First Menstrual Period gluten-free, Feeling Aweful!

[JBaby]

I have been mostly gluten-free for over a year, had a glutting recently. My symptoms did increase for the worse however, in December I started taking Barleans fish oil liquid. It tastes like a smoothie. Well, the last 2 periods I had, I barely had symptoms both pre and during. Some, but no where as distressing. And I don't take it everyday. Maybe it will help.

[Missjess]

So interesting to read all of these posts. I have been gluten free for six or seven weeks and I recently had my worst period ever! I am taking it as a positive sign. I have been struggling with infertility and colitis. I just tried gluten free because I still never felt quite right. U feel SO So much better avoiding gluten!,,

[annegirl]

Sorry! I know feeling sick on top of everything else sucks.

I've experienced that exact opposite. Gluten free for only 3 weeks and I had no problems with mine other than a tiny bit of fatigue which is normal for me. This is exciting to me as my PMS had gotten really bad the last couple of years. No cramps etc. It was awesome! (still some chest soreness...but that doesn't bother me much and I figure you can't win em all)

I hope it gets better!

[Jungle]

I am hoping that I skip those extra side effects this month and the next few.

I have been using the Diva Cup for a year and all I can say is it is life changing. It makes it so that I barely even know I have my period. 2 times a day I "deal" with the mess. And one of those times I am in the shower so it is easy. As it is made of silicone there aren't the problems of what might be in it. I liked it so much that after the 2nd month (it takes a little bit to get the hang of it) I threw out all my pads and tampons as I knew I'd never use them again. There is also no risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome.

[StacyA]

Light or missing periods often goes with undiagnosed celiac disease, therefore it appears common for periods to get heavier (with worse symptoms) when women go gluten-free. I thought I was going through menopause when my celiac disease first got triggered because my periods suddenly got very light - but when I went gluten-free they got even heavier than before. All part of being a woman...

[txplowgirl]

Very interesting thread. I'm 46 and gluten free for 2 years now. Last months period and this one i'm currently on has been different. More pain, heavier bleeding and I still have cramps on the 4th day. Usually the first 2 days are the worse with heavy cramps and heavy bleeding then it eases off. But not these past 2 i'm 4 days in and it's still bad.

I have never been able to use tampons. Very painful, feels like I have something jammed up inside me hitting my cervix. Plus, I can't pull them out. They're like super glue, lol. I know, TMI.

I'm hoping it's just my age and my body's trying to go into menopause. I will be so glad when I get there.

[thleensd]

I know that my hormones are still adjusting, and my periods suck... but I just figured out after using them for two years that:

Seventh Generation Pads contain wheat!

Here is the link to the ingredients: Open Original Shared Link

It says, "Chlorine-Free Ultra-thin Pads with Wings (and Maxi): The absorbent materials consist of chlorine free wood pulp, chlorine free airlaid fabric, and Lysorb, an absorbent gel. Lysorb, also known as SNAP (super absorbent natural polymer), is a polysaccharide derived from wheat."

Please let's not argue about whether or not you can get glutened from that. I'm not putting wheat next to any mucous membrane.

It says their tampons are 100% cotton.

By the way... I've been on a VERY strict gluten-free diet for 2 years, and I'm still too weak to work. Just changed these out last month, so we'll see if it makes a difference. Interestingly enough I've made more progress with better energy over the last month or so. Coincidence?

[Strawberry-Jam]

two words: menstrual cups. (see menstrualcups.org)

My period's never been the same since I started using my Yuuki. And it's probably coincidence, but I swear my cramps have also gotten better since I started using it.

Also reusable cotton pads are gluten-free and good for the environment.

[AzizaRivers]

two words: Open Original Shared Link. (< click link!)

My period's never been the same since I started using my Yuuki. And it's probably coincidence, but I swear my cramps have also gotten better since I started using it.

Also reusable cotton pads are gluten-free and good for the environment.

I second the cups. My debilitating cramps have gotten SO much better, I don't spend $15 a month on supplies, there's nothing to throw away, I don't have to empty it every 4-6 hours...the list goes on.

On another note, horrible periods were one of my symptoms. I had always had bad ones, but year before being diagnosed my 40-41 day cycle (long, I know) began to rapidly shrink and I would throw up anything I tried to eat for the first few days. At my worst it was 20 days long with spotting in between. Gradually as I got sicker, the stomach problems started spreading beyond my period, and that's when I finally started getting checked out. When I got diagnosed and started healing, the cycle started stretching out and the vomiting stopped at the next cycle. Now, 3.5 months post-gluten-free I'm back to 41 days and I'm not sick on it; with that plus my Mooncup (just switched from Divacup because I got angry with Diva while I was learning and maimed her with a hole puncher) I'm finally having manageable periods for the first time since puberty.

[cait]

Just searched and found this thread from earlier this year. I've been gluten-free since May and had gotten to a point where I was feeling better. Not 100%, but definitely headed in the right direction. Then we went to visit my mom for two weeks. After two weeks of low level glutenings here and there, I came back feeling pretty lousy. I thought I'd feel better after being home, but I haven't. My joint pain is back in action, I'm super tired, my stomach is all confused and cranky, and I'm low on patience and mental energy. I may have made some mistakes in the first few days back (we're still de-glutening the kitchen, but have hopefully finished that this week), but it's been hard to tell if I'm dealing with continued gluten exposure, carryover from the two weeks, or if there's some other intolerance I need to sort out. My period finally started today after days of (omgjuststartalready) leadup. I feel like hell. I kinda remember that last month I felt a little funky before my period and then after the first day was back to normal, but it wasn't nearly this bad. Could all of this be the combination of two weeks of gluten exposure and hormonal crap? If so, is there anything I can do to avoid this in the future? Obviously, avoid gluten exposure. But besides that?

[aroche84]

I haven't had the pain like some of you are describing but one thing I have noticed is that it seems like I am bleeding almost 5 times more than normal. Does anyone else have this problem could it be where the anemia plays in?

[Harpgirl]

Thank you Cait for bring this thread up again! I'm not quite 2 months gluten-free and I've got my period for the first time since weening my youngest son. I've been enjoying being "period free" for almost 4 years (except for 1 cycle between pregnancies), but it seems to have returned with a vengance. For the first 2 days, I went through a tampon every 2 hours and standing up is agony. I feel like my insides are going to fall out. Not to mention I almost feel as though I've been glutened with all the cramping, tiredness and irritability. I'm glad to read that the strengthened symptoms could be from now being gluten-free and hopefully I won't have to endure this every month.

[Medusa]

If it's any consolation my periods are way better since I went gluten free. They are less painful, shorter and best of all I have so much less PMS beforehand - it used to be awful and last up to two weeks before my period started. I used to feel like my hormones ruled my life - in a very negative way! They are not very regular now, but that could be because of the stress of imminent emigration...

I agree with the idea that cycles have a run in time of a couple of months - it may take a while to see positive changes, but yes, absolutely gluten issues affect hormones in the body - how about the effect on thyroid levels for an example?

Gluten/wheat derivatives turn up in the weirdest places. It really wouldn't surprise me if it was in sanitary products too.

[melikamaui]

I am very interested in this thread too. My period disappeared in March of 2010 and I've only had it once since. I would really like to have a regular cycle again because this honestly freaks me out. It just can't be normal not to have a period for this long! I'm hoping going gluten-free will help bring it back.

[ShawnieB]

I am on birth control pills and i was only into my gluten-free diet for 3 days before starting my period and i still had one pill left in the pack. It came way early. Is this normal even if i just started the diet? Also, it seems stronger.