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I keep track of my cycle on "monthlyinfo.com". I opened it last Thursday (July 23) to see when my next period was due (because it seemed like a long time had passed) they stated that it should have arrived on July 24th. Last week I has slight cramping and bloating and the week before my face broke out (like usual). Earlier in the month my chest was sore, like usual (always get so tender that my bra bothers my chest). As of yesterday all of my symptoms started to stop. Even the bloating is starting to go away. Just like it would if my period had ended yesterday (when it should have if I had gotten it on the right day). Also just noticed that my chest doesn't hurt at all and hasn't hurt for at least 10 days now). My average cycle according to the "monthlyinfo.com" calendar is 27 days. The longest it has ever been was 30 days (1 time) and I have been keeping track for close to two years now. Usually my period is right on time and always lasts 4 days, which usually consists of 2 days of bleeding, one day no bleeding, then one day of bleeding, then it goes away. I have been like this since I was 13 and I am 33 now.
Thank you in advance for any advice you could offer. Have a wonderful day!
Note: Also I have a condition called Hashimoto's Thyroid Disease (which I found out about 4 years ago), I am not on any medication for this because the doctor's say it is not that bad yet and just needs to be monitored. Could this be affecting my period?
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Hi, Wendy, and thank you for your question. Let's see what we can figure out.
Honestly, from what you write, it seems quite possible that you're just late. If your period was due July 24 and it's now July 30, you're just six days late, which isn't really that much. Have you been under any stress lately due to other things? That can totally affect our hormones, which can have all kinds of effects on our actual cycle.
If it were me, I'd probably wait until I was about 7 to 10 days late before trying a pregnancy test, since you're fine either way.
Hashimoto's can indeed affect your period, but it tends to result in longer or heavier bleeding. Here's a list of symptoms from the Mayo Clinic's page on Hashimoto's Disease:
* Fatigue and sluggishness
* Increased sensitivity to cold
* Constipation
* Pale, dry skin
* A puffy face
* Hoarse voice
* An elevated blood cholesterol level
* Unexplained weight gain - occurring infrequently and rarely more than 10 to 20 pounds, most of which is fluid
* Muscle aches, tenderness and stiffness, especially in your shoulders and hips
* Pain and stiffness in your joints and swelling in your knees or the small joints in your hands and feet
* Muscle weakness, especially in your lower extremities
* Excessive or prolonged menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia)
* Depression
And if you're interested, here's more info from that page:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hashimotos-disease/DS00567/DSECTION=symptoms
July 30, 2009 - 9:58amThis Comment
Thank you so much for all of your advise and help. If I don't get it by the end of the weekend, I will take a test. Also, thank you for the link. I am definately interested to read anything on my disease. Thanks again, Have a wonderful day!
Wendy :)
July 30, 2009 - 10:22amThis Comment
You're very welcome! I have my fingers crossed that you get the outcome you most want if you have to take a HPT. And Hashimoto's is a really interesting condition that I'm trying to learn more about. The thyroid is a tiny gland but it's so powerful. It affects everything else in our bodies. I'm glad you don't have to take medicine for it yet, but you'll want to be aware of those possible symptoms so you can tell if it seems to be getting worse. Take care, and thanks again for your question.
July 31, 2009 - 8:16amThis Comment
Hi Diane,
September 3, 2009 - 11:13amThanks so much for the info on my Thyroid Disease, it was extremely helpful. As you can see I made another post on 9/1 due to my period being 6 days late again. Except this time it did not make an appearance....not yet anyway. How long should I wait before I take a HPT. I was going to wait another week to take one, just wondering if I should take it sooner. I don't know if this means anything but.....I am currently experiencing at this time: EXTREME bloating and a very painful gas like feeling with tons of movement in my abdominal region. This has been happening for about three days now. I am also in the bathroom about twice an hour to go #1 (and because of the gas pains) with very little coming out each time. Today I woke up and felt like I could stay in bed for a week. I am having a lot of trouble getting myself up to a normal work speed.....but I alos know this could be a symptom of my Thyroid Disease. Thanks so much for all of your help, I really appreciate it! Have a wonderful day!
Wendy
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Wendy,
If you took a HPT now, since your period is 6 days late, it would most likely "live up" to it's claim of being 99% effective at detecting the "pregnancy hormones". The HPT work once you have missed your period, and now is as good of a time as any.
The symptoms you are experiencing could be hormone-related (either early pregnancy or upcoming period), illness, stress, or something you ate. Bloating/gassy feelings definitely occur in pregnancy, and most women usually start experiencing this as they are in the middle of their first-trimester (if at all). Extreme fatigue is also an early-pregnancy sign, but again, can also occur with an upcoming period or illness. Everyone is different, and a HPT could provide a definitive answer.
Let us know!
September 3, 2009 - 12:02pmThis Comment
Hi Alison!!!
September 5, 2009 - 6:48amThanks so much for the advice. I did take the HPT on 9/3 and the results were negative....so I guess that's that!!! My period still hasn't come so I am guessing that I just skipped this month. Strange (for me), but I know it can happen. I hope my period isn't starting to get irregular. It has alwasy been extremely consistent, so consistant I could even tell you that I would get it within a 3 hour time frame every month on the exact day (between 1 and 4 in the moring)! I loved it because I alway knew what was going on and could prepare accordingly. My girlfriend would joke that she could set her watch to my schedule!! LOL!!! Guess not any more!!! Well, Thanks again, I really appreciate your help!! Have a wonderful day!
Wendy
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Good morning, I hope all is well!!! I'm back.....LOL :)
September 1, 2009 - 8:12amI have to say, when it comes to my cycle.....this has been the strangest three months so far!
So........... I ended up getting my period on July 30th.......later in the evening and it ended on August 5th (normal length).
And here we are a month later and here we go again. Now based on my original cycle....I am really late, but based on last months change in my cycle.....I am now 6 days late again and again.....no chest pain!! Does this sound strange? Wondering if my cycle is just changing? Not to worried......I will probably get it a couple of hours after writing this...but is it strange that my cycle is now at 32 days and counting. I thought somewhere around 28 daysa was more on the normal side. Just curious, should I think about seeing my doctor? I'm not due for my next Gyno visit for about 5 more months???
Thanks again,
Wendy
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Wendy,
It sounds like this may be your "normal" to have long cycles, especially if this is the second month in-a-row. I noticed you asked if your thyroid condition could affect your cycles, and Diane provided some information that it can; this would be an excellent conversation to have with your doctor.
I'm curious why you are worried, if past experience just last month has suggested that you may have longer cycles? Are you having unprotected sex and worried about pregnancy? Are you using any type of hormonal birth control?
The 28-day cycle is an average, not "normal". Normal cycles can range anywhere from 21 days to 35 days...and even this is still just a "range".
September 1, 2009 - 12:45pmThis Comment
I am only concerned because for 19 years my cycle has been just about exactly 28 days (never late)....my cycle has only varied from 28 days about 5 times total in 19 years, and my period is always 4 days long......with EXTREME breast tenderness (can't even lay on my stomach when sleeping). All of a sudden I am about 6 days late for the last two months and the month before last my period only lasted 1 day (Total) (which has NEVER happened), it ended the day after I got it. I thought it was just strange that since that "1 day" period two months ago...nothing has been the same since. We do not have unprotected sex....condoms only....but I know they are not 100%! I would welcome being pregnant.....especially since I am 33 ans have no children.....however, My only real concern is that I am getting married in 5 months....and would have to postpone the wedding if I were pregnant. I definately don't want to run to the doctor or buy pregnancy tests month.......but I was just curious because I shipped the entire month of August with no signs or symptoms of it coming. Thanks for your help!!!
September 1, 2009 - 4:17pmWendy :)
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