Ladies - Changes in your period?

  • Sorry if this is a bit gross but I really need to ask..

    I started my period at 13 and it has always been heavy and most times, painful. Some days I have to wear a tampon and towel!

    I've always been regular, never missed a period. Generally they go on from 7-10 days. I have had sometimes been late (normally because of stress) and sometimes I have gone on for nearly 2 weeks!

    My periods started becoming slighty irregular at the end of 2012 and I put that down to my ever growing weight.

    Anyways, this month I have had the BEST period EVER!

    It's been so light! I have not filled one tampon and even been able to sleep without anything at all. Normally I would not even manage to go through the night without (cringe part coming up) kind of flooding the place!

    It's been 9 days not but for 3 of those days I have had hardly any blood.

    I feel fine.. great actually! Not had sore breasts like normal either. I have been moody though, says the boyfriend

    Is this normal? Will I go back to my old periods?
  • My periods have gotten lighter as I've lost weight. I love, love, love that.
  • Mine has changed over the years. I don't have any issues now that I have an IUD (a god-send really!). Sometimes weight loss can spur hormones which have been stored in our fat to be released into the body, changing our periods, cycles, etc. For example: I have had much more spotting since I started Ideal Protein about a month ago. It is normalizing now, but at the start, yikes.

    Anyhow, you may go back to your old cycle if you go off your diet or whatever change you've made. I am a firm believer that so much of the GMO and other crap they put into our foods has more of an effect on us than we will ever know.
  • This all sounds good to me! I never ever ever plan on going back to how I used to be so I hope this is here to stay!

    It's been great! At first I worried about it because it's SO different from my normal period but then I kind of got thinking maybe it's my weight loss. I feel so fab. Normally on my cycle I feel drained and tender but I feel very normal

    Would be interesting to see if many other women have experienced this too?
  • No, no real changes. My weight never had an affect on my period - I have always had painful, draining mentally and physically, somewhat heavy and regular periods. I have endometriosis so maybe that's why. But I know people who were not even as heavy as I was have issues where their periods stopped because of their weight. I would have welcomed that
  • Hehe we were the the same. I used to ALWAYS be a heavy flow back when I was in my teens. And I remember using those..thick night pads for sleeping or else..yeah. But when I started working out and dieting, it stopped being that heavy. Though sometimes I can have really bad cramps..This month tho, it was a breeze!
  • I agree..when I started gaining a lot of weight I had major period issues. It either came a month late or would last 2 weeks when it did come and I had to wear a tampon with two pads on.

    Once I lost about 20% of my weight (which oddly enough was the recommend amount to start seeing changes in my period) it went back to normal and now only lasts 3 days and then a day or 2 of being really really light. I'll take that over a full 5 days of heavy blood!
  • When I lost weight the first time, my period became irregular (skipped days, very light bleeding etc).

    It was due to the changes in my body. Though, I've never experienced these period changes when I gain weight.
  • Hasn't been long enough to notice a definite trend, but mine appears to be getting more regular and slightly lighter with weight loss.
  • Meh.. after my boasting I got smacked back down to earth with 2 really heavy days.. that taught me!! So in total I had a 13 day period *sigh*

    Next month HAS to be light and short as I am going on holiday. Please.. please let it be short and light
  • My weight loss has had an effect on my periods and also on my fertility. At my heaviest, I was having anovulatory cycles where you bleed like a period, but haven't ovulated. As I've lost weight, my periods have completely regulated. In the past, at my high weight especially, they were heavy, painful, long, irregular. I chart my cycles and I would go anywhere from 40-50 days between periods. My longest time bleeding was almost 30 days (with no medical reasons). Yikes.

    Now, praise God, my periods are totally regular and totally healthy -- and I still have a lot to lose. I ovulate every month, they only last between 4-5 days, are not heavy except for the second day (but not abnormally so), and my cycle is around 30-33 days between periods. They've been this way for over a year (like I mentioned, I chart my cycles so I can recognize patterns etc).

    I totally believe hormones get all out of whack when we are heavier because fat has a big impact on estrogen in particular. I think you'll find the more weight you lose, the more your cycles may regulate (provided there aren't any underlying issues). It's just one of the many benefits of weight loss for many women. As you can see by my ticker, I still have a lot to lose -- but even losing that 65lbs has had a big impact on my cycle. Hope that helps!

    Good luck!
  • I used to have a four day period suckfest. Heavy, painful, etc. I grew up obese.

    When I lost weight, it went down to 2-3 days and was very light. I LOVE it!