A Woman's Guide To Understanding Her Period Indications

Your period is talking to you. Okay, that sounds weird. What I mean to say is if you pay attention, you can learn about what you’re going through without your OBGYN. Of course visiting your OBGYN is super important but it can be hard to get in and you don’t always have a good OBGYN, so having some facts before going into that doctors appointment can help you get all the information you need and keep the conversation going!

I’ll tell you one thing, no one in my middle school or high school health class ever talked about the phases of the menstrual cycle, hormonal patterns or lifestyle factors that can change every element of our bodies.

They never mentioned how hormone imbalances can manifest as weight gain, endocrine or endometriosis disorder, uncontrollable acne or even just PMS.

And lets start there…

All of those mood-swings, irritability, crabbiness and food-cravings can be avoided. First PMS is triggered by changes in your sex hormones each month. The problems are caused from having too much estrogen in our bodies compared to progesterone or too little progesterone all together.

What you don’t know is you can address these changes with food and lifestyle changes. Things like reducing sugar intake, give up caffeine, eating phytonutrient-rich vegetables, finding ways to relax and reduce stress. It’s also been proven that low levels of vitamin D, magnesium and calcium are linked with PMS symptoms.

So taking some of these supplements or eating foods that will increase these vitamins will regulate your body. 

It’s your body and it’s a way for you to figure out what’s gong on. I wish I would have known more about this sooner in life but it’s often not talked about! It’s important to pay attention to everything from the length of your cycle to the textures and colors that may indicated elements of your health changing.

Most colors are considered normal but we will briefly review a few that can be cause for concern. Such as, grey, orange, or bright red which can all be linked to infections. Bright red blood can sometimes be chlamydia or gonorrhea but it can also be caused from polyps or fibroids which are non-cancerous growths. Orange or similar unusual colors or unusual discharge can be a sign of a bacteria infection or a sexually transmitted infection.

Gray blood with other symptoms like fever, pain, itching or a foul odor could be bacterial vaginosis. This is an imbalance of bacteria (as you have both good and bad bacteria naturally). This imbalance can happen whether or not you’ve had sex.

I’ve mentioned once before that I actually got a stomach ulcer from taking Motrin! My cramps were so horrible that I was downing 2-3 Motrin every 3-4 hours and I was still in pain. High-school periods with heavy flows and severe cramps ran my life for awhile. 

The cause of this is your uterus contracting to shed its lining. These contractions are triggered by prostaglandins and higher levels of this are associated with more severe menstrual cramps.

Here are some ways you can use to deal with period cramps besides using pain-killers, as I don’t recommend Motrin or ibuprofen. Though if you do use ibuprofen, always take it with food and not on an empty stomach (especially before bed as the pills can sit on you stomach liner and burn a hole in your stomach, as least that is what my doctor told me after I got my ulcer at 16 years old).

Use a hot water bottle, it will not take the pain away completely but it will reduce the pain and help you relax. We don’t always have someone around to help but studies have shown that 20 minutes of massage therapy can help reduce pain, you can also find pressure points beneath your bellybutton in this video here. Adding essential oils, like mint or even tiger balm can help sooth the area.

Try avoiding foods that will cause irritation like bloating and water retention. Some of the foods to avoid are salty foods, fatty foods, alcohol, carbonated beverages and caffeine. 

Though the solution offered to us by many doctors is to get on birth control it only masks our problems and often makes them worse. With a false normalcy, and side effects that change your body, you can’t actually fix your hormonal imbalance. 

These side effects include mood changes, acne, suppressed fertility post-pill, to name just a few. In reality besides a ton of long term side effects it masks reproductive health issues creating long term issues that hit harder later on, instead of taking the time and energy to actually re-regulate your body and balance your hormones.

In conclusion the take away is that you can get your body back on track, you can minimize cramps, stop PMS, have a healthy flow and fix your hormonal imbalance. Your symptoms should never leave you feeling helpless because you’re in control and your health is in your hands.

With S’moo babes by your side we are happy to help you personally or you can find like minded women on the Private S’moo Facebook group were women help one another and share information. If you haven’t tried it yet, there is also S’moo, the hormone balance powder helping women all over the world find harmony with their cycle.

Read "Period Blood Colors: A Complete Overview" here.