good reasons to chart your menstrual cycle

[ellettra.livejournal.com]

grumpy, hungry and my breasts are sore. entry to the hut is clearly imminent. i got the following from my friend starmama in response to my somehwat rhetorical question as to why i bother to keep track of my "dot" when it's never regular anyway... made me feel better. thanks, maka. you rawk! also, that horny thing happens to me, too...!!

"i have been teaching fertility awareness for more than 5 years. some of the reasons you might want to chart your cycle, aside from family planning (and charting *IS* effective for birth control as well as for assisting with conceiving when it's desired), include identifying anovulation - which can sometimes be a symptom of important health challenges, helping to diagnose hormonal imbalances, determining whether breast lumps are cyclical or more problematic, determining whether spotting, abdominal pain, etc. is normal or something that should be checked on, enriching your self esteem and self-respect, pinpoint PMS symptoms and perhaps identify the causes - helping you find solutions for them, knowing exactly when to expect your next period to start, recognizing when menopause is beginning, knowing the best time to schedule medical exams and contraceptive fittings and more...the list goes on and on and on!

one of my friends points out that just before she ovulates, up to the day after she ovulates, she is so horny she wants to have sex with everyone she sees. she never realized this was an ovulation pattern until she started charting. she says it's great to have that information so that she doesn't make any stupid mistakes because she's listening too much to her hormones and not enough to her head ;)"

Comments

[lizdefiance.livejournal.com]

hell yeah!! so many of people's worries could go away if they were more in touch with their body, and where in their cycle they are. there are tons of "oh god, could i be pregnant?" posts both here & on the vaginapagina community. also, lots of "my period is late, what's going on?" which is similar but not exactly the same. i'm surprised more people don't want to relieve themselves by finding out the answers to their questions, beyond a doubt, in a personal way!