Today I bring you a post in the Fibro Alongside series and today it is concentrating upon Menstruation or specifically possible complications of this. I first talked about this last year when I guess I was less bold as I called it that time of the month! It is amazing what can happen when you spend most of your life online rather than face to face. Gaining some knowledge of SEO has quite a bit to do with the change of wording too. As with the other posts in these series, I want to concentrate on the effects of dealing with both the Fibromyalgia with the Menstrual complications rather than either condition in isolation. If you are looking for general Fibro information, please check out my Fibromyalgia category where you will find plenty of posts about all sorts of subjects.
Cycle Changes
No, we are not talking about bicycles. One of the most significant alterations I have experienced since I have been living with Fibromyalgia is my menstruation cycle is all over the place. I am not just talking about being early or late but skipping entire months at times. Even the best apps do not stand a chance of keeping up with my body anymore. To give you an example my menstruation report shows the last eight cycles were: 26, 37, 58, 24, 25, 19, 43 and 31 days. I find myself being grateful for the breast discomfort at least I have some indicator things are happening (although this can last anywhere from three to ten days).
Menstruation Volume
I can’t discuss this without dealing with the extent. As well as the complications with the length of time between periods another change is the volume. Let’s face it, girls, we all know what our options are when dealing with the situation. I have not gone down the cup route yet because I can’t see how it could be comfortable. If you have Fibromyalgia or a similar chronic health condition and have used and found one of these not to hurt, please let me know! I use a mixture of internal and external and sometimes need both. Without wanting to get icky or anything, I can spend a few days pulling things out after 8 hours at a time that are almost clean and dry. Other times, like this week, it is like Niagra is descending. One night I was bunged up with max size and still woke up at 4 am looking like the victim of murder. Enormous credit to my fantastic husband who calmly got up and changed the bed and helped clean me down.
Pain, of Course
Let’s keep it real when you live with Fibromyalgia there isn’t a day goes by when you do not have to manage pain. The levels of the pain can vary and some days are considerably better than others, but some degree of pain is our routine. When the menstruation levels ramp up so does the pain factor. Before living with Fibro, I could usually take a couple of painkillers and get on with it. Now, of course, I am taking prescription painkillers every day as standard. So when menstrual cramps kick in, I have to look elsewhere for relief. I still stand by the use of essential oils as mentioned in my previous post and also my special cocktail. Deep breathing can sometimes give some ease, but nothing can tackle the worst of the cramps. As a special bonus, the uterus contractions can sometimes set off the IBS as well, just marvellous!
Who else is dealing with this?
As with the other posts in this Fibromyalgia alongside series, I would love to hear from anyone else who is managing Fibromyalgia alongside menstruation problems. Do you have a blog? Maybe you are active on social media. We all have slightly different experiences, and I would love to build a small group of people who help support anyone else dealing with these overlapping problems? You can check out Beverley on the Sinusitis page and Jamie on the IBS page to see how you could feature. I know this is an uncomfortable subject for some but be brave it’s natural, it’s normal, and it shapes you as a woman.
Get in Touch
Have you found this post useful? I would love it if you dropped a comment below and shared your thoughts. Reach out to me on any of my social media channels if you want to ask a question or make a comment. As a spoonie, I rarely get out, so I very much value my online friendships. Will my newest friend be you?
Until next time,
Gentle Hugs,
Susan
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I really appreciate this post! I struggle the most with my fibromyalgia symptoms right before I get my menstrual cycle and right after. Does anyone else have that same difficulty? It’s like I could tell you exactly when my menstrual cycle is going to start and end by my symptoms. Beforehand, my pain spikes and my emotions reach such a low that I feel the world is ending. Afterwards, my pain spikes, and I feel terribly sick.
Hi Elizabeth, That sounds horrible. I find my exhaustion levels rise dramatically afterwards, but thankfully I do not usually have a flare up of my Fibromyalgia symptoms unless I was already in a flare-up anyway. It is hard enough dealing with the cramps. As always each of us has our own slightly different Fibro experiences.