It never ceases to amaze me how many women don't really know what is
going in inside their bodies during the menstrual cycle, or how to chart
their cycle. I don't mean that in an unkind way, it's just an
observation.
Knowledge is the best tool you can have, and if you
suffer with PMDD/PMS you need to do a bit of reading and get some of that
valuable knowledge under you belt. It will help as you try and
figure out what happens at what point of your cycle, and having an idea
of the physical changes inside you can really help.
Over
the years I have come across videos and charts which have helped me to
understand the changes my body goes through. That understanding, in
turn, led me to look for ways to support the changes rather than fight
against them. Timing and planning things around the different energies
is now second nature.
Knowing my limits at each point of the cycle has really helped me live with PMDD.
I have the odd breakdown, but I am much more in control on a regular
basis during all points of my cyclical changes. That to me is like
winning the lottery.
I decided to create a chart just for PMDD/PMS sufferers to refer to.
It shows the fluctuations in hormones, the physical changes, and the
energetic/emotional changes. Hopefully it will give you a good idea as
to what is happening in side you when all hell breaks loose! It also
has key words to give you a feel for the natural energy of each phase..
I
will go into more about the seasonal correspondences in another post, but it's
quite easy to connect with. Our energy grows after our period, peaks at
ovulation and then slowly wanes until we bleed again. You can see this
cycle happen in nature every year.
We have like a mini years worth of seasons in one month! I have blogged about these theories before, you can find some of them
here and
here. I also created a poster about these energies which you can find here -
http://naturalshaman.blogspot.co.uk/p/energy-cycle-poster.html.
We
get all stressed out about feeling low, tired or crabby, but if we are
pre menstrual or hitting ovulation there is a simple explanation!
Hormonal changes!
If you are still having trouble during the times
when the hormones level out and are not finding yourself feeling better,
then maybe there are other issues at play. PMDD/PMS will drag you down
during pre menstruation and in some cases, at ovulation too. You
should always feel better at each point between to two, but if you are
not, you may need to look at whether your unhappiness/frustration is
coming from a depression, an unsuitable job, an unhappy relationship, a
past trauma or issue that hasn't been resolved.
PMDD/PMS plays a huge
part in our emotional wellbeing, but it's not the only factor. Stress
and unresolved issues can add to the pressure and make an uncontrollable
outburst more likely.
Here is the chart. It clearly shows the fluctuations and changes the body goes through.
I
have added where the PMDD crisis points are, along with the seasons of
the year and key words that can give you an idea of the energies present
during each phase. Hopefully it is simple enough to understand,
and below, is a written explanation. Again, I hope I have written it in
such a way that it is easy to understand. I have read many a medical
site that uses such technical words that it gets too complicated to
understand!
To chart your periods, you start counting on the first day of bleeding. That is day 1.
You keep counting until you bleed again and the again, the first day of
bleeding becomes day 1. Mark it on a calendar or use an app to keep
track of your period. This helps you to plan around your period by not
taking on too much during the times that could be challenging. I often
count forward and also mark day 7, 14, 21 and 28. That then gives me a
quick view of where I will be emotionally and physically throughout the
month. Lots of cycles are longer or shorter, and that is normal. 28 days is just the average.
Ovulation always occurs around 14 days before your period, so if you
have a short cycle, say, 21 days, you will ovulate on day 7.. if it is a
longer cycle, say 32 days, you will ovulate around day 18. It IS
possible to ovulate twice in a month and to not ovulate at all.
The menstrual cycle is split into 3 phases, follicular, ovulation and luteal.
The first phase is the follicular phase and corresponds to when the
FSH (follicle stimulating hormone, produced in the brain) sends signals
to the ovary to ripen and produce and egg.. This then produces more
estrogen from the ovaries to enable the egg to ripen..
At
ovulation, increasing estrogen levels from the maturing follicles cause
the LH, luteinizing hormone, to surge, which releases the egg. The
corpus luteum (a solid body of cells) is left behind at ovulation. The
corpus luteum excretes progesterone and small amounts of estrogen and
causes the womb lining to thicken in preparation for the egg. This is
called the luteal phase. It prepares the body for pregnancy.
During the luteal phase, estrogen drops quite rapidly and will fluctuate until your period.
At the same time, progesterone is rising. It spikes around day 21,
and then drops off rapidly. When the egg is not fertilised, the corpus
luteum dies and stops producing progesterone and estrogen, this allows
the womb to shed it's lining and cleanse the uterus.
The other hormones involved are those that are produced in the brain that send signals to the ovaries. Gonadotropic
hormones come from the pituitary glad in the brain. They are
controlled by GnRH frequencies that send out pulses to regulate the
production of gonadotropic hormones. In men, this pulse is
contstant and steady. In women, the frequencies change throughout the
cycle which is what gives us a cycle that changes and fluctuates. The
change in frequency is what sends out the right amount of gonadotropic
hormones to our ovaries to trigger the stages of the menstrual cycle.
The
basal body temperature can help clearly indicate ovulation and is
important for those trying to conceive or who use the fertility
awareness method of contraception. By orally taking your
temperature every morning as soon as you wake (before even getting out
of bed) and keeping a record, you will see a drop in temperature at
ovulation and then it will rise from around 36.4
°F to 36.7
°F.
Other signs of ovulation is the consistency of cervical mucus. At
ovulation, this mucus will be fluid and watery. Some women can tell
they are ovulating just by how wet or moist they get. This fluid helps
sperm to swim more easily into the womb. After ovulation, the cervical
mucus will get thicker and more sticky. This is much harder for the
sperm to swim through, which helps with contraception. For more info on
the fertility awareness method and charting temperature, take a look at
TCOYF. Some women do also
experience pain at ovulation. Stabbing sharp pains on either the left
or right side can signify which ovary you are ovulating from! They are
known as mittelschmerz.
By
having even a basic understanding of the physiology of the menstrual
cycle, you can get to grips with why we experience these changes in mind
and body. This is the physical process, but we all know that these
changes DO have a significant effect on our mental health, moods and
wellbeing.
When
you really learn and come to terms with the fact that our bodily
processes are pretty much out of our hands.. meaning, we cannot stop
them, (unless we control them with birth control/hormone therapy or hysterectomy)
but we can start to look at ways of how to live and work WITH them. Of
course, we can influence our bodily functions. By eating and sleeping
right, exercising and staying away from stress we can encourage a
healthier system...
Never
underestimate stress. Stress can knock out these physical rhythms,
causing the cycle to become off balance. This can lead to irregular
periods, changes in cycle length, missing or late periods and all manner
of emotional symptoms.
I
have produced an alternate version of this chart to share on Facebook,
and may look at getting some printed for those who would like a hard
copy to stick up at home... If you are interested in buying a copy,
please message me via my Facebook page or use my Kontactr box.
Chart
is for illustrative purposes only and includes the main factors
responsible for the menstrual cycle. There are obviously other smaller
players on the menstrual stage, but for the purposes of PMDD education, I
have focused on the star performers!
If you choose to download and share, please link back to me and do not remove my copyright from the image. Please contact me if you wish to re blog, so I can give you a shout out in return! Thank you. xx
