Over the last couple of years I’ve been noticing a constant trend during that time of the month when it comes to my health
I tend to get extremely weak and dizzy and it seems to start the day before my period and keep going even long after it’s over. I have been on birth control for over 10 years and I’ve tried many times to go off of it but what I wind up finding is it makes me feel at least a little bit better being on the medication. However being on birth control has not stopped my constant feeling of being extremely weak and dizzy during that time of the month. Now I don’t mean tired like I’m exhausted and I want to just sit in bed and watch a movie and ice cream all day, the tired I’m talking about is that my body physically feels like it’s having to push really hard just to do every day things. For example I cannot get through more than a 35 minute workout when my period is coming or when I have it. I get extremely fatigued and week as if I’m going to pass out any moment. Shaky legs and arms, chills, the whole nine.
As a child I always suffered from dizzy spells and I’ve had many an episode where I would black out in public places for a couple of seconds and then come to. Of course as you can imagine this looks really troubling and very serious. Even after visiting doctors and emergency rooms the most that they could tell me was that I had very low blood pressure and maybe my blood sugar dropped as well. They would also usually interject with some type of message that I was too skinny or perhaps I need to eat more which was really not the case. I mean I am skinny but I do eat. Usually for me my blackouts and dizzy spells would come on when I was in very hot conditions and also not eating as much as I should but I was still making sure I was always eating.
But let’s get back to feeling this way during your period. I wind up feeling like I’m dizzy all the time and super week and almost cloudy in my head and constantly looking for something to eat to help make it go away but it never does. I have read that during your period you do wind up losing a lot of fluids and iron and that could be a part of why you feel this way. The troubling part for me is that ever since being on birth control my periods are extremely extremely light and they never last for more than three days. Perhaps even if you don’t wind up having a very heavy period the constant changing of your hormones could make you feel this way. All I know is it’s a terrible feeling and it just makes you feel like you’re sick or a cold is coming on and there’s very little that I know to do to combat it
From the reading and research I’ve done a couple of things could help you to feel at least a little bit better during this time of the month. I’ve read that increasing your water intake can greatly help the way you feel during your period because you’re losing a lot of fluids and the feeling you have may just be symptoms of dehydration. Also because you are losing a lot of blood and fluids you are likely getting low and iron and it might be a good idea to add an iron supplement
One thing that I will say from personal experience is that if you are not feeling well and cannot get to the gym and work out or get through your work out properly take the day off. I truly believe that you’re not going to give yourself any real benefit during the work out if your mind and body are not 100% committed to what you’re doing and when you don’t feel well you are really not going to get the workout you want. For example today I went to the gym and did a 25 minute workout on the treadmill and really felt crummy but I pushed through for another 10 minutes and did an entire 35 minute treadmill routine but could not stay to do weightlifting after. There was no way I was going to push my body any further since I felt very weak and dizzy already. I always believe that if you’re not feeling well it’s OK to take a day off and go back to the gym when you feel really good. I do however think that during your period if you do have energy to work out adding some cardio to your routine will likely make you feel better. I like to at least get on a treadmill and walk or run or do sprints but again listen to your body and if you’re not feeling well just get off the treadmill and go rest.
I also find that during my period If I’m feeling really low on energy I like to add more raw organic fruits and vegetables to my diet. The natural sugars from the fruit give me energy enough to get through the day and don’t make me have the crash later that you may get from coffee or other sugary foods. Another great thing I like to do for myself during the time of the month is to take a nice warm bath and soak for about 20 minutes to relax my muscles. Just having some alone time to really relax makes me feel good.
If you find that on top of the energy and the sluggish feeling you also experiencing cramping pretty bad during this time of the month it’s great to invest in a heating pad that you can use which seems to help me during that time. I think having a heating pad in your house is a great investment especially when you get sore from workouts or if you just want to use it to help with some of the cramping issues. What I will do sometimes is curl up on the couch and put the heating pad
I also suggest that leading up to and during your period If your body is telling you you are tired make sure that you’re getting enough sleep. I personally always aim to get eight hours of good quality sleep and if I find myself having a hard time getting to sleep I do highly suggest investing in melatonin. I take a gummy melatonin
Finally if you find that the way you feel during your period is just really terrible and impacting your day-to-day activities you may want to make an appointment and speak to your gynecologist to find out if perhaps the birth-control you’re on now is not the right one for your body. It’s never OK to just allow feelings you have about your body go by the wayside and not speak to a doctor about them there is likely something they can do or just to try and make your symptoms be a little bit better. I have tried various birth control pills over the years and there is definitely a correlation between how you feel on one versus another. Unfortunately for me even if the one that I’m on helps with some symptoms I still always feel very weak and dizzy during my period and I just need to find ways to make sure this doesn’t impact my health or well-being and alleviate the symptoms doing some of the things that I’ve listed above.
While we can’t make our periods go away for good though I wish we could we just have to battle through this time of the month and be thoughtful about the things we can do to make our bodies feel OK. If you find that you’re dizzy spells and weakness is getting worse make sure to talk about this with your doctor or gynecologist there could be another underlying issue going on that you need to address. There are tons of over-the-counter menstrual medicines that you can take like a Motrin
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