[pz1001]

First off, I'd like to say hello, since I'm new here.

Anyway, in the last year, my period has gone from pretty regular to kind of screwy. Some months it's a few days late, and other months it's been early. However, it's been the same regular red discharge until now. Last month's period came super late. Like, "I think I'm pregnant" late. I wasn't, and my period came about 10 days later than scheduled. This month, however, has been a little abnormal. I thought I'd started it last Thursday (a week early) since I saw some spotting in my liner. Later on that night, I wiped and it was clean. The same thing happened on Friday: spotting, then nothing. Then on Saturday morning, I had the familiar "red" period, but nothing later on. Sunday, I was sick all day with a cold, so I don't really remember if there was anything. Yesterday (wednesday), I found dark brown discharge in the pad, and I'm a little concerned.

Some information about my lifestyle now (since it might shed some light): I'm in a monogamous relationship and have had sex regularly for over a year (I noticed my periods starting going a little out of whack since we'd started being intimate). I've also been somewhat stressed about going back to school full time. Also, my job (although part time) can be stressful. I mention this because I know that lifestyle factors can affect your cycle.

Can anyone shed some light on this? I can provide more specific details if asked. Thanks in advance.

[CHANDLERS WISH]

Absolutely, stress creates so much havoc in our lives, including our menstral cycle.


Are you on birth control?


Our body changes every few years, sometimes what we start taking isn't sufficient anymore and we need an alternative dosage and if not on birth control, sometimes our body needs it, unfortunately, in order to be more regular.

CW

[ilovemyyoni]

Hi there pz1001,

Period Irregularities can be quite disconcerting, especially when you are sexually active and the possibility of pregnancy keeps coming - stressful, huh?

Stress/emotions/trauma and diet/lifestyle all play such a huge part in our menstrual cycle, and thats where we are truly blessed. Our body gives us instant feedback as to how it is dealing with all of the goings on. your body is simply letting you know that things are out of balance and asking you to pay attention and keep asking the question 'what is my body needing right now?' It would be a great benefit for you to empower yourself with the knowledge of whats actually happening in the body throughout the cycle. I have seen this alone help to regulate women's cycles. If you don't already, practice some meditation or Qigong so help with the stress levels and be aware of the foods you are eating too. If things persist after you have really committed to being proactive in helping your body, then I would suggest that you go to see a natural therapist that specialises in women;s health, to help regulate things naturally (Chinese Medicine is so amazing with all of this)!

& Just a side note -
I am a massive advocate for avoiding Birth Control pills at all costs. they overload the body with 4 x the amount of hormones that would be naturally occurring in the body AND they are synthetic!!! they create a blanket effect, so squash our own natural, delicate interplay of hormones and override the system. they do not 'fix' things, they just cover it all up. we do NOT need them to regulate anything because that is not what they do at all. I really want to encourage women to take charge of their bodies, be proactive and really begin to know, understand and love their bodies. this takes more energy than popping a pill, but I believe we are at a stage now where we are ready to move away from taking the easy way out.

Blessings and Love. X

[pz1001]

CHANDLERS WISH, i am not on birth control. It's funny you should ask that because I'd planned on going on it right after I finished this cycle, but my body appears to have other plans, since I'm still lightly spotting almost 2 weeks later. It hasn't been consecutive, though; some days there is nothing at all. It's mostly been red/brown lately, and not at all heavy. I'm doubtful that I'm pregnant since I had my "normal" period for about a day, but I might take a hpt just to make sure. I'm hoping it's just stress because this all started while I was traveling, stressed out about the trip/work/school/relationship issues (we had kind of a rocky time on the trip, but it's all in the past now) and I had a pretty bad cold. Could those factors alone cause something like this for going on 2 weeks? Also, I forgot to mention that i'm 25 years old... is it normal to go through something like this around that age? I'm really not sure.