Interesting Info On AF

[mummy of 3 boys]

i just thought i would share this information for all you ladies

I just remembered that last week a couple of my friends attended our local mothers group and had some 'clinic' lady come to speak to them

On this day she informed all the girls that it is actually quite 'healthy' for your body to miss a period!!

I/them found this very interesting who would have thought that it is actually healthy to miss a period once every now and again!

[*Efjay*]

I have heard this before also. I had a Dr speak at an ABA meeting once about contraceptives while BFing. I had said that I don't use any hormonal contraceptives as I don't think its healthy to mess with your body like that. She went on to say that its actually a good thing & helps reduce the cancer (breast/cervical etc) rate. It was a long time ago so I don't remember the full details that she went into but it did make sense. Not enough for me to actually go out & get the pill but something to think about.

[mummy of 3 boys]

[jackrose]

A lecturer at uni had a discussion about this (many years ago now ). His take was that we are far too well fed and comfortable now and able to menstruate for a much longer time (and more consistently) than in the past.

In days gone by, food may not have been as reliable which would have meant that in times of famine or lack of food the body would need to reserve energy. Also, hard physical labour was more common, putting more of a strain on the body and again the body would need to reserve energy. The natural result of this could have been a missed period here and there.
Then take into consideration the age of onset of menses which is getting earlier and earlier and the fact that women more often than not had more pregnancies (more miscarriages etc) and more children. Having more pregnancies means less periods.

I am not sure whether it is healthier for us to skip a period every now and again or what it means for cancer or other health issues but I think it is fair to say we do menstruate a lot more in the modern day than in the earlier days of mankind. Maybe our bodies are not designed to go through the motions every month for 4+ decades?

[*Efjay*]

yeah that was similar to what this Dr had said. Our bodies were never meant to menstruate as often or as long (age wise) as we do now. So hormonal contraceptives that stop your cycle help put things back into balance some what.
I don't buy it though. I get what she was saying but I still don't think hormonal contraceptives can be good on your body.

But given how long I have been pregnanct or breastfeeding over the years I think I can safely say I have put my own balance back into place as far as my cycles go.

[Taurean]

I was told that by my gyno many years ago when my endo was really bad. He changed my pill to Levlen ED so I could skip periods for months at a time as endo grows with each period (bleed). It certainly helped me, I'm SO much better now than I was 10 years ago. My pregnancy with DD helped too (22 months without AF all up).

Come to think of it, my GP mentioned it too when I was about 17 but she didn't mention anything about skipping periods on the pill, she just said getting pregnant would help Interesting 'advice' for a 17 year old!

[mummy of 3 boys]

jackrose- this health nurse lady said it is actually healthy for our bodies to miss a period, i don't know if it has helath benifits of what not but this is just the info she told them

Taurean- im positive i had endo before my first Ds as i would curl over in pain each month, since having both boys i do not suffer no where near as much pain i believe just going the 9 months without a period has helped my body to recover from it

Efjay- i have only used contraception once and it actually made my body worse i would bleed more often and more longer, i am not a fan of contraception due to the weight gain and mood swings but i will be after this baby though but also DF will have a vasectomy so therefore i wont have to worry about it after awhile!

[Bathsheba]

Hmmm, not sure that I buy it either. I believe that the nurse might have said it... but they also say that other things are healthy/safe for the body and it's not necesarily so. I try not to go against nature too much and that has served me well. I avoid messing around with my body's hormonal balance by using the contraceptive pill. I have only ever missed a period when pregnant. It would do my head in if i missed them on a regular basis as I am not keen to fall pregnant anymore.

Personally I think that some better advice would be to remind the women that a good night's sleep or lots of Nana naps when baby is sleeping is the best thing for your body... or even to drink more water. Too many of us are walking around chronically sleep deprived and dehydrated. And they are things that you can control... it's not like you can naturally force your body to miss a period. Or was she trying to encourage these women to take the Pill?

Interesting observation though.

[*Efjay*]

Personally I think that some better advice would be to remind the women that a good night's sleep or lots of Nana naps when baby is sleeping is the best thing for your body... or even to drink more water. Too many of us are walking around chronically sleep deprived and dehydrated. And they are things that you can control... it's not like you can naturally force your body to miss a period. Or was she trying to encourage these women to take the Pill?

Completely agree. Although here I sit, sleep deprived & probably dehydrated too! So up I get to get a glass of water & well, not much I can do n the sleep thing just at the moment but I am doing my best to go to bed as early as I can lately.

[Bathsheba]

hehe... bit freaky that i have the power to make a person get up and drink a glass of water! Wish i had the same effect on my 16yo DD who seems to think everything i suggest is a crock.

[Cassius2]

great, now i am thirsty

i am another one that suffered horrendously with endo and also found it worse on the pill. so strange, as this is what both the gyno and the FS told me was best for symptom relief...

[Taurean]

great, now i am thirsty

i am another one that suffered horrendously with endo and also found it worse on the pill. so strange, as this is what both the gyno and the FS told me was best for symptom relief...

You poor thing! The pill was a godsend for me! I was put on it at 15 due to horrendous periods. The endo runs in the family, on my mums side. Mum had a full hysterectomy In her late 30's (both her sisters and her mum had hysterectomies as well) so my mum wanted to avoid that for me at all cost and was willing to try anything. The first pill I was on regulated my cycles and helped considerably with the pain and heavy periods but I was unable to skip periods as the hormone levels changed weekly in that pill (increased steadily before the sugar pills). In my early 20's I changed to Levlen and started skipping periods, as advised by my gyno, and I saw massive improvements.

Obviously it's not a good solution for everyone but it certainly helped me. Getting the correct pill for your body would help though but unfortunately the pill isn't for everyone either.

[DANNIIM]

You poor thing! The pill was a godsend for me! I was put on it at 15 due to horrendous periods. The endo runs in the family, on my mums side. Mum had a full hysterectomy In her late 30's (both her sisters and her mum had hysterectomies as well) so my mum wanted to avoid that for me at all cost and was willing to try anything. The first pill I was on regulated my cycles and helped considerably with the pain and heavy periods but I was unable to skip periods as the hormone levels changed weekly in that pill (increased steadily before the sugar pills). In my early 20's I changed to Levlen and started skipping periods, as advised by my gyno, and I saw massive improvements.

Obviously it's not a good solution for everyone but it certainly helped me. Getting the correct pill for your body would help though but unfortunately the pill isn't for everyone either.

Taurean i was the same as you when i was a teenager, i would end up in the sick bay at school vomiting and everything from the pain, by the time i was around 14.5 yrs old mum put me on the pill too. I stayed on the pill till i was 23 when i come off it to try and conceive DS1 luckily for me i fell within 2 months but i never touched the pill after that pregnancy and i didn't have another pregnancy until i was 30 so makes you wonder if all those yrs on the pill caused any issues. Funny thing is now 10 yrs since not taking it i am now having 28 day cycles when i always had at 35 - 40+ day cycles all my menstral life. Maybe for me having two pregnancy's with the second one i bfed for as well so i didn't get a period for 2 yrs just maybe my body has decided to co-operate. But i am with Efjay and Bathsheba i don't put anything hormonal wise in my body if i can help it.

[Taurean]

That's quite amazing, isn't it Dannii. Your pregnancies and BF keeping AF at bay probably played a large part in it. It's so interesting! I do wonder if age has anything to do with it too

I was on the pill from age 15 to 29 when we started TTC DD. I fell PG within 3 months. I stayed off the pill after having DD (I didn't see the point in taking the mini pill in our situation) and fell PG with this baby after one cycle And we only DTD once I think I'm quite fertile! But it does run in our family as my sister conceived both her boys the first month of trying and she too has been on the pill for many years. I guess every woman is different.