Cycle getting shorter! WTF???

[turkituck.livejournal.com]

Sonofabitch.

My cycle has gotten shorter over the last few months. I was on HBC for 5 years, I went off of it last year and got a copper IUD in Sept '06. My cycle started out as 28-29 days and tapered off to about 27 days for a few months.

It showed up 3 days early at the beginning of June. It was due on the 8th and I got it on the 5th. I was on vacation at the time and came prepared, although it was annoying as hell.

Today I had cramps from hell as I usually do in the last 2-3 days before my period is due (Jul 2). I took 5 Ibuprofen just to get through my shift at work they were so bad. When i got home, 5 hours later, I went to the bathroom. When I wiped, I saw pink on the paper. GODDAMMIT! DX Nothing has officially started, but unless I use ibuprofen to delay the flow a little bit for another day, I think it'll be in full swing by Saturday.

I know there are ways to induce your period, but is there a way to lengthen your cycle? Before I went on HBC, I had some really short cycles, like around 18-21 days. I really DON'T want to go back on HBC to regulate things, since I got the IUD so I could have long-term BC without the hormones that were killing my libido, messing with my face, and generally making me miserable.

Comments

[borderdog.livejournal.com]

oh god my cycle was always about 32 days and just for the past few months it has been 24 days. i'm not enjoying it.

[dnl2002.livejournal.com]

As much as I absolutely love my IUD (and I do!) it does mess with my periods. Mine have been heavier, crampier, and I have noticed sometimes they are closer together...3 weeks instead of 4...but not all the time. I used to have cycles that were a little longer than the norm. So I'd say that if you were already of the short cycle bunch and it's been 10 months since you stopped the HBC, it is quite possible that your body is just regulating back to what *your* normal is. The IUD probably isn't helping things much in that department, but if you were having so many problems with the HBC, you kind of just have to decide which is easiest for you to live with. (Sorry, I know that sucks!)

I'm sorry I really don't know of any non-hormonal way to lengthen your cycle.

Hope you feel better!

[turkituck.livejournal.com]

I guess in the long run, I'd rather deal with shorter cycles of my own natural hormones rather than messing around with pills and chemicals I don't fully understand.

Murphy's Law has been kicking my arse a lot lately, and this was just the red icing on a shit-cake...

[frolicnaked.livejournal.com]

You might want to look into vitex (an herbal supplement) for regulating cycle length. It tends to shorten "long" cycles and lengthen "short" ones, though it generally takes 2-3 months of daily use to see results. The best place to get it would be from a reputable herbalist if possible, since it's the best way to know you're getting a high-quality product, but even places like GNC or Vitamin World tend to have it. And if you're interested in hearing about people's personal experiences with vitex, the community bloodmoonherbs might be helpful.

[turkituck.livejournal.com]

My mother is an herbalist and owns a store (I worked there for 5 years and my dad and sister are managers), and back when I was a teenager, I tried almost everything we had in stock for menstrual regularity. Trouble is, I'm not really that good at remembering to take pills on time, another reason I got the IUD. Although now that I'm older and more responsible, maybe I should try herbs again.