Who knows a normal period feels like?
In my work with women of different walks of life, I see a general perception that periods are supposed to be painful, emotional and annoying.
It’s frustrating because periods don’t have to be this way!
A healthy period should be relatively pain-free, apart from a few aches, non-disruptive and generally an event that you notice every month, but one that doesn’t cause a huge amount of upheaval.
So what is a normal period?
Here are 5 questions to ask yourself to figure out what’s going with your period.
1. Am I in a lot of pain?
A painful period is a sign that something else is going on, especially debilitating pain.
2. Am I bleeding heavily for my whole period?
Generally speaking, the first and second days of a period are the heaviest.
3. Am I bleeding for more than 7 days or less than 3 days?
Menstrual bleeds are generally between 3 – 7 days long. Anything shorter or longer can be a sign of hormonal imbalance, nutrient deficiency or a symptom of another issue.
4. Do I have heavy clotting?
Heavy clotting is generally associated with heavy bleeding and can be linked with another issues such as endometriosis, fibroids, polyps, PCOS, ovarian cysts or hormone imbalance.
5. Do I get very, very tired and lethargic for my entire period?
It’s normal for energy levels to dip in the first few days of a period. They’ll start to rise again towards the end of a period as the body moves into the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. If energy levels stay low, with a feeling of lethargy and sluggishness, that can be a sign of nutrient deficiency or hormonal imbalance.
Do you want to talk more about what’s going on with your period? Get in touch for a free 30 minute hormone & menstrual health review to talk about what’s going on with your menstrual cycle.
Le’Nise Brothers is a nutritional therapist, women’s health coach and founder of Eat Love Move.
Le’Nise works primarily with women who feel like they’re being ruled by their sugar cravings, mood swings and hormonal acne & bloating.
They want to get to grips with heavy, missing, irregular & painful periods, fibroids, PMS, PCOS, endometriosis, post-natal depletion and perimenopause.
Her mission is for women to understand and embrace their hormones & menstrual cycle!