- It is totally okay to take a nap on your period,
you deserve it.
(upbeat music)
Hi, my name is Dr. Natasha Bhuyan.
I'm a Family Physician at One Medical,
and today I'll be answering questions all about periods.
How far apart should your periods be?
The average cycle usually is about 25 to 30 days apart.
But in some patients it could be every 21 days,
and in other people it could be every 35 days.
And either one of those is normal
as long as your tracking your periods on your own,
and you find that it's normal for you.
What if my period blood is dark red?
Period blood can be all kinds of different colors.
If it's dark red,
it's usually at the beginning of your period
or at the end of your period.
That's because at the beginning and ends of your period,
our blood flow is a little bit slower.
And because the blood flow is a bit slower,
it gives our blood time to come into contact with oxygen,
and that makes the period blood a little bit darker,
it might look like dark red,
it might look like a little bit brown,
that's completely normal.
What should I do if my period is late?
If you are a cis female,
and you're sexually active with cis men,
you should check a pregnancy test,
even if you're using different birth control methods.
There's no birth control method that's a 100% effective,
even though a lot get very close.
So if your period's late,
the first thing you should do
is check a pregnancy test and see if you're pregnant.
If you're not pregnant,
it's okay to wait,
and see when your period comes.
Sometimes people have irregular periods.
I tell people it's a great idea to track your period.
If your period continues to be late,
you should see your primary care provider
so they can figure out what might be going on.
Should I go to the doctor for irregular periods?
The first thing I tell patients to do
is track your cycle.
There are a couple different medical reasons
people get irregular periods.
One of the really common ones
is something called polycystic ovarian syndrome.
This is when women get cysts in their ovaries,
and it can change their hormones,
and it can cause irregular periods.
Other things include things like endometriosis
which is when the uterine lining tissue
ends up somewhere else in your body.
This can cause painful periods and irregular periods.
And often times, it's diagnosed really late
because people don't seek medical help.
They just think,
"gosh, I've got heavy periods that are irregular."
And they ignore it.
Another cause of irregular periods,
it might be related to your thyroid.
So there are certainly a lot of medical conditions
that cause irregular periods.
There are things that are non-medical
that can cause irregular periods,
very commonly, stress.
If you're stressed about school,
or work, or your relationships
that can really affect the hormones in your body
and it can change your cycle.
If you have irregular periods,
please see your primary care provider
'cause let's figure out what's going on together.
At what age should my periods be regular?
For most people,
two to three years after they get their first period,
the periods start to stabilize
and turn a little bit more regular.
But for some people it might be quicker,
but for some people it might be a little bit longer,
it just depends on your own body.
Can my period come early?
Yes, there are times that somebody might get a period early.
That can be due to things like,
changes in your activity level,
it can be due to stress.
One of the common reasons that I'll see a period come early,
it's actually because of your birth control methods.
If you're somebody who has a certain birth control method
that's causing your cycles to be irregular or spotting,
you should talk to your primary care provider
'cause let's find a different birth control method,
that works well for you.
What should I do if my period lasts longer than a week?
There are a couple reasons
that periods can last longer than a week.
It's the same reasons that your period might be irregular.
So, things like lack of sleep, or stress,
changes in your diet, activity, exercise level.
If your period's lasting longer than a week,
we do want you to seek medical attention.
And the reason why
is you could be losing a lot of blood.
When should your period start after pregnancy?
For most women after they deliver,
if they're not breast feeding,
their periods will start about two to six weeks
after delivery and after their pregnancy.
Will my period get rid of BV?
Which is bacterial vaginosis.
No, and actually it might actually be the opposite.
Your periods can sometimes trigger bacterial vaginosis.
What BV is, is when our vaginal flora is disrupted.
And so more bad bacteria tend to flourish
and there's less good bacteria.
Your period blood can kind of create an environment
in your vagina where the bad bacteria flourish
in that basic environment.
And not to fear, there are treatments for that.
So, what we'll have them do often is take a probiotic.
And probiotics can help promote good bacteria
in the vaginal flora.
Why do I get period cramps?
Period cramps are simply caused by
when our uterus is contracting
because it's trying to get blood out of the uterus
and out of our system.
When I have patients that get period cramps,
I tell them there's three things you should do.
Number one, exercising and stretching is fantastic.
When you're on your period,
you wanna curl up into a little ball,
I tell people actually do the opposite.
Move and stretch out,
and that really makes a difference.
Number two, using a heating pad
can really help those period cramps as well.
And it kinda soothes that inflammation.
And number three,
if you need to reach for an ibuprofen
or another anti-inflammatory,
that is perfectly fine to take care of those period cramps.
Why do I get period cravings?
When we get our periods,
we go through a lot of hormonal changes.
And, what I often see in patients is during our periods,
we're low in things like, magnesium and other nutrients.
So, when people have period cravings,
the number one thing when women tend to crave
is dark chocolate.
And that's often because dark chocolate
is packed with antioxidants.
What I tell my patients to do
is when they're on their period,
reach for foods that are rich in magnesium.
Things like nuts, and legumes,
spinach, or other leafy greens.
Why does my period make me sleepy?
Our bodies go through so many incredible changes
when we get a period.
One of the big things that happens
is our hormone levels right before we get a period
are pretty high,
our estrogen and progesterone's really high.
And then as we get our period
that hormone level just drops.
And that kind of crashing sensation
is what tends to cause fatigue in people.
And what I like to tell my patients is,
it's normal to be sleepy on your periods,
and it is totally okay to take a nap on your period,
you deserve it.
How heavy should my periods be?
This ranges from person to person.
So the average person will lose
about 10 to 80 ML's of blood during a period.
And what that really means is,
on a light day, you might be going through
two to three tampons or pads,
and on a heavier day,
you might be going through four to five tampons or pads.
If you feel like you're going through more,
for example,
if you're somebody that has to use a tampon
and has to use a pad as a backup
because you're bleeding so much.
Or if you're someone who's losing blood
and changing your pads or tampons every hour,
you should see a primary care provider
because there are things that we can do
to help make your periods lighter.
Periods are one of my favorite subjects in medicine.
I think if we understand our bodies better
and understand our periods better,
we can feel really empowered in taking care of ourselves.
(light guitar music)