Can COVID-19 Affect Your Menstrual Cycle?

by SXHH Marketing | Feb 19, 2021 | Wellness

Have you noticed something off about your period? Wondering if COVID-19 may be to blame? It’s always a good idea to keep an eye out for changes in your menstrual cycle and talk to your women’s health clinic about anything out of the ordinary. Many women are noticing that their menstrual cycle has changed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are some explanations for this, but experts are still researching the effects.

The COVID-19 pandemic may be affecting your menstrual cycle in a few ways, but our women’s health clinic is here to help you find answers for period changes.

While changes to your menstrual cycle may be nothing to panic about, it  can still help to talk to our women’s health care provider about changes. In some cases, this can signal bigger health issues that may need some extra attention. 

Talk to Your Women’s Health Clinic if You’ve Noticed Changes with Your Period

Slight changes in your menstrual cycle can happen for many different reasons. These include things like hormone changes, weight changes, and reproductive conditions like PCOS. Pregnancy may also seem like period changes, as many women experience spotting in their first trimester that could be mistaken for a light period. Perimenopause can also cause changes to your period, like irregular cycles or skipped periods.

However, because period changes can also signal something more serious going on with your health, it’s usually better to be safe than sorry and talk to our doctor about differences you’ve noticed.

Some signs you should make an appointment at your women’s health clinic to talk about your period include:

• Frequently having periods fewer than 24 days apart
• Consistently bleeding for longer than 7 days
• Regularly going two or more months between periods
• Frequent spotting between periods
• Heavy bleeding (needing to change your pad or tampon every hour or more)
• Clots larger than the size of a quarter
• Excessive clots

Period Changes since the Pandemic Started? Visit your Women’s Health Clinic to Rule Out More Serious Conditions

Many women are reporting period changes since the COVID-19 outbreak. A lot of these differences vary between women, but a lot of people are connecting the dots between the changes they noticed and the timeframe of the pandemic.

Women around the country are asking women’s health care professionals whether COVID-19 has anything to do with their period changes. Researchers are still studying the virus and its effects after infection, but there’s a chance that it could. 

Some of the symptoms women have reported include:

• Spotting
• Skipped periods
• Longer or shorter cycles
• Unusual clotting
• Worse PMS symptoms
• Heavier periods

This is concerning because many of these symptoms are also on the list of period signs that you want to have checked out at your women’s health clinic. Once again, it’s generally better to be safe than sorry and give us a call to see if our provider recommends an exam or testing for other health issues.

How can COVID-19 Affect My Period?

While there’s still much we don’t know about COVID-19, there are a lot of theories as to why your period might change. Even if you haven’t been infected with the coronavirus, there’s still a chance that your menstrual cycle may be affected. 

Many experts believe that these changes can be due to stress, lifestyle changes during quarantine, or COVID-19 infection. As research continues, there are a few explanations why many doctors believe the pandemic may be affecting some people’s cycle.

Pandemic Stress can Wreak Havoc on Your Cycle

Most people would agree that the pandemic has been stressful. A lot of us are worrying about our health and our loved ones’ health. Some have gone through the pains of working from home. Also, we are all dealing with uncertainty of when things will return to normal.

Needless to say, many of us are dealing with way more stress on our plates than normal.

Stress can quickly take a toll on our bodies, leaving people feeling drained, irritable, and even leading to things like stomach problems and losing hair. This pandemic stress can also affect our menstrual cycle. 

Even before COVID-19, stress has been a common cause in period changes. The problem with feeling stressed is that it initiates our fight or flight response. When we’re stressed, we release the hormone cortisol. Cortisol can delay or stop ovulation and reduce our progesterone levels. This can lead to menstrual changes.

Also, stress can affect your hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis. This is basically how your brain communicates with your ovaries using hormones as the messenger. Things like mental stress, physical stress, and even sleep disruptions can all bog down your HPO axis, which affects how much estrogen and progesterone your ovaries produce. This, in turn, can meddle with your cycle. 

Everyone’s body may react a little differently to the stress of the pandemic and quarantine. Some women may notice shorter, lighter periods and others may notice longer, heavier periods, and others may notice different symptoms or nothing at all. It’s generally a good idea to get a checkup for your symptoms from your women’s health clinic, but if you’ve skipped a period because of stress, it’s generally not a major health concern. However, if you’re sexually active, even if you’re on birth control, a skipped period may warrant a pregnancy test. 

Lifestyle Changes Make a Big Difference

Also, many people have had to change a lot of things about their daily life because of COVID-19. These lifestyle changes may also affect your menstrual cycle. For example, your eating, sleeping, and exercise habits may have changed. Weight changes can lead to hormone imbalances which can affect your period. Lack of sleep can also induce a stress response from your body that may affect your periods as well. 

Another issue many of the providers at our women’s health clinic have noticed during the pandemic is increased alcohol consumption and tobacco use. Smoking and chronic heavy drinking can also take a toll on your menstrual cycle, as well as the rest of your body. 

The Virus Itself May Change Your Period

Also, the SARS-CoV-2 virus (the one responsible for COVID-19) may also affect your period if you’ve been infected. Viral infections in general can put your body under stress and take up a lot of your body’s resources. This means that ovulation and menstruation may get put on the back burner as your immune system fights the virus. Many doctors note that period changes during COVID-19 are similar to those of many other illnesses, like the flu or the common cold. Fortunately, many women notice their periods go back to normal as they start to recover and their symptoms improve.

However, there is also a potential that the virus may also attack the ovaries similar to how it attacks other organs. This could also affect your menstrual cycle.  While this potential has been proposed by some, it hasn’t been studied and is only speculation until we have further research. 

Visit Our Women’s Health Clinic & Let’s Talk About Your Cycle

Our providers at HerKare are here to help you address your health. As a women’s health clinic, we’re dedicated to helping you find underlying causes of your symptoms and providing personalized care for your needs. If you’ve noticed changes in your menstrual cycle, or any other symptoms, make an appointment today to talk to our doctors. We help with a wide range of health conditions, from hormone imbalances to diabetes and sleep apnea. Our team is here to help you feel like yourself again. 

Chronically Tired? Fatigue may be a Sign of Heart Problems

by SXHH Marketing | Dec 18, 2020 | Wellness

Heart disease is one of the number one killers in the United States. Our women’s health care providers are here to help you stay healthy. That’s why we’re spreading the word about a subtle, but dangerous sign that you could have heart disease: fatigue.

Fatigue can stop you in your tracks and even signal serious problems like heart disease. Feeling abnormally tired? Talk to our women’s health care provider.

Many of us mistakenly believe that heart disease is mainly a concern for men. However, women are also at risk for this serious health condition. 

Here are some quick facts on heart disease in women:

• Heart disease is responsible for 1 in every 5 female deaths
• 1 in 16 women 20 years old or older have coronary artery disease

Women often experience different symptoms of heart disease than men, which can make it hard to notice early warning signs. If you’re experiencing unexplained tiredness and fatigue, come to our women’s health clinic to help find the root of the problem. 

Talk to our Women’s Health Care Provider if You Feel Unusually Tired

With the hustle and bustle of everyday life, of course we sometimes feel tired! However, there are some signs that you shouldn’t ignore your fatigue. For example, if you’re suddenly and overwhelmingly tired without understanding why, this could be something more serious than needing a nap or an extra few hours of sleep. 

Some other fatigue symptoms you shouldn’t ignore include:

• You’re suddenly exhausted after doing your normal exercise routine
• You feel tired or your chest feels heavy even if you’re not exerting yourself
• Simple activities, like making your bed, wear you out
• You feel extremely tired, but are still having a hard time sleeping

These symptoms can signal that something may not be quite right with your health. For example, extreme fatigue can be a symptom of vitamin deficiencies, anemia, and other health conditions. It can also be a sign of heart disease or an impending heart attack. 

Unfortunately, many women ignore these signs to seek women’s health care. We might chalk them up to aging, a busy schedule, or stress. However, if you’re not feeling like yourself, it’s always better to be safe than sorry and get checked out. 

Heart Attack and Unusual Tiredness

Sudden on-set of extreme fatigue or tiredness is one of the top heart attack symptoms for women. Along with chest discomfort, shortness of breath, and indigestion, abrupt and unexpected fatigue is another symptom that many women experience before they have a heart attack. 

The American Heart Association conducted a study in 2003 to learn which symptoms women might have of a heart attack. They looked at 515 women who had had a heart attack and found that many noticed unexplained fatigue and trouble sleeping. Some of the women even experienced these symptoms up to one month before their heart attack. The researchers in the study suggested that these symptoms may serve as an early warning sign. 

In the study, 70% of the women experienced unusual tiredness before their heart attack. Also, 48% noticed they had sleep disturbances beforehand. Only 30% of the participants reported feeling chest discomfort, the symptom that most of us think of when we hear “heart attack.” What’s even more interesting, most didn’t report chest pain, but rather chest discomfort like tightness, aching, or pressure. The researchers suggested that recognizing symptoms like unexplained tiredness and difficulties sleeping may help people seek women’s health care to potentially help prevent or delay a heart attack. 

High Blood Pressure and Fatigue

High blood pressure can make your heart work harder and increase your risk for heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. Nearly half of all adults in the U.S. either have high blood pressure or take medications to treat it. Your risk for high blood pressure increases with age. 

High blood pressure is another condition that may make you feel extremely tired. Though high blood pressure is often called a “silent killer,” because it often doesn’t cause any symptoms, some people do feel extreme fatigue. Some signs you might have high blood pressure include fatigue, lightheadedness, feeling weak, and shortness of breath. 

Also, you can also feel extremely tired due to heart conditions that may be caused by high blood pressure. For example, high blood pressure can lead to coronary artery disease, peripheral arterial disease, heart failure, and enlarged heart, all of which may cause fatigue. 

When you come in for a health assessment from our women’s health care providers, we screen for many different conditions to help find underlying causes of your symptoms. We check your blood pressure and can help you find treatment solutions to reduce your blood pressure and the serious risks associated with it. 

Chronic Fatigue & Heart Disease

If you’re chronically tired, this can be a sign of many other heart problems. Fatigue can be a sign of heart valve problems or heart failure. Also, studies have linked chronic fatigue with several heart problems. For example, many people who experience chronic fatigue also have left ventricular dysfunction. This is a heart condition where your left ventricle doesn’t pump blood properly. The left ventricle is the thickest heart chamber and is responsible for pumping blood full of oxygen to your organs. Congestive heart failure commonly follows left ventricular dysfunction. Therefore, it’s important to talk to our women’s health care provider if you’re feeling extra tired without an explanation. 

Discuss your Heart Disease Risk Factors & What You Can do to Help Reduce your Risk for Heart Disease with our Women’s Health Care Team

When it comes to heart disease, women not only may experience different symptoms, but also different risk factors. For example, after menopause, your risk for heart disease increases, likely due to hormone changes. Some pregnancy complications can also be risk factors for heart disease, as well as conditions like endometriosis and polycystic ovary disease. 

Some other things that may increase your risk for heart disease include:

• Diabetes
• Smoking/tobacco use
• Inflammatory diseases like:
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Lupus
• Family history of heart disease
• High cholesterol

Our women’s health care professionals are here to help address your health as a whole. During your appointment, we’ll talk about your history and risk factors and help guide you on things you can do to lower your risk for heart disease. If you’re feeling excessively tired, we’ll help you find underlying causes of your symptom. Our providers listen and then help you with individualized treatment plans.

Compassionate, Understanding Women’s Health Care at HerKare

Our team at HerKare is here to help you feel great again. We put you in charge at our women’s health clinic. Our goal is to help you stay healthy and help improve your quality of life. Whether you need an annual exam or are coming in to talk about any symptoms or concerns you have about your health, we believe in providing compassionate women’s health care in a welcoming environment. We take time to listen and understand, and then help you feel better. Make an appointment today and let’s talk about your health and wellbeing!