The doctor tells you: how do girls cope with digestive symptoms that often occur during menstruation?

The doctor tells you: how do girls cope with digestive symptoms that often occur during menstruation?
Someone asked doctor: I want to know why I have various problems with "alimentary tract" during my period. I usually eat clean and exercise every day, but I'm still prone to diarrhea, constipation, bloating, etc! Why is this? How to prevent it? The doctor tells you: how do girls cope with digestive symptoms that often occur during menstruation?

The period is a monthly "reminder" reminding you that you are fertile and that you are still young, which is good! But unfortunately, he had some "bad" symptoms, including aforementioned digestive symptoms: gas, diarrhea, and constipation. The simplest answer to this question is that these symptoms are caused by hormones and chemicals!

The doctor tells you: how do girls cope with digestive symptoms that often occur during menstruation?

A complex balance of hormones and chemicals is what causes ovulation and menstruation. Estrogen is an important hormone in preparing an egg for ovulation. Progesterone and, to a lesser extent, estrogen are to blame for some symptoms. Progesterone is a hormone that rises immediately after ovulation and then slowly declines until it drops to a level sufficient to induce menstruation. The main symptoms caused by progesterone (and estrogen) are bloating and constipation.

The doctor tells you: how do girls cope with digestive symptoms that often occur during menstruation?

When menstruation begins, chemicals called prostaglandins are released. Prostaglandins are important because they cause uterus to contract, causing lining of uterus to slough off during menstruation. Prostaglandins, especially in excess, can cause uterine cramps and menstrual discomfort in some women. In study of prostaglandins and menstrual cycle, prostaglandin levels measured during menstrual cycle in women showed higher levels of prostaglandins in women with diarrhea. Thus, high or excessive levels of prostaglandins can be cause of diarrhea and noises you experience during menstruation, as they cause contractions and movements of smooth muscles of digestive tract.

The doctor tells you: how do girls cope with digestive symptoms that often occur during menstruation?

Typically, most women experience constipation before their period and it resolves within first few days of their period. In addition, as a rule, in women who have diarrhea during menstrual cycle, diarrhea usually occurs after onset of menstruation, and usually occurs in first three days of menstruation. However, all women have different levels of hormones, which is why different women experience different symptoms at different times in their menstrual cycle.

Another study found that women with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) were more likely to experience digestive upset during their period than women without chronic bowel disease. Not all women with gastrointestinal problems during their period have IBS, but if you have severe symptoms, you should tell your doctor. Painful bowel movements or blood in stool also require further evaluation and treatment.

The doctor tells you: how do girls cope with digestive symptoms that often occur during menstruation?

There are many things you can do to help relieve digestive symptoms during your period. For example:

1. Modify your diet to include high-fiber foods, whole grains, and vegetables, and limit your intake of salt, dairy, sugar, alcohol, spicy foods, and caffeine.

2. You can manage or reduce stress by using relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation, or socializing.

3. Regular exercise before and during your period is recommended to help reduce stress and improve your digestive system. Logging your gastrointestinal symptoms before and during your period can help you identify patterns in symptoms, eating, exercise, and/or behavior, and then develop a plan to optimize or eliminate certain things during this time to reduce symptoms as much as possible;

4. Menstrual symptoms may improve in some people with prostaglandin-lowering drugs, such as certain non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. These drugs are relatively well tolerated for short-term use, although they can cause stomach upset and are best taken with a small amount of food. Contraindications to use of NSAIDs are: pregnancy, a history of gastric or duodenal ulcer, asthma, bleeding disorders and a history of allergy to this drug. And it's best to take your medications under guidance of a doctor.