Weird Menstrual Cycles?

[hannahm]

Ever since going gluten free, and even a couple months before I got diagnosed (more when my Celiac was becoming severe), my periods have been all out of whack. I've had them for about 3 years now, but the past year or so has been really strange. My periods have been different than others in the past, and they're always a week plus later every month. Does anyone else experience weird period problems?

[rosetapper23]

Back when I used to menstruate (chemo put a halt to that four years ago) and before I knew I had celiac, I had the weirdest periods ever! I used to get them every other month for a few years, even though I was on the pill. When I lived in Europe, they came nightly from 9:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. and disappeared during the day for three months until I returned to the U.S., and then I bled 24/7 until I took medications to stop the bleeding. When I went to live in Brazil, they completely vanished until I returned to the U.S. Finally, two years before I found out I had celiac (I had become very anemic), my periods returned 24/7 and stayed that way for the entire two years until I was diagnosed with celiac. Apparently, because our damaged intestinal lining can block absorption of hormones, our periods can get out of whack. That's why a lot of us have/had trouble getting pregnant and with miscarriages. I had to take fertility pills to get pregnant, and I had three miscarriages.

Sometimes it takes a while for the intestinal lining to heal itself--your periods may even out soon.

[dancingacl]

I too have weird cycles. It's pretty variable for me- every 3-6 weeks. Also, just before I went gluten free I lost them all together for about 4 months, but this could have been related to having two stress-fractures (vit. D and calcium malabsorption). Now that I have been gluten-free (and healed for 6 months), everything is back to it's random schedule.

[brittanymaine]

Mine are weird too, before celiac I used to have really heavy periods. Now they are hardly anything and sometimes I don't get mine for 2 months. They aren't regular which is really annoying haha

[MichaelJacksons#1Fan]

Yes! I had a completly normal menstrual cycle for about 1 year, 1 1/2 years, after that my period went away. I am 21 now and I think that I have only had maybe 5 or 6 periods since I was 13. I have been on a gluten-free diet for about 9 months, and it seems as if finally my period is beginning to come again. Luckily, although a bit sporadic (sometimes heavy sometimes light) it comes roughly every 20 to 30 days so good. Strangely though, I had PMS without having a period, not very fun. With time your periods will get back to normal. If you are concerned with the irregularity I know that spearmint tea does help to regulate androgens (testosterone) which causes menstrual irregularities. Hope this Helps!

MichaelJacksons#1Fan =D

[domesticactivist]

My cycle was regular but strange (starting and stopping for over a week, neverending pms) until going gluten free. I thought I was cured! But then after a few months, I had a really awful period. I started taking mineral supplements (ConcenTrace drops) and things are back to being good.

[123bree7797]

mine are some what normal maby you guys need more vitamins

[ElseB]

When I was a teenager, I had no cycle. I'd get my period two months in a row and then nothing for 3 - 4 months. When it did come, I had horrible cramps. I started on birth control at 22 and thought I'd died and gone to heaven! No cramps and ridiculously consistent periods - I knew the hour when it would start each month! Then i was diagnosed with celiac at 28 and looking back assumed those irregular periods were the result of the undiagnosed celiac (I had no other symptoms). Last November I stopped the pill because I got a blood clot and....still irregular periods! And I'm very strict with the gluten free diet. The doctor assures me there's nothing wrong - I've had internal ultrasounds and they can't find anything wrong.

[LauraCo]

Maybe you should ask your doctor to do an ultrasound of your ovaries to check for PCOS. It's not as scary as it sounds! I've known I have PCOS for over a year, but I just realized my gluten sensitivity a few months ago. I was taking medication for the PCOS, but my period still didn't come monthly... Since going gluten free, it's been more reliable. I'm wondering if the PCOS was caused in part by eating gluten when I didn't know I shouldn't?

[shadowicewolf]

i must be lucky then, my period is somewhat normal, tho it comes like every 21-25 days but my doctor isn't too concerned about it. Its always been like that for me. Heck before i got diagnosed my doctor joked that while the rest of me was going to pot, my period was normal and that was very good.

[beatthewheat]

Ever since going gluten free, and even a couple months before I got diagnosed (more when my Celiac was becoming severe), my periods have been all out of whack. I've had them for about 3 years now, but the past year or so has been really strange. My periods have been different than others in the past, and they're always a week plus later every month. Does anyone else experience weird period problems?

yes...I have the same thing, ever since i have been gluten free (5 months) my period has been late every month, last time I was 10 days late. Before I went gluten free I had regular periods but they were always really heavy and now I just have random scheduling but light periods. I thought that maybe my cycle was just reconfiguring itself since I haven't been on the diet for very long. let me know if you find out why being gluten-free changes it..

[jordanfowl]

yes! i am having the same problem! i have always had a regular period but i got diagnosed last month with celiacs and started my gluten free diet right after that but have not gotten my period this month and i know stressing out wont help bring it sooner but i can help but worry... Any advice or similar stories

[Jenniferxgfx]

Are you anemic? My iron gets really low and my periods get all irregular. I didn't make the connection till I had IV iron and they Became what other people called normal/regular, and then when my iron went back down, they became normal for me again. I've been taking iron pills and got my iron back up and theyve been more regular again. My doctors have done this all backwards, treating the anemia and not caring why I'm anemic. Now that Im working on gluten testing, I realized how sensitive our hormones are when we're malnourished. :/

[mybellemichelle]

My periods have always been irregular. I could seriously go up to 6 months without having a single one. When I was put on thyroid medication, they became more regulated, but they still weren't on a monthly cycle. I haven't tried a gluten free diet, so I don't know what will happen when I go gluten free.

[jordanfowl]

Are you anemic? My iron gets really low and my periods get all irregular. I didn't make the connection till I had IV iron and they Became what other people called normal/regular, and then when my iron went back down, they became normal for me again. I've been taking iron pills and got my iron back up and theyve been more regular again. My doctors have done this all backwards, treating the anemia and not caring why I'm anemic. Now that Im working on gluten testing, I realized how sensitive our hormones are when we're malnourished. :/

Very anemic! I've been anemic all the way through high school up until now (my junior year of college) and they are just figuring out that the anemia is related to celiacs! So frustrating! But even through highschool and the anemia I had regular periods. But now I haven't had one since the diagnosis of celiacs... I was just wondering if it was the gluten free diet doing something to me bc I've taken 2 pregnancy tests and they are both negative. I hope that they get things straightened out with you and your anemia! Trust me I know it's no fun!

[Taylor Darby Coben]

My periods are super off! Ever since I got them, they have never been regular. I keep a "log" of how many days in between, and it ranges from 23 to 32. Super strange. I don't know if it has to do with Celiac's or just because we are young so our periods aren't regular. Talk to your mom and see what her's were like, that should give you a pretty good idea of what your's will be like. Genetics play a big role in a lot of these things.

[L.O.C.T.]

At 15, I still hadn't started yet, although I was perfectly normal in every other way (my mother and sister did by age 12 or 13).

Shortly afterward, however, I developed anorexia and didn't weigh enough for it to occur anyway. At 17, I finally started (I was 5'4 and 107 pounds); from there it was regular for a few months (I got to about 120 pounds) but then just disappeared again. The doctor made me take progesterone to get it back , and though she said most women started up after 2 or 3 pills, it took 7 for me. I got a period once and then it was gone again for a few months (FINE by me! -ha!). So I had to take more progesterone- and I cleared out all 10 pills and got nothing. I'm 19 now and I'll have to take them again at the end of this month, but quite frankly I would rather just enjoy the glorious amenorrhea.

[Coolclimates]

these last few months have been strange for me. My periods are almost always very regular but a couple of months ago, I got one and kept bleeding for well over 2 weeks. I wasn't bleeding very hard but it went on and on. My gyn seemed to think that it was due to not ovulating. Then my last period came early but other than that, there was no problem. This period came very late and I had a good 2 weeks of PMS and cramps before it even started. Well it finally started last week but it's been 7 days and I'm still going very heavy. Usually my periods are over in 5-6 days. The cramps have died down but I'm concerned about the heavy bleeding. I've been under a lot of stress lately, but not more than I am usually under. I have also been much more tired than usual. Don't know if it has to do with the fact that I'm losing a lot of blood or what. Periods tend to tire me out anyway. I've been on the gluten-free diet for over a year now. I have diagnosed Celiac Disease and it's been really slow to improve.

[pricklypear1971]

Mine went wacko right before dx. I chalked it up to all the corticosteroids, antihistamines since they can cause irregularity. I started using natural progesterone cream on day 14-28 of my cycle and it straightened it out. Took about 3 months. It was obvious it was working because if I'd forget the cream I'd have immediate breakthrough bleeding.

If you want to know more about progesterone cream get one of Dr. Lee's books.

[AMom2010]

I have always had a perfect 28 day cycle. The last two periods have been out of whack!! I have been gluten-free since July 15 of this year. My last period came two days early and I am currently two days late (still waiting). why would going gluten-free cause this?

Eta: I am 32, didn't realize this was on the teenagers forum