Women Being Aware of their Hormone Fluctuations During the Month

[brucethecollie]

I wanted to share something that has been of great help to me over the past year.  I've always had pms symptoms that seem to be stronger than the norm and felt like half of each month I wasn't quite myself and unable to cope with the hormone changes.  The way I coped was hard on my relationship with my husband, too, and I became increasingly frustrated with this aspect of "being a girl". 

 

SO, I found an app that provides an explanation of what the body's hormones are doing each day (you enter in the first day of your last cycle so that it gives you timely info) and the information I got from it has led to profound changes-changes that made my family happier.  My husband just commented on how I'm myself all month long now instead of just 2/3 or half of the month.  I share here for the females wanting more self-awareness but also for any males who may want to mention it to their female partner.

 

This is about awareness being instrumental for positive change.  It's challenging feeling very different from one day to the next.  A heads up and insight as to what is going on is great for tackling the issue, taking personal responsibility for it, and also seeking to improve the root causes.  I was motivated to eat healthier and manage stress better and exercise more and haven't had any cramping in months whereas I used to have debilitating pain.  I also got off of an SSRI that had been prescribed to me for my pms symptoms.  I wish I had learned all about the hormone part of my cycle at school or from my parents.  It's such practical information.

 

The app has the worst possible name: Hormonescope

But that doesn't take away my use for it

 

If you have any questions on how it helped me I'd be happy to elaborate.

 

And if anyone has any insight to the hormone patterns of men, I'd be very interested in learning.

 

 

[Magnetic Synthesizer]

Closest I found on google play store was 'Hormone Horoscope'

[brucethecollie]

I can't find it

Oh they changed the name!   https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mood-horoscope-period-tracker/id498355157?mt=8

[Mister Mister]

Hey btc, I appreciate you bringing up this topic.  And it's good to hear about your overcoming this problem to some degree.  Interesting that just being aware of the process has helped you so much.  Have you also found that physical health, diet, exercise, and so on, makes a difference?

I have heard that men go through a monthly hormonal cycle, though more subtle, and mostly to do with being horny or not.

But I think the closest thing men have to deal with, that is similar, is the clouding of our thinking which occurs when in the presence of a woman we are attracted to.  In the same way, I've found, just being aware of what's really going on, from a zoom-out perspective, is enormously helpful in avoiding bad decisions.

[brucethecollie]

Hey btc, I appreciate you bringing up this topic.  And it's good to hear about your overcoming this problem to some degree.  Interesting that just being aware of the process has helped you so much.  Have you also found that physical health, diet, exercise, and so on, makes a difference?

 

I have heard that men go through a monthly hormonal cycle, though more subtle, and mostly to do with being horny or not.

 

But I think the closest thing men have to deal with, that is similar, is the clouding of our thinking which occurs when in the presence of a woman we are attracted to.  In the same way, I've found, just being aware of what's really going on, from a zoom-out perspective, is enormously helpful in avoiding bad decisions.

Being aware helps me to understand my feelings are temporary versus permanent and instead of looking around in an emotional haze at my surroundings and assigning blame, I can accept my symptoms for what they are. So I've found it very empowering to just be aware of what is going on instead of a clueless and panicky reactor.  And yes, lifestyle habits make a world of difference. I may have some predisposition to certain things but I can definitely make a big impact on pms symptoms and cycle regularity by eating well, exercising, and managing stress.

 

So interesting what you say about men getting clouded thinking in the midst of an attractive person.  Women have a slightly clouded period around ovulation but from what I hear it's much more intense for men. Awareness really is an asset

[J. D. Stembal]

Being aware helps me to understand my feelings are temporary versus permanent and instead of looking around in an emotional haze at my surroundings and assigning blame, I can accept my symptoms for what they are. So I've found it very empowering to just be aware of what is going on instead of a clueless and panicky reactor.  And yes, lifestyle habits make a world of difference. I may have some predisposition to certain things but I can definitely make a big impact on pms symptoms and cycle regularity by eating well, exercising, and managing stress.

 

So interesting what you say about men getting clouded thinking in the midst of an attractive person.  Women have a slightly clouded period around ovulation but from what I hear it's much more intense for men. Awareness really is an asset

 

Have you watched Alisa Vitti on Youtube? She has a book called Woman Code, which describes how she uses food to balance sex hormones, and how she cured her PCOS.

 

 

Since meeting my ex-girlfriend, I am convinced that spending half of the month emotionally out of sorts is not natural for the female body. She did pull the feminine hormone card on me several times, but by and large, her temperament was very stable. Of course, when I began to challenge her emotional biases with philosophic principles, her emotional eruptions became much more frequent and more severe.

 

As for testosterone, I have been doing a bit of personal experimentation with hormone enhancement. Among other things, I have been taking DHEA supplements. I also exercise 2-3 days a week, and use caffeine and hyper-thermic conditioning to promote the release of extra testosterone from the adrenals, and IGF-1 for brain and muscle growth.

 

Testosterone is vital for the female hormonal balance as, although levels are usually one-tenth of the average male. If you have debilitating emotional swings, I suggest that you take up weight lifting, or some other vigorous exercise like hot vinyasa yoga, which I also do. There are more women at my cross-fit gym than men. There is probably a very good reason for this. Perhaps women find hormonal balance in frequent vigorous exercise more than men do.

 

Good luck ironing out the hormonal and emotional vacillations!

[J. D. Stembal]

P.S.

Bruce, and Mello: Next time you start a Health and Wellness thread in the Self-Knowledge sub-forum, can you preface it with the heading [H&W] so that the other interested parties can identify which threads are relevant to health and wellness?

We will only need to do this until I convince Michael to create the sub-forum, per my request in the General Feedback section.

[brucethecollie]

Have you watched Alisa Vitti on Youtube? She has a book called Woman Code, which describes how she uses food to balance sex hormones, and how she cured her PCOS.

 

 

Since meeting my ex-girlfriend, I am convinced that spending half of the month emotionally out of sorts is not natural for the female body.

 

As for testosterone, I have been doing a bit of personal experimentation with hormone enhancement. Among other things, I have been taking DHEA supplements. I also exercise 2-3 days a week, and use caffeine and hyper-thermic conditioning to promote the release of extra testosterone from the adrenals, and IGF-1.

 

Testosterone is vital for the female hormonal balance as, although levels are usually one-tenth of the average male. If you have debilitating emotional swings, I suggest that you take up weight lifting, or some other vigorous exercise like hot vinyasa yoga, which I also do. There are more women at my crossfit gym than men. There is probably a very good reason for this.

 

Good luck ironing

Yeah, I agree that it's not natural to have pms. I've studied different cultures (out of curiosity regarding nutrition) and it's so interesting how the people eating foods without any of the modern chemicals, sugar, salt, etc, added don't have cases of pms.  My own mother never had any pms (or zits for that matter) and grew up with women who didn't have it either.  Now all these women have daughters with terrible symptoms. I agree that what we eat and how we exercise are the main instigators.  The better I eat and the more I exercise, the less severe my symptoms are.  

 

Thanks for the resource information, I am always looking to learn more about this stuff.  I've been getting long lasting flares of unexplained joint pain for the past few years so I can't consistently lift weights or do more than walk much of the time but when I feel ok then I use a kettle bell, do yoga, and work outside doing heavy manual labor, and I have to say, it feels like the best exercise in the world-stuff that really engages the muscles by way of the core.  And it provides the best sleep.  I'm positive lifting things and using one's own body as resistance is part of the ideal human experience. I knew someone years ago who was almost 70 but looked 40 and he did it by just moving boulders on his property and chopping wood and carrying it into his cabin.  He had the means to live more modernly but decided to do this to get fresh air and stay fit.  Once, my husband and I couldn't lift an old couch out of our house-we couldn't even move it a few inches. He came by one day and did it all by himself with no help.  I'm still amazed.

 

Oh and H & W-got it.

[brucethecollie]

Good stuff, thanks for sharing. I've been getting a lot more exercise consistently for the past couple of months (a lot of thanks to J.D.), and I'd like to know what else I can do to clear up and moisturize my skin. Any suggestions, bruce? I did buy some ayurveda-style sesame oil and essential oils for massaging into skin regularly, especially over the winter. In the past I've hoped that zinc supplementation might help (99% sure I'm deficient), but haven't stayed consistent with it very long. I should probably pick that back up, along with the cod liver oil I've been putting off...

 

Sesame oil is great and the cod liver oil, too.  I try to eat a few cans of sardines or anchovies throughout the week-helps my skin not be so dry.  Avocado and eggs are great, too.  I think avoiding grains helps many people get clearer skin.  Also, many people are unaware of food allergies they have which contribute to breakouts.  My sister and I got allergy tested a while back and while I was surprised to be allergic to a handful of foods, she turned out allergic to about 20 common foods.  When she succeeds in avoiding all those foods, she has clear skin.  When she doesn't, it's a dramatic difference.  

[J. D. Stembal]

Yeah, I agree that it's not natural to have pms. I've studied different cultures (out of curiosity regarding nutrition) and it's so interesting how the people eating foods without any of the modern chemicals, sugar, salt, etc, added don't have cases of pms.  My own mother never had any pms (or zits for that matter) and grew up with women who didn't have it either.  Now all these women have daughters with terrible symptoms. I agree that what we eat and how we exercise are the main instigators.  The better I eat and the more I exercise, the less severe my symptoms are.

 

I don't think this information is in Alisa's Woman Code, but I cannot be sure as I have not seen the book. I have a photocopied reference called "Herbal Support for Adrenal Function" and in it, there is mention of severalTraditional Chinese herbs, Chinese yam, cordyceps, licorice root, and rehmannia.

 

I've used licorice root in my kombucha tea, but not yet tried the others, but the herbal reference indicates that these items are used to address female complaints, such as menopause and menstrual irregularities, especially rehmannia. Do you have an apothecary in town? Perhaps you can try these ingredients and a tea and drink it during the times of the month in which you generally have issues.