Q for the women.. Menstrual cycle

Do you notice your monthly cycles to be long in between getting them? I'm wondering if this is caused by Lyme Disease? I 've been tracking my periods for a long time and I range from getting them every 4 1/2 weeks to 6 weeks. I know this is not normal and women should get their periods every 22-35 days.

Sometimes (not often) I miss my period for that month (has happened twice in the past year), and both of those times I think it was because I had a BAD flare that month, very dizzy off balance etc that month.

I always get WAY worse in my symptoms leading up to my period. I break out in acne as well.

I'm wondering if its a hormone thing or my Lyme Disease causing the long cycles? Anyone have any insight?

Post Edited (JessicaMommy) : 9/3/2015 8:04:18 PM (GMT-6)

I wonder why Lyme die and reproduce in accordance with our menstrual cycles?

JM—
We have had some good discussions about women's cycles and the impact of lyme… might be worth a search to bring up the threads.

This is the best way to approach weird changes in your cycle, which are very common: among a ton of other things, Lyme affects your hormones and your detoxing. Menstruation is really just your body detoxing your uterus through shedding of the membrane (bleeding) and the mechanism that runs this process are your hormonal changes during your cycle.

So, MANY of us who struggle with detoxing also struggle more intensely with our cycles if we have lyme. It's crazy. I just finished my period this AM and the past couple of days have been miserable. You need extra support with your detoxing during your period but this is also tricky because you can stress your body too much if it's not detoxing well or handling what it's trying to process effectively. It's a careful balance. But I've read a lot of convincing information about women who have managed their "PMS" type symptoms simply by getting healthier (healthier diet, avoiding the usual stuff) and detoxing more effectively.

This is also one of the reasons why we're more fatigued during our periods and for me, why I get more strange emotions (I get paranoid and very mournful in the couple of wks before my period—much worse when I was younger and got better, then got worse again when I contracted lyme & co).

I also track my cycle every month and lyme treatment has added one-two days to my cycle and has made me ovulate sooner after my period. I've had some very wacky hormone tests done, which show I'm way past menopause, but here I am, cycling very normally every month. It's just strange.

Regarding your acne—I'd skip the family MD and find a good ND who can help you with better ways to detox and some investigation into reasons why you might not be detoxing effectively. Your skin is your most important detox organ and acne is usually caused by either bacteria (not necessarily on your skin but in your body, producing overproduction of oils) and/or due to a lack of detoxing properly.

In addition to increasing detox, other remedies include:
- Finding a good, safe and gentle exfoliator—some glycolic acids can do this (btw, this is the secret of the "Proactive" products but they are pretty harsh… find a gentler one
- Keep the canvas clean - make sure you wash your face every AM and before bed
- Sleep on a clean pillow case every night (change the pillow case every other night, flip the pillow on the night in-between)
- Make sure you're not eating processed foods, too much sugar and chemicals and toxins that your body is having trouble processing
- People have found relief by swabbing apple cider vinegar across their faces

And make sure what looks like acne isn't actually a reaction to yeast/fungal overgrowth that is growing out of your mouth/nose, etc. USUALLY, the y/f can be a little itchy and the bumps and pimple-like areas don't act like regular acne (e.g. they are not filled with the white puss, they are filled with a watery substance). A lot of people mistake acne for a reaction your skin has to yeast overgrowth. This confounds dermatologists, for some reason.

Hope this helps…

-p

Post Edited (Pirouette) : 9/3/2015 10:27:30 AM (GMT-6)

It is disturbing to have erratic periods. But many women here have reported the same. Our treatment cycles are dynamic (due to flares or adjustments we make or changes in our activity levels, etc.) so this will also affect how our bodies respond to the menstrual cycles as well. We have a LOT going on.

You used to read about Japanese women in comparison, who generally don't (or didn't) experience cycles and hormonal fluctuations and the miserable PMSing the way American women do. They attributed it to a healthier diet, environment, less stress, etc. I wonder if that's changed—haven't seen it mentioned much in this decade. But I also personally know women who don't experience cramping or mood shifts or fatigue. And they are generally in excellent health and have very happy, active lifestyles.

For the past 15 yrs, I've been mostly organic and non-GMO, I used to be a dancer, used to be a runner, now ride my bike, under much less emotional stress than when I was working full time… but due to my difficulties detoxing, I'm now having problematic periods again.

Your issues are manifesting in cycle delays, which is also pretty normal, especially the older we get (I think it's a common symptom of perimenopause, which can last over a decade).

I was told by a lazy gyno once (literally, lazy… she actually forgot to do a pap smear while I was there… never went back) that I had PCOS. I was having painful ovulation —sometimes the egg sac that is released by the fallopian tube bursts and that action can be painful… hoooboy.

But PCOS has several specific conditions and I've read that it is also encouraged by your body's health… meaning, it can be affected by improved health (short of saying it can be cured—but I know women who claim they have cured themselves). I think if you had PCOS you'd have had trouble conceiving… that's not to say that it can't develop NOW. Lyme really screws with our hormones and the way in which our body processes everything that comes into it and everything it's supposed to do to create the chemical reactions and the hormonal responses to keep us alive.

I bet once you get past treatment, your cycle will settle down. Several posters here have claimed they returned to their normal pre-lyme cycles after treatment.

-p

What are you doing for detox?

I'm also taking ALA and ACETYL-L-CARNITINE which I think are good for detox as well?

Thanks for the tips on the sea salt hydrogen peroxide. I should add those to my bath as I have both of them in the house! I'll look for some recipes on the internet.

Thanks for the tips on the binder. I'm going to have to hold off for now though, unless it becomes necessary as I can't afford to increase my monthly Lyme treatment bill anymore than it is now. Paying too much a month now as it is...

Yes! I need to get going on the dry brushing. Something I've been meaning to add to my detox... I wonder if the dollar store would have a brush for this that I need??

The weather has been SO hot hear lately and really humid, so been sweating lots lol It doesn't bug me because I know its helping me detox - normally I would be agitated from the humidity.

Do you have any info on Burber and Pinella?

Yep, everything is worse during that time of the month....I have had problems since my teens, it's like I'd have 2 good weeks, 2 bad weeks...

Then with Lyme, my cycle was way off, sometimes with 5 weeks of pms... Miserable!

So I take bio-identical hormones just to keep my cycle 'normal', it has helped keep the peace..lol...

tbohl, my symptoms are similar to yours, are you in treatment for bart?

Well, if I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times...."Lyme doesn't travel alone".... It brings its thug friends along...bart, babesia ...... and who knows what else.

That's why I like the protocol I'm on, because it targets all infections, viruses, fungi etc at once... (It's in my signature)