In my many successful pregnancy cases I realised that about one-third of the causes of infertility were due to an irregular period. Most of these women don’t know that they have irregular periods until a serious problem becomes apparent. This article is very important for women who are in their reproductive years (ie. between puberty and before menopause), especially those in their teenage years.
1. What is a Normal Period?
Most women start menstruating between 12-14 years old. The first six months can be irregular and is nothing to worry about. After six months the cycle should become regular. Generally, the cycle should be around 28-30 days (I suggest recording the first day of each period in your diary) Sometimes travel or moving residence from one city to another or strong emotions can change the length of the period cycle. This is normal and should settle within a couple of months.
Generally, for each cycle the bleeding will last 3-6 days and should be red in colour with a medium flow (not too heavy or light bleeding). Noticeable blood clots (lumps of blood) are not a normal part of menstruation. Severe premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and period pain are further symptoms of an abnormal period. There should be no bleeding or severe ovulation pain between each period.
2. What is an Abnormal Period and what does this indicate?
I will list common abnormal period symptoms and common causes of these symptoms. Please ask yourself, do you have any of these abnormal symptoms?
i) Cycle: too long or too short
When the cycle is less than 27 days in conjunction with the following symptoms: body feeling hot, emotional, anxious, insomnia, a lot of dreams, very bright red blood, red tongue, rapid pulse – this can indicate Liver Heat or Kidney and Liver deficiency.
When the cycle is more than 32 days in conjunction with the following symptoms: pain in the body, lack of energy, overweight, breast tenderness and severe PMS before the period, severe period pain, dark or brownish blood or blood clots – this can indicate stagnation in the Liver and poor circulation. Some of these symptoms, if remain untreated, can develop into polycystic ovarian disease or endometriosis.
ii) Severe premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
Severe PMS with breast fullness, bloating, constipation, puffiness and heaviness before the period usually indicates Liver and Spleen disorder (Liver stagnation and Spleen deficiency).
iii) Period Pain
Moderate or severe period pain in the abdomen and lower back with leg pain, heavy bleeding, dark blood clots or headache indicates Blood Stagnation in certain channels of the body.
iv) Exhaustion Post-Period
Feeling very exhausted after the period with dizziness, increased thirst, pale face or shortness of breath usually indicates deficiency of Qi and Blood or certain organs. In my fertility treatment experience, these women are prone to miscarriage after falling pregnant.
v) Scanty Period
A scanty period with only 1 or 2 days bleeding which is pale red or pink, with a pale face, pale tongue or lack of energy may indicate Blood deficiency. Upon taking a blood test, most of these people will present with an iron deficiency.
3. Lifestyle & Diet Recommendations around Menstruation
Women’s constitution and certain functions of the body is very different to that of men, especially around menstruation, or period time. If we pay more attention to lifestyle and diet, we can avoid many of the uncomfortable symptoms mentioned above.
i) Avoid drinking or eating or even touching cold things around menstruation (ie. ice-cold drinks, ice cream, anything refrigerated – leave until room temperature).
ii) Avoid heavy, strong or fast-paced exercise around menstruation, especially movement that causes pressure around the lower back and abdomen area. I suggest slow walking is the best form of exercise during bleeding.
iii) Avoid emotional issues and keep happy and calm during period time.
iv) Arrange work (career and home) so that you are not too busy or too tired around menstruation.
v) During menstruation drink more warm water or soup and when the period is finished eat a certain amount of nutritious food to restore energy. This will especially benefit those with a Qi or Blood deficiency. (For more details on diet therapy, please check the diet therapy section)
vi) Avoid sexual activity during menstruation.
4. What to do if you have Abnormal Periods
i) Visit your family doctor for a general health check.
ii) You can also visit your natural health therapist – your Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner is one who can help.
iii) When you come to see a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner, generally we will check you by our traditional diagnosis method, such as the tongue, pulse, signs and symptoms to find out the cause of your abnormal period and set up your individual treatment.
5) Example Case
About 2 months ago I had a female patient in her mid twenties. In the first consultation, she told me that for one month she had been experiencing extreme tiredness, dizziness, abdominal discomfort and bloating, constipation, insomnia with difficulty falling asleep and waking frequently during the night, increased dreams, very emotional and anxious. Her menstrual cycle had only been 21 days for the last 3 months. After I checked her with traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis methods, I found that she had too much Heat in the Liver & Large Intestine. It may have been caused by eating too much hot and spicy food. Finally, she told me that she had acquired these symptoms after eating hot and spicy food in Singapore every day for 10 days.
I gave her some acupuncture and Chinese herbal tablets to cool the Liver and clear the Large Intestine. After five treatment sessions her symptoms completely cleared and her menstrual cycle went back to normal.
I hope this article helps women to pay more attention to their menstrual cycles and assist in finding any issues in the earlier stages.