Kick-starting the cycle
 

Hey, are there any home remedies/old wives tales/whatever ideas about how to get a darn cycle started? Mine's been lingering in a painful pergatory of "nearly there" for 3 days now, and I need to get it started so I can get it over with by the weekend!

Owie. Help me. :grumpy:

Oh! Go for a run. A nice long run. That tends to get things flowing for me.

Good, rough sex (+ orgasm) tends to get my flow going, actually...

Thanks gals. Situation has taken care of itself for now, but I'll keep these in mind for later. :)

During my peri-menopausal phase, I hadn't had a period in three months, then went on a motorcycle-the ride to our destination was over two hours, the ride home was 6. Got my period in 3 days.
I think the bottom line is jolting yourself into one.

Yeah, I would say exercise in any form gets it going. Though I simply avoid menstruation all together by avoiding the "sugar pills" in my birth control. There is no real need to have a period, you can do this with most birth control pills and of course the depo shot.

Well, I thought the same, but then after 6 months of messing with my period in that way... I started bleeding heavily right in the middle of my cycle, with no explanation. I had to stop the birth control until the next week started (that's what the doctor said), and use condoms for the rest of the cycle.

Anyway, just a little word of caution about using BC to mess up the natural cycle... not all bodies react in the same way.

I imagine that the type of pill that you are using would make a vast difference. I have found that I experience headaches with nearly all of them and have avoided them for quite some time. Unfortunately, at this point in my life I have no need to be on them anyway.

I do manipulate my use of the Nuvaring to not have two cycles out of three. My doctor said most women can miss 3 cycles out of four on the ring, but my physiology is different, and I'd need higher levels of hormones for that, which I am unwilling to even try. Two out of three ain't bad, although I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to go 3 out of 4.
Oh well, gotta be grateful for what I have.

There is a reason they typically write those prescriptions for refills X 1 year rather than refills +11. I think most of us are not excited about the aspect of menstruating whether it is a big event coming up and they do not wish interference or just the mess and bother of it all. If you really don't wish to menstruate Depo-Provera works for most. Of course there are some who will have spotting on that or worsened bleeding but it is atypical. The issue though is that it has also been linked as a cause of bone loss more recently. Some have also had great luck with the Mirena IUD.

Sultana - for future reference, the most physiologically dependable way is Abaya's way - orgasms cause contractions of the uterus, which cause it to eject material (if it's going to anyway, it's not like an orgasm will eject a baby or anything!).

The lack of prostaglandins is what causes the lining to shed and the uterus to contract. Ibuprofen (motrin, advil) block the prostaglandin pathway - great for cramps, not great for getting the bleeding over with. Also something to keep in mind. :)

Cheers!

Actually, OB/GYNs are using ibuprofen in DUB(Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding), it is found that in high doses it can slow if not stop the bleeding for some patients. They generally resort to recommending this to women who have unusual reaction of BCPs causing an increase in bleeding/spotting issues. It may not be used that commonly, but I know for a fact that it has been.

That's my point, actually - sorry if I wasn't clear! Ibuprofen will slow or even stop bleeding, partially because it blocks that prostaglandin pathway - the source of cramping... So you're someone with a crampy period and you want it over? Well, Advil makes the pain go away, but now you're stuck with a few more days of cycle.... it's a trade-off.

Very cool to know, thanks so much!