[cehrriins]

Grr... So my, ahem, cycle has never been all that regular. It comes about every 30 days give or take 4 or 5 days. I had a period in January, completely skipped February and started yesterday. Drove me nuts. I took 7, yup 7, home pregnancy tests and got one blood test just to be certain(they were all negative). I know all the changes to my lifestyle threw things off: lost 20 lbs in less than a month, completely stopped drinking alcohol, then had 2 teeth pulled. My body was defintely gonna get confused.

Now, I'm on a plateau. Slight eating and exercise changes will fix that, but the water retention isn't helping. I guess I'm a little annoyed with my reproductive system at the moment.

I'm happy when I get my stupid period, but its such a pain, literally and figuratively. If anyone has any tips for dealing with this sort of thing, or even just wants to share/vent about their own experience, I'm all ears.

Thanks, Y'all!
Erin

[Gourmet Bean]

Water water water! And exercise to cut the cramps.

It seems so counterproductive to drink MORE water when you're retaining, but the truth is it will flush all the excess water your body may be holding onto. Cut the sodium intake down as well to prevent anymore water weight.

[SCraver]

OMG... I feel you pain. I am on the pill, so my . is VERY on time each month. This month, it was like 12 hours late, which sounds absurd, but I was worried. There is a lot of stress going on in my family right now, so it wasn't suprising that it was "late" but I had to worry anyways. Another child right now would be a challange.

So, between family stress, and having my . I am having such a HARD time staying on track - meaning that I have NOT been on track at all. I am tired, stressed and have had no time to exercise this week. Topped with all the YUMMY Easter candy I saw at the grocery store.

But, I had a bad couple of days, and now I have to put it behind me and get back on track. Sometimes I think we need a day or two to eat some chocolate and drink some beers so that the next day, we can get back on the horse and go.

[cehrriins]

The weight loss program my daughter and I are on has us drinking 80 ounces of water daily, so at least during these flows, I know I'm staying hydrated. And, playing soccer in the yard with my kids helped me feel better all over yesterday. Its nice to have an excuse to have Mr. cehrriins rub my back, too.

A stiff drink and some chocolate is how I usually handle my monthly bill. Counterproductive, I know. This is the first period in years that I'm not having those things. Not certain yet how I feel about it, lol.

[knobhdy]

A few years ago (when I was at my highest weight) I missed February. I took a home pregnancy test, which was negative and got my menses in March.
Then I skipped April. That led me to the gyno to get a urine test, which was negative. And I got my menses in May.

Now I bet you know where this story is going; that's right. I missed June! Grrrr! Back to the doctor, and this time I got a blood test for pregnancy. Still not with child, but at this point they send me for an ultrasound and ran a bunch of blood work.

They never figured out why my menses were so messed up. To this day my cycle is more like every 6 to 8 weeks. I was told by the gynocologist that the home pregnancy tests are (when used properly) as accurate as a blood test, so I just keep a bunch at home and test often.
After a couple of years I went to an endocrinologist because my PCP thinks I may have PCOS. The endocrinologist assures me that losing even 25 pounds will help my menses become more regular. I was trying to lose it before my next appointment with her, but it got moved up to this week so I will simply have to settle for having lost 5 pounds in the last month.

Good luck.

[astrophe]

I'm a PCOS patient. I'd suggest charting. Either with Taking Charge of Your Fertility or fertility friend or whatever. (I use TCOYF because the book was quite good.)

Then at least you know when its coming. Once you get the "O" spike there's only but so many days before period arrives.

Granted, getting to the "O" can take a bit if you are irregular.

My old endoc liked that I print the TCOYF reports and bring it in. He started telling other patients about it.

A.