I just started Keto 1 week ago today. I’ve lost 12 pounds already. I understand that your hormones can go out of wack and start or stop your period from the diet. I am on birth control pills and have never had an issue, but two days ago I started spotting and now I am heavy bleeding. I am still taking my birth control as directed and I am still bleeding. Looking for some advice. Does anyone know why this is happening? Is my birth control still effective? Is there any way I can get my period to stop? (due to me being on the pill I am not suppose to have my period right now). Any advice is appreciated.
Keto diet is messing up my cycle!
megkelly88
(Megan K)
#2
I get the same thing when I am deep in Ketosis for a few days. I did google that it is more common with women on the pill. My spotting lasted almost a full month, until I got my period again… and then I cheated, so the spike in carbs naturally stopped the spotting. If you get an answer as to how to stop it, that would be so helpful as its a frustrating side effect…
HanBal
(Hannah)
#3
i’m tempted to eat carbs just to get it to go away, but I really don’t want to stop progress with my diet. I’m having very painful cramps as well.
Emma_Cohn
(Emma Cohn)
#5
Hi there. It’s common to have sudden and temporary changes to your cycle when you first start ketosis. A lot of hormones are stored in body fat and are released again into your bloodstream when you metabolize the stored fat. You just got a big dose of hormones! My period was two weeks early the first month of keto. Since then it’s been more regular and lighter than before keto. If you are concerned about the birth control use a backup option for now. Your hormones should balance out again quickly.
Shelm1211
#6
I know this post is a bit old, but just in case anyone stumbles upon this like I did…I started a Keto diet for the second time January 1st of this year. I had done the diet previously, but had slowly eased into and didn’t experience any issues as far as Keto flu or with my period. The second time around I was more prepared to start and jumped right in. Due to quickly cutting my carb intake I did experience about a week of Keto flu. That first month my period started in the third week of my packet of BC pills instead of my fourth(sugar pills). I found this strange because I had been on the same pill for over 10 years and the dosage I had been taking at the time for over a year without experiencing this. My period ended up lasting for over a week and a half that month which brought me just about to when I was meant to start taking my next pack of pills. I started the next pack at the time I was scheduled to and didn’t think much else of it since I had been taking them at the same time daily without missing a pill. I continued on a strict Keto diet and during the third week of my next cycle I experienced some spotting. I figured it was just some break through bleeding and that my period would start on schedule the following week, but it didn’t. I didn’t think I could possibly be pregnant since I had been on the pill so long without so much as a scare and I hadn’t missed a pill or changed the way I took them at all. In order to ease my mind I took pregnancy test and sure enough it was positive. Turns out that the spotting I experienced that month was implantation bleeding and I am now 6 months pregnant. Obviously this is completely anecdotal and there is no way to know for sure if the diet had any impact on my pregnancy(it’s possible I’m just part of the 1%), BUT if your period is impacted AT ALL by ketosis I would definitely recommend an alternative method of contraceptive.
TL/DR- use alternative contraceptive if you have any change in your period after starting Keto.
Shelm1211
#8
No problem 
figured my experience may be helpful. I spent weeks trying to figure out what could have possibly happened until someone suggested it may have been my diet. It honestly never even crossed my mind.
Sarah_Bruhn
(Sarah Bruhn)
#9
I have heard of many ladies who have struggled with fertility getting pregnant on keto. I guess nearly everything medical is actually based on a high carb diet so we don’t really know how keto effects hormones and fertility completely.
Shelm1211
#10
That’s so true incredibly true! And this certainly wasn’t mentioned anywhere in the mountains of things I read before starting this diet. However, I really did love being in ketosis the first time I did it so I would absolutely recommend it. I would just be EXTRA careful in the first month until hormone levels balance out.
Samantha_M
(Samantha Muniz)
#11
Ugh I am having the SAME issue. Did yours resolve??? This sucks. And I take the pill continuously for NO period. I’ve had two this month. Super heavy. 
Zikhona_Tshabalala
(Zikhona Tshabalala)
#12
hi everyone this might be old but I started Keto 3 weeks back I have PCOS I stopped taking contraceptive pills years so i had no periods for about 2 years, 1 week and 2 days in keto I had my periods I have lost 4.1 kgs in this 3 weeks and today i started spotting but I am not worried
Ana_Lucia_Notrica
(Ana Lucia Notrica)
#13
Hi ! I’m experiencing the same , use the contraceptive patch and had some spotting a week earlier than I am supposed to have my period , but been reading is quite normal
PaulL
(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?)
#14
Welcome to the forums!
It often takes a while, apparently, for women’s cycles to settle down once they start a ketogenic diet. Eating a well-formulated ketogenic diet to satiety offers the body resources for restoring a wide number of bodily processes to their proper functioning.
When you have been a member long enough for the Health forum to be unlocked to you (doesn’t take long), you will find a whole section on women’s issues that should be helpful.