June 3, 2025 • 30 mins
Period pain isn't a normal part of womanhood that we should accept and endure. Up to 71% of women report having period pain, with 45% saying it impacts their daily activities and 30% needing to take days off work.
• Prostaglandins cause normal period cramps by triggering uterine contractions to shed the endometrial lining
• Inflammation from diet, stress, digestive issues or infections can significantly worsen period pain
• Histamine reactions from allergies can increase uterine contractions and nerve sensitivity
• Endometriosis and adenomyosis involve abnormal growth of endometrial tissue and require specific treatment approaches
• Most clients see improvements in their very first cycle after implementing these changes
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you're still under the impression that your period
pain is normal, then thisepisode might piss you off.
Did you know that up to 45% ofwomen in studies report that
their cramps are so bad theyhave to skip work?
And yet we're taught to justsuck it up and push through
Mm-mm.
No, today I'm going to bebreaking down what's actually
going on in your body, why thispain isn't just part of being a
(00:23):
woman, and what you can do ifyou find yourself in this boat.
Welcome to I'm Hormonal, yoursource of information about
women's hormone health and howto support your body.
Naturally, I'm your host,bridget Walton, and I'm a
certified functional hormonespecialist and menstrual cycle
coach.
I am on a mission to hold thesehormone conversations with as
(00:45):
many menstruators as possiblebecause you deserve easier
access to accurate informationabout what's up with your unruly
menstrual cycle and with yourfertility mysteries.
Don't you think it's time thatwe figure this out once and for
all?
Welcome back to this episode ofI'm Hormonal.
I'm your host, bridget Walton.
(01:05):
I'm so excited and so gratefulfor you to be here listening
today.
I know you've got a ton ofchoices out there, so it's not
lost on me that you are herelistening to.
I'm Hormonal, trying to learnmore about your bod, about your
hormones and how you can feelbetter.
Now, that is one thing thatfeel better, now that is one
(01:27):
thing that right teased in theintro there that I'm super
passionate about is this wholeidea of what is a normal part of
being a woman.
I'm doing some strong airquotes over here because so many
of us, myself included, grew upthinking, oh okay, well, when
my period comes, I'm just goingto have some pain and be
(01:47):
uncomfortable and just be bleh,and we're all just accepting
that as truth.
But actually there is a lotthat you can do through your
diet, through your stress,through some other things I will
be talking about today, to helpmanage that pain and, ideally,
eliminate it right Now.
Of course, there are otherfactors aside from just
(02:08):
quote-unquote normal period painthat could be impacting you.
I'll touch on that in a bithere as well.
But basically, if you'resomebody, if you have cramps
that are preventing you fromdoing your normal activities,
living your normal life going towork, hanging out with your
girls, hanging out with yourkids, whatever it is for you
then this episode is going to befor you, so you can learn about
(02:31):
what causes this pain, what aresome potential sources of it,
and then I will walk throughwhat are the top four
suggestions that I have for you,that I have for clients when
they come to me with period pain.
So we will get into that injust un momentito here.
Before we dive into the goodstuff, I just wanted to say
(02:52):
welcome.
If you're listening to I AmHormonal for the first time I'm
really glad that you found meand if you're back again, or if
you've been sharing yourfavorite episodes, what you've
been learning with some of yourfriends.
Thank you so much for helpingme to expand the I'm Hormonal
community.
If you have any questions, ifyou have any comments, if
there's anything that you wantto hear me talk about in the
future, I would love to hearfrom you.
(03:13):
You can connect with me onInstagram at I'm Hormonal, and
that's going to be the bestplace to be in touch.
As I was preparing for thisepisode, I went back and took a
look at some stats about periodpain.
I was disappointed and shockedto see just how high those
numbers are.
Right, we know that this isquote-unquote common because in
(03:36):
conversation with our friends,with people who we know, period
pain is a thing, but I couldn'tbelieve it to see that some
studies show even up to 71% ofwomen report having period pain.
I mentioned 45% of women in aparticular study said that their
period pain impacted theirdaily activities.
Another study shows that atleast 30% of women have needed
(03:59):
to take a day off due to theirpain, or that 42% of women state
that their period pain directlyaffects their ability to
accomplish their work.
Now, of course, each study isgoing to have a slightly
different response.
There's slightly differentnuances.
That's why not all of thosenumbers align.
But what they don't touch on isbecause they can't.
(04:20):
What they don't touch on is oneunder-reporting.
Right, there are a lot of folkswho think, ah, this is no big
deal, this is just life, it'snot something worth reporting
and also considering just whatis the productivity lost and
that makes it sound so masculineand corporate, like how much
(04:42):
productivity did we lose out on?
But what about the joy of justliving pain-free and not being
bogged down by this?
If you're listening to thisepisode, you probably don't
actually need me to be up herein this soapbox because you're
looking for solutions.
So I will step down from thissoapbox really quick and talk
(05:02):
about what causes period pain.
But I just wanted to kind ofset the what's the word I'm
looking for?
Set the landscape, set the tone, get us all on the same page,
for what is the backdrop whenwe're talking about period pain?
Now, in a lot of cases, whatcauses normal period pain is the
(05:23):
release of prostaglandins inyour body, right?
So when it's time for yourperiod to start, your estrogen
levels, your progesterone levels, are dropping down quite low
and your body releasesprostaglandins, which are these
little chemical messengers thatbasically tell your uterus hey,
girl, it's time to contract,it's time to shed this
(05:45):
endometrial lining, and that'swhat is kick-starting the actual
shedding of blood and tissuefrom your endometrium.
Now, this happens generally,that maybe the day before your
period starts, the first day orfirst two days of your period,
and this release ofprostaglandins, that's what can
cause the mild crampingdiscomfort in your lower abdomen
(06:10):
and in your back.
So, tldr, prostaglandins, weneed them, but there's a little
bit of this negative side effectfrom them.
It's also worth noting too,right, because a lot of gals, a
lot of clients that I work with,they're like yeah, I actually
on my period, I have diarrhea, Ihave loose poops, but that's
(06:31):
totally normal, right, that canbe a side effect, like a
consequence of theseprostaglandins.
They're not reallydiscriminating about where
they're going in your body, andwho would have thought your
digestive system is right nextto your reproductive system down
there, and so that's why, ifyou're somebody who you have the
period poops on the first day,two days of your cycle.
(06:54):
That's what's causing it aswell.
In addition to this normalperiod pain, there are, of
course, additional factors thatcan contribute to pain and
discomfort.
So I want to walk through someof those next to help clue you
in, maybe give you some morecontext, for, okay, am I working
with something that is justkind of normal period pain on
(07:16):
steroids?
Then there are things that youcan do through your diet,
lifestyle etc.
To address it.
We'll get to those in a bit.
If you find that one of theseother factors I'll be talking
about in a second applies to you, then maybe that's a
conversation with your doctor,with another practitioner, with
a coach, with someone likemyself to say, okay, how can I
(07:37):
really support my body's systemsoverall in order to combat this
inflammation?
That'll make more sense after Iwalk through these couple of
items.
So let's jump into it.
The first thing that I wanted tomention that can exacerbate or
contribute to period pain couldbe inflammation, right,
inflammation.
What does that even mean,bridget?
(07:58):
When I'm thinking ofinflammation, I'm thinking of
anything that is kind of swollenor irritated.
It could be due to highcortisol levels, could be due to
more erratic blood sugar levels.
It's not something that you canexactly measure, but it's all
of these sources of stress thatcan contribute to inflammation.
(08:21):
So for some of you maybe that isan inflamed digestive system.
For some of you maybe that issome type of infection.
Or, on a personal note, I'vementioned this here before, so
maybe you've heard this ifyou've been listening for a
minute.
But in the past I know, or Ihave known, that I've had a UTI,
(08:42):
because I had no other symptoms, except that when my period
came it was absolutelyhorrendous cramps and I was like
, oh, okay, note taken body, letme investigate what's going on
here.
Right, there's this otheradditional source of
inflammation, the infection inmy case that's being exacerbated
(09:04):
by the release of theseprostaglandins.
Okay, well, I see the trendhere.
Let me go take care of this andnip that in the bud.
So could be something maybe alittle bit more acute, like that
type of infection could beoverall inflammation in your
digestive system.
I also want to mention allergieskind of in this little
subcategory, because allergieswhether it's to pollen or food
(09:29):
or anything else that your bodyis sensitive to that's going to
increase histamines in your body.
Now, when you're having ahistamine reaction, or maybe a
greater than normal histaminereaction, histamines could
contribute to increased uterinecontractions not the dream, and
that's because they can actsimilarly to prostaglandins.
(09:52):
Right, they can increase,potentially increase nerve
sensitivity, and so all of thatcould lead to stronger and more
painful cramps.
This is all to say that if younotice you have worse cramps,
more cramps, longer cramps thatimpact your ability to go about
your daily activities and you'realso like, oh yeah, your
(10:15):
ability to go about your dailyactivities and you're also like,
oh yeah, it's allergy season orhey, okay, I do think I have
this infection or dysbiosis orother type of inflammation, then
that picture might make senseand that can be a good start to
this roadmap for you of all.
Right, where do I go from hereand how do I help to support
having less painful periods,less painful cramping?
(10:36):
The next topic that I want tomove on to is talking about some
of these named diagnoses right,like adenomyosis, endometriosis
.
It's also maybe worth mementioning here that, of course,
nothing I share with you in thepodcast is designed to be
medical advice or medicaldiagnosis.
You should definitely chat withyour provider if you have some
(10:57):
greater suspicions.
Essentially, what's going onwith endometriosis is that your
endometrial tissue, the normaltissue that grows in your
endometrial lining, that cansometimes develop in other parts
of your body, outside of yourendometrium, but then they're
still being triggered by theprostaglandins when your cycle
(11:20):
starts and that's going to cause, in some people, a lot of pain
because it's still that tissuetrying to shed but not really
having anywhere to go.
There's also this component forsomebody who has had
endometriosis, for a hot minute,where scar tissue can build up.
Thinking right, it's differentfor everybody, but this could be
on the outside of your uterus,maybe around the ovaries, around
(11:43):
the bladder, around the rectum,although some people have been
found to have endometrial tissuefrom endometriosis even like up
into their abdominal cavity andtheir chest cavity and more.
I don't say that to be, youknow, scary, of course, but I
think that is really worthnoting.
And if you notice, ah, weird,when my period starts every
(12:06):
month I have this pain in insertpart of your body that's not
your uterus, that's not yourpelvis.
Mentioning that with yourprovider would be a really solid
first step.
So this is all to say.
Hey, endometriosis is thegrowth of this tissue in an
atypical spot, and so that isgoing to require a specific
(12:31):
series of steps, a specificprotocol to address, which would
namely be surrounding yourdigestive function and immune
function.
They're really closely relatedto endometriosis.
It's actually more of an immuneand a digestive response than
it is a hormonal response, right, and I'll break that down in
(12:55):
just a minute here.
But that's all to say that ifyou have endometriosis, you're
going to want to one.
Talk about that with yourpractitioner.
It can take many years,unfortunately, for some women to
get an endometriosis diagnosis,and maybe for some, some people
, surgery is the route thatthey're going to go.
We won't focus too big on thathere, but just know that this is
(13:18):
something that's out there andthat affects many women.
Adenomyosis is the othercondition I mentioned, and what
this is is the growth ofendometrial tissue in the lining
of the uterus.
So not as far away maybe asendometriosis, but it's still
where this tissue is growing inthe wrong or not in the ideal
(13:42):
spot, and that inherently, cancause some inflammation and
cause pain, sometimes cancontribute to additional
bleeding, heavier periods aswell.
I mentioned a moment ago thatendometriosis isn't just
exacerbated by hormones, and Iwant to clarify that now,
because that also can beapplicable to the conversation
(14:04):
with endometriosis.
Now, what I mean by that isdoes elevated estrogen
potentially contribute toendometriosis or adenomyosis?
It can, and that's becauseestrogen is a growth hormone,
one of the handful of growthtype hormones that we have in
our bodies, but when estrogenlevels are higher than normal,
(14:28):
higher than expected or mayberelatively high compared to
progesterone, that can lead toadditional growth.
Now, on the other hand, though,like I mentioned, a lot of
digestive dysfunction as well asimpaired immune function can be
correlated to bothendometriosis and adenomyosis.
(14:51):
There are some studies thatshow that liver function too
right.
If your liver is sluggish, youhave leaky gut, you have an
inflamed gut, then that cancontribute to this systemic
inflammation and worsening pain.
Last note here could be that ifyou are having digestive
(15:11):
dysfunction, you're noteliminating regularly, you're
not having bowel movements daily, that too can contribute to
higher levels of estrogen thannormal, because your body is
holding onto that estrogen andrecycling it back into your
system instead of eliminating itout of your body.
(15:31):
I have a few more thoughts thatI want to share with you about
potential causes for pain, andthen we'll move into the tips
that I have for you.
So you also want to think about, okay, is the pain that I'm
experiencing maybe related to mypelvic floor function?
We have so many muscles holdingup our pelvic floor or
comprising our pelvic floor, andis it something with those
(15:55):
muscles?
Is it cramping in those muscles?
Is it another kind ofdysfunction that you might want
to address and that does nothave to do with hormones?
So that's one thing to keep inmind.
Also thinking, okay, couldthere be a cyst on an ovary
that's causing some pain.
If it's inflamed, if it'senlarged, maybe that could be
something to investigate for you.
(16:16):
The third topic that I want toreiterate is on the note of
infections.
Again, now, I'm not thinking oflike, okay, a UTI that might be
causing additional pain, butcould it be some type of like
pelvic infection or pelvicinflammatory disease, infection
or pelvic inflammatory disease,for example, that you would want
(16:37):
to investigate further withyour doctor?
Last but not least, if you'resomebody who experiences
cramping in the middle of yourcycle, ie not when you're on
your period and you're likethat's super weird.
Well, it could be pain that'sassociated with ovulation, right
when the egg is actually beingreleased from the follicle on
your ovary.
For some people, that can be alittle bit sensitive.
There could be a sharp painthat lasts maybe a day or less.
(17:01):
It's a little bit more acute inthat way.
So if that's you, then thatcould be a sign that your body
is just ovulating.
I just shouted out a good solidhandful of suggestions or ideas,
things for you to think through, so let me go ahead and recap
that to kind of keep itorganized.
If you are new to some of thosetopics Now, from top to bottom,
(17:26):
I talked about normal periodpain, and by normal in this case
, what I mean is pain andcramping that's caused by the
release of prostaglandins inyour body.
This is going to be relativelyeasily addressed by the steps
we'll talk about in a minutehere, because if you have quote
(17:47):
unquote just normal period pain,then you should be able to
address it with some of thesechanges that we'll talk about If
you find that these shifts arenot resulting in any change in
the level of period pain thatyou're experiencing, then you
might want to do some moreinvestigating to consider, okay,
well, is there some sort ofadditional inflammation source?
(18:09):
Could it be an infection?
Could it be related toallergies?
That's where I would look first, from there thinking, okay,
well, is this something that hasbeen going on for many, many
moons, maybe even years?
Understanding, could this beendometriosis?
Could this be adenomyosis?
And having that conversationwith your doctor to identify
(18:31):
what is actually going on.
That could be another step thatyou might want to continue.
Some honorable mentions as well, for pelvic floor pain right,
is it a muscular thing that'sgoing on in your pelvic floor
and causing you this cramping?
Could it be a cyst or relatedto cyst?
Is there another source ofinfection that needs to be
(18:54):
addressed?
And then, last but not least,if you're experiencing a bit of
pain in the middle of yourmenstrual cycle, could that be
simply a sign of ovulation?
Let's talk about the top fourthings that I would recommend
and that I would work on withyou if you were my one-on-one
client and you came to me withperiod pain, the first area
being focusing on minimizingyour intake of processed food,
(19:17):
of sugar and of alcohol.
All of these things are goingto be inflammatory, they're
going to be a little bitdisruptive for your digestive
system.
They might be adding anadditional tax to your liver and
what your liver needs to befocusing on.
And so by eliminating, byminimizing intake of processed
food, sugars and alcohol, Ithink that's a really solid
(19:39):
starting point to say, okay,let's start figuring out where
we can make healthy swaps, howwe can make this realistic and
sustainable for your lifestyle,for your budget, and see how
much that can move the needle.
I think that you would besurprised how much that can move
the needle.
I think that you would besurprised I mean, I've been
surprised, certainly in the pastby how much of a change I can
(19:59):
even feel in myself when I say,okay, bridge, you've been eating
maybe a little bit more sweetslately than what you should be
quote unquote should you knowwhat I feel like is good for me?
And so, making that change toeliminate sugar, eliminate
alcohol, I'm optimistic for youthat, if not in your period pain
(20:20):
, you will certainly feelbenefit.
You'll feel better overall whenyou take those things out.
I know that this isn't rocketscience, but I do think that we
need to be reminded of thebasics from time to time and be
prompted to reflect on okay,what am I actually consuming on
my day-to-day, on myweek-to-week?
Am I prioritizing whole foodsor am I consuming a lot of
(20:45):
processed foods?
So that is where I would startsquare one if I was trying to
eliminate or minimize my periodpain.
Now, the second area to focus onis liver support.
We kind of touched on this witheliminating alcohol.
But our liver does so much work.
We ask so much of it.
Right, because it's processingout not only toxins in alcohol,
(21:10):
not only processing out ourhormones.
Right, that need to bedetoxified and eliminated after
we use them.
But if it's getting a littlebit backlogged, maybe because
you're consuming alcohol, maybebecause you have a lot of stress
, there's a lot of caffeine inyour system, something like that
, then that can slow down theelimination of hormones, of
(21:33):
estrogen specifically here, andthat could lead to the
additional growth, theadditional buildup of your
endometrial lining and thereforemaybe contribute to some of
that period pain because there'smore lining to shake off, for
lack of a more thoroughexplanation there.
So what do I mean when I saysupport your liver?
(21:55):
Well, the first thing that youcan do is incorporate more
cruciferous vegetables,cruciferous veggies going to be
great for your liver, thinkingof things like broccoli,
cauliflower, kale, broccolisprouts too.
Those are the top four that aretop of mind, but do a little
goog for all the cruciferousvegetables and make a decision
on which ones are your favorite.
(22:15):
One pro tip that I have beendoing lately as it's, you know,
getting a little bit warmer hereinto summertime in California
is I'm picking up the what's itcalled Riced cauliflower
Cauliflower rice.
Yeah, frozen cauliflower rice.
There we go from Costco and Iwill put it in the smoothies
that I make.
(22:35):
So I'll make a protein smoothiewith some berries, put some of
the frozen cauliflower rice inthere.
You can't taste it at all and Iget an extra serving of veggies
, cruciferous veggies, and sotry that if that sounds
interesting to you.
Or you can always find a liverdetox tea at the grocery store.
(22:55):
Most of them have it rightthere.
You're going to be looking forsomething that might have
dandelion root milk.
Thistle, turmeric is also goingto be in a lot of liver
supporting teas, so you can't gowrong with that, adding it to
your nighttime routine.
And then, if you really wantedto consider a supplement, there
are many, many qualitysupplements out there that do
(23:17):
target and support liverfunction.
Of course, you're going to wantto make sure that you're
getting the supplement from areputable company, but that's
another option too.
So, liver support addingcruciferous vegetables, adding a
liver detox tea, adding a liversupport supplement.
And then what can you take awayto support your liver?
Well, we talked about takingaway alcohol, minimizing or
(23:40):
eliminating caffeine.
You'll also want to eliminateyour exposure to endocrine
disrupting chemicals.
So are you putting a lot ofdifferent products on your skin?
Are you breathing in a lot ofpollutants?
Do you have a lot of syntheticfragrances around your house
that you're also breathing in?
Cutting those out and that'sgoing to free up your liver to
(24:02):
do its job in eliminating thoseestrogens from your body.
Now, the third area that I wantyou to consider would be
avoiding cow dairy.
For a solid handful of gals outthere, cow dairy is going to be
a bit inflammatory and you'llfind that when you remove it
from your diet, your period painis much more manageable or goes
(24:25):
away.
So this doesn't have to besomething that you do forever,
right?
I think that's worth mentioning, because sometimes we think, oh
, shoot, okay, eliminating cowdairy forever.
But hey, take a little, take adeep breath.
It doesn't have to be that deep, right, you can just say all
right, for the next month I'mgoing to swap out my cow milk
(24:49):
and lattes for some almond milk.
I'm going to be thoughtfulabout meal planning, about
avoiding whatever other dairysources that you have.
There are so many goodnon-dairy or plant-based recipes
out there.
And just see how this impactsyou.
What is the change that it hasin your life With any of these
(25:09):
changes or adjustments thatyou're making?
I do think it's an excellentidea to be tracking these
changes.
So, whether you use an app,whether you keep a journal,
whatever it is that best suitsyou, make sure that you're
tracking how you feel so you canassess did it make a difference
to eliminate cow dairy?
Did it make a difference toeliminate alcohol or to
(25:34):
eliminate caffeine, whatever itis for you, because A well, that
helps you to understand whatcontributes to your period pain.
But of course, it can also be asolid source of motivation to
continue to avoid cow dairy orcontinue to minimize your
alcohol intake, when you canreally see like, okay, I feel so
(25:54):
much better without this X, yor Z in my life, in my diet.
Now I want to wrap up thissection by just sharing two
recommendations with you forsupplements.
Now, zinc is one that can besupportive for you if you have
period pain.
So if you take a multi-mineral,is there zinc in there or is
(26:16):
there another zinc supplementthat is right for you?
For some folks out there,taking 30 milligrams a day,
maybe with dinner, could be agood starting point.
There's also magnesiumglycinate.
Taking about 300 milligrams aday could be supportive for you.
Magnesium has so many differentbenefits that I don't think you
(26:37):
can really go wrong withstarting out with magnesium.
I'll just say again thatmagnesium glycinate is the type
of magnesium that you probablywant to go with for this one.
There are a handful ofdifferent types of magnesium.
Some have different benefitsthan others.
So just taking an extra look atthe label, at the description,
before you buy and, of course,making sure that you're buying
(26:59):
from a reputable source,reputable manufacturer that is
going to be your best bet.
Overall, if you are experiencingperiod pain, I want to
encourage you to do somethingtoday.
Adopt one of the changes thatyou heard today.
Figure out what is going to fityour life and make that change
now.
Don't wait, don't sleep on it,don't wait until your next
(27:20):
period just to see how it goes.
Go ahead and make that changeso that you can start to feel
better sooner.
When I'm working with myone-on-one clients, for the most
part they're able to seechanges in their period pain
within the first cycle that theyhave after we start working
together.
So within that first cycle,within the next 30 days or
(27:43):
however many days, you cantotally see changes in the
amount of pain that youexperience.
And my clients have gone fromhaving to miss work maybe not
every single period, but mostperiods, having to take a day
off, having to cancel plans,having to stay at home curled up
in a ball instead of being outthere living their life.
And then, within three months,my client actually just the
(28:05):
other day I was so happy shesent me a voice memo and she's
like, yeah, my period came.
I barely even knew.
I barely knew it was going tobe coming.
It came early, it wasshortening back into what it's
like an ideal range is what Imean to say.
And she's like, yeah, I hadlike a little bit of cramping
for two days.
That didn't impact what I wasdoing, I just kept living my
(28:28):
life.
I couldn't believe it.
And that can be you too.
Right, that can be you too.
Incorporate some of these basics.
You've got this.
Get an accountability buddy.
Find out like do you have aworkout buddy?
Do you have a sister?
Is there somebody else in yourlife who has period pain?
You want to kind of go on thisjourney together.
Or, of course, if you wantanother type of accountability
(28:49):
buddy, you want more specificson how you can implement these
adjustments in your life.
I would invite you to check outthe link in the show notes where
you can apply to work with meone-on-one.
This is my jam working withgals just like you who have
unpredictable periods, periodpain, bloating, pms, all of
these things and more.
(29:10):
I got you girl Again.
Check out the link in the shownotes.
Or, as we wrap up, you canconnect with me on Instagram.
I got you girl Again.
Check out the link in the shownotes.
Or, as we wrap up, you canconnect with me on Instagram at
I'm Hormonal, and that's alittle change from before.
I just changed the handle, butconnect with me over there if
you want to see more tips and Iwill see you on the next one.
Thanks for listening If youloved today's episode and got
(29:31):
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automatically in your feed.
No work needed on your side,let's put it on autopilot.
As always, I need to give youmy reminder that the information
I share with you here is foreducational purposes only, and
it should not be used as areplacement for medical advice
or diagnosis.
Now, if you are, on the otherhand, in the market for some
(29:54):
one-on-one support, then I wouldlove for you to take me up on
my offer for a free strategycall.
You can find these links andmore in the show notes.
If you're still under the impression that your period
pain is normal, then thisepisode might piss you off.
Did you know that up to 45% ofwomen in studies report that
their cramps are so bad theyhave to skip work?
And yet we're taught to justsuck it up and push through
Mm-mm.
No, today I'm going to bebreaking down what's actually
going on in your body, why thispain isn't just part of being a
(00:23):
woman, and what you can do ifyou find yourself in this boat.
Welcome to I'm Hormonal, yoursource of information about
women's hormone health and howto support your body.
Naturally, I'm your host,bridget Walton, and I'm a
certified functional hormonespecialist and menstrual cycle
coach.
I am on a mission to hold thesehormone conversations with as
(00:45):
many menstruators as possiblebecause you deserve easier
access to accurate informationabout what's up with your unruly
menstrual cycle and with yourfertility mysteries.
Don't you think it's time thatwe figure this out once and for
all?
Welcome back to this episode ofI'm Hormonal.
I'm your host, bridget Walton.
(01:05):
I'm so excited and so gratefulfor you to be here listening
today.
I know you've got a ton ofchoices out there, so it's not
lost on me that you are herelistening to.
I'm Hormonal, trying to learnmore about your bod, about your
hormones and how you can feelbetter.
Now, that is one thing thatfeel better, now that is one
(01:27):
thing that right teased in theintro there that I'm super
passionate about is this wholeidea of what is a normal part of
being a woman.
I'm doing some strong airquotes over here because so many
of us, myself included, grew upthinking, oh okay, well, when
my period comes, I'm just goingto have some pain and be
(01:47):
uncomfortable and just be bleh,and we're all just accepting
that as truth.
But actually there is a lotthat you can do through your
diet, through your stress,through some other things I will
be talking about today, to helpmanage that pain and, ideally,
eliminate it right Now.
Of course, there are otherfactors aside from just
(02:08):
quote-unquote normal period painthat could be impacting you.
I'll touch on that in a bithere as well.
But basically, if you'resomebody, if you have cramps
that are preventing you fromdoing your normal activities,
living your normal life going towork, hanging out with your
girls, hanging out with yourkids, whatever it is for you
then this episode is going to befor you, so you can learn about
(02:31):
what causes this pain, what aresome potential sources of it,
and then I will walk throughwhat are the top four
suggestions that I have for you,that I have for clients when
they come to me with period pain.
So we will get into that injust un momentito here.
Before we dive into the goodstuff, I just wanted to say
(02:52):
welcome.
If you're listening to I AmHormonal for the first time I'm
really glad that you found meand if you're back again, or if
you've been sharing yourfavorite episodes, what you've
been learning with some of yourfriends.
Thank you so much for helpingme to expand the I'm Hormonal
community.
If you have any questions, ifyou have any comments, if
there's anything that you wantto hear me talk about in the
future, I would love to hearfrom you.
(03:13):
You can connect with me onInstagram at I'm Hormonal, and
that's going to be the bestplace to be in touch.
As I was preparing for thisepisode, I went back and took a
look at some stats about periodpain.
I was disappointed and shockedto see just how high those
numbers are.
Right, we know that this isquote-unquote common because in
(03:36):
conversation with our friends,with people who we know, period
pain is a thing, but I couldn'tbelieve it to see that some
studies show even up to 71% ofwomen report having period pain.
I mentioned 45% of women in aparticular study said that their
period pain impacted theirdaily activities.
Another study shows that atleast 30% of women have needed
(03:59):
to take a day off due to theirpain, or that 42% of women state
that their period pain directlyaffects their ability to
accomplish their work.
Now, of course, each study isgoing to have a slightly
different response.
There's slightly differentnuances.
That's why not all of thosenumbers align.
But what they don't touch on isbecause they can't.
(04:20):
What they don't touch on is oneunder-reporting.
Right, there are a lot of folkswho think, ah, this is no big
deal, this is just life, it'snot something worth reporting
and also considering just whatis the productivity lost and
that makes it sound so masculineand corporate, like how much
(04:42):
productivity did we lose out on?
But what about the joy of justliving pain-free and not being
bogged down by this?
If you're listening to thisepisode, you probably don't
actually need me to be up herein this soapbox because you're
looking for solutions.
So I will step down from thissoapbox really quick and talk
(05:02):
about what causes period pain.
But I just wanted to kind ofset the what's the word I'm
looking for?
Set the landscape, set the tone, get us all on the same page,
for what is the backdrop whenwe're talking about period pain?
Now, in a lot of cases, whatcauses normal period pain is the
(05:23):
release of prostaglandins inyour body, right?
So when it's time for yourperiod to start, your estrogen
levels, your progesterone levels, are dropping down quite low
and your body releasesprostaglandins, which are these
little chemical messengers thatbasically tell your uterus hey,
girl, it's time to contract,it's time to shed this
(05:45):
endometrial lining, and that'swhat is kick-starting the actual
shedding of blood and tissuefrom your endometrium.
Now, this happens generally,that maybe the day before your
period starts, the first day orfirst two days of your period,
and this release ofprostaglandins, that's what can
cause the mild crampingdiscomfort in your lower abdomen
(06:10):
and in your back.
So, tldr, prostaglandins, weneed them, but there's a little
bit of this negative side effectfrom them.
It's also worth noting too,right, because a lot of gals, a
lot of clients that I work with,they're like yeah, I actually
on my period, I have diarrhea, Ihave loose poops, but that's
(06:31):
totally normal, right, that canbe a side effect, like a
consequence of theseprostaglandins.
They're not reallydiscriminating about where
they're going in your body, andwho would have thought your
digestive system is right nextto your reproductive system down
there, and so that's why, ifyou're somebody who you have the
period poops on the first day,two days of your cycle.
(06:54):
That's what's causing it aswell.
In addition to this normalperiod pain, there are, of
course, additional factors thatcan contribute to pain and
discomfort.
So I want to walk through someof those next to help clue you
in, maybe give you some morecontext, for, okay, am I working
with something that is justkind of normal period pain on
(07:16):
steroids?
Then there are things that youcan do through your diet,
lifestyle etc.
To address it.
We'll get to those in a bit.
If you find that one of theseother factors I'll be talking
about in a second applies to you, then maybe that's a
conversation with your doctor,with another practitioner, with
a coach, with someone likemyself to say, okay, how can I
(07:37):
really support my body's systemsoverall in order to combat this
inflammation?
That'll make more sense after Iwalk through these couple of
items.
So let's jump into it.
The first thing that I wanted tomention that can exacerbate or
contribute to period pain couldbe inflammation, right,
inflammation.
What does that even mean,bridget?
(07:58):
When I'm thinking ofinflammation, I'm thinking of
anything that is kind of swollenor irritated.
It could be due to highcortisol levels, could be due to
more erratic blood sugar levels.
It's not something that you canexactly measure, but it's all
of these sources of stress thatcan contribute to inflammation.
(08:21):
So for some of you maybe that isan inflamed digestive system.
For some of you maybe that issome type of infection.
Or, on a personal note, I'vementioned this here before, so
maybe you've heard this ifyou've been listening for a
minute.
But in the past I know, or Ihave known, that I've had a UTI,
(08:42):
because I had no other symptoms, except that when my period
came it was absolutelyhorrendous cramps and I was like
, oh, okay, note taken body, letme investigate what's going on
here.
Right, there's this otheradditional source of
inflammation, the infection inmy case that's being exacerbated
(09:04):
by the release of theseprostaglandins.
Okay, well, I see the trendhere.
Let me go take care of this andnip that in the bud.
So could be something maybe alittle bit more acute, like that
type of infection could beoverall inflammation in your
digestive system.
I also want to mention allergieskind of in this little
subcategory, because allergieswhether it's to pollen or food
(09:29):
or anything else that your bodyis sensitive to that's going to
increase histamines in your body.
Now, when you're having ahistamine reaction, or maybe a
greater than normal histaminereaction, histamines could
contribute to increased uterinecontractions not the dream, and
that's because they can actsimilarly to prostaglandins.
(09:52):
Right, they can increase,potentially increase nerve
sensitivity, and so all of thatcould lead to stronger and more
painful cramps.
This is all to say that if younotice you have worse cramps,
more cramps, longer cramps thatimpact your ability to go about
your daily activities and you'realso like, oh yeah, your
(10:15):
ability to go about your dailyactivities and you're also like,
oh yeah, it's allergy season orhey, okay, I do think I have
this infection or dysbiosis orother type of inflammation, then
that picture might make senseand that can be a good start to
this roadmap for you of all.
Right, where do I go from hereand how do I help to support
having less painful periods,less painful cramping?
(10:36):
The next topic that I want tomove on to is talking about some
of these named diagnoses right,like adenomyosis, endometriosis
.
It's also maybe worth mementioning here that, of course,
nothing I share with you in thepodcast is designed to be
medical advice or medicaldiagnosis.
You should definitely chat withyour provider if you have some
(10:57):
greater suspicions.
Essentially, what's going onwith endometriosis is that your
endometrial tissue, the normaltissue that grows in your
endometrial lining, that cansometimes develop in other parts
of your body, outside of yourendometrium, but then they're
still being triggered by theprostaglandins when your cycle
(11:20):
starts and that's going to cause, in some people, a lot of pain
because it's still that tissuetrying to shed but not really
having anywhere to go.
There's also this component forsomebody who has had
endometriosis, for a hot minute,where scar tissue can build up.
Thinking right, it's differentfor everybody, but this could be
on the outside of your uterus,maybe around the ovaries, around
(11:43):
the bladder, around the rectum,although some people have been
found to have endometrial tissuefrom endometriosis even like up
into their abdominal cavity andtheir chest cavity and more.
I don't say that to be, youknow, scary, of course, but I
think that is really worthnoting.
And if you notice, ah, weird,when my period starts every
(12:06):
month I have this pain in insertpart of your body that's not
your uterus, that's not yourpelvis.
Mentioning that with yourprovider would be a really solid
first step.
So this is all to say.
Hey, endometriosis is thegrowth of this tissue in an
atypical spot, and so that isgoing to require a specific
(12:31):
series of steps, a specificprotocol to address, which would
namely be surrounding yourdigestive function and immune
function.
They're really closely relatedto endometriosis.
It's actually more of an immuneand a digestive response than
it is a hormonal response, right, and I'll break that down in
(12:55):
just a minute here.
But that's all to say that ifyou have endometriosis, you're
going to want to one.
Talk about that with yourpractitioner.
It can take many years,unfortunately, for some women to
get an endometriosis diagnosis,and maybe for some, some people
, surgery is the route thatthey're going to go.
We won't focus too big on thathere, but just know that this is
(13:18):
something that's out there andthat affects many women.
Adenomyosis is the othercondition I mentioned, and what
this is is the growth ofendometrial tissue in the lining
of the uterus.
So not as far away maybe asendometriosis, but it's still
where this tissue is growing inthe wrong or not in the ideal
(13:42):
spot, and that inherently, cancause some inflammation and
cause pain, sometimes cancontribute to additional
bleeding, heavier periods aswell.
I mentioned a moment ago thatendometriosis isn't just
exacerbated by hormones, and Iwant to clarify that now,
because that also can beapplicable to the conversation
(14:04):
with endometriosis.
Now, what I mean by that isdoes elevated estrogen
potentially contribute toendometriosis or adenomyosis?
It can, and that's becauseestrogen is a growth hormone,
one of the handful of growthtype hormones that we have in
our bodies, but when estrogenlevels are higher than normal,
(14:28):
higher than expected or mayberelatively high compared to
progesterone, that can lead toadditional growth.
Now, on the other hand, though,like I mentioned, a lot of
digestive dysfunction as well asimpaired immune function can be
correlated to bothendometriosis and adenomyosis.
(14:51):
There are some studies thatshow that liver function too
right.
If your liver is sluggish, youhave leaky gut, you have an
inflamed gut, then that cancontribute to this systemic
inflammation and worsening pain.
Last note here could be that ifyou are having digestive
(15:11):
dysfunction, you're noteliminating regularly, you're
not having bowel movements daily, that too can contribute to
higher levels of estrogen thannormal, because your body is
holding onto that estrogen andrecycling it back into your
system instead of eliminating itout of your body.
(15:31):
I have a few more thoughts thatI want to share with you about
potential causes for pain, andthen we'll move into the tips
that I have for you.
So you also want to think about, okay, is the pain that I'm
experiencing maybe related to mypelvic floor function?
We have so many muscles holdingup our pelvic floor or
comprising our pelvic floor, andis it something with those
(15:55):
muscles?
Is it cramping in those muscles?
Is it another kind ofdysfunction that you might want
to address and that does nothave to do with hormones?
So that's one thing to keep inmind.
Also thinking, okay, couldthere be a cyst on an ovary
that's causing some pain.
If it's inflamed, if it'senlarged, maybe that could be
something to investigate for you.
(16:16):
The third topic that I want toreiterate is on the note of
infections.
Again, now, I'm not thinking oflike, okay, a UTI that might be
causing additional pain, butcould it be some type of like
pelvic infection or pelvicinflammatory disease, infection
or pelvic inflammatory disease,for example, that you would want
(16:37):
to investigate further withyour doctor?
Last but not least, if you'resomebody who experiences
cramping in the middle of yourcycle, ie not when you're on
your period and you're likethat's super weird.
Well, it could be pain that'sassociated with ovulation, right
when the egg is actually beingreleased from the follicle on
your ovary.
For some people, that can be alittle bit sensitive.
There could be a sharp painthat lasts maybe a day or less.
(17:01):
It's a little bit more acute inthat way.
So if that's you, then thatcould be a sign that your body
is just ovulating.
I just shouted out a good solidhandful of suggestions or ideas,
things for you to think through, so let me go ahead and recap
that to kind of keep itorganized.
If you are new to some of thosetopics Now, from top to bottom,
(17:26):
I talked about normal periodpain, and by normal in this case
, what I mean is pain andcramping that's caused by the
release of prostaglandins inyour body.
This is going to be relativelyeasily addressed by the steps
we'll talk about in a minutehere, because if you have quote
(17:47):
unquote just normal period pain,then you should be able to
address it with some of thesechanges that we'll talk about If
you find that these shifts arenot resulting in any change in
the level of period pain thatyou're experiencing, then you
might want to do some moreinvestigating to consider, okay,
well, is there some sort ofadditional inflammation source?
(18:09):
Could it be an infection?
Could it be related toallergies?
That's where I would look first, from there thinking, okay,
well, is this something that hasbeen going on for many, many
moons, maybe even years?
Understanding, could this beendometriosis?
Could this be adenomyosis?
And having that conversationwith your doctor to identify
(18:31):
what is actually going on.
That could be another step thatyou might want to continue.
Some honorable mentions as well, for pelvic floor pain right,
is it a muscular thing that'sgoing on in your pelvic floor
and causing you this cramping?
Could it be a cyst or relatedto cyst?
Is there another source ofinfection that needs to be
(18:54):
addressed?
And then, last but not least,if you're experiencing a bit of
pain in the middle of yourmenstrual cycle, could that be
simply a sign of ovulation?
Let's talk about the top fourthings that I would recommend
and that I would work on withyou if you were my one-on-one
client and you came to me withperiod pain, the first area
being focusing on minimizingyour intake of processed food,
(19:17):
of sugar and of alcohol.
All of these things are goingto be inflammatory, they're
going to be a little bitdisruptive for your digestive
system.
They might be adding anadditional tax to your liver and
what your liver needs to befocusing on.
And so by eliminating, byminimizing intake of processed
food, sugars and alcohol, Ithink that's a really solid
(19:39):
starting point to say, okay,let's start figuring out where
we can make healthy swaps, howwe can make this realistic and
sustainable for your lifestyle,for your budget, and see how
much that can move the needle.
I think that you would besurprised how much that can move
the needle.
I think that you would besurprised I mean, I've been
surprised, certainly in the pastby how much of a change I can
(19:59):
even feel in myself when I say,okay, bridge, you've been eating
maybe a little bit more sweetslately than what you should be
quote unquote should you knowwhat I feel like is good for me?
And so, making that change toeliminate sugar, eliminate
alcohol, I'm optimistic for youthat, if not in your period pain
(20:20):
, you will certainly feelbenefit.
You'll feel better overall whenyou take those things out.
I know that this isn't rocketscience, but I do think that we
need to be reminded of thebasics from time to time and be
prompted to reflect on okay,what am I actually consuming on
my day-to-day, on myweek-to-week?
Am I prioritizing whole foodsor am I consuming a lot of
(20:45):
processed foods?
So that is where I would startsquare one if I was trying to
eliminate or minimize my periodpain.
Now, the second area to focus onis liver support.
We kind of touched on this witheliminating alcohol.
But our liver does so much work.
We ask so much of it.
Right, because it's processingout not only toxins in alcohol,
(21:10):
not only processing out ourhormones.
Right, that need to bedetoxified and eliminated after
we use them.
But if it's getting a littlebit backlogged, maybe because
you're consuming alcohol, maybebecause you have a lot of stress
, there's a lot of caffeine inyour system, something like that
, then that can slow down theelimination of hormones, of
(21:33):
estrogen specifically here, andthat could lead to the
additional growth, theadditional buildup of your
endometrial lining and thereforemaybe contribute to some of
that period pain because there'smore lining to shake off, for
lack of a more thoroughexplanation there.
So what do I mean when I saysupport your liver?
(21:55):
Well, the first thing that youcan do is incorporate more
cruciferous vegetables,cruciferous veggies going to be
great for your liver, thinkingof things like broccoli,
cauliflower, kale, broccolisprouts too.
Those are the top four that aretop of mind, but do a little
goog for all the cruciferousvegetables and make a decision
on which ones are your favorite.
(22:15):
One pro tip that I have beendoing lately as it's, you know,
getting a little bit warmer hereinto summertime in California
is I'm picking up the what's itcalled Riced cauliflower
Cauliflower rice.
Yeah, frozen cauliflower rice.
There we go from Costco and Iwill put it in the smoothies
that I make.
(22:35):
So I'll make a protein smoothiewith some berries, put some of
the frozen cauliflower rice inthere.
You can't taste it at all and Iget an extra serving of veggies
, cruciferous veggies, and sotry that if that sounds
interesting to you.
Or you can always find a liverdetox tea at the grocery store.
(22:55):
Most of them have it rightthere.
You're going to be looking forsomething that might have
dandelion root milk.
Thistle, turmeric is also goingto be in a lot of liver
supporting teas, so you can't gowrong with that, adding it to
your nighttime routine.
And then, if you really wantedto consider a supplement, there
are many, many qualitysupplements out there that do
(23:17):
target and support liverfunction.
Of course, you're going to wantto make sure that you're
getting the supplement from areputable company, but that's
another option too.
So, liver support addingcruciferous vegetables, adding a
liver detox tea, adding a liversupport supplement.
And then what can you take awayto support your liver?
Well, we talked about takingaway alcohol, minimizing or
(23:40):
eliminating caffeine.
You'll also want to eliminateyour exposure to endocrine
disrupting chemicals.
So are you putting a lot ofdifferent products on your skin?
Are you breathing in a lot ofpollutants?
Do you have a lot of syntheticfragrances around your house
that you're also breathing in?
Cutting those out and that'sgoing to free up your liver to
(24:02):
do its job in eliminating thoseestrogens from your body.
Now, the third area that I wantyou to consider would be
avoiding cow dairy.
For a solid handful of gals outthere, cow dairy is going to be
a bit inflammatory and you'llfind that when you remove it
from your diet, your period painis much more manageable or goes
(24:25):
away.
So this doesn't have to besomething that you do forever,
right?
I think that's worth mentioning, because sometimes we think, oh
, shoot, okay, eliminating cowdairy forever.
But hey, take a little, take adeep breath.
It doesn't have to be that deep, right, you can just say all
right, for the next month I'mgoing to swap out my cow milk
(24:49):
and lattes for some almond milk.
I'm going to be thoughtfulabout meal planning, about
avoiding whatever other dairysources that you have.
There are so many goodnon-dairy or plant-based recipes
out there.
And just see how this impactsyou.
What is the change that it hasin your life With any of these
(25:09):
changes or adjustments thatyou're making?
I do think it's an excellentidea to be tracking these
changes.
So, whether you use an app,whether you keep a journal,
whatever it is that best suitsyou, make sure that you're
tracking how you feel so you canassess did it make a difference
to eliminate cow dairy?
Did it make a difference toeliminate alcohol or to
(25:34):
eliminate caffeine, whatever itis for you, because A well, that
helps you to understand whatcontributes to your period pain.
But of course, it can also be asolid source of motivation to
continue to avoid cow dairy orcontinue to minimize your
alcohol intake, when you canreally see like, okay, I feel so
(25:54):
much better without this X, yor Z in my life, in my diet.
Now I want to wrap up thissection by just sharing two
recommendations with you forsupplements.
Now, zinc is one that can besupportive for you if you have
period pain.
So if you take a multi-mineral,is there zinc in there or is
(26:16):
there another zinc supplementthat is right for you?
For some folks out there,taking 30 milligrams a day,
maybe with dinner, could be agood starting point.
There's also magnesiumglycinate.
Taking about 300 milligrams aday could be supportive for you.
Magnesium has so many differentbenefits that I don't think you
(26:37):
can really go wrong withstarting out with magnesium.
I'll just say again thatmagnesium glycinate is the type
of magnesium that you probablywant to go with for this one.
There are a handful ofdifferent types of magnesium.
Some have different benefitsthan others.
So just taking an extra look atthe label, at the description,
before you buy and, of course,making sure that you're buying
(26:59):
from a reputable source,reputable manufacturer that is
going to be your best bet.
Overall, if you are experiencingperiod pain, I want to
encourage you to do somethingtoday.
Adopt one of the changes thatyou heard today.
Figure out what is going to fityour life and make that change
now.
Don't wait, don't sleep on it,don't wait until your next
(27:20):
period just to see how it goes.
Go ahead and make that changeso that you can start to feel
better sooner.
When I'm working with myone-on-one clients, for the most
part they're able to seechanges in their period pain
within the first cycle that theyhave after we start working
together.
So within that first cycle,within the next 30 days or
(27:43):
however many days, you cantotally see changes in the
amount of pain that youexperience.
And my clients have gone fromhaving to miss work maybe not
every single period, but mostperiods, having to take a day
off, having to cancel plans,having to stay at home curled up
in a ball instead of being outthere living their life.
And then, within three months,my client actually just the
(28:05):
other day I was so happy shesent me a voice memo and she's
like, yeah, my period came.
I barely even knew.
I barely knew it was going tobe coming.
It came early, it wasshortening back into what it's
like an ideal range is what Imean to say.
And she's like, yeah, I hadlike a little bit of cramping
for two days.
That didn't impact what I wasdoing, I just kept living my
(28:28):
life.
I couldn't believe it.
And that can be you too.
Right, that can be you too.
Incorporate some of these basics.
You've got this.
Get an accountability buddy.
Find out like do you have aworkout buddy?
Do you have a sister?
Is there somebody else in yourlife who has period pain?
You want to kind of go on thisjourney together.
Or, of course, if you wantanother type of accountability
(28:49):
buddy, you want more specificson how you can implement these
adjustments in your life.
I would invite you to check outthe link in the show notes where
you can apply to work with meone-on-one.
This is my jam working withgals just like you who have
unpredictable periods, periodpain, bloating, pms, all of
these things and more.
(29:10):
I got you girl Again.
Check out the link in the shownotes.
Or, as we wrap up, you canconnect with me on Instagram.
I got you girl Again.
Check out the link in the shownotes.
Or, as we wrap up, you canconnect with me on Instagram at
I'm Hormonal, and that's alittle change from before.
I just changed the handle, butconnect with me over there if
you want to see more tips and Iwill see you on the next one.
Thanks for listening If youloved today's episode and got
(29:31):
something good out of it.
Make sure you subscribe so thatthese episodes show up
automatically in your feed.
No work needed on your side,let's put it on autopilot.
As always, I need to give youmy reminder that the information
I share with you here is foreducational purposes only, and
it should not be used as areplacement for medical advice
or diagnosis.
Now, if you are, on the otherhand, in the market for some
(29:54):
one-on-one support, then I wouldlove for you to take me up on
my offer for a free strategycall.
You can find these links andmore in the show notes.
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