Intense Faitgue and Brain Fog during Follicular phase of menstrual cycle
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Anonymous
| I don't know what's going on with me, but I can hardly function for 2 weeks of the month. About 2 days after my period begins, I get intense brain fog and fatigue, I get arthritis pains in my fingers and hands. This lasts for about 10-12 days, and then after, I start to feel better. I used to be the opposite - I used to feel my worst the 2 weeks before my period (PMDD, which I still have), but now I am feeling so bad during the follicular phase instead. I am 39 years old. This all started roughly 9 months ago. Is this peri-menopause? What can I do to help the fatigue/brain fog? I am disappointed that my GYN didn't really have any answers as to what's going on. I know its related to hormones, but what is going on with the hormones that is making me feel this way? |
Anonymous
| That sounds like Lyme Disease. |
Anonymous
|
Here's a message board discussing it
http://www.mdjunction.com/forums/lyme-disease-support-forums/general-support/3138480-menstrual-period-lyme-flare Not saying for sure but it would be a good idea to get tested for it. |
Anonymous
| Pretty confident it is not Lyme. I don't have any of the other symptoms. |
Anonymous
| Can you share how you deal with or treat the pmdd? |
Anonymous
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. |
Anonymous
| Did you find a solution? I’m having this very thing happen as of the past 6 months. No one seems to know why. |
Anonymous
| Have you had blood work during the 2 days after your period starts? Since those are usually the heavy bleeding days, you may be experiencing low hemoglobin. Anemia can cause fatigue and brain fog. |
Anonymous
| I see Dr. Melinda Hall in Tysons. She's a board certified gynecologist but she specializes in bioidentical hormone replacement and issues pertaining to peri/menopause. For me it's been a lifesaver (the hormones) and she certainly knows hormones (whether or not you want hrt). She is expensive but it may be worth a consultation. Good luck. I will say that I felt much less crickety and achy after hrt, I think joint pain and its relationship to hormone changes is real.. |
Anonymous
Anonymous
|
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? |
Anonymous
| OP here…wow, that is my post from like 4 years ago! Nope, never found a solution. I did sorta find an answer….post menstrual syndrome. Nothing seems to help it though. And now in addition to the brain fog and fatigue, I get deep dark depression, which I wasn’t having 4 years ago. Again, this is after my period when I am supposed to be feeling my best. |
Anonymous
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. |
Anonymous
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. |
Anonymous
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. |