Extremely heavy period/hormone allergy

[elempe]

I doubt many of you are dealing with this issue, but I was diagnosed with a progesterone allergy (autoimmune progesterone dermatitis) in June of last year and have been off any form of birth control since then. While I was taking birth control, I had skin rashes, constant spotting, 3 periods per month, etc. etc., until I switched to a different pill and had a full-blown allergic reaction and ended up hospitalized.

 

Since stopping, the constant bleeding has ceased, which is wonderful. My rashes are cyclical, but I deal with that by taking Zyrtec every day. However, this month, my period is almost unbearably heavy. Yesterday I ruined two pairs of pants within 4 hours. I've never bled this much in my life. I do tend to have pretty horrible, long periods, with bad cramps, but this is by far the worst. I'm on Day 13 currently. I don't know if this is just an unfortunate aspect of my life now or if it's the diet.

 

I'm a competitive strength athlete and this is really hitting me hard during my training sessions. I am not sure what to do and it's been very heavy for over 48 hours at this point. Any advice?

[Physibeth]

Whole30 will change your hormone levels...eventually to a much better place. It could be a part of what is going on or it could be a coincidence. Hard to say. I would strongly advice you to see your doctor.

[elempe]

Thank you, I'm in constant contact with a whole team of physicians since this diagnosis. Sadly they seem as confused as I am, it's apparently quite rare. If things don't calm down soon I'll head over to an urgent care center.

[MrsStick]

For heavier flow, try using a different form of period protection. Menstrual cups help most of us who have that issue out. It's made me be able to go from a regular tampon every hour to only needing to change every 8-10 hours during my heavy days. If I push to the far end of that time frame, I might have leakage onto my hand as I take it out to dump, but that's better than a rushed bathroom trip every hour.

 

Cramps - I discovered the Ziivaa belt last month and I just posted about my experience with it in the Diva Cup thread. Check it out.

[elempe]

I actually just received a Diva Cup for Christmas! I'm still trying to get the hang of it, I cant' seem to get it to suction in properly because I've had two leakage issues. Still working on it. My concern is more that I'm feeling extremely weak and woozy frequently with this heavier flow, even though I'm well-hydrated and eat a lot to support my training.

[healthyAbby]

I find that during my period on my heavier days I sometimes have to empty my divacup as frequently as every 3-4 hours. Make sure you eat a lot of iron rich foods (especially leafy greens like kale), as I have found that those help a lot with the weakness and nausea. 

[MrsStick]

When my Diva Cup is full, it will start to leak, but not as much as a tampon. Was yours full? If so, doesn't sound like a suction issue.

 

I sometimes have issues with the first one on the first day I use it (does that make sense?). I spend the first hour or so clenching off and on with my Kegels and it finally seats right with no more leaks.

[elempe]

The first time was probably a leakage issue then, it was the first night of my period and it was very full. The second time was within minutes, I went to lay down and kind of felt it pop, and a few minutes later realized it was leaking.

[MrsStick]

If you hear it lose suction, then you'll need to reposition it (I guess that's kind of obvious). It sounds like it might not have been positioned right, or maybe it's not the right size. The Diva Cup has two models - the pre-childbirth/under 30 model and the post childbirth/over 30 model. BUT...nothing magical happens at 30, it's just an average age at which you might need to switch to the bigger one. Maybe that would help on both accounts?

[soyini]

Since stopping, the constant bleeding has ceased, which is wonderful. My rashes are cyclical, but I deal with that by taking Zyrtec every day. However, this month, my period is almost unbearably heavy. Yesterday I ruined two pairs of pants within 4 hours. I've never bled this much in my life. I do tend to have pretty horrible, long periods, with bad cramps, but this is by far the worst. I'm on Day 13 currently. I don't know if this is just an unfortunate aspect of my life now or if it's the diet.

 

I'm a competitive strength athlete and this is really hitting me hard during my training sessions. I am not sure what to do and it's been very heavy for over 48 hours at this point. Any advice?

 

elempe - When I had a long, never-ending period, it was because of an ovarian cyst. You should have your doctor perform a vaginal ultrasound to confirm. After a month on birth control pills, my cycles returned to normal.

[elempe]

The ultrasound is one thing we haven't done. I've had cysts in the past, when I had a CT scan done for what turned out to be a pre-cancerous gall bladder (apparently a symptom of the progesterone allergy), they mentioned I had one but shouldn't worry about it. I did ask my interim gynecologist (stopped seeing her, have started seeing someone who specializes in weird cases), and she actually flat-out denied my request. I will bring this up again ASAP. Thank you!

 

I'm definitely going to continue working on this Diva Cup thing. I have the smaller one. If it continues to seem off I'll give the larger one a shot. I'm 24 and don't and likely never will be able to give birth (due to this progesterone allergy), so we assumed the smaller version would be best.

 

Thank you all so much for the advice! I'm really enjoying every other aspect of the Whole30 so far, I just know that I am a bit of a unique case and want to take steps to stay healthy and keep up with my training, as I am preparing for a competition in early March.

[MrsStick]

We're glad to help! Good luck!