These Are the Health Conditions That Can Be Tied to Your Period

We’ve all heard that infamous joke, whether it’s at work or at school, maybe even at home — “Oh, is it that time of the month again?” It’s usually used about or toward a woman who is perhaps acting overly emotional, maybe a little too headstrong or just differently than she normally does. Most women have perfectly good reasons for being moody during their time of the month.

Let’s first look at periods in their most normal form. Menstruation is when blood and tissue (like the uterine lining) is shed out through the vagina. That’s putting it simply. Menstruation can begin for young girls at a variety of ages, but normally seems to happen around the ages of 12 or 14 years old, sometimes a bit younger like 9 or 10. It is one of the most important events to happen while a girl is going through or is about to start puberty.

The menstrual cycle’s true purpose is to prepare a female’s body for pregnancy, but if a pregnancy does not occur, that is when blood and tissues begin being shed. It is when a pregnancy does occur that things like the uterine lining are kept and not shed, so that a female’s egg has a soft, nutrient-filled place to attach to and mature.

Let’s take a second and examine one large piece of this — when periods typically start and why that may be alarming to a young girl. Periods generally start at quite a young age and not all parents prepare their daughter(s) for it. It can be a very confusing and painful time, especially because of how young girls are when they start their periods. It can be a huge undertaking for them, especially if they have no prior knowledge about periods to go off of.  They may start bleeding randomly and not understand why. Some young girls even believe they are sick or have a serious medical problem when they first start bleeding. They also need to learn how to use items such as pads or tampons, all while developing in other ways by going through puberty. It can be a very scary, overwhelming time in a young girl’s life.

Then there are normally side effects, both emotional and physical, that come along with periods.  Physically there are symptoms such as bloating, cramping, diarrhea, nausea, headaches and acne. Emotionally a female may experience mood swings, depression, irritability and anxiety, which they don’t always feel in control of. Some women may also encounter self-esteem issues since they do not feel their best or like they look their best during this time.

When women complain about their periods or sometimes react “emotionally,” it can be difficult to completely control how they may be acting and they are certainly not in control of what their body is physically doing. Some women even experience such heavy bleeding that they need to be hospitalized or migraines that may leave them in bed.

Then in other cases some women may be diagnosed with a medical condition called endometriosis. It is not a medical condition that is 100% and only related to a woman’s period, but endometriosis can indeed make a woman’s period much more volatile than even what has already been written above.

Pain is the most obvious and common symptom of endometriosis. On her period with endometriosis, a woman may experience incredibly intense menstrual cramps, as well as pain while urinating or passing bowel movements. There may even sometimes be blood in the urine or stool, which can indeed lead to much bigger issues, or at the least clearly be very disconcerting. They can also have a myriad of stomach-related issues, such as constipation, diarrhea, nausea or bloating.

Then there are other period-related diagnoses such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS), which is quite common and affects women all across the globe. The severity of how a woman experiences it is of course case by case, but some women report it as being severe enough that it interferes with their ability to go to work or school or perhaps even function at their typical level.

PMS usually takes place after ovulation and right before a woman’s actual period, so PMS does not directly correlate with the bleeding or other symptoms of a woman’s actual menstruation.  Some symptoms of PMS may seem very similar to actual period symptoms: bloating, cramping, headache, etc. The thing is is that due to PMS, those symptoms not only become more intense, but a woman begins feeling most of those symptoms a week before even starting her actual period. Then she has about a week of her regular period symptoms (bleeding, etc.).

This essentially equates to two weeks full of period-related symptoms, instead of the usual one week. Some other PMS symptoms that may be different from period symptoms are sensitivity to light/sound, clumsiness, trouble with concentration (brain fog), and sleep problems (sleeping too little or too much). Usually PMS symptoms begin dissipating once a woman starts her actual menses.

Then a step above PMS is premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). PMDD is still fairly common, but is more intense than PMS, and interferes much more with a woman’s mood. It usually causes symptoms such as severe irritability, depression and anxiety the week before a woman’s menses. The word “dysphoria” by itself (coming from “dysphoric”) essentially ties in with depression and feelings of malaise or unease.

PMDD causes more psychological issues than physical, although some physical symptoms are still present. It can cause panic attacks, extreme mood swings, lethargy and feelings of being out of control. It can also interfere with a woman’s daily life and make things such as going to school, work or social functions either very difficult or sometimes even impossible. Sometimes a doctor may prescribe antidepressants to help a woman through this tumultuous time to hopefully help with the symptoms like depression and anxiety.

Yes, periods are messy, and no, they’re not always easy to talk about. But it’s yet another topic that still today is sometimes tiptoed around and makes some people afraid to ask questions about it. There’s no need for that. It’s a natural bodily process that’s been around since the dawn of time and I can’t imagine it will be going away any time soon. Women don’t like it happening any more than anyone else (in fact I’m sure they dislike it much more than anyone else), but people do not still need to be uncomfortable about it. Just be understanding and prepared.