#irregular menstrual periods

[healthyhygine]

Hormonal Imbalance In Females- Common Causes, Treatment and Management

The body produces some precise amount of each hormone necessary for different processes to ensure your health. Basically, hormones are chemical signals that have a powerful impact on your mental, physical and emotional well-being. The sedentary lifestyle and Western diets can affect the hormonal balance of your body. Moreover, the hormone levels decrease as you age, certain individuals experience an unusual imbalance. 

This imbalance can drive dozens of medical issues and for the majority of hormones present, too much or little can cause symptoms and problems regarding your health. Although most imbalances need medical treatment, some are temporary and disappear by themselves.

Hormonal Imbalance Explained

Hormones are chemical substances created by different glands and tissues that form an integral part of the endocrine system. Hormones reach all of the organs and tissues in the body through the bloodstream as they transmit messages to organs informing them about the function to be done and when.

The working mechanism of the hormones include regulation of various bodily processes, including regulating appetite, metabolism, sleep cycles, stress levels and other similar activities. Since they influence a variety of functions, imbalances in specific hormones can cause discomforting symptoms.

A hormonal imbalance is when an individual has too much or less of a specific hormone, like cortisol, insulin or androgens, thyroxine and progesterone where even a slight change can cause significant changes to the body. Certain hormonal imbalances are temporary, while others can be persistent. Additionally, certain hormonal imbalances require treatment to ensure your physical health, while others might impact your overall health.

Conditions Caused By Hormonal Imbalance

Mentioned down here are some conditions that a female body may undergo when they experience hormonal imbalance:

Menstrual Irregularities:

So many hormones play a role during the cycle of menstruation which is the reason an imbalance in hormones can lead to irregular menstrual periods. Certain hormone-related disorders that can produce irregular periods are polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and amenorrhea.

Infertility:

Hormonal imbalances become the primary reason for infertility among women causing hormone-related disorders like PCOS and anovulation. 

Extreme Fatigue:

Obviously getting tired is a very common thing but if you’re always tired, you may be suffering from an issue in the thyroid gland as the constant fatigue is a sign of issues with thyroid hormone Thyroxine. Additionally, an imbalance in hormones can lead to insufficient sleep and increased stress, resulting in increased fatigue.

Acne:

A hormonal imbalance could explain the appearance of acne prior to your period. The hormonal changes can cause acne and can exacerbate skin issues. 

Diabetes:

The most common endocrine hormone-related disease is diabetes where the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin, or the body doesn’t make it in a proper way. The common types of diabetes include Type 2, Type 1 diabetes, and gestational diabetes.

Thyroid Disease:

The two most common kinds of thyroid diseases include hypothyroidism- low thyroid hormone levels and hyperthyroidism- high levels of thyroid hormone, and each one of them has a variety of possible reasons which definitely requires treatment.

Obesity:

A variety of hormones influence the way your body communicates that you require food and the way your body utilizes energy and an imbalance in certain hormones could cause weight gain through fat accumulation. 

Common Symptoms

Listed below are some common symptoms that a woman may face if there is Hormonal Imbalance in her body:

The Causes

Every person experiences natural cycles of hormonal imbalances or fluctuations at certain times throughout their lives, but hormonal imbalances could be a result when  endocrine glands in the body aren’t functioning well. These are basically the cells which store and produce hormones and release them into blood. 

There are a variety of glands of the endocrine system throughout the body, which control various organs including:

Tests To Determine The Cause of Hormonal Imbalance

Hormonal imbalance can occur because of natural life changes, including puberty, pregnancy and menopausal changes and sometimes due to numerous medical conditions can also alter hormones. It is therefore important to visit a physician to determine the root of the problem when you suffer specific symptoms.

Blood tests for hormones can include:

Estrogen Test: to help identify infertility, menstrual issues, and ED

Progesterone Test: To help diagnose abnormal bleeding, infertility and adrenal gland problems

FSH Test: To help diagnose infertility and problems with the Ovaries.

TSH Test: To see how well your thyroid is performing.

DHEA Sulfate test: Tests the adrenal gland’s function, conditions of the ovaries, testicles and body hair that is excessive in females.

How can you correct the imbalance in hormones?

Some medical conditions causing hormonal imbalances, like thyroid and diabetes, may require medical attention immediately. There are many nutritional supplements that advertise that they can treat various hormonal imbalances, however only a few have been tested scientifically to be beneficial. Thus, it is important to talk with your doctor before taking supplements.

In addition to medical treatment, your doctor may suggest specific lifestyle modifications to control a hormone imbalance, like reducing your stress levels and engaging in regular exercise.

Balancing Hormones Through Lifestyle Changes

Listed below are some altercations that a person may make in their routinely life to manage their hormone imbalance:

Following exercise routine is a major factor for balancing hormones as apart from increasing blood flow to muscles, exercise enhances the sensitivity of hormone receptors and thus increases the flow of nutrients and hormone signals.

When you are in a stressful condition, the body releases various hormones like adrenaline and cortisol that trigger the fight or flight response. Some management approach to lessen stress includes:

When an individual suffers hormonal imbalance, reducing the sugar intake can help in optimizing the function of hormones, while preventing developing diabetes, obesity and other ailments. Moreover, sweetened drinks are the most significant sources of sugar added to the Western diet and fructose found in soft drinks, fruit juices, energy drinks, etc. Thus, reducing the consumption of drinks containing sugar can boost your hormone health.

Whatever diet you consume routinely or how regular exercise you do, getting adequate restorative night sleep holds equal importance to ensure good health as sleep deprivation can cause problems with several hormones, including cortisol, insulin and HGH. Thus, to maintain a healthy hormonal balance, you should aim for seven hours of quality sleep every night.

Conclusion

The symptoms involving unusual changes in weight, irregular menstrual cycles and skin conditions can majorly occur due to hormonal imbalance. Thus, it is possible to treat hormonal imbalance, however it’s essential to visit a physician to determine the cause. The results of blood tests will usually tell you whether your levels are within normal levels.

If you suspect a hormone imbalance or have particular concerns, visit Shanti Super Speciality Hospital immediately to check with the experts for more details. With years of expertise, the doctors here offer individualized advice and conduct tests, while suggesting appropriate treatment plans to correct the hormone issues in your body.

[certifiedsexed]

Im a trans woman, im 18. I get periods.

Ive been on estrogen since I was 16, 2 years and three months... and my cramps are debilitating. I turn suicidal for a week every month and i sometimes throw up from the stinging/dull pain combo. there is bloating, severe depression, mood swings and extreme dysphoria.

My endocrinologist said that i should beware because my brain is decepting me and that can hinder meaningful conversation in my last meetup a month ago. i swear that im not making this up.

painkillers dont even work on my third/fourth day (i start counting the first day from when i get depressed, the other symptoms start the next day, and there is alot of sharp, radiating cramps, headache and other shittery the third day)

what should i do? am i really such a fraudster? i cant keep going on like this. its reducing my quality of life. is it really possible for me to have this much pain at a 26-27 day cycle??

So, I don't say this lightly: your endocrinologist should go to to hell! You're not a fraud and your brain isn't "deceiving" you. Those are literal textbook symptoms of something like PMDD and it's actually vile of him to straight-up diminish your symptoms and do nothing about it.

My first suggestion is get a different endocrinologist, if you can. That person is committing medical neglect against you and its loaded with medical trans/misogyny. If you can, you do not want to have to continue dealing with that.

Secondly, I want to suggest you try to find an OB/GYN. You have a few choices for dealing with it. If your AGAB is on file, it might be hard to find one that will take you, especially depending on where you live.

If you AGAB is not on file, it'll be easier to get in but medical misogyny, coupled with medical transmisogyny/transphobia is going to make getting help harder.

This does not mean you're faking it or that it's not worth trying [speaking as someone who cannot get diagnosed partially because of bigotry!], it just means people are bigoted assholes sometimes.

You might have to try numerous doctors. I cannot emphasis this enough: if you can, take someone with you! Doctors WILL treat you better.

Sometimes even going to the ER when you're experiencing these symptoms to have them run tests to narrow-down what disability you're dealing with can help. But do not let your endocrinologist force you into believing that the pain you're living with is normal or okay.

I'm not sure if this helps but I hope so, Anon! Let me know if you have any other questions or need anything else, fr. <3333

If anyone else has info that might help Anon, please add on in comments, reblogs and/or asks. Thank you.

[awetistic-things]

awetistic things {951}

having extra painful periods

[saintsavannahh]

feeling insane as fuck rn cuz i got my period 4 the 2nd time this month so my bodys been in a constant cycle of emotional & physical ups & downs. im basically doing cycle speed runs 😐😔❤️‍🩹

[ohumokay]

I gotta start tracking my period bcuz wtf is homegirl doing 😭😭

[moonlightpirate]

Okay so this is for the girlies especially those with pcos but not limited to. I have some questions that I was wondering about. So any thoughts would be helpful

So has anyone on birth control all of a sudden had very long periods? My periods have been 4 days long ever since being on birth control with the occasional 7 day one. But legit my last period was 12 days. This one is going on 2 weeks long now. And it doesn't feel normal 😅

Has anyone had like a major cyst burst and know what that feels like? The one night I was feeling some pain and then just I felt so nauseous like I was going to puke I got overheated and beyond sweaty like I had a fever and after several minutes that all went away minus maybe the pain. It seems from Google that could be what happened but like I'm not sure 😅

Yes I plan to call my doctor Monday especially if I keep bleeding but any final thoughts? This whole thing is odd but I guess just has anyone else with pcos had abnormally long periods? I've never had one for 2 weeks straight! It's so weird and I guess just looking for anything at this point

[feelingtheaster99]

Having an inconsistent uterus is wild because you you’ll be just going along living your life and then all of a sudden there is a PAIN in your stomach and you go through your checklist and it’s not a stomach ache pain or a sickness pain…

And then you’re like OHHHH and several days of feeling sore and having quick access to your emotions makes sense

[aurawomen]

पीरियड्स मिस होने से पहले प्रेगनेंसी कैसे पता करें?

पीरियड्स मिस होते ही, गर्भधारण करने की कोशिश कर रही कोई भी महिला तुरंत अपनी प्रेगनेंसी टेस्ट करती है। आमतौर पर पीरियड्स मिस होना प्रेगनेंसी की और इशारा माना जाता है। अंडा और स्पर्म के निषेचन की प्रक्रिया होने के बाद फर्टिलाइज्ड अंडा गर्भाशय में प्रत्यारोपित हो जाता है। इस प्रक्रिया के पूरा होते ही आप गर्भधारण कर लेती हैं। जैसे ही आप गर्भधारण करती हैं आपके पीरियड्स आने बंद हो जाते हैं। लेकिन प्रेगनेंसी से संबंधित सभी चीजें आपका पीरियड्स मिस होने से पहले ही पूरी हो जाती हैं। ऐसे में आपके मन में यह प्रश्न आ सकता है की Pregnancy Symptoms Before Missed Period in Hindi आप पीरियड्स मिस होने से पहले अपनी प्रेगनेंसी के बारे में कैसे पता लगा सकती हैं।

[thatrandomblogsays]

The tiktok about the 26 year old woman who never got a period and is getting testing because she’s trying to get pregnant makes me feel so feral. I want to beat every coach and doctor that’s ever told women athletes or skinny girls that it was okay they didn’t have a period because they were fit and skinny so the lack of body fat and period and underdevelopment was an issue. Girlie I am so sorry that all the people in your life continually failed you to such an extreme.

[slapdashboard]

New Jersey has created, on its government website, a whole side of the site just for periods. Which it was RUNNING ADS FOR.

So not only have they acknowledged the existence of and lacking care for menstrual health and issues (which in itself is a big win), they’ve also gathered medical information and resources about it, linked to helpful organizations around the state or beyond, made it openly accessible in one online location, and then SPENT ACTUAL MONEY to advertise it so people with periods notice and can actually learn anything about periods for perhaps the first time.

It’s got:

••• What is normal and what is not normal when it comes to menstruation and menstrual pain

••• Period issues, including PMS and PMDD (which people are often gaslit about, especially by male-sex people and scientists), irregular periods, paused periods, heavy periods, period pain, ovarian cysts, fibroids, PCOS, endometriosis, and toxic shock syndrome (and what, other than tampons, can cause it)

••• How periods interact with fertility and pregnancy

••• Introductory info for teens and prepubescent kids (others too) nervous about or still inexperienced with periods, like what to expect, how to manage, what period products are out there, how to choose them, and what a first gyno visit is like

Plus, they include Planned Parenthood as one of their three official healthcare resources (alongside the state health insurance marketplace and NJ Medicaid) and, amongst their resources, a newer NJ organization looking to provide accessible period care for all (including, from what I can tell, trans men, nonbinary people, etc. who menstruate).

This is hopeful news (especially these days, with sexism surging legally and culturally, offline and online), but the website also has a lot of potentially useful, simple info for anyone with periods, not just NJ residents. So if you need help or introductory info, maybe check it out.

[fuyuoh3]

Question for people that get periods.

On my heavy days (first 2-3) I change my pad every 2-3 hours (sometimes even only after 1 hour) is that normal?

1. They are full

2. They're size 4

3. I generally go through a whole box of 28 pads each period. Sometimes there's like four left.

[shubhragoyal]

Women often experience irregular periods as a result of their hormones. Does this issue affect you as well? Do not worry about it because it is treatable, and you can also identify the causes to take necessary precautions! 

There can be several reasons for irregular periods, like hormonal imbalances, stress, birth control, etc. You cannot control your periods, but tracking their pattern is a minor deal! If you want to find out more about the probable causes of irregular menstruation and solution or available treatment options for the same, make sure to read this blog! 

Read More: https://www.drshubhragoyal.com/welcome/blogs/irregular-periods---symptoms-cause-and-treatment-options

[certifiedsexed]

🪼 (to find ask)

Basically ever since i first got my period in 5th grade, they’ve been super long and heavy (11-14 days) and id either have 0 cramps or feel like im being stabbed with a knife. Anyway abt 6 months ago i started BC and it helped and made my periods 7 days, but they were still heavy and it made my cramps so bad i would have to beg my pe teacher not to do PE (she made me bc apparently running would help - im not athletic and running makes my whole body cramp up and makes it hurt to breathe) but that aside, i would also have bad lower back pain. So i switched to one with more estrogen, but my second period on it came 11 days after the first one, and now a week after i still have spotting sometimes and occasionally bleeding for 10-20 minutes. I also get like sick on my period (not contagious but like stuffed up and nausea)

Ive told my mom and she just said i have long periods, but shes a bit concerned with the 11 days situation. I have no idea what’s going on with me.

So, let me be honest: this is definitely a situation where I'm kind of limited by knowledge. I can't tell you what's going on with you.

But I can tell you it's definitely not normal and something is definitely wrong. From the length of your periods, to the extreme pain, to the sporadic bleeding-All of that's very concerning, I understand why y'all are worried!

Honestly, I would try pushing not just for birth control, but having tests run to figure out what exactly is going on if you can. These are possibly severe symptoms and are a definite sign you need to know what, exactly, is causing them.

It's really not just the length of your periods that's the issue here. You're having sporadic bleeding and extreme pain, even on birth control. That's bad, to put it simply and not just a slightly inconvenient menstrual cycle.

I don't think this helps but let me know if you have any other questions, Anon.

[smalltittiesbigdreams]

Nobody talks about how annoying it is to have to plan your summer outfits around your period

[blahwithasideofblah]

Just discovered that bleeding for several weeks straight is not, in fact, what they mean by irregular periods.

[kimberlychapman]

Don't delay in asking for help, either. It takes years on average for any period-related stuff to get any reasonable, worthwhile attention from HCWs.

Play your HCWs off against each other if you have to. I've been begging for peri-menopausal help since pre-covid times but only after I got long covid and convinced my long covid team that the long covid is exacerbating existing peri-menopause stuff did they push my GP enough to get the GP to finally put me in the queue for specialist menopausal attention. The GP filed that referral at the end of May 2023. I finally got the appointment last weekend (February 2024) and that was bumped up from the original April 2024 appointment only because some specialists came up from London on a weekend to help alleviate Cambridge's backlog.

Now I've got a likely diagnosis that needs confirmation via a scan, and at that scan I can finally get some HRT, so I'm in the queue for those things. No idea how long I'll wait. Google says wait times for the HRT alone are 10 weeks to a year depending on your post code lottery.

I am white, cis, English-speaking, fairly affluent, educated, and practiced at advocating for myself medically and yet it's been over 5 years trying to get help for this agony and associated problems. I now have hope of maybe getting help within the next 10-52 weeks. Imagine how much worse this is for people outside of my privilege set.

Seriously, if you are having any kind of period problems, start talking to multiple HCWs now. Expect to be disbelieved, told to do CBT about it, told to lose weight about it, told to exercise more about it, told to do a thousand things that won't help. Expect sighs and rolled eyes, even from women doctors. Expect to be treated like you're just whining about nothing. Expect possible referrals to psych (which is why it's key to be talking to multiple HCWs so one can't just go off on you).

You need to approach this like a long-term battle campaign. It sucks because you don't have the energy for that, but most of us will go through this to get any attention at all.

hey so it’s march now aka the beginning of endometriosis awareness month and i feel obligated to remind you that debilitatingly painful periods are not normal. if you or someone you know is ending up sick or bedridden every month, you are not crazy and deserve medical attention from someone who will take you seriously