So headaches can definitely be a sign of an imbalance. Here is what you should consider:
Hormonally-speaking, headaches can be triggered by too much estrogen (which stimulates the brain) or too little progesterone (which calms it). Some women have a sudden spike of estrogen at the start of their period, so if you have too much estrogen, you can remedy this long term by taking a Magnesium (300-400mg daily) and/or vitamin B12 supplement (200mg twice daily) Be sure to research into nutritional counseling and speak with a nutritionist, herbalist, or dietician familiar with menstrual health to know whether this is what you need.
Menstrual headaches can ALSO be caused by a sudden drop in estrogen. If that is the case for you, you can take estrogen-supporting foods or supplements like naturally fermented soy foods, or herbs. The supplements above will help as well. You can learn more about herbal remedies for menstrual issues at natural-fertility-info.com.
Non-hormonal reasons for a period headache include dehydration, or something like too much salt and sugar. You can deal with this by supplementing with healthier foods/avoiding junk foods, and by also drinking plenty of water before, during, and after your period. You should be drinking water a lot anyway, but if you must binge on junk food and drinks, avoid it around the time of your expected period.
I also hear that coffee/tea are fun ways to deal with headaches and migraines (due to caffeine), just be sure to skip on the sugar, and continue drinking lots of water to avoid dehydration it may cause!
My information on nutritional counseling comes from “The Period Repair Manual” by Dr. Lara Briden.
This goes into a short but detailed explanation of why the Pill can never normalize a woman’s cycle, specifically going over the hormones involved.
It “regulates” periods in the sense that it usually causes periods to come regularly. This is helpful for girls who don’t enjoy spontaneously waking up in a pool of their own blood.
Did you even read the article?
Pill bleeds aren’tperiods.
There are ways to track your cycle so that you aren’t surprised when your period comes, even if it’s irregular.
Women deserve better than chemical sterilization. There are actual cases where hormonal birth control is the best available option, but it’s harmful to suggest being surprised by one’s period is bad enough to warrant medicating away a normal, healthy part of women’s bodies.
@im-not-an-object-ok Also, fertility awareness charting can help specially trained doctors to pinpoint and treat the underlying causes of irregular periods with the appropriate therapies, medications, or in more extreme cases, specialized surgery. It’s criminal that this knowledge is not taught in medical school and is instead something they must train for outside of school, but it is what it is. Hopefully that will change once fertility awareness becomes more accepted. You can learn more at naturalwomanhood.org or factsaboutfertility.org!
Of course I clicked when this tweet from Glamour came across my timeline.
The article mentions the following four products: washable period underwear, washable pads, menstrual cups, and sea sponges. The first three are great, but menstrual sponges are not.
This is what Glamour said about sponges:
Yup, you can stop your period before it exits the premises by putting a sponge up there. Menstrual sponges like those that Jade & Pearl and Jam Sponge offer actually look a lot like bath sponges, and they work the same way. The only disadvantage is that they may be a bit cumbersome and messy to get out. But they are good for the environment and your wallet, since you only have to change them every six to 12 months.
This is dangerous advice.
Sea sponges aren’t “like” bath sponges they ARE bath sponges. Some people promote them as “natural” alternatives to menstrual tampons, except they are untested and potentially very unsafe. Oh yeah, they are also filled with dirt.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, twelve “menstrual sponges” were tested at the University of Iowa in the 1980s and they and contained sand, grit, bacteria, and “various other materials.” Another batch was tested by the Baltimore district laboratory and in addition to the sand, grit and bacteria they also found yeast and mold. One sample contained Staphylococcus aureus (the bacteria that causes toxic shock syndrome). As the FDA notes there is least one case of toxic shock syndrome associated with the sea sponge and another possible one.
The grossness of a debris and “various other materials” containing vaginal sponge aside there are real potential safety concerns. Bits could break off and become a nidus for bacteria, the sponge itself could have harmful bacteria, sponges may change the vaginal ecosystem promoting the growth of good bacteria, the inability to clean them adequately between uses may reintroduce potentially harmful bacteria that was breeding in the wet sponge sat drying beside the sink, and the sponge may cause abrasions during insertion and/or removal.
Menstrual products, sea sponges included, are regarded by the FDA as “significant risk devices requiring premarket approval under Section 515.” Basically, you have to study any products that is new and prove it is safe.The concerns about sponges were so significant the FDA contacted the manufacturers of menstrual sponges to warn them of the risks and to require they stop marketing and selling the products. Some closed down, others relabeled their products for “cosmetic” use. By they way there weren’t just a few businesses selling sponges, the FDA visited forty-one businesses that packaged sponges as well as 500 retail establishments.
One of the companies suggested as a source of menstrual sponges by Glamour is Jade & Pearl who received a warning letter from the FDA in 2014 about marketing menstrual sponges (if you read the full letter you’ll see that Jade & Pearl actually had a whole list of FDA violations).
This is how Jade & Pearl advertises their sponges right now, but it’s pretty genius marketing to get Glamour to tell everyone that your product is potentially not just for cosmetic uses! See FDA, it’s “just a sponge.”
Sea sponges are potentially very unsafe.
Really, I can’t emphasize that enough. There are lots of very biologically plausible ways they could harm women andGlamour magazine should be ashamed for including them without the most basic of research. It makes you wonder if Google was just not working the day the piece was written or if it was sourced only from press releases.
I’m the expert and I say women should not use sea sponges in their vagina. They are potentially very dangerous. They don’t even have the most basic of safety testing. Glamour should know better and I urge them to print a correction and remove the offending paragraph.
Reblogging because im very sure i reblogged the video of that review and want ppl to know
Also, rememebr that Erika Moen in her webcomic Oh Joy Sex Toy made an entire strip recommending Sea Sponges for menstrual sue and it’s incorrect too.
Wide Spread Interests 