Doctors usually evaluate your health with regular measurements like blood pressure and weight. But your menstruation is one of the signs that can also show that there are some problems with your physical health. You should pay more attention to your menstrual cycle because bad well-being during the period such as severe cramps, heavy blood flow, and other inexplicable changes is the clue your period sends to let you know that something could be wrong.
It might be a serious disease or just a little disorder but you shouldn’t neglect those red flags. We have identified hour changes that should be addressed and the conditions that may be behind them to help decipher what your menstrual cycle is trying to say.
1. Your cramps suddenly get more severe
The fact is that almost 80% of women suffer from cramps during their period. The uterus is considered to be one muscle that contracts to help get rid of the mucous membrane during menstruation. These contractions can be quite painful.
If your cramps have always been severe but they suddenly worsen, it could be a sign of endometriosis. It is a disease in which uterine tissue enters the pelvic area and starts to grow on the fallopian tubes, ovaries, and even the rectum. This condition can cause acute back or pelvic pain during menstruation. Women with endometriosis usually suffer from debilitating cramps.
If you suffer from intense menstrual pain that distracts you from your daily activity and you don’t feel better after taking painkillers or the pain appears at another time of the cycle, make an appointment with your gynecologist. There are methods like birth control pills or other medicines that can make you feel better.
2. Your blood flow becomes very heavy
All women have a different length of menstruation. While some have blood flow for three days, others can suffer for six days. But prolonged or heavier menstruation can be dangerous. Hormonal problems like thyroid disorders or polycystic ovary syndrome can cause irregular and prolonged periods.
Benign growth such as uterine fibroids and polyps can affect your menstruation. Women after their 30s also suffer from perimenopause. Hormonal changes during it can change the length and heaviness of their periods. Weight gain can make your flow more complicated because extra pounds boost estrogen levels.
3. Your menstruation abruptly disappears
Despite the fact that thyroid problems and PCOS can really worsen your well-being during your period, the hormonal changes that affect these two conditions can also make your period temporarily disappear. Stress can also reset ovulation, which means you may miss a period or even two.
Sharp weight loss can also make your period vanish because it leads to a decrease of estrogen which makes your periods lighter or even absent. The fluctuations in the hormones that occur when you are breastfeeding and during perimenopause can also lead to unpredictable periods or their absence even for several months.
4. Your menstrual blood has unusual color or consistency
The blood is usually red at the beginning of the period but when it ends, the color becomes darker. It depends on the menstruation duration, the longer the blood leaves the body, the darker it will be. It is normal because this is how oxygen affects the blood.
But some changes in color deserve special attention. If the blood is watery or mixed with discharge, it might mean that you are pregnant. It happens because the blood mixes with the increased vaginal discharge which usually appears during pregnancy. But when the menstrual blood becomes watery, grayish and has an unpleasant strong odor, it may indicate the presence of an STI.
