Period changes due to Crohn's Disease

[Donna]

First off, Guys, this is about that good ol' topic of PERIOD....sooo if you don't want to read further, I totally understand...lol

Ok, has anyone here discovered that their PMS symptoms/monthly changed when they got diagnosed? I noticed since my initial flare, my symptoms have changed.

I am 38, so menopause is a possibility (Whhhhhaaaaaaaaaaa ), but unlikely. And I would think I am too old to have things change like this. I used to have "slight" symptoms, mild cramps, headaches and irritability with bloating. Now....I am a pure b****h, and sometimes I cramp so bad that I double over in pain and vomit with the pain. And the flow has been a lot heavier. I asked my GI and he said yep, it could be from the Crohn's...but umm...he is a HE and well, c'mon, only a woman reallllllllllly knows about things like this...lol.

I was just curious. Oh, and if there are any guys out there that would like to comment, feel free. lol

 

[Kate]

Hi Donna

I havent found that my period changed but i have noticed that i have had more pain that they had thought could have been a cyist but after an ultrasound they have put down to scaring pain from the dammage of my bigest flare. I m sure in you 38 years you would have found that your skin becomes more sensitive espically if you have ever waxed you legs at the wrong time of your cycle, and im sure thats the same kind of thing.

Could that be what your feeling or is ot deffinatly cramps because if it is i think you should see your dr and get things checked out.

 

[Mozam]

Hi Donna!!

Yep, I'm brave! I'm gonna reply to this one!

My bro's girlfriend (incidentally, she's ALSO called Donna!) has IBS, and she has the same problem as yourself. At the risk of sounding insane also, but even I get a bit down in the dumps and cranky evry so often - and it almost FEELS like a cycular thing. I remember my doc saying to me years ago (I was seeing a woman doc at the time) that cramps brought on by crohns were in the same kinda vein as those brought on by womens monthly cycles. Whether that's the case or not, I fully sympathise with what a woman goes through every month. Doesn't sound like my idea of fun, put it that way.

 

[Jeff D.]

You brave one you Mozam.

I am sorry I have no help but I will be praying for you

Good luck

Jeff

 

[Donna]

Well, thanks to EVERYBODY for their input. I am going to my reg. doc at the end of the month, I will ask again about it. I was only curious what other women felt.

K...thanks again!

 

[Tami Lynn]

I don't think I was actually diagnosed with CD long enough to realize if monthly symptoms had changed in any way, but one thing I have observed in the past, and that is that flare ups have seemed to strangely be related to my monthly hormone cycles.

I once asked my physician about the possibility of Crohns flare ups being related or influenced by hormones, but he claimed there was absolutely no relationship - I beg to differ! LOL

 

[Donna]

I beg to differ too, Tami...cuz when it is close to that time of the month, I get severe pain, diarhea and vomiting. Then, I get my period, and it is ok, but if I don't catch the flare in time, it results in a flare getting bigger.

Out of curiosity, was your doc male????

 

[jlbastian]

I definitely feel min--flares when it gets to be that time.

Also, when I was taking the prednisone (and has continued since stopping) I get terrible cramps that were never a problem before, and my cycles became really irregular (to the point of having to take the pill to get them on track)

PMS has never really been a problem for me, except for when I was on the Pred, but I am sure that crankiness came with the drugs and not with being a woman.

 

[Valentina]

they thought I ws going through early menopause when I was around 20 years old (around the time I was first diagnosed with proctitis)
I stopped getting my period and had to have it enduced every 6 months.. dont recomend.
now I get it every 2 weeks or so, lol
turns out I have PCOS, and it might all be connected to the crohn's not sure.. different opinions have been thrown at me from all my DRs, I just go with the flow, and hope Im not too cranky a person to deal with. lol (constant PMS Ive been told, lol)

 

[scottishgirl]

i get heavier and more painful these days and also im afraid i turn into a bitch from hell lol. and yes i have a flare right at the same time just to add a new level of fun

 

[marcia]

Hey Donna ~

My doctor said that after my first severe flare that I would most likely push my body into a menopause state and never have a period again...it was that way for about a year and now the monthly visits are back (great!!!) and they are awful. I get cramps that have me using a heating pad and the flow is so heavy and lasts for 7-9 days. I have to double up on my iron during that time or my anemia will become so bad. I have never had hard periods until this wonderful disease entered my life, but now my entire house dreads that time of the month. (How can I be cheerful when I am bleeding as much as I am crapping for one week a month??)

Marcia

 

[Donna]

Thanks for the replies. I was just curious. I am almost hoping to go into menapause early so it would be one less thing I need to have bleeding. And, since my periods have been varying in length and flow again, odds are, I may be seeing some body changes. Who knows. I guess we will see. Of course, menapause means a whole new change and a whole new set of problems...but it would be sooo nice not to have to worry bout that "one" problem anymore!!

Donna

 

[Karen]

Take it from GRANDMA BEAR ... I have been PRE - MENOPAUSUAL for 5 years and nothing has happened yet !! :blush:

 

[cookey]

Thanks for the replies. I was just curious. I am almost hoping to go into menapause early so it would be one less thing I need to have bleeding. And, since my periods have been varying in length and flow again, odds are, I may be seeing some body changes. Who knows. I guess we will see. Of course, menapause means a whole new change and a whole new set of problems...but it would be sooo nice not to have to worry bout that "one" problem anymore!!

Donna

This is really a great choice for a topic gal, because I use to wonder myself about this issue, until I finally asked my doctor. After my surgery for my Ileostomy, I started to get real grumpy...etc etc, lol. Come to find out from him, that because my body went through such a change from the surgery, I started early on with Menopause...I was 32 when I had my first symptons. My periods have always been 2 to 3 days long, but since surgery, one day of excrusiating pain is what I suffer with, due to the drastic change after surgery. I'm 47 now, so I have been dealing with Menopause for 15 yrs. I use to say, I can't wait for my periods to end now...because Menopause is a tough thing to deal with especially at a young age.

 

[Kate]

my mum had to go throught menopause early to due to illness and she hates it, from what ive seen ild rather have the bleeding then what she has although to be honnest were not sure whats her illness or her menopause

 

[Donna]

I know, the grass is always greener on the other side. But, I would give anything to stop with the pain, the PMS (which can be quite severe sometimes for me) and the bleeding.

This time around, I was sooo nasty to my hubby over the phone (which is 90% of our relationship since he drives truck and is only home on the weekends) that he didn't even want to come home this weekend. I ripped him to pieces for something really dumb, then I cried, then I was joking. He said he was afraid to come home since he didn't know which emotion was really me and which one was hormones. Thankfully he did come home, and all was well (ate some chocolate, calmed me right down, tho did make me go poo for 3 days). But I was NEVER like that until I was diagnosed. Well, once, I threw my ex-hubby out cuz he ate my last banana (lonnnngggg story) but that was because I was on Chlomid (a fertility drug). Beyond that I was never bitchy...crampy and sore, yeah, but not bitchy. Hmmm...makes one wonder doesn't it?

Donna

 

[Kate]

what other meds are you on... i know that hubby thinks i have more mood swings now then before i was diagnosed to but not that bad unless im on pred lmao

 

[Donna]

I am just on Remicade every 6 weeks, and Imuran. The only side effect that I seem to have from the Imuran is chronic fatigue. Oh yeah, and heart burn and nausea.

Donna

 

[Kate]

lol maybe you could add mood swings to it

 

[thatgirl]

before i went on depo ten plus years ago i used to have really severe periods...hevy bleeding for at least 5 days accompanied by oh my god please somebody kill me cramps and nausea...last year my gyn tried to take me off depo because they were concerned about prolonged use and bone density (which i have plenty of) for the six months that i was depo-less i was a stark raving btch and my horrible periods came back along with increased abdominal pain and my bartholin's gland cyst/fistula? (i have a fistula but they haven't figured out if the two are connected yet...even though i know they are)would swell and get hotter than hot and drain...when i started back on the depo (after a bone density scan) everything went back to normal...everyone does not do well on depo...it has greatly improved my life...so much so the doctor recommended i stay on it as long as i was comfortable and had good bone density since it acts as a proflyactic for so many of my crohn's symptoms...especially the migraines and the nausea

 

[Caroline]

ok i have never met a girl with crohn's & i have some questions...:blush: ....i have a bartholean cyst that gets really bad atleast once a year but deffinately hurts during little flare ups... is this common? and also i don't get my period anymore (probably because i don't weigh enough) but docs want to put me on birth control to see if that will enduce it...is that a good idea?

 

[Kate]

there is no harm in birth contorl i belive

 

[thatgirl]

i had a bartholin's gland cyst too...make sure your gyn and you keeps a close eye on it...mine has fistulaized and i need surgery now :thumbdown:

 

[danika]

I asked my doc about this not long after I was diagnosed because I noticed that I was getting sicker around my period, I had always had pretty bad cramping with my period but now I have realised that the other lovely symptoms of a flare come with it... she says that the extra pain could be to do with the fact that there is already limited space in my tummy because of the inflammation and when my uterus swells or whatever it just gets worse... I now supress my period with the pill and only have it every second or third month because it impacts my life so much

 

[Kev]

OK, here's my 2 cents... My online research (take it/leave it for what it's worth) has me thinking one of the common side effects of IBD, Crohns, colitis, whatever is called 'vascular congestion'. Blood pools in affected areas of the body.. It has been related to other illnesses, heart failure, kidney disease, varicose veins, etc..
Here's the problem... if you've got IBD, etc., then you most likely have vas. cong. to some degree or other. Factor in a period, then pain, cramping, etc, all of the above are aggravated.. Couple of things to try... watch/reduce your sodium intake (I dunno why)... and avoid certain activity (excercising such as yoga, etc..)
I don't have period cramping, but I do have a male problem affected by vasc. cong.
and I've noticed (only recently) that lowering my sodium intake has helped a lot...
Problem is that a lot of the food/substitutes I was eating (low fat, low sugar, etc.)
are all loaded with extra sodium... So now I have to pick/choose more carefully...

 

[Janet]

I don't weigh enough to get periods but when the birth control kicks in, I'll let you know:thumright:

 

[Aussie crohn]

its all related!

Hi donna, I know I had major flare ups at period time - and the worst was when I had children - I had to sit on the toilet to breast feed - I was undiagnosed at that time (although id seen countless doctors) and would sit and sob.
I have now gone into menopause at only 42 - but thats likely family history, and it is causing constant aggrevation, my gastro tells me peri menapausal woman with crohns do have a hard time and I am typical, so i'll just hang in there.
good luck with it all.