How eating Keto affects a woman's hormones and her monthly visitor

(Stephanie Pratt) #21

Cramps are nothing like they were!!!

(Donna Jones Gardner) #22

What is shark week?

(suzanna) #23

Monthly period

(Donna Jones Gardner) #24

Oh, thank you! LOL

(Laura ) #25

Almost a month in Keto and I must be setting free a LOT of estrogen because I am ALL out of wack but at least my emotions are in check.

(jilliebean1973) #26

This will be my first cycle being in Keto and it is awful. Much worse cramps, my boobs are killing me and want to shove everything into my mouth. Ugh. I am almost 44 and I would sooooo welcome menopause right now!

#27

I started keto in 2012 after listening to Jimmy Mooreā€™s podcast about his experiences. Until then Iā€™d had irregular periodsā€¦high fat made my cycles regular for the first time ever. I think the intermittant fasting and extended fasting makes them disappear some monthsā€¦then again my age may play a factor. I am 58 years oldā€¦havenā€™t ovulated since last summerā€¦maybe menopause is finally here? Have no other signs of that though (thankfully, never had a hot flashā€¦knocks on wood)

(mykittashi) #28

I think this started happening to me in the third month of keto; Iā€™ now in month five. I have a Mirena IUD and it made my cycles worse instead of reducing to almost nothing that was promised in the promotional flier. Any idea of how long it will take to resolve? Iā€™ā€™ wondering if I should have the Mirena removed.

(Laura ) #29

I am in week seven now and all of my hormonal craziness has subsided. In my 5th and 6th weeks I experienced dry flaky skin patches on my face. That sucked but coconut oil worked like a charm. Now this week Iā€™m feeling fantastic, my energy level is high, my appetite has subsided and Iā€™ve learned the signals that my body gives me when I need sustenance. Mainly, I get cold. If I eat a fat bomb my temperature warms back up and Iā€™m raring to go again. This week Iā€™ve also noticed my pants are looser, and I need a belt to keep them in place. I weighed myself on my one-month mark of January 10 as well as took my measurements but I donā€™t plan to do either of those things again until February 10. What I weigh wonā€™t matter as much as how my clothes fit. Keto on, my friends!

(melartweaver) #30

I have the copper IUDā€“love itā€“no hormones.

(Jules Swart) #31

I am, sadly, at the end of my Mirenaā€™s lifespan. I wonā€™t lie and say the first year was amazingā€“I pretty much spotted daily (but it best the stunningly heavy, one week out of every three mess that was happening). My doctor was pretty honest and told me that it was only 50/50 that it would dwindle to the one or two days of light spotting the promos talk about, but was confident that it would (eventually) get it closer to ā€˜normalā€™. By my first year check up, I was spotting about one out of two days, and it went down from there. By 18 months, I had 3-4 days of spotting each cycle. I did notice a significant difference (much heavier) my first couple months on keto, but it has settled back down the last few cycles.
Every woman has a different experience, but I can say that I would absolutely get it againā€¦And will, if I can convince my doctor that 45 isnā€™t too old, given my family history of menopause in the mid to late 50ā€™s!

(gooeykablooey) #32

This will be a TMI reply. Be forewarned.
Before keto I only had about 3-6 periods a year for about 6 years, they were monstrous, cramps so bad I could barely walk and the flow so heavy I would go through an extra long super thick overnight pad in an hour. And they lasted about 2-3 weeks like that with a week of spotting before and after.
Thankfully keto has really changed things, monthly periods, what I consider a normal flow (I can leave the house and get the recommended amount of time out of a pad without ā€œgoing throughā€ it) almost no cramps. Also I donā€™t seem to get the PMS crankies as much as before

(mykittashi) #33

Iā€™m glad Mirena was a good experience for you. Not good at all for me and I had it removed about a month ago (finally after almost 3 full years).

(eat more) #34

good god i am the most irritable monkey in the zoo right nowā€¦for no external reason!
physically iā€™m better than good (no cramps, tenderness, etc) but i want to punch and fling poo at everyone and i havenā€™t even been anywhere!

projected start is todayā€¦hurry the eff up already :joy:

maybe my fast jarred some nasties loose?

(Denise Greene) #35

Iā€™m 7 years post-menopausal and on my 5th day of Keto. My entire life I was very hIgh estrogen, so old age was actually welcome. :smile: But just 5 days into Keto, and I feel like Iā€™m PMSing. Seriously now, I know thereā€™s what they call induction flu, but this is not it. My boobs are swollen, my ovaries ache, Iā€™m jangled, tired and irritable as heck. Reading here, it makes sense that estrogen is being released into my system. Not sure what the cure is other than a LOT of water.

(Arlene) #36

Denise, I am 8 years post menopause. The menopause journey has not been easy for me. I even finally went on bioidentical hormones after 6 years of horrible hot flashes all day & night. I finally just got tired of suffering. Keto is the best thing I ever did. For me, sugar/carbs equal horrible hot flashes, anxiety, anger, sleep problems, etc. After I started eating ketogenic, I didnā€™t need bioidentical hormones anymore. I just feel great all the time. NO more symptoms!
The transition period you are going through should ease up. I need much more salt than I expected. I started putting 1/4 tsp. in every quart of water I drink. I use celtic salt, and himylayan salt. Do not store food or cook food in plastic. If you are on chlorinated water, filter it. I went zero carb for a while, and that made the transition easier for me. Even today, I am mostly zero carb because I just feel better eating that way.

(Megan) #37

Iā€™m going through the same thing. My cycles are worse and I have spotting in between. I keep waiting for it to get better but so far itā€™s the same and itā€™s been a few years. Iā€™m also thinking about having it removed and maybe trying the copper IUD. I notice cramping once in a while but nothing too bad. Being keto hasnā€™t seemed to affect my cycle either way.

(mykittashi) #38

I had mine removed in March. My doc said if I hadnā€™t seen shorter periods after 6 months, it wasnā€™t going to get any better. I had mine for almost 3 years. Happy to say breast tenderness is resolved now.

(Carrie Hutchison) #39

My PMDD had all but disappearedā€¦my depression was under control, my period became regular, only lasting a few days.

(Jennifer) #40

Something Iā€™ve noticed over the last 3 months of keto.

I have been getting strong satiety signals - EXCEPT the few days before and during shark week. There are none - I could eat everything in the fridge and still want more. The last two cycles I have stayed keto, but gained 6-7 pounds of bloat. Itā€™s very discouraging - yes it does come off but takes a week. Iā€™m fasting this week and will probably lose 7-8 pounds. Crazy.

Since my cycles are very regular now, every 28-30 days, I get 2 - 2 1/2 weeks of great weight lose, then 7 to 10 days of gain. Then get to do it all over again. Talk about 2 steps forward, 1 step back EVERY flippen month!

I guess it is progress, but wow.