I was interviewed for a podcast this week and we started talking about irregular periods. She was wondering what my advice would be to someone who had an irregular period and wanted to take the pill to regulate it.
Of course I had lots of ideas, but the first thing that came outta my mouth was:
I think it’s be important to first define what an irregular period is and make sure whoever is asking really is having an irregular period.
(the other most important thing to remember is that the pill does regulate your period, it takes it away, but that’s another story for another day).
But it got me thinking about how we perceive our cycles and what they should be, as well as the dreaded “late” period.
The length myth
A lot of women consider having a period that does not come every 28 days (or very close to that) irregular. In reality, you can have a cycle ranging from about 22-36 days and not have much to worry about. If your cycle frequently jumped around in between those two extremes that may not be great, but I’ll talk a bit more about that further down.
The “I’m pregnant” myth
This is where the late period comes into play.
Your cycle length is determined by the length of the first phase of your cycle (before you ovulate). After you ovulate, you are going to have your period around 2 weeks later (this can vary from woman to woman and it’s the second phase of your cycle, called the luteal phase). The time you ovulate can vary, though. It could happen because of something going on hormonally, or it could be delayed by stress or illness.
If you end up with a delayed ovulation and you are used to getting your period at a certain time, you could end up getting a “late” period. It’s not actually late at all, but it seems late because you are used to it coming around a certain time.
A truly late period (and the kind you could worry about pregnancy over) would be when you know when you ovulated and your period still isn’t coming even after what your normal luteal phase length is.
But still, don’t stress yet, just go take a pregnancy test :)
What’s really irregular
If I look at my charts right now, my shortest cycle in the last 12 months was 26 days, and my longest was 30. My hormonal health is pretty solid, too, though it’s been a bit messed up since moving to LA.
As a very general rule, if your cycles are varying by more than 6 days regularly you may want to check everything out. If your cycles tend to be within 6 day (say your shortest is 24 and longest is 30) you probably have nothing to worry about. Though, remember, it’s a general rule.
There’s more to hormonal health than cycle length
Even better than relying simply on how long your cycles are to figure out if your hormones are doing ok is having a handle on what’s happening with your fertility signs, namely, cervical fluid and progesterone.
When you know about and track these two puppies you will be able to tell with a very clear picture what is going on with both your progesterone and your estrogen throughout your cycle.
Place on top of that having a record of your cycle lengths, perhaps any symptoms you are experiencing, and what your period is like and you have a really good idea of what’s going on with your cycle health.
And to top it all off? You don’t have to worry about late periods because you will always know when your period should come.
It doesn’t get much better than that :)
I’d love to hear if you ever had a late period that freaked you out, only for it to come late? Do you know when you ovulate now and not have to worry about it?
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Had this and went on hormonal BC (Yaz is the ABSOLUTE WORST, do not take it EVER) in part to prevent that “late period” panic and also to correct the menstrual symptoms (which I didn’t realize I could manage myself until I started delving into the topic thanks to Hannah, Alisa Vitti, Holly Grigg-Spall, the Red Tent Systers, re:Cycling, Laura Wershler, Suzanne Somers, and others). Well, I eventually ended up having zero periods.
Now that I’m in tune with my cycle I don’t let myself be surprised by my period, whether it’s late or early, or by the natural progression of the cycle. I see it as a thing of beauty (which is sometimes messy, but like real beauty, it can be better than trying to mask your humanity…)
Yes, it worries me the amount of people trying to regulate something that doesn’t need to be regulated. Especially when it’s young girls (it’s supposed to take 100(!) cycles to fully get out of the puberty stage) and they want to throw hormones at something that isn’t developed totally yet.
My cycle is pretty consistent. But when I start to work with new women, it changes as we start to sink up. Cool tips, though! I didn’t realize your cycle can vary about 6 days or so and still be considered normal. Thanks for sharing!
There are a lot of things that are abnormal that people consider normal, and a lot that is normal that people consider abnormal. That’s one of the reasons it’s soooo awesome to define what normal is.
I try to remind myself that everyone is different and has different needs.
I have a friend who says she used to have terrible cramps when she had her period before getting an IUD. We all get to pick what we think is best for ourselves. Ok… still I shared my form of tracking my cycles.
I do love my period. I don’t love it because it means I’m not pregnant, I just love it because it’s part of my natural feminine self. The hormonal shifts throughout the cycle change who I am- I know that certain times I can be more giving/ loving, artistic, or more reserved and aware and practical. It’s so cool to be able to have different perspectives thanks to my hormones. I don’t think I’m a nutty emotional roller coaster, I think I’m a cool person with different talents that can shine more at different times. (Also, getting a menstrual cup helped me like my period more.)
Learning about counting the luteal phase was such an eye-opening moment. I’m so conscious and aware.
I have a cousin that doesn’t even mark a calendar when she gets her period! AAAHHH, WHY!? Her period always surprises her unprepared. Why would she torture herself like this? She had tubal litigation many years ago. She only cares about remaining pregnancy free. I think she’s missing several pieces of her reproductive health…. SO I think many women just need to get into the habit of marking a calendar/ using an app to know the date of their last period.
Hi Hannah,
I like your blog very much and love that you pretty much respond to all posts. Is there any way to notify us of any replies to our posts? That would be a cool little update. I’m on your site regularly so I’ve caught your replies, but I think other women that are just passing by may not return. Getting replies from you is very memorable, it’s part of what keeps me coming back for more HHH articles. A notification might help other women stay in touch with your site too.
Thanks for your awesome writing.
Haha, Ana, love your comment! Does your friend have a hormonal IUD? I’ve never heard of someone reducing their cramps with the copper IUD.
I started loving my cycle when I started tracking it. I think it’s because I started noticing the positives in addition to the “negatives” (which can be positive, depending on how you look at them).
In terms of the comments, I’m going to try to fix that. I actually thought you could subscribe to the comments already, but that must have changed at some point and I hadn’t noticed. I’ll figure it out, though!
My friend has a hormonal IUD. She has the Mirena brand and doesn’t get a period anymore.
I think I’m signed-up for everything on your site, but I haven’t gotten email notifications of replies to comments.
:)