(no subject)

[taniwhanui.livejournal.com]

Crossposted in [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com].

This is my first post.

Sorry if this is TMI, but I've just noticed that I often experience diarrhoea or loose bowel movements when I get my periods and I'm wondering if there is any reason for this. The two things seem totally unrelated to me, but it has happened often enough that I'm wondering if it's really just a coincidence or not.

Would appreciate any info or feedback you could give me. Thanks.

Taniwha

Comments

[tyrsalvia.livejournal.com]

I don't know how it works, but I can tell you that I get the same thing. Usually, the first day of my period, I also have either loose stools or outright liquid.

[taniwhanui.livejournal.com]

The next comment offers some explanation.

Taniwha

[nurse-karen.livejournal.com]

Yep! It's totally normal. From what I understand, there's an increased level of prostaglandins in your body around the time of your period. Prostaglandins are chemicals that cause smooth muscle to contract, i.e. causing your uterus to slough off the dead tissue. Prostaglandins aren't specific to the uterus, so they affect the smooth muscle in your bowels (and likely all over the rest of your body) as well. When your intestinal smooth muscle contract more, they cause the contents to move through faster, resulting in diarrhea.

Make sense? :)

[taniwhanui.livejournal.com]

Ok, thanks - that's interesting. (-:

Taniwha

[garillama.livejournal.com]

Hmm... I wonder if that's why they're afraid that skipping periods through bc might be harmful. Makes it sound almost purifying...

[swiggett.livejournal.com]

Thanks for asking! Happens to me too... Nice to know why, and not that I'm just odd and fickle.

[mayara13.livejournal.com]

Thanks for asking; it's happened to me for years, and was the first pattern I noticed, but I never knew for sure why it happened. It's good to know that it really does happen to other women. (I'd assumed it did, but as I'd never really been told about it, I didn't know.)

[sagesseabiona.livejournal.com]

I also get loose stool the day before usually.