Awareness Starts With Tracking

My journey and how you can start yours

No audio available today. I attempted about 6 times and so it just is what it is.

In today’s post, Ill tell you:

• Nerdy words and definitions related to the menstrual phases

• A story from Day 35

• Beginning my own case study (unscientifically)

• Hacking my cycle

• How to get started: Calendar, Journal, Tracking App

• Just the highlights

Photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash

*Edited on Day 20 (Feels like Fall)

Some nerdy definitions and related seasonal phases:

• Menstruation (bleeding/period of shedding the uterine lining)- Winter phase- days 1-4/7ish

• Follicular (ovaries prepare to release an egg)- Spring phase- days 7-14

• Ovulation (ovary releases an egg and fertilization can occur) Summer phase- days 14-21

• Luteal (egg is not fertilized and hormones downshift dramatically causing the uterus to shed the lining) Fall/Autumn phase- days 21-28ish

• Estrogen- sex hormone released by the ovaries that rise around day 3 and spike at ovulation and suddenly drop to signal to release the egg and then rise in the luteal phase to peak around day 21 and then falls to its demise when no egg has been fertilized and triggers menstruation/bleeding.

• Estrogen Dominance- coined by Dr. John Lee in 1976 defined as “a condition in which the levels of estrogen in the body are too high relative to the levels of progesterone.”

• Progesterone- sex hormone released by the ovaries that begins its climb in the second half of the cycle just around ovulation and peaks around day 21 and then falls sharply with estrogen to signal menstruation/bleeding.

Okay, still with me?

Day 35

I clutched the pillow tightly to my stomach and curled up in a ball. My husband heard my labored breathing and with it moans that escaped unable to be filtered. Great day for the beach. Great day for my son’s twelfth birthday. The agony had finally hit a crescendo. By my journal I knew this was Day 35. I’m in hell. Since day 28 I felt like I was walking through a strong current, each step was a shuffle. Just to re-iterate, that was about eight days of feeling like I was going to “start”. Then the migraine type headache crept its way from my neck, up to my head, and gripped me like a claw.

He handed me a heating pad and I pressed it under the pillow and muttered a thanks. How am I going to do this? Today is his birthday. We had planned a day trip to a Panama City FL to do all the touristy things. Should I go? Will I feel hijacked? The answer for any sane person was, ‘no, dont go’ and ‘yes I will feel hijacked’. PMS fog has a way of make the sane questionable. I took ibuprofen and pushed on. Everyone at the vacation rental was moving so much faster than I could muster. I was holding everyone back. Our family friends drove away and my husband waited for me to put myself together. Tears flooded my face.

“Should I do this?” I asked him as another wave of pain seized my body. Poor guy, he didn’t know how to answer. He felt trapped. If he said “yes, go”, then I may blame him when I had to go sit in the car while they rode the rides. If he said “no, you should stay”, I might have fomo. Both answers felt like a trap so he said, “whatever you think you should do”.

And because the mom guilt was stronger than my pain, I decided to go. Thankfully, we all got hungry on the way and I think everyone was feeling sympathetic to my situation so we ate at a terrible restaurant 30 minutes away and then drove back to the vacation rental. I crawled back in bed and started day 1 that night.

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My Introduction to Menstrual Cycle Awareness/Cycle Syncing

In 2019, I saw a 10 minute tedtalk video that laid out the 4 phases of the menstrual month and the corresponding hormones and how that dictated everything from sleep, to energies on every level, like, social, sexual, physical and mental and emotional energy levels.

Back then, I had no idea that I was continually changing throughout my menstrual month. But this video was suggesting that my hormones were changing me on every level, four distinct times.

I began to dig a bit because as I have finally admitted, I’m an amateur researcher by my nature. I can’t help it, I just do it. You name it, from gardening to parenting, adrenal deficiency, supplements, eye convergence insufficiency, Adhd, hormonal imbalances, everything cannabis, you get the idea and now this. Menstrual Cycle Awareness. Oh great, another stigma no one is going to want to hear me talk about. But yet, here I am.

My digging led me to more resources, pioneers of menstrual cycle awareness who began their work in the UK in the 1990’s. I bought several books on MCA and also on perimenopause and books addressing estrogen dominance (affecting about 80% of women at some point in their lives). Almost 4 years later I still reference them often.

Photo by Julia Joppien on Unsplash

Beginning my own case study (unscientifically)

Taking the advice of the books I read, I decided to begin journaling. I went to my nearest pharmacy, because that’s where they keep the best journals, duh. I chose a small lined notebook so that I could easily cram it into my purse or running backpack.

That first blank page stared back at me with daring eyes and feeling overwhelmed by putting permanent words on the page, I put it down. It’s something about putting the first word on that front page that makes me cower. And since then I have learned to leave that first page blank and turn to the next page. This little hack alone has tricked my cowardly lion brain into feeling a bit more brave.

I admit, I didn’t journal every single day. But when I missed the occasional day, I went back and caught up where I could. At the end of my menstrual month/beginning of my new month, I picked a day (usually around day 4 which happens to line up well with hormone levels) to review my previous month.

I was able to check my energies against the phases described by these pioneers. What I saw revolutionized how I view myself. It’s like I was really getting to know me for the first time. After three months (and I think 3 months are key), I realized that I had recurring themes and needs and preferences. This is also when I realized that I was definitely experiencing hormonal imbalances, namely estrogen dominance (more on that later).

I began to use my Spring (follicular phase days 7-13) to plan according to my own month instead of the calendar month and to create a game plan to begin supplements, acupuncture, and bio-identical progesterone.

Tracking my cycle made me ask myself, ‘what day am I on?’ This meant I was checking in with myself and lining it up to the season I was in. I quickly found that I had very long Fall (luteal phases day 19/21 until day 1 of the first bleed) which actually shocked me.

The luteal phase is when progesterone rises above estrogen and then the two steadily drop causing the uterus to start shedding or menstruating ending the cycle around day 28. The luteal phase lasts around 7 to 9 days.

I thought I had PMS for like 3 days because those were the days that felt I could no longer keep it together. Nope. My luteal phase was anywhere from 10-15 days, which means I was experiencing premenstrual symptoms for around 2 weeks! My cycles were very erratic, and I was struggling. My transition days between phases were stormy. Sometimes from Day 28 to Day 33ish (about 1 week) I would battle cramps that would have me in bed for days just waiting to start. Followed by the next month having minimal pain. Before tracking, I didn’t know the severity of my situation or that this was not “normal”. As I have found, just because it is “common” does not mean it is normal.

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Hacking my cycle

I began journaling in December 2019. After years of tracking, I’ve used my phases and journaling to:

• process the trauma of the pandemic

• grieve my grandmother’s passing

• restructure our lives to begin homeschooling my son

• plan downtime

• ask myself what I needed

• plan trips

• exercise according to my phases

• host parties

• use my phases to do yard work

• shopping

• plan date nights

• get time alone usually in the woods

• schedule my supplements and dietary changes

• …and even used my cycle to help me build my new house!

I believe I gained a lot of wisdom through this process and a lot of grace and gratitude.

How to get started: Calendar, Journal, Tracking App

Do you know when your last cycle started? What day are you on?

If you don’t know the answer to these questions, then instead of guessing, just wait. When you have your first true bleed (not spotting) mark it in your calendar. At this point go ahead and buy a cheap journal and just start with the basics.

Photo by Hannah Olinger on Unsplash

Here is a sample journal entry skipping straight to the end where I check in with my energy:

Day 8 Spring (with a touch of winter) 7/14/23

Physical energy- 3-4

Mental energy- 5

Social energy- 3-4

Emotional energy- 5

Notes: I didn’t know if I had the energy for a trail run today but I went to the trail because I’m in Spring. Knees were a bit stiff feeling and I didn’t push it. I stopped to journal and to take pictures. Had a dizzy spell during my jog. Low blood pressure, low blood sugar or adrenals? Maybe all of the above. Start taking note because it’s been on and off for a few weeks now. I did a polar plunge at the end of my run, and it felt great. I’m so glad I went. Last month I ran this trail on Day 8. This month it looks a little different and that’s okay.

This is as simple as it gets for journaling and tracking the menstrual cycle. Get yourself a notebook of any kind and start taking it with you wherever you go. Just having it there is going to make it more accessible. Even if all you do is write lists at first, at least you will know when your list making days are. *hint, its probably Spring!

Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

Period Tracking Apps

Not ready for a journal just yet? Try out a simple period tracker, although, most of them tend to focus on fertility and symptoms and that is a great starting point too.

It is a very handy tool for tracking and for planning months ahead. I use it to chart physical and emotional symptoms as well as use the notes section to add details that I can go back to later, when I’m reviewing.

Just the highlights

• Ask yourself what day am I on? If you don’t know wait until your first full bleed.

• Get a simple journal or sketch pad.

• As a header of your journal put your Day, your season and the date

• At the end of each day or whenever you can, list your different range of energies and corresponding energy levels. I find 1-5 works just fine. But this can be whatever you want.

• Use a basic period tracking app to chart symptoms and plan ahead

• If you feel comfortable, mark your day 1 winter on a shared calendar with your husband, boyfriend or roommate and any other important days such as transition days to Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.

• Day 4ish is a great day to sit with your journal or tracker and match your energies to the phases. You may find your own synchronicities or imbalances (like I did).

What will you see when you track/journal for 1 month? 3 months? 1 year?

Keep me posted! I really want to know.

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