Intense Faitgue and Brain Fog during Follicular phase of menstrual cycle

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much OP. I just created a Gmail account: [e-mail], you can message me there. My real name won’t show up, we can keep it anonymous for now if you prefer. I really hope we can help each other!

[Anonymous]

I have to agree that you both get checked for Lyme. Google www.lymedisease.org and also Burrascano’s checklist. Symptoms you describe can also be caused by Lyme during MC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to agree that you both get checked for Lyme. Google www.lymedisease.org and also Burrascano’s checklist. Symptoms you describe can also be caused by Lyme during MC

OP here…it’s positively not Lyme. I don’t have any of the Lyme symptoms. The symptoms I am having are cyclical. AND yes, I have been tested for Lyme by a functional med doctor.

[Anonymous]

I have had this same issue for years. It’s always this same phase when I’m supposed to feel high energy, I often wonder month after month if I’m dying. Then after a while my energy comes back, just to go through the cycle again.

I’m 44 and my periods are 22 days apart now and very light. Is this a symptom of perimenopause? I don’t have other symptoms really but this is certainly effecting my daily life.

The good part is now that I track it, I at least know it’s part of my normal body cycle, that helps me to know it’s ok and my normal to need rest at this time.

But it doesn’t make any sense to me at all.

[Anonymous]

I have found that being incredibly strict with my diet, sleep, and exercise have helped me with these symptoms. But it’s not a cure and if I fall off the wagon all hell breaks loose.

[Anonymous]

I felt this way too my iron and vitamin D were low. I take those now but it too forever to start working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I'd hazard a guess that you might be anemic and / or have high calcium.

Can you get a full blood panel to see what is the issue?

This is OP. Nope, not anemic. The symptoms started right when my period changed from being normal to super short and light. I basically have flow for only one day, and the other two to three days I just wear a pant liner.

OMG OP pls don't go away. This is exactly what I've been having these past 4 months and I feel like I'm slowly dying. I'm 49, intense brain fog and fatigue started around the same time my period changed from being normal to short and light. I had never associated the two things but now that you wrote it, that's exactly when it started happening. And like you I only have flow for one day, very light flow. What is this thing? Have you had it these past four years? Have you had any treatment? Please stick with this thread I feel like you someone threw me a rope.

OP here again…no worries, not going anywhere. So it’s been close to 5 years actually that I’ve been dealing with this, and unfortunately it’s still going on. It affects my life in major ways. I guess I’ve learned to live with it, but I often feel like a shell of my former self. I’ve tried several different things over the years….different birth control pills, I feel like they all have side effects, and some make me tired, which is a problem since I am already tired. I’ve tried various anti-depressants, and I can barely tolerate ssris during the brain fog/fatigue period bc they only exacerbate the brain fog and fatigue. I spent thousands out of pocket on a functional medicine doctor. Nothing has really helped. Every single month the brain fog/fatigue/low mood and depression come. It’s hard for me to schedule things in advance like social plans and trips bc I don’t know if it’s going to be when I am in my brain fog/fatigue mode. For me, it can be pretty debilitating, but I try my best when it comes to eat super clean and healthy, lots of sleep, peloton rides (hard bc the fatigue makes me have very little energy). I will also drink more coffee and I have an adderall Rx, bc my focus and attention is so bad during the fatigue/brain fog (I also may or may not have underlying inattentive add). The one thing I haven’t tried is bio identical hormones. I asked both my gyn and the functional med doc for them and they both said no bc I am still menstruating. Although my period is super light and short, I am still on a regular schedule. My theory on what is actually happening is that my overall estrogen levels dropped when my period changed, and I think the level must get really low right after my period. Maybe the doctor someone referenced earlier in this thread would actually be willing to give me bio identical hormones.

Anyway, good luck with this journey. You are the first other person I have heard of this happening to. Doctors and friends look at me like I am
crazy when I tell them. If you want to leave an email address here we can stay in touch.

Sorry for all the run on sentences, typing all this on a phone.

It's not true that you have to wait until menopause to take HRT. It can be very helpful in Peri for those that are experiencing symptoms. Please reach out to another provider who is up to date on the current research.

[Anonymous]

I am willing to bet this is something autoimmune. I have noticed my autoimmune symptoms very dramatically with my menstrual cycle and were completely cleared during a pregnancy I had from 38 to 39 years old. I have had some doctors acknowledged that autoimmune conditions can be dramatically affected by hormonal fluctuations in women, but they have no idea what to do about it

[Anonymous]

I am the original OP, and 7 years later I am still dealing with the same stuff, except the post menstrual stuff has morphed into not just brain fog and fatigue, but also depression. It happens every single month around the same time. It sucks. Sometimes I do wonder if it’s a milder form of bipolar.

[Anonymous]

I am here reporting the same exact symptoms. My period ended yesterday and it starting to hit. Last time it lasted 10 days. I am so tired I can barely stay awake all day, and have 2 little kids. It all began after I was pregnant with my first child. I am 36 years old. I am meeting with a sleep specialist soon, but this thread makes me sad to see this might be permanent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you so much OP. I just created a Gmail account: [e-mail], you can message me there. My real name won’t show up, we can keep it anonymous for now if you prefer. I really hope we can help each other!

OP here…so sorry that I never reached out. If you are seeing this, did you ever find anything that helped?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am here reporting the same exact symptoms. My period ended yesterday and it starting to hit. Last time it lasted 10 days. I am so tired I can barely stay awake all day, and have 2 little kids. It all began after I was pregnant with my first child. I am 36 years old. I am meeting with a sleep specialist soon, but this thread makes me sad to see this might be permanent

Sorry to hear this is happening to you as well. Is fatigue the only problem? Or do you also get brain fog and depression? Does it happen around the same time every month?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you share how you deal with or treat the pmdd?

Sure, I take 25 mg. zoloft days starting day 14 of my cycle and stop taking it once it start menstruating, which is typically day 28.

That’s your answer then. You feel bad when you stop taking the Zoloft.

[Anonymous]

It’s several years later but this is what I go through. I’m trying HRT but it doesn’t seem to help with the follicular phase fatigue and brain fog (plus depression, anxiety and sleeplessness). Things improve in the luteal phase. How are you all doing?

[Anonymous]

I’m the OP. Nothing I’ve tried over the years has helped. I finally decided to try an SNRI…Effexor, after failing a few SSRIs. I am 5 days in during my follicular phase, and I know 5 days isn’t long at all, but I am pretty sure it is helping. I don’t feel that low/dark/flat feeling that I typically have during the follicular phase. I am tired but not the same kind of fatigue/heavy heavy brain fog I usually get. I will post another update in a few weeks.