Natural ways to regulate cycle

[name_m]Hi[/name_m]
I think I’ve posted this before but it was ages ago and I need new input!

My cycles are so irregular and unpredictable. I’m currently on day 10 and still bleeding (possibly day 13, but I put the first three days down as spotting). I never know when the bleeding is going to stop. And then when it does, I never know when it’s going to come back. I’ve been to the doctors and had a swab which was fine. I’ve been referred to a gynecologist but there’s a six month wait so in the mean time I need to try and find a fix myself.

Anything you can think of that can make periods stop and ovulation start or just regulate periods altogether, please let me know!

I have to preface by saying that I’ve never had irregular periods before. BUT, I did have very excruciatingly painful periods with significant clotting for a long time when I wasn’t paying attention to my hormones. When I started my pre-TTC journey a couple years ago, I noticed significant changes as I took my health more seriously. I wound up with periods that were no longer debilitating in any way. They felt like a helpful natural bodily process instead of the curse they had been for the first 10 years of menstruating for me.

Things that helped me:

  1. [name_u]Chris[/name_u] Kresser’s “The Healthy [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Code” course (online, pricy but worth it for me). Taking his fertility diet and lifestyle seriously really did wonders at making me feel optimally healthy.
  2. Dr. [name_f]Jolene[/name_f] Brighten’s “Quick Guide to Balancing your Hormones,” (e-book, free with opt-in to her email listserve).
  3. SLEEP! Re-prioritizing my life to include a MINIMUM of 8 hours of sleep a night was essential. It was insane and difficult with how many hours I was working at the time and going to school, but I noticed huge differences in my well-being.
  4. Watching “The Human Experiment” (it’s on netflix) changed the way I thought about the toxins in my environment. I made changes over time so that I now use the most natural soaps, detergents, tampons/pads, and other toiletries and beauty products that I can.

I cut out all OTC medications, even when I was sick, and haven’t taken anything in more than 2 years now (with all these other changes, I found I didn’t even miss my period ibuprofen after a while because I was feeling so much better and so much less pain). Regular exercise. During avocado season, I eat an avocado a day (it’s too expensive where I live otherwise). High quality, grass-fed, naturally-raised and -finished organ meats every week. And completely eliminating plastics from our kitchen. We don’t cook or store food in or near anything plastic anymore.

Of course, I don’t know if I would have struggled with my fertility otherwise… there’s no double blind study for that. I was and am young and otherwise healthy. But I did a lot of preventative work upfront pre-TTC because I was really afraid that I wouldn’t be able to conceive easily. I do know that I felt much healthier than at any other time of my reproductive life and I noticed the hormonal changes in my body [my periods were much easier and aside from the first rough day, pain free for the duration… I also saw an increase in the number of EWCM days I had (I had been tracking with the FAM method for pregnancy avoidance for 5 years) from 1-2 to 2-3.] I think it made a difference for me, but I will never know. I conceived on our first ever cycle of TTC last [name_u]November[/name_u].

I wish you luck with your journey. [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t try to do everything at once, but gradual changes in the right direction is always the way to work at changing your lifestyle. 6 months will be a good start and I hope that by the time you have the appointments you’re waiting for, you’ll be able to rule out a lot of other problems/variables even if you haven’t yet conceived. But I hope you get your BFP soon!

Thank you so much @medfordkung. I’ll definitely be taking your advice on board. Congrats on your pregnancy btw!

I know exercising and losing weight can help a lot. I lost 20-25 pounds two years ago and had regular cycles for the first time in years. I ended up gaining it all back and went right back to irregular cycles. I tried so many things over the last few years and honesty, the only natural thing that ever worked for me was regular exercise and weight loss. It sounds like you’ve got some wonderful advice above. I’ve also switched to using all natural products instead of OTC drugs. Mainly I use essential oils. I also drink a lot of tea and water. [name_f]Every[/name_f] little bit helps!

If you have irregular cycles, your best bet is to see an OBGYN. Is there another one available you can see? 6 months seems like an insane amount of time to see one.

Usually there is a medical reason as to why. For me it was because I have PCOS. There is no natural way to regulate them and there is no cure for PCOS (also you are born with PCOS, it has genetic links, so it’s not due to environment), but I know doctors will often prescribe birth control to help, but if you are trying to conceive then that’s probably not an option.

Diet and exercise can increase your chances of conceiving if you have PCOS, but it does not regulate your cycle. I’ve changed my lifestyle before getting pregnant, even trained for a 10k [name_m]Race[/name_m], but my periods never became regular. Heck I got pregnant after not having a period for 2 months! I was supposed to start Clomid (a fertility drug), but got a very unexpected surprise! On the other hand, my cousin who also has PCOS had to undergo fertility treatment to get her baby.

I use pain killers because my cramps are so bad during periods and allergy meds, so I don’t know about the whole “[name_m]Don[/name_m]'t use OTC meds” as I still got pregnant despite having irregular cycles and I used OTC meds all the time. However, I do believe losing weight helped me as that was what my doctor recommended trying while waiting for the test results, 3 months after I started exercising more was when I found out I was pregnant.

Anyway, I would see if you can see a doctor sooner so you can figure out what the problem is to see if it is something you can change naturally or if you will have to consider medication.

@lainy thank you for your input, I have put on a lot of weight recently, so losing weight and just getting a better diet all together is my current goal

@moondreams I do have the option to go private which means I may be able to be sooner. It’s something I’ve been considering for a little while, (in the UK healthcare is paid for by the government, but that means long waiting lists for pretty much everything.)
Thank you also for your input!

I’ve been debating all day on whether or not to comment on this, because I didn’t think I could really add anything helpful. Then I remembered something… A few months ago, I ordered/got a book called “Taking Charge of Your Fertility” by [name_f]Toni[/name_f] Weschler. It’s quite a large book, with quite a lot of details, and I’ve been a bit too busy to delve into yet like I’ve been meaning to.

There’s a chapter in there called “Natural Ways to Balance Your Hormones”. I had it marked with a [name_u]Reese[/name_u] cup wrapper…good lord…lol, so much for healthy eating lol. Anyhow, it suggests:

  1. Herbal supplements: there’s one called vitex, which apparently is widely regarded as being a natural aid for conditions associated with hormonal imbalance…especially womanly things like cycle issues. It hasn’t been as extensively researched as much as actual medications though. NOTE: seek a professional’s guidance on this. You can really hurt yourself just taking things without consultation.

  2. Diet: bleh. moving on.

  3. Kidding…there’s more under the diet tab.
    a. avoid trans fats: it can compromise fertility
    b. use unsaturated vegetable oils
    c. choose slowly digested carbs: fruits, veggies, whole grains, etc.
    d. get plant-based iron: spinach, tomatoes, etc.
    e. drink water/stay hydrated
    f. take a multivitamin: get one with at least 400mcg of folic acid or just take prenatals.

  4. Maintain ideal weight

  5. find a healthy way to manage or reduce stress

[name_f]Alyssa[/name_f]'s added #6: If you know you have any medical conditions, then make sure you are receiving treatment/maintaining yourself, as much as possible. For instance, I have hypothyroidism, which definitely impacts my hormones…if I stop taking my meds, that’s not going to help anything.

Sorry if it’s already been said, I’m just rushing to reply before I dash. I’m not TTC or anything, but for a few years now, my period was all over the place. I went over 10 months without a period, sometimes I had one twice in a few months, but no set date and it was a mess.

I didn’t want to rely on any medication to make them come back, so I started taking evening primrose oil to regulate my hormones. I am on my 5th month or so with them, and now I’m back to regular cycles. It’s my 2nd month with getting them exactly the same time each month give or take a day, but my 3rd month actually getting a period. My diet, weight, general well being hasn’t changed at all, so I am putting it down to the primrose oil!

thank you @namergirl3 and @eoxima, this is all such useful information! I really appreciate your input :slight_smile:

  1. Reduce body fat through diet and exercise.
  2. Manage stress.
  3. Try meditation or a gratitude journal. …
  4. Consider vitex or black cohosh supplements. Or, if you prefer an Eastern approach, consult an acupuncturist for treatment, which may include traditional Chinese “blood-moving” herbs.
  5. Try yoga.

Best Regards:
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