Covid vaccine and menstruation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My first period after my second dose was about a week late. The following two came right on time.

Why is this a big deal?

I had the same issue when my grandmother died, both times I had major surgery my period started early when it wasn’t due yet, and it was about three weeks late in 2018 when I had flu A. It’s not unusual to have a strange cycle when your body is under stress or your immune system is busy working on something else.

Having a strange cycle or two means absolutely nothing in terms of your general health or fertility. I can see why it’s surprising for some, but I don’t understand why we need to keep starting discussions about it. It’s expected. It’s normal. It’s harmless. Move on.

I feel the same way about the numerous other threads about the very predictable, to-be-expected side effects. So you know what I do? I ignore them. And I don’t comment on them. Works great.

I think the difference here though is that reporting side effects of the vaccine on menstrual cycles get some women worried that the vaccine has somehow permanently (or at least semi-permanently) affected their fertility or general reproductive health. Whereas things like fever, aches, etc. are more commonly associated with the immune system reacting to a foreign substance and doesn't create worry.

I think most women generally don't understand the link between stress (in the physiological sense), the immune system, and hormones. It's not necessarily common knowledge. There are a lot of complicated interrelationships and yes it is different for women than men. It's one reason why autoimmune disorders are more common in women. There is even some thinking that things like depression are more common in women because of documented links between depression and hormones and depression and immune system activation. Doctors are really not fazed by temporary changes to women's cycles because they know all this. But the average woman sometimes thinks changes to their cycle mean something really bad has happened especially if their cycles are usually very regular. There are sooo many women whose cycles are weird/less regular especially as they get older. It's not because something is wrong. Sometimes it just is. PS I am a woman whose cycle has definitely become more wonky with age so I am not mansplaining. I have an advanced degree in an interdisciplinary field that overlaps with physiology, immunology, and endocrinology so I am aware that this stuff is quite complicated and often not cause for concern. I personally don't think there's anything wrong with women discussing their experiences. I just think panicking or raising concerns about the vaccines because of it is unwarranted because at the end of the day the vaccine is a physiological stressor and we know those affect cycles. It's not anything new.

How about we ask our doctors about it instead of speculating on a message board?
One major issue in woman’s health is that women are tough and assume everything is fine. If you want to know why your period is weird, ask your OB/gyn. I did, and she told me that it was just the stress of the immune response and that it should only be one or two cycles and to let her know if it continues.

Just because there aren’t headlines doesn’t mean anyone is trying to hide anything or that something is abnormal. It wasn’t noted in the trials because women in the trials had to be on birth control (as is standard in all clinical trials that are not focused on pregnant women).

We can put this fear to rest. It is no more of a cause for concern than a headache or fever after the vaccine.

[Anonymous]

Hmmmm. I’m super pro- vaccine, and I wouldn’t discount this side effect as a possibility; Covid can manifest in a wide variety of ways, I’m not surprised that the vaccine might be able to prompt a number of different immune responses. Plus one of the hallmarks of Covid is all of the clotting irregularities that it can cause, so maybe this phenomenon falls along those lines. It’s all still so new. I had both vaccines and got very sick with the second dose, but didn’t notice any menstrual irregularities. I’m just so grateful to have received it!

[Anonymous]

I'm almost 46 y/o and my period is still 28 days, even after the vaccine

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hmmmm. I’m super pro- vaccine, and I wouldn’t discount this side effect as a possibility; Covid can manifest in a wide variety of ways, I’m not surprised that the vaccine might be able to prompt a number of different immune responses. Plus one of the hallmarks of Covid is all of the clotting irregularities that it can cause, so maybe this phenomenon falls along those lines. It’s all still so new. I had both vaccines and got very sick with the second dose, but didn’t notice any menstrual irregularities. I’m just so grateful to have received it!

Ok here’s a good example of making inferences irresponsibly. Why would you speculate that clotting irregularities caused by Covid may be somehow linked to the vaccine causing irregular periods for some women, with no knowledge about these things? This is the kind of thing that can make women who are already nervous think “yeah this is why I don’t want the vaccine” all because you linked two things together that are completely different phenomena. If you don’t know anything about this stuff you have zero credibility to say things like “I wouldn’t discount this as a possibility”. Stop it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In other words, shhhhh, stop talking about this! You might confuse all the women who are too dumb to understand science and their own bodies. Got it.

Do you really think the average woman can explain how the menstrual cycle works at the physiological level? And how the physiological stress response works? And how the immune system works? And how they interact at the cellular and molecular levels? It doesn't mean anyone is dumb, it just means they haven't gone to school to learn that stuff and maybe don't need to act like the sky is falling if the vaccine alters their cycle for one month.

Wow, pp. Do you not realize how condescending you are being?

DP. She's right though. I am highly educated and I would never claim I understand how the menstrual cycle works at a physiological level.

But no one is claiming to. People are simply posting about their experiences. I also don’t know how fatigue and headaches work on a physiological level in response to vaccines but I as well as millions others have reported and posted about that

Except fatigue and headache people are taking about are immediately after-48hrs after shot. Trying to say your period 2 weeks after the shot was 4 days late is a vaccine side effect is laughably dumb (and medically irrelevant to health). The only reason why I can even see thread after thread getting re-started by the same person about this is to drum up anti-vaxxing sentiment veiled under body discussion

Yep. These drama queens are either unintentionally or intentionally mimicking classic anti-vaccine rhetoric. “I’m just sharing my experience.” “You can’t silence us!” “These things need to be talked about”. Text your friends. Or maybe you don’t have any? It’s been established that some women have had irregularities in their periods after getting the vaccine. There is no benefit to continuing to harp on it on social media except to contribute to vaccine skepticism and hesitancy which is the opposite of what we need.

+1

Bunch of ludicrous drama queens bent on propagation of anti-vaxxer talking points. It's disappointing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My period wasn’t off but the reaction I had was basically horrible aches in my low back and pelvis similar to my period discomfort but amped up big time. Like I suddenly had sciatica too on both sides. Hips pelvis low Back hurt so badly for 24 hrs.

That’s interesting. I felt this too. It was very painful like you described and I contacted the doctor. Mine lasted for over two weeks each time. I didn’t think of cramps but that’s what it felt like. I haven’t felt cramps in over 20 years. I have an IUD and didn’t get a period after either shot. This pain came after both shots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In other words, shhhhh, stop talking about this! You might confuse all the women who are too dumb to understand science and their own bodies. Got it.

Do you really think the average woman can explain how the menstrual cycle works at the physiological level? And how the physiological stress response works? And how the immune system works? And how they interact at the cellular and molecular levels? It doesn't mean anyone is dumb, it just means they haven't gone to school to learn that stuff and maybe don't need to act like the sky is falling if the vaccine alters their cycle for one month.

Wow, pp. Do you not realize how condescending you are being?

DP. She's right though. I am highly educated and I would never claim I understand how the menstrual cycle works at a physiological level.

But no one is claiming to. People are simply posting about their experiences. I also don’t know how fatigue and headaches work on a physiological level in response to vaccines but I as well as millions others have reported and posted about that

Except fatigue and headache people are taking about are immediately after-48hrs after shot. Trying to say your period 2 weeks after the shot was 4 days late is a vaccine side effect is laughably dumb (and medically irrelevant to health). The only reason why I can even see thread after thread getting re-started by the same person about this is to drum up anti-vaxxing sentiment veiled under body discussion

Yep. These drama queens are either unintentionally or intentionally mimicking classic anti-vaccine rhetoric. “I’m just sharing my experience.” “You can’t silence us!” “These things need to be talked about”. Text your friends. Or maybe you don’t have any? It’s been established that some women have had irregularities in their periods after getting the vaccine. There is no benefit to continuing to harp on it on social media except to contribute to vaccine skepticism and hesitancy which is the opposite of what we need.

+1

Bunch of ludicrous drama queens bent on propagation of anti-vaxxer talking points. It's disappointing.

Yeah, now let’s go around to all the other side effect threads and tell those fragile lilies to stfu about their sore arms!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Moderna - No changes to my cycle

Same, both doses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My first period after my second dose was about a week late. The following two came right on time.

Why is this a big deal?

I had the same issue when my grandmother died, both times I had major surgery my period started early when it wasn’t due yet, and it was about three weeks late in 2018 when I had flu A. It’s not unusual to have a strange cycle when your body is under stress or your immune system is busy working on something else.

Having a strange cycle or two means absolutely nothing in terms of your general health or fertility. I can see why it’s surprising for some, but I don’t understand why we need to keep starting discussions about it. It’s expected. It’s normal. It’s harmless. Move on.

I feel the same way about the numerous other threads about the very predictable, to-be-expected side effects. So you know what I do? I ignore them. And I don’t comment on them. Works great.

I think the difference here though is that reporting side effects of the vaccine on menstrual cycles get some women worried that the vaccine has somehow permanently (or at least semi-permanently) affected their fertility or general reproductive health. Whereas things like fever, aches, etc. are more commonly associated with the immune system reacting to a foreign substance and doesn't create worry.

I think most women generally don't understand the link between stress (in the physiological sense), the immune system, and hormones. It's not necessarily common knowledge. There are a lot of complicated interrelationships and yes it is different for women than men. It's one reason why autoimmune disorders are more common in women. There is even some thinking that things like depression are more common in women because of documented links between depression and hormones and depression and immune system activation. Doctors are really not fazed by temporary changes to women's cycles because they know all this. But the average woman sometimes thinks changes to their cycle mean something really bad has happened especially if their cycles are usually very regular. There are sooo many women whose cycles are weird/less regular especially as they get older. It's not because something is wrong. Sometimes it just is. PS I am a woman whose cycle has definitely become more wonky with age so I am not mansplaining. I have an advanced degree in an interdisciplinary field that overlaps with physiology, immunology, and endocrinology so I am aware that this stuff is quite complicated and often not cause for concern. I personally don't think there's anything wrong with women discussing their experiences. I just think panicking or raising concerns about the vaccines because of it is unwarranted because at the end of the day the vaccine is a physiological stressor and we know those affect cycles. It's not anything new.

How about we ask our doctors about it instead of speculating on a message board?
One major issue in woman’s health is that women are tough and assume everything is fine. If you want to know why your period is weird, ask your OB/gyn. I did, and she told me that it was just the stress of the immune response and that it should only be one or two cycles and to let her know if it continues.

Just because there aren’t headlines doesn’t mean anyone is trying to hide anything or that something is abnormal. It wasn’t noted in the trials because women in the trials had to be on birth control (as is standard in all clinical trials that are not focused on pregnant women).

We can put this fear to rest. It is no more of a cause for concern than a headache or fever after the vaccine.

But no one on these threads has indicated any type of “fear.” Your post and content is exactly what I and I am sure many others in this situation are thirsty for. Explanations and thoughts. That’s all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In other words, shhhhh, stop talking about this! You might confuse all the women who are too dumb to understand science and their own bodies. Got it.

Do you really think the average woman can explain how the menstrual cycle works at the physiological level? And how the physiological stress response works? And how the immune system works? And how they interact at the cellular and molecular levels? It doesn't mean anyone is dumb, it just means they haven't gone to school to learn that stuff and maybe don't need to act like the sky is falling if the vaccine alters their cycle for one month.

Wow, pp. Do you not realize how condescending you are being?

DP. She's right though. I am highly educated and I would never claim I understand how the menstrual cycle works at a physiological level.

But no one is claiming to. People are simply posting about their experiences. I also don’t know how fatigue and headaches work on a physiological level in response to vaccines but I as well as millions others have reported and posted about that

Except fatigue and headache people are taking about are immediately after-48hrs after shot. Trying to say your period 2 weeks after the shot was 4 days late is a vaccine side effect is laughably dumb (and medically irrelevant to health). The only reason why I can even see thread after thread getting re-started by the same person about this is to drum up anti-vaxxing sentiment veiled under body discussion

Yep. These drama queens are either unintentionally or intentionally mimicking classic anti-vaccine rhetoric. “I’m just sharing my experience.” “You can’t silence us!” “These things need to be talked about”. Text your friends. Or maybe you don’t have any? It’s been established that some women have had irregularities in their periods after getting the vaccine. There is no benefit to continuing to harp on it on social media except to contribute to vaccine skepticism and hesitancy which is the opposite of what we need.

+1

Bunch of ludicrous drama queens bent on propagation of anti-vaxxer talking points. It's disappointing.

Lol at a bunch of women describing their experiences with receiving vaccines that they voluntarily took as anti-vaxx

[Anonymous]

So if a person has a sore arm or is tired after the vaccine, it's ok to talk about it on multiple threads-but people who have periods should just hush and stop griping...

[Anonymous]

Pfizer. No change to my menstrual cycle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: So if a person has a sore arm or is tired after the vaccine, it's ok to talk about it on multiple threads-but people who have periods should just hush and stop griping...

No, they are ridiculous too. But I guess everyone wants to feel special about their vaccine “side effect” so they keep starting stupid threads on them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: So if a person has a sore arm or is tired after the vaccine, it's ok to talk about it on multiple threads-but people who have periods should just hush and stop griping...

No, they are ridiculous too. But I guess everyone wants to feel special about their vaccine “side effect” so they keep starting stupid threads on them.

And you keep clicking on them.

[Anonymous]

I have had breast pain since day 3 and reported to CDC, doctor and gyn. Do not dismiss women’s health. It is now day 14 and no relief. Not anti-vax, but we need to be able to openly discuss possible side effects. Shutting down these conversations is terrifying — do not silence women our health is also important. I understand that Covid itself can alter cycles. That may explain why some of us are getting these side effects — could be evidence the vax is actually working.