We’ve written elsewhere about why we are fans of tracking your cycles and what you can learn from it. For those of us that are on the pill, have an IUD, have had an ablation or have had a hysterectomy, cycle tracking isn’t an option. However, tracking symptoms is an option if you have them.
When we first learned about tracking symptoms as a way to better understand hormonal changes, we thought – gosh, who has the time? In fact, we didn’t start tracking our symptoms until this project was well underway. We soon realized that we needed only a general sense of what symptoms we were having (and when) and not a lot of detail — no need to pull out an app or a notebook several times a day. Rather, we simply started paying attention and jotting down symptoms at night before bed or every few nights. This was enough to learn some things. It’s rewarding to discover that something is happening in a more predictable way than previously thought. And even more rewarding when you see that a remedy you tried has helped or that a symptom has gone away on its own!
Jo noticed her first bothersome symptom in her early forties. She often felt unusually cranky and easily annoyed before her period.
But unlike in her twenties and thirties, it lasted for more than just a few days — some months it seemed to last for up to two weeks. Her primary care doctor suggested a pharmaceutical solution that didn’t interest her. Instead, she significantly ramped up her exercise routine and frequency, tried to eliminate processed foods from her diet, and began to take some basic supplements (vitamins C and D, B complex, and magnesium). Additionally, once she started tracking her period in a more scientific way than circling a date on her calendar (using an app to calculate the number of days in a cycle), she realized that her cycles were slowly but surely becoming shorter. Instead of a 28-day cycle, the number of days in between periods was closer to 26.
Over time, the irritability and crankiness subsided. In its place, some other symptoms (albeit mild) have cropped up. She now experiences periodic sleep troubles (middle-of-the-night waking) and finds that on day 2 or 3 of her cycle, she feels lethargic and sometimes blue. But knowing these are “low-hormone” days, when both estrogen and progesterone are at their lowest points, helps her to just accept them for what they are and know they will pass.
Nina first noticed the return of premenstrual cramps and breast tenderness, which she hadn’t had since before she had kids. Since this was before creating the Women Living Better site, she didn’t know why these symptoms were back.
Soon after, she began waking during the night — many nights she was awake from 2 to 5 am. Sometimes she’d wake up with a revving feeling with enough energy to go for a run (she didn’t). Then, either as a result of the lack of sleep or unrelated, she started to experience anxiety (worries about things that were not previously anxiety-provoking for her). The disturbed sleep coupled with the anxiety was really hard. Her sleep is better these days and with it the anxious feelings. A few days before her period, she still wakes up at 2 am, but not for 3 hours — and no more revving!
While it’s hard to know for sure exactly why things have improved, she’s done some things she believes have helped: she tries to do something to quiet her mind daily (a walk, a 20-minute sitting meditation, an aerobic activity or yoga class) and focuses on staying better-hydrated, going to bed earlier and at a more consistent time, and eating better. She also knows these things are normal parts of this hormonally changing time and that makes her feel better.
