Heavy, Painful Periods? Let’s Fix That. – Jackie Shea
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Feel like this every month? No, thanks
Hello you stunning beauties,
This is the first installment of a monthly series I’m calling The Period Series, in which I try ONE thing per month to address my heavy, painful periods, and report back to you, my beloved readers, on how it goes. Why one thing a month? This is super important to any kind of healing: If you do everything at once, you will not know what worked! I know we are all anxious to get better, but, in this case, slow and steady wins the race. Today, we’re going to talk about horrific periods, the twenty-two suggestions I got, the one I tried last month, and the awesome results I experienced.
About six weeks ago, I took my defeated- by- womanhood butt to Facebook and posted:
“WOMEN: tell me all of your natural tricks to slow the flow? I need any and all tricks I can get (I pretty much feel like I’m going to die if I keep bleeding like this) just don’t suggest birth control or the removal of ovaries thank you
**edit: I use the cup and pads . The cup fills to the brim and overflows every two hours sometimes including night time. I also want children so nothing to mess w that.”
I posted with little hope of any real solution since I had been seeking a solution for years from the medical community. The tests have been run, long doctor visits with my feet up in those stirrups, vag to some rando’s face have been experienced. I do not have endometriosis (if you have extremely painful periods and think you might have endometriosis, please listen and read here). I am lucky to not suffer from the kind of cramps that cripple. I do not have PCOS, cysts or any out-of-control hormone imbalance. As most of you know, my diet is free of inflammatory foods (I definitely suggest an anti-inflammatory diet if you have heavy, painful periods), I live a healthy lifestyle (meditate and exercise and sleep), take my supplements and do not fuck around with synthetic hormones—no judgments here if you’ve found a solid solution in synthetic hormones—I’ve tried them multiple times and some of them lessened the flow but they worsened other symptoms to an unmanageable degree, leaving me very skeptical.
Bad periods run in my family. That has been the only answer I’ve ever heard to my questions about why this might be happening. No solution. My mother had an ablation and my grandmother had a hysterectomy and while they have both been extremely sensitive and kind about my monthly woes, (“I’m telling you, Jack, life got so much easier when my periods stopped.” “Oh, I remember those days. Poor thing”) they come void of solution.
OK, thanks for the pity party, but I’m 30, and I REFUSE to live this way.
My symptoms are only getting worse with age; every single month I feel like all of the blood in my whole body collects in my uterus and then something opens the flood gate to my cervix and BAM, I’m stripped of all ability to live as my body desperately tries to recreate all of the missing blood it needs to keep my heart pounding. I am well aware that that’s not actually what’s happening (I think the body restores blood rather rapidly? I’m not gonna look that up..), but that’s what it feels like.. like I am emptied of the main resource that keeps me alive. Relate?
I end up anemic after two days and then I continue to bleed (albeit, less) for five more days and then I spend three days post-bleeding phase, recovering. By the end of my period, I have cleaned so much blood off of the bathroom floor, out of my sheets, jeans, and underwear, that it could absolutely look like I’ve killed someone. So, you wanna tell me that ten days of every month are gonna be this way until I get an ablation at 45? NOPE.
A Solution:
Thankfully, my tribe of beloved women are badass self-advocates and full of natural solutions to everyday problems. I got 22 suggestions on my Facebook post. 22! There were 100 comments total. All women. All rooting each other on; If they didn’t have a suggestion then they were posting a comment full of love and kindness.
In reading all of these comments and suggestions, I got hella inspired. For the first time in years, I felt hopeful that I could actually lessen the severity of my bloody situation. Thanks to my Olympian-level training in healing from illness, I’m considerably skillful at research, listening to my body, taking the appropriate suggestions and strategically incorporating those suggestions into my life.
That’s where following this series may come in handy for you. Of the suggestions I gathered, I narrowed them down to the ones that felt right to me after: checking in with my body, researching the options pretty extensively, and speaking to two practitioners. If you feel so inspired to follow me along on this journey and try things yourself then please run all suggestions by a trusted practitioner or doctor. I am neither of those things. I’m just a girl with heavy periods choosing to heal out loud.
Ready for this month’s solution? Welcome, let’s do this.
Raspberry Leaf Tea, For the WIN
Based on reports of effectiveness and the sheer number of suggestions (5 women suggested this), the first thing I went for was Raspberry Leaf tea. There’s a reason Yogi Tea has labeled their Raspberry Leaf, “Woman’s Raspberry Leaf.” This herb is chock full of tannins, vitamins and minerals, including high levels of vitamin C and iron. It’s been used for centuries to fight anemia and a host of other issues including infertility, sore throats, and diarrhea. Start researching Raspberry Leaf tea, you’ll be amazed. But what I am doing here isn’t so much about reading up on what the internet says—I’m the guinea pig sharing my results. I follow the people who have actual experience with different healing methods—it’s often more valuable.
What I know about using herbs—especially teas— is that it often takes high doses and consistency to make a real difference. So that one cup of women’s tea you’re drinking the day you get your period isn’t doing the trick? That doesn’t mean it doesn’t work.
It’s so so easy (and cheap!) to incorporate this practice. I went and purchased Traditional Medicinals Raspberry Leaf tea (available at most health food stores) and drank one cup a day for an entire month, to see what would happen. And, my friends, I experienced two outstanding results: My period was painless and I had energy from start to finish!
- Sue Sierralupe says that raspberry leaf tea helps regulate hormones and that it can lessen abdominal cramping. I am not a person that gets severe cramps, but I DO get cramps. I take ibuprofen— without fail— every single month. Until this past period, that is. You guys… I had ZERO cramps. ZERO. Zilch. Nada. None. Not even that nagging back pain or muscle pain in my legs that I usually get. It was a game changer.
- Remember what I wrote about raspberry leaf being chock full of iron and vitamin C? Well, I did not feel anemic at any point this past cycle. My period was about as heavy as it usually is but my energy didn’t sink down to invisibility. I can honestly say that I have never had that much energy during the bleeding phase of my cycle.
- One other new thing I experienced was that my period came on strong and cranberry-red on day one. I usually have rusty spotting on day one. The strong onset (FREE of pain) felt way healthier.
It was entirely different to experience my period without cramping or extreme fatigue! Actually, it was entirely manageable. I have since continued to drink one cup a day— it is so worth it to have added this to my daily self-care routine. I use Yogi Tea or Traditional Medicinals tea bags— one tea bag, let it steep for 10-15 minutes and drink it down at any time of day!
A Note on Nettle:
It’s said that stinging nettle tea also works wonders for women. Traditional Medicinals and Yogi Tea both have a tea mix (labeled “Mother’s Milk” and “Pregnancy Tea”) that include both raspberry leaf and nettle plus a handful of other herbs. I did not go for these as I wanted to isolate one herb at a time. However, after my experiment ended, I occasionally started using two tea bags—one raspberry leaf and one nettle. I love nettle tea because it covers lots of bases for me, and those who know me know that I’m always trying to multi-task with efficiency. So, the fact that nettle treats so many conditions (inflammation and digestive issues, etc.) gives it a BIG A+ in my book. You can also order the loose leaf teas online and mix them at home. I do not have a resource for that, but if you have a brand you love, I will joyfully take that suggestion!
This is an amazing starting place for me, the results really did blow me away. But it’s not enough. I have so many more things to try! Next up… Yoni Steam! Stay tuned and post below with any comments, questions, suggestions or just spread your female love!