Before we dig into symptoms that you have been told are “hormonal”, PMS or simply part of being a woman it is really helpful to do a very quick back to basics review of the menstrual cycle.
They key players being discussed today are oestrogen and progesterone and the main event of the cycle - OVULATION.
Oestrogen - we have 2 oestrogen surges as part of our monthly cycle - one just before we ovulate and one a few days before our period. This is significant because some of those dreaded cycle symptoms, particularly headaches, migraines and mood swings, can actually be linked to declining levels of oestrogen after a peak.
Progesterone - this is only produced in significant amounts after ovulation - because the follicle that releases the egg then becomes a little progesterone factory. Progesterone is a hormone that can be very calming and support sleep. It does also have it’s downsides and can be linked to the less desirable symptom of constipation.
Cycle Tracking:
Day 1 of your Cycle is the first day of your period - the first day of your proper bleed - spotting before that technically counts as your previous cycle.
The day before your next period is the last day of your cycle.
So if you’re tracking your cycle and counting the days you count from Day 1 up until the day before your next period.
Only 13% of women have the average cycle length of 28 days - according to a study using data from the Natural Cycles app.
The main event of the cycle is ovulation - the assumption that you ovulate on Day 14 of your cycle is based on that average cycle length of 28 days - your cycle is unique to YOU. You normally ovulate between 10 to 14 days before the onset of your period. So you can look at your previous cycles and count back to see when your ovulatory window is. If you have a longer cycle that is 35 days, you are going to ovulate somewhere between Day 21 and Day 25. If your cycle is much shorter - say 23 Days, then you will be ovulating somewhere between Day 9 and Day 13.
We also don’t necessarily ovulate every month - but that’s another post in itself as well.
So when you are noticing symptoms throughout the month - keep a note of what Day of your cycle you are noticing them and you may find that certain symptoms always happen around the same time in your cycle. The more information you have and can share with whoever you are working with (doctor, nutritionist etc) the more targeted the approach can be.
NB For anyone who is on hormonal birth control, you aren’t having a menstrual cycle as the hormonal birth control is disrupting the communication of the hormones in your body (more on this on another day)
