What I Wish People Knew About the Menstrual Cycle as an Acupuncturist
As someone who has been plagued with irregular periods, intense cramps, and horrific PMS, I never thought about my period as more than something I just suffer through and do my best to ignore. But when I began studying traditional Chinese medicine, my eyes were blown wide open. A healthy period is not only a sign of overall health, but the symptoms you experience can tell you so much about your body. Studying my symptoms throughout my menstrual cycle has been pivotal in understanding my hormones and managing my endometriosis symptoms.
Don’t confuse common with normal. Yes, having period cramps that make us pop painkillers all day, stay in bed, or have to call in sick to work is fairly common - but that doesn’t mean it’s normal. As women we are programmed to just suck it up and push through, which is why we tend to accept this all too common war with our hormones. But really, unbearable PMS and painful or irregular periods is a sign that something is wrong.
Our menstrual cycle is our fifth vital sign. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) confirms that menstrual signs should be used as vital information when evaluating health. Essentially, a healthy period is a sign of overall health. PMS symptoms (moodiness, breast tenderness, headaches, fatigue) or period problems (heavy bleeding or cramps) are your body's way of communicating that your hormones are out of balance.
So what exactly is a healthy period? A healthy period comes every 24-35 days, lasts for 3-7 days, is 25-80mL in total quantity, is painless or only mildly painful, cranberry red in color, doesn’t contain clots that are larger than a pea, is not preceded by significant symptoms, and has a 12-14 day luteal phase (between ovulation and bleed).
If you are on hormonal birth control, you aren’t having a standard period. One of the mechanisms of hormonal contraception is the cessation of ovulation to prevent pregnancy. The artificial hormones override your body’s own hormone production by shutting it down. And when you discontinue the hormones in your birth control pack or take the week of inert, sugar pills, this sudden withdrawal of hormones initiates a shedding of your uterine lining. This could look and feel just like a normal period, but is technically a withdrawal bleed. A true period is the shedding of the uterine lining 12-14 days after ovulation. Ovulation being the keyword here.
Ovulation is the main event of the menstrual cycle. Although it may seem like the actual bleed is the main part of the menstrual cycle, bleeding is really a side effect of ovulation. No ovulation means no bleed, making it the star of the menstrual cycle. The rise in estrogen during the first half of your menstrual cycle sends a message to the brain to release LH (luteinizing hormone), which is the hormone that triggers ovulation. An egg is released from a fluid filled follicle from the ovary to travel down the fallopian tube in search of a sperm. This leftover follicle becomes a structure called the corpus luteum, whose job is to secrete progesterone long enough for fertilization and implantation of an egg to occur. However a corpus luteum can only secrete progesterone for so long before it naturally disintegrates. After 12-14 days of doing its best work, it breaks down and the secretion of progesterone comes to a halt. The decrease of progesterone (which I like to think of as glue that holds the uterine lining), is what causes the uterine lining to shed and a true period to occur.
How to decode your period. An irregular or absent period is often a sign that ovulation isn’t happening regularly. This could be due to stress, illness, poor nutrition, or medical conditions such as PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) or HA (hypothalamic amenorrhea). Your body will be unable to ovulate if it doesn’t have the resources it needs or a suitable environment for conception to occur, whether or not you’re actually trying to get pregnant!
Period pain or PMS symptoms such as mood swings, bloating, headaches/migraines, insomnia, fatigue, or acne may indicate high levels of inflammation or an imbalance in levels of estrogen and/or progesterone.
In traditional Chinese medicine, a healthy, regular cycle is a sign that qi, blood, yin, and yang are balanced. We learn to decode the lengths of the menstrual cycle phases and various symptoms to come up with pattern diagnoses. From there, we can apply the appropriate traditional Chinese medicine technique to bring the body back into balance. For example, PMS symptoms such as headaches, irritability, and insomnia may point to liver qi stagnation. While dark, clotty periods may indicate blood stasis. Using acupuncture, herbs, and diet and lifestyle recommendations, we are able to soothe liver qi stagnation or invigorate blood stasis in order to reduce symptoms.
Paying attention to the signs your body is giving you through your menstrual cycle is such a valuable tool for understanding your health and hormones. If you are experiencing any discomfort with your period, I highly recommend working with a trained health practitioner such as acupuncturist, naturopath, or functional medicine provider. Even in the most difficult or complex of cases, I truly believe there is always something we can do to improve our symptoms.
Want to learn more about strategies you can use to fix your period problems?
📘Access my FREE e-book: How to Start Balancing your Hormones: Fix Your Period Without Overwhelm.
📗My Eating for Hormone Balance e-book breaks down everything you need to know about diet and your hormones. Learn about the basic macros, how to support gut health, what to do about inflammation, and more!
📞 Book a free 15 minute discovery call to see if we're a good fit to work together.
👩🏻💻 Book a 60-90 min initial consultation where we work 1:1 to dig deep into your health history to figure out the root causes of your period problems. From there I provide you with an individualized treatment plan and consistent support along the way.
🏫 Period University™ is the ultimate self-paced online course that teaches you EVERYTHING you need to know about your period and hormones.
In healing,
Allison
