Hi guys! First post on here (I have been browsing the site for a couple of months now without posting). I’m sure I will have more to come at some point.
My questions is - for anyone who gets their period/menstruates, have you noticed your symptoms/pain/pressure is worse at this time of month compared to normal? I have my baseline of pain/pressure but I’m just finishing my period and during it my pressure-type symptoms (mostly in my neck, that strangling type of feeling) have felt so much more unbearable. I was thinking about this and then realised there was a time one or two periods ago where I noticed the same thing and I’m wondering if anyone else experiences this. I assume our bodies are more inflamed when we are on our periods so wondering if there is a link.
Whenever I get worse I always catastrophically decide that this is my “new normal” and that this is what I’m going to feel from here on out, but trying to remain as calm and possible and hope that it’s just slightly more flared up than usual and that it won’t continually get worse and worse every day as it seems to have for the past 5 days. Neck pressure/fullness/strangling feeling is probably my worst sensation (facial pressure a close second) and it’s driving me insane!
I didn’t ever notice this but others have & it’s been mentioned before! Who knows why, I could guess maybe the hormones involved loosen connective tissue a bit, shifting structures, or whether the changing hormones increase inflammation in areas which are already prone to this? You could use the search function to look up previous discussions…hope that this is just a flare up & it settles down soon!
Thanks Jules, I’m hoping so too! Any of those explanations I’m sure could be a trigger. And yes, will definitely look for any other discussion about this - still learning to navigate the site but I am so glad this platform exists!
Hi Charly, let us know if you need anything going forward; scan reviews, dr list, etc. The fastest way I found confirmation of my symptoms, doctor testimonials, etc. was the search function, the magnifying glass in the top right corner. I will put in all sorts of keywords, for example, Coughlin, my doctor. A box will open with some results, if you click ‘more’ at the bottom it will load all the results. Which you can then sort a few different ways.
Yes, I notice this every month. It’s awful! I would guess it’s the change in estrogen levels. For me, the jaw muscles ache more and I sometimes get a hormone headache so my head pain can definitely worsen.
@Charly & @jotanger2 - I’m sorry for the symptoms flares you get during your menstrual cycles. Hopefully you’ll notice the symptoms calming down between your menses. Try icing your neck especially during that time of the month to see if it helps reduce your symptoms. Gel ice packs are great at conforming to the shape of the neck. Use a thin cloth/towel between skin & ice pack. The protocol is to ice for 15 min. every couple of hours but if you can’t do it that often then even a couple of times during the day should help. If ice makes the pain worse, try heat.
