I hope I can get help with this one! I started low carbing in April, had a couple of tough (heavy flow, painful cramping) periods, then not much of a problem. I even posted replies to women who had bad cramps letting them know that it will pass. Well, the last two months have been terrible! Heavy flow (accidents) and extremely painful cramps! I can endure a lot of pain but these are really bad. Here's what I think and if anyone can add some additional info I would certainly appreciate it.

I'm 43 years old, in good health, never been pregnant. Normal periods all of my life. I ate a lot of junk (starchy carbs) as a kid, then drank my sugar for many years. I gave up alcohol 14 years ago, nicotine 12 years ago. I continued to eat "healthy" with lots of good carbs (rice, beans, tons of fruit). I finally began low carbing first on Atkins then I switched to Schwarzbein which I follow and adjust to meet my activity level (I'm an ultrarunner, run 50 and 100 mile races, fastpack at altitude, etc). I've been doing fairly well on TSP except for relapes on jellybeans and pork rinds. I've lost 12 pounds since April.

I was re-reading the section of Christine Northrup's book Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom about painful menstration and she attibutes it to a diet of red meat, eggs, dairy and transfatty acid which causes the body to produce too much of the hormone prostaglandin F2 alpha which causes cramping pain.

Well the first day of my period this month I drank diet Mountain Dew (one pint) and ate one bag of pork rinds and 3 ounces of jelly beans. I ate my usual breakfast of steel cut oats, Irish cheese, cucumber and two hard boiled eggs.

My question to you. Has any one had the same experience and have they adjusted their food or used other means? I don't want to go on birth control pills but if I don't get relief I will. I do plan on eliminating egg yolks, some red meat (I eat only good lean) and much of the cheese especially around my TOM.

Another thing that has been happening is hair loss, the whole shaft root and all. This has been going on since June. I have a good thick head of hair so it's not too noticeable. I attributed this to the fact that my husband was involved in a serious motorcycle accident (three weeks in the hospital, long recovery) which caused stress in my life.


Thnak you,
Maureen

Hi Maureen

I agree with you about your hair loss. It is likely that the stress from your husbands motorcycle accident has caused this. I have been low carbing for a year now and my hair is in a lovely condition. Far better than it was on a low fat regime.

I was interested in your TOM experiences. I am 4 years older than you and like you things have been normal for me, no children, etc. When I started this way of life my periods reduced, but I think this was coupled with premenopausal hormonal changes. The periods I did have I noticed did give me more stomach cramps than previous and I took pain killers to ease them. They were not really bad. However, since my hormones went really awry and I have gone onto HRT I do not have these problems anymore. I therefore wonder if your body is producing less estrogen than you need and whether adding estrogen rich foods to your diet might help. Its a thought, anyway.

It IS possible that this is perimenopause. My doctor told me that this would mean periods that are heavier or lighter, more frequent or less frequent, more painful or less painful and that I should expect them all! (Yes, he's a MAN!) But it has been true. There are some herbal supplements that contain Black Cohosh, chasteberry, red clover and some other herbs that help with all the symptoms. But you can also ask your doctor about a blood test that can tell if you are in or entering perimenopause.