"Aunt Flo" and Running!

I've just finished my second cycle of NuvaRing and I'm on my period - its only the second time I've had a period in about four years. I'm really glad NuvaRing is working so well, but holy cow! This is a really heavy period! I'm running, but I definitely feel more sore after - is that normal? Also, I'm on day 2, and I'm up about three pounds. I don't know how that's even possible! When I used to menstruate regularly, I'd gain weight with PMS - has anyone heard of weight gain while ON their period?

It's cramping my style - no pun intended!!

If periods gross you out, stop reading now....

You have been warned...

I always bloat DURING and for a few days aftward.  I don't usually hit the "Full Bloat" until about mid-way through it.

And my whole body usually aches non stop until it's over and Aunt Flo goes to stay somewhere else.

OK!!! THANK YOU!!! I never had this problem before but I haven't menstruated really since I got pregnant with my first - in 2005!!!! The day I got my period my weight shot up and I felt like I had silicone boobs in my cheeks when I ran...

Period stuff doesn't gross me out! I mean, I have one and all:-)

I LOVE AUNT FLO!

"#you're becoming a woman#"

if anyone knows what i'm on about, hit me up :P

ugh, that must be awful. You can definately be up 3 pounds, easy! I gain up to five, sometimes more if I eat something salty. Its awful. Drink LOTS of water, avoid salty things. Keep moving to relieve cramps, and spend some quality time with your favorite sweatpants and a heating pad. Hope things get better soon!

Yeah, just started mine last night.  It sucks, especially as I don't plan to have any more kids and birth control and I don't get along real well.  (Think worst migraines of your life, if I go near the older stuff...and the new one that lets you have the procedure done in the doc's office contains nickel, which I'm massively allergic to.)  I gained 2 pounds overnight yesterday right before I started, am bloated, breasts tender and crampy like crazy.  The cramps actually weren't so bad until I started dieting, and I have no idea why.  This is my second one since I started dieting, and I haven't had cramps this bad since I first got them years ago.  And for some reason, the periods seem to be about 2 days shorter than they were before I started dieting (not so bad, actually....7 days a month sucked.)

 

Anyhow, you're not alone hon.../hugs/...just keep your liquids and iron up and look forward to the end when your weight will drop back down again.

 

 

chaosangel, is your diet stressful to you? or is life just stressful in general and your diet adding to that? whenever my life is freaking me out for some reason my cramps will be insane, like making me throw up they hurt so bad. also are you positive you're getting all the proper nutirents? its crazy how the littlest thing can affect your period. I'd talk to my doctor, maybe s/he can give you some insight.

I hope all the ladies on here who are dealing with Aunt Flo are feeling better soon!

If you're okay with hormonal BC, Seasonique is great!  Only 4 periods a year, and even those periods are about 3 days long.  I love the stuff!  I'm done with having kids and my husband had a vasectomy, but I still take Seasonique so that I won't have to deal with as many periods.  Without BC, my periods are 10 days long and have me in bed with excruciating pain for the first two days, so this stuff is a godsend for me.  And by "excruciating pain," I mean that my cramps are every bit as bad as my unmedicated labor pains were, so that's no small deal!

 

dana: No, the diet isn't stressful to me...in fact, I'm actually enjoying it more than I really thought I would.  I'm supposed to eat as if I'm diabetic anyway, but I love my sweets and everything so much that until now I've not been willing to give them up (mostly...I still allow myself a few M&M's at night because I can eat them very slowly and feel like I'm eating chocolate for a long time).  But I'm really enjoying the knowledge that I'm actually losing weight for the first time in years.  I should be getting all the proper nutrients.  I'm not going by calories, but by exchanges so that I get the right balance of nutrients (starches, proteins, vegetables, fruits in the correct proportion).  I don't do the dairy because I don't process calcium properly, and it winds up all going to my kidneys...I have no desire to wind up in the hospital again for that little issue.

I'm getting around 1500 kcal per day, and I try to up the protein/iron levels when my period hits so I don't wind up anemic or anything.  I have arthritis (at age 34!), so a lot of exercises hurt quite a bit (some days walking is torture, but I can do some low-impact stuff some days...and swimming is great when I can afford it), so I'm fairly sedentary.

One big difference is that I am drinking waaaay more water than I used to.  Before I started dieting, I drank maybe 20 oz of water a day (I know, that's not enough).  Now I'm drinking quite a bit more, anywhere from probably 50-60 oz per day, though I'm not really trying to.  I did try to earlier in the diet because it made me feel less hungry, and I guess I've gotten used to it, so now I just naturally drink it.  I'm wondering if the extra water is what's doing it.

 

apop: I try to avoid the hormonal ones, since they tend to be the ones that give me massive migraines, and the migraines are waaaaaay worse than anything my cramps do.  Having gone through unmedicated labor (for the first 26 hours of it, anyhow), I can see how you'd not want to repeat that experience every single month...gods, that would be horrible.

chaos angel: hmm, sounds like you have it pretty well figured out. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

 

apophenia: I just started seasonique! So far I've had a bit of acne but no other issues. My appetite has increased but I'm not sure if that's the bc or if it's the fact that I've upped my activity levels. We shall see! Did you notice any weird side effects at all?

I've never been on NuvaRing or any form of BC, but regardless I ALWAYS experience more soreness during my period. I personally gain before my period like you mentioned, but I've heard of people gaining during instead. I used to have average PMS symptoms, but the past 2 months I've been getting absolutely terrible backpains (one of my friends gets PMS so bad she passes out/gets lightheaded and has even had to miss school).

When I'm on mine, running is a disaster lol.