!

[ladyshanny]

Guess what? It worked!

My doctor (who is an ND) started me on some supplements, and those plus lots of nutrient-dense foods got my body back on the right track. I've had a normal, easy period once a month for the past four months. Yay!

That's amazing, Noelle, congratulations!!!!!!!!

[Noelle]

Thank you, ladyshanny! I'm pretty stoked. Also, my libido is back in full swing, and it's so nice to feel sexy again.

It's encouraging to see that hormonal issues really can sort themselves out. The hard part is waiting.

[sarahhankes]

I have been doing the w30 program for about two months now. I got a regular period about a week into it, but now my next period is a week late and test say negative. I have some pms here and there, but not as much as normal which is nice, but I still have that just before period feel all the time and it would be nice if it would just come already! Has anyone else gone through this? Did your cycle return to normal?

[Shakti]

I'm on day 3 of my second Whole30, and began my period suddenly last night. I mean, really suddenly, 9 days early, no warning at all. That has never happened to me. It was really a bummer because today I don't feel awesome, and I was hoping to do yoga one more time before my holiday ended. Bleh.

[SugarcubeOD]

I'm on day 3 of my second Whole30, and began my period suddenly last night. I mean, really suddenly, 9 days early, no warning at all. That has never happened to me. It was really a bummer because today I don't feel awesome, and I was hoping to do yoga one more time before my holiday ended. Bleh.

It happens unfortunately as our female hormones adjust/readjust... Sorry you're not going to be able to do yoga... you could do savassana (sp) on the sofa..