HEALTH TIPS - How to Handle an Irregular Cycle

by Elysia McMahan

Cramps, mild fatigue, headaches, and repeated trips to the bathroom are enough to make any woman dread its arrival. That time of the month definitely has its way of taking a toll on the best of us.For some women, their menstrual cycles may cause so much agony that the only source of relief is popping in a few painkillers and curling up in bed. But for many women, they also live with the anxiety of missing a period at one point or another — never being exactly sure when their day will come.

It’s important to note that most irregular periods are benign. But while some women menstruate like clockwork, others have never experienced a regular cycle since first hitting puberty. A textbook period happens every 24-29 days, but in reality what constitutes as “regular” covers a wide range.

A wide variety of factors are responsible for irregular periods: smoking cigarettes, drug use, caffeine, eating disorders, over-exercising, poor nutrition, or breastfeeding.  Your normal menstrual cycle can also be disturbed when egg numbers drop in your late 30s or if you change your method of contraception and have an imbalance of the reproductive hormones estrogen or progesterone. And irregular periods are common during puberty or just before menopause.

Slight shifts in a woman’s hormonal balance can easily throw off her game and into a mild tailspin.

3 Ways to Get On Track

1. If you have a nutritional gap in your diet, create a bridge by taking a daily multi-vitamin, including magnesium, calcium and a fish oil supplement.

2. Make sure you get moderate exercise (don’t over do it). This may mean that you will need to take the steps to either increase or decrease the current level of physical activity you are providing your body. Exercising will also relieve any stress you may have.

3. Try to make healthy modifications to your meals, especially if you eat a significant amount of refined carbohydrates or fried food.

If you’re still worried about having periods that last a long time, are more frequent, heavy or if you’re spotting or bleeding between periods, you may want to see your doctor.