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

(I came for the weight loss and stayed for my sanity... ) #141

I always used to have a very heavy flow from 14. I would get cramps for days and occasionally almost faint. My doctor then put me on birth control rather than check for anything.
With birth control I was regular, the fainting went away but I was still in pain a week before easily. And birth control also depressed me.
I stopped birth control when going to keto (3 years ago) I have a teeny bit of cramping on day one, I am not too regular yet, it’s always just 4 days were it used to be 6 and it is ‘normal strength’. This gave me soo much freedom. :heart:

(Jennifer Duggan) #142

Thank you!!

(Jennifer Duggan) #143

Thank you so much!!

(Jennifer Duggan) #144

Thank you so much for your responses and support. I finally stoppped. I think it may be due to a supplement I got from Doterra but it may be my hormones maybe be balancing too. Thank goodness. Y’all made me feel like I wasn’t alone in this situation.

#145

Just wanted to say thanks to all of those who have posted here! It’s been very helpful.

I’m 43, no kids, no birth control, in my 2nd week of keto and started my period a couple of days ago. Mine have been fairly heavy for awhile and I think it might be even heavier than normal now. I have had cramps and a headache the first day. I feel like I’ve been more hungry and just listening to my body and giving it what it wants. Feed me Seymour! :slight_smile: Only eating keto things though. We’ll see how things progress as I become a more experienced ketonian.

I do have a question though! The couple of days prior to starting my period, I felt like I was running on high octane. So much energy! Since I’ve started I’ve noticed I’m more tired/sleepy. Could that be from the period or something else? Thanks for your insights!

(Jennifer Duggan) #146

Grit and bare it. Mine lasted 2 weeks. You can do this though. The end will be worth it.

(CJ Young) #147

Yeah, this is exactly what I’ve got my fingers crossed for. Just a little bit lighter and shorter. It’s good to hear from someone who started with really heavy flows and now has more ‘normal’ flows on Keto. I’ve mostly seen postings from people who had irregular but not particularly heavy flows who went to having more regular but heavier periods.

(I came for the weight loss and stayed for my sanity... ) #148

I am quite sure I have undiagnosed PCOS. Here in Switzerland doctors live behind the moon about newly discovered conditions. I know my mom has cysts, I know that I am very insulin resistant and have/had a ton of other symptom. Still searching for a competent gyn I can work with.
I mean who puts a 16 year old on birth control because she bleeds like she’s given birth 3 times? What the f*** right? Sorry, now that I know stuff, things like that just really frustrate me. :tired_face:
But I will keep calm and keto on, and undo the damage 10 years of birth control did. Ohhh all that money spent…

(Bea ) #149

I could not find any keto friendly MD or ND :frowning: in Australia still searching!!

(Jennifer Duggan) #150

Same thing happened to me and I live in the US. Birth control is the easy fix.

(CJ Young) #151

And there it is. Nobody want’s to take the time and look into the complex hormonal system in women. Just slap a birth control pill on it.

(Kelly Denton) #152

I am seeking some advice or confirmations from others! I posted earlier that I have endometriosis and have had an IUD for the past 3 years which was a godsend until I realized that now my body HATES and seems to absolutely REFUSE to lose weight… Its frustrating but I’m just going to KCKO. I do however notice that around a week before I get my period I am RAVENOUSLY hungry. I tend to do fine with 16/8 or 18/6 intermittent fasting, but on that week I can barely make it to 12 hours without wanting to eat everything that is in front of me! Any others experience the same? Do you allow yourself to eat (Keto appropriate still) or do you push through on your regular fast? Just curious what others experienced or advice? I could seriously eat 5lbs of pork belly with butter and a side on keto cinnamon rolls right now hahaha

(I came for the weight loss and stayed for my sanity... ) #153

I can only talk about my own experience, but a zinc defficiency caused sooo many cravings for me.
I would eat, keep the proteins lower and just trow on the fat to satiety and ad salt. lots of salt …

(Stacy Jackson) #154

So I’m just now finding this forum because I am experiencing some weird things. I’m definitely calling my gyno tomorrow to get some advice. Let me give you all a little background on me :slight_smile:

I’m 41 and in November of 2016 I had my first iud in. I got this because I was hemorrhaging so bad that I had to have a blood transfusion. The iud stopped the periods and bleeding but the side effects were almost unbearable after a few months and I was having anxiety attacks almost daily. In late August of 2017 I decided to have that first iud out, BUT everything that was wrong with me and the whole reason I had the iud to begin with, all came back! :frowning: and again I had to have not one but 2 blood transfusions because my iron was SO low and my blood volume was so low. My gyno and I decided I should have another iud put in or it was a hysterectomy for me. I didn’t want major surgery because I am a heavy woman and doing a surgery like that on someone of my size is dangerous.

So In Nov 2017, I had iud #2 put in. It worked and I vowed to just deal with the crazy side effects for as long as I could. About 10 days ago I started the keto diet and I’ve already lost 6 pounds! I’m ecstatic!!! However…i’m having a period which I haven’t had in 4 months and it’s kinda heavy and I’m kinda freaking out because of this hemorrhaging history (I’ve been diagnosed with adenomyosis) that I have whenever I get a period.

Now that I’ve been reading on here about estrogen and fat and hormones and all of that…this bleeding things that’s happening to me is making sense.

Thoughts?

(CJ Young) #155

So I have also had hemorrhaging from my period so bad that i’ve had to have transfusions and liquid iron infusions (which are horrible). Keto is also my last ditch effort to not have my uterus taken out so I VERY MUCH relate to this.

I don’t know about you but I’ve had my vagina looked at about a hundred times and the response is, oh everything looks perfectly healthy. I want to strangle the doctor when they tell me this because obviously something IS wrong. I can’t go on birth control pills and iud’s have caused me other issues. I was asking my doctor about alternative methods. Weird crazy things that I could maybe try. She mentioned Keto/low-carb as a way to regulate hormones but she also said it would be too hard for me (gauntlet thrown).

For about 3 months I’ve been doing some stuff that’s helped with slowing my bleeding enough where I don’t have to be hospitalized. I’ve been taking a tincture when I’m on my period called Shepard’s Purse and I drink a tea called Lady’s Mantle. I really believe that they’ve been helping along with daily iron supplements but about six weeks ago I had another episode so bad I was out of work. I avoided hospitalization but it was very debilitating.

Day after I stopped bleeding I started Keto 2/27/18. I’ve only had one period since starting but it lasted three day’s and was probably considered heavy by your average woman’s standards but by mine it was heavy-normal. Only lasting 3 day’s was the amazing part. I’ve only had one month of it but it’s encouraging for me.

I guess definitely call your gyno to get advice about when/if you need a transfusion. See how long it lasts though, if it’s heavy but only goes for 3-5 days that’s an improvement. I dunno about you but I was going 7-8 day’s of 1 hour tampons before I dropped.

I agree that after listening to anecdotes on here and reading about the hormones and how they’re effected by diet I feel like I’ve stumbled upon a possible answer. For me, I need a few more months to see if this is really working but results have been encouraging.

I’ve see some anecdotal reports where it takes a few months for periods to regulate and get into a normal “flow” if you will. So, as long as this period isn’t destroying you and you think you can just about handle it I would kinda suggest doing a full three month trial. That’s my plan, I mean I’m not a doctor but I just really think this is my best shot at keeping my uterus.

Sorry this is so long, I hope something in there helps and that things get better for you too!

(Melissa Marie) #156

I actually was prescribed birth control to control my cycle/symptoms a few years ago. They were extremely heavy for 2-3 days and all sorts of other symptoms from hair loss, raging mood swings etc. I was hoping keto would help that so I stopped my BC and now all of the symptoms are back as though nothing changed. With HRT (birth control pills) my cycle was barely there and I was told that I was on the lowest strength there is. :confused:

I started keto 3 months ago, and purposely stopped the pills about a month in. My first period was delayed by about two weeks after stopping HRT which was odd because it was always timely during placebo pills. I attributed this to keto and I figured things were out of whack and adjusting. I was excited that the diet had helped me in this arena but alas it did not.

I’ve had the same experience like everyone else mentions - is that I am ravenously hungry starting out. But for me that was one day, then not hungry at all the next. Which was odd… Yesterday I barely ate and at the end of “my week.” Have been overly moody and irritable to the point DH being fed up said I need to go get a burger or start back on my pills. :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: I am retaining a ton of water during as well. Prior to keto W/O hormone therapy, my symptoms were about the same as they are now with the exception of hunger. I am assuming the hunger is also hormone related due to diet and estrogen being released from fat stores used as fuel and the excess estrogen then affecting other hormones.

For me, all the symptoms point to Post Tubal Ligation Syndrome which has gotten progressively worse as time goes on that were suppressed with HRT. I am almost positive my symptoms are due to estrogen being disproportionate to progesterone. Not estrogen dominance but progesterone deficiency. Will be talking with my doctor about this next week to see what she recommends and definitely looking into a variety of other things.

I didn’t and don’t want to take hormones because of the side effects and am looking to be off all medication completely. It helps with getting some things under control but my weight goes up as does the risk for cancer and other side effects such as gallbladder problems which I have also had.

So… do I want fibroids/cysts/mood swings/hair loss, or cancer/stroke/gall bladder/digestion problems and weight gain.
:face_with_raised_eyebrow::weary::pensive:

So I’m literally having to choose between the lesser of two evils and at this point I can’t decide which one is potentially worse. I definitely don’t want uterine ablation, nor a hysterectomy or anything of the sort. Tubal ligation changed a lot of things hormonally and I definitely don’t want to take the risk of making things that are already bad worse especially because there aren’t enough studies that follow the true risks/outcomes long term on women for any of this. I’ve actually even looked into tubal reversal. If I had 5k spare I would have done it just for some relief.

Reluctantly because of the severity of my symptoms I am looking at starting herbal supplements for PMS or temporarily using progesterone only therapy to get through, hoping weight loss will help with my cycle/symptoms. I also started taking a desiccated grass fed beef organ supplement which will naturally replace iron and B12 among other nutrients. I have also read that taking vitamin C reduced the severity of symptoms as well as bleeding so I have bought a good liposomal C supplement and plan on using that regularly as well.

These issues are definitely an N=1 thing as we are each individual in relation to how our bodies operate. What works for one person isn’t necessarily going to help another and may make matters worse. But definitely do your thorough research before you make a choice that you can’t take back to ensure it is right for you personally!

(CJ Young) #157

These all being N=1 experiments is so true and so sad. I feel like I’ve tried all sorts of things with little to no response and I know several other women who aren’t in the same exact boat as me but they have to sort of grasp at straws as well. There is so much that isn’t known about women’s reproductive systems.

We all try homeopathic supplements and alternative therapies trying to find the one that works for us. It’s absolute garbage.

edit was for spelling

(Christy B) #158

I want to talk about a side effect of Keto diet (low carb/high protein/high fat) …

I have always had the WORST menstrual cramps… like curl up and die for 2-3 hours til the advil kicked in… For the first 2 days of my period. It got worse after I had my tubes tied after the last baby 10 years ago. Bleeding increased as well… from barely anything for 3-4 days to looks-like-someone-is-dying for the full 7 days.

I started the Keto diet the day after my period ended last month. I knew that this was the best time to start a diet, bc it was the best I would feel all month and the least I would be craving carbs. Every diet I ever had was derailed by that 4th week, so I figured if I could start and lose a bunch, then if I gained back a couple of pounds during the “dreaded week” then at least I would be still be better off than if I had never done it.

This period I have had ZERO cramps… I felt one twinge, so I took one Advil (not 4)… but NO CRAMPS. Lots of bleeding … BUT NO CRAMPS…

I can’t even believe it!!!

Has anyone ever heard of this???

All my life I suffered… but I ate a lot of sugar. My favorite form of sugar was ice cream… which is the worst for gaining weight… sugar plus animal fat.
I can’t wait until my next period to see if it happens again!!

#159

Mensuration during my period has always been short. 3 days of bleeding over a 30 day cycle total.

My first period on keto was the same week I started so I dont really count it much. But now that Ive been doing keto for a month straight, i got my first “keto” period. It arrived about 5 days ahead of schedule and the bleeding was heavier (I bleed for 4 days instead of 3). The cramps werent sharp, more dull and long lasting.

Minor changes.

(Shahida Marmol) #160

Im 30 and I am on my first period after starting keto. I had 3 days spotting and currently on day 2 of heavy ridiculousness. Has your cycle gone back to normal?