2nd Period This Month!

[julirama723]

I'm on a gluten challenge and have been for the past 2 weeks. I got my period in the beginning of November, and it was right on schedule. Yesterday, I got a SECOND period, I'm not "scheduled" for another one for two weeks! Could this be due to the gluten challenge? I know my body is NOT liking it (from a GI standpoint) but can this also effect menstrual cycles/hormones?

My cycle has been messed up in the past year (2 missed periods, periods early or late +/- 4 days) but I've never had 2 periods in a month.

[darlindeb25]

My cycle has been messed up in the past year (2 missed periods, periods early or late +/- 4 days) but I've never had 2 periods in a month.

How old are you? At 42, I began menopause, which, sometimes, celiac women do go through menopause at a younger age. If your cycle has been messed up for a year, then I doubt doing a gluten challenge is causing the problem.

[Mother of Jibril]

How old are you? At 42, I began menopause, which, sometimes, celiac women do go through menopause at a younger age.

That makes sense... I would also check your thyroid levels. Weren't you hyperthyroid at one point? Maybe your thyroid has burned itself out and now you're going hypothyroid. That can cause heavy, irregular periods. In my 20s I went through stretches where I would get my period every three weeks It's a miracle that I have two living children.

Why don't you make an appointment with a GYN? Even if the irregular bleeding is related to your gluten challenge, it's best to rule out other possibilities.

[julirama723]

I am 27. Since I had my first period (14 years ago), they have been amazingly regular, every 28 days, like clockwork!

This changed last year, my menstrual cycles started to spazz out--my period started coming a couple days early or a couple days late. I had 2 missed periods (there's a possibility this was body fat/exercise related.) I've never had 2 periods in one month, though, this is a new development! The 8 or 9 periods prior to this one have all been relatively on-time.

Yes, I was diagnosed with Graves Disease when I was 13, a week after I got my first period, ironically! I have been feeling very "hypo" for the past year, but my thyroid came back normal. (I did not get tested for T3 or T4, just TSH, and with a normal range being .4-4, mine was 3.02...which is on the high end, I guess hypo is still a possibility for my body? I know others have posted that even though they test in the normal range, they still have symptoms and react positively to thyroid meds.)

[Mother of Jibril]

You could definitely be hypothyroid with that kind of TSH. The new recommendation from AACE is that "normal" should be between 0.3 and 3.0... a lot of labs just haven't caught up yet. A person your age should have an even lower TSH. I would definitely test your free T4/T3. Also, check for antibodies (TPO and TgAb) because if you have them then your body is attacking your thyroid and you should get treatment. Taking the hormones isn't that bad. It's just one little pill in the morning when you wake up.

It's really important to get this under control if you're thinking of having kids in the next few years. Hypothyroidism can cause pregnancy loss. It also lowers the IQ of your baby I probably could have saved myself a lot of heartache if I had known about my own condition before I started having kids.

[julirama723]

Mother of Jibril--thanks! I will ask about that at my next appointment (even though my next appointment is with an allergist/immunologist, perhaps she can refer me to an endocrinologist or at least have them test my T4/T3.) That might help to explain the fatigue and other non-GI problems I've been having for the past year.