What are some natural alternatives for teenage girls who have too frequent menstrual periods?

Dear Catherine,

I LOVE your “Guide’ subscription website and recently joined!!! THANK YOU for working to provide this. I’m sure it is not always convenient for you, but it continues to be IMMENSELY helpful.

My friend has 2 daughters, 14 yrs. old and 21 yrs. old, who have too frequent menstrual periods - about every 2 weeks or more frequently. They are unpredictable and inconvenient. The dr. did a blood hormone test, ultra-sound, and exam to rule out cysts or abnormal growths. She then wanted to put them on birth control pills. At least she affirmed that bcp’s would not “fix” the problem, only get their cycles more on schedule. The 14 year old who’s had more frequent bleeding has been on birth control pills for 3 weeks and is still bleeding, along with nausea, now.

My own 15 year old daughter just experienced the same thing - a full blown 5 day period two weeks after her last regular 5-day period.

Thank you for helping me locate information to sort through.
Robin

Dear Robin,

I suspect what we are wittnessing in terms of our daughters’ health is a frightening prelude to major hormonal complications looming on the horizon.

Hormone disruption is physically and emotionally crippling our teenage children. And we ought to be extremely concerned. We ought to be prepared to take whatever steps are within our means TODAY to protect them from overexposure to estrogens in their environment, at the very least guide them in the direction of a more healthy lifestyle.

Firstly, I would recommend saliva testing to identify hormonal status and hormonal imbalance. Your GP will, hopefully, be able to pinpoint the problem from these results. Unlike blood testing, saliva analysis looks at the cellular level (the biologically active compounds) and is truly representative of what is clinically relevant. Blood analysis, on the other hand, looks at compounds as they travel through the blood serum, most of which are protein bound. A saliva assay, therefore, can make information available that may be obscured when looking for information in the blood.

We have to remember that the menstrual cycle is not the same for every woman. On average, menstrual flow occurs every 28 days and lasts about 4 days. However, there is wide variation in timing and duration that is still considered normal, especially if your daughter’s periods began within the last two years.

Chronobiologist William Hrushesky found that it is perfectly normal for a woman’s cycle to be as short as 18 days or as long as 36 days. Women may ovulate anywhere from day 3 to day 14 of their cycle.

So let’s agree that there’s nothing wrong with our daughters if they don’t fit into this so-called menstrual cycle of 28-30 days.

Variations may be normal and are less concerning than bleeding, pain, or discharge between periods.

Abnormal menstrual periods may have a variety of causes, such as endometrial hyperplasia, endometrial polyps, uterine fibroids, and abnormal thyroid or pituitary function. The endometrium is the tissue lining the uterus. When the endometrium becomes unusually thick it is called endometrial hyperplasia. Hyperplasia may cause profuse or extended menstrual bleeding.

There is absolutely no need to subject our daughters to the potentially life-threatening side-effects of the birth control pill (containing synthetic progestins linked to cancer) when bioidentical progesterone cream applied in small doses will more naturally correct hormone imbalance (but will not provide protection against unwanted pregnancy).

Robin, I have two teenager girls myself - aged 16 and 20 - whom are, without question, experiencing pronounced estrogen dominance. Cara, the younger of the two, has a terrible time each cycle with painful, lumpy (fibrocystic) breasts. My older daughter, Dominique, began her period at age 11. Nine years on, she’s perplexed why she’s stacking on the pounds and having to put up with heavy, excruciating periods despite being active and at least attempting to look after herself.

Apparently most of their girlfriends are in the same boat. If so, this information is bloody scary!

What then can we do to help our daughters?

Vitex Agnus Castus, also called Chaste Tree or simply Vitex is definitely a good starting point for our daughters to correct and maintain hormone balance.

Vitex used in combination with other herbs, dietary changes, and nutritional supplements ought to be a young woman’s first line of defence against PMS, PCOS, irregular periods, acne, infertility, etc. And only when this approach fails to render results should she seriously consider progesterone replacement therapy.

Vitex is one of the most important herbs for regulating female hormones. The benefits of Vitex stem from its actions upon the pituitary gland - specifically on the production of a hormone called luteinizing hormone (LH). Vitex increases the production of LH which is secreted by the brain to stimulate the production of progesterone. Low LH is linked to PMS, bleeding & cycle problems, and infertility.

By increasing progesterogenic activity, Vitex can help to balance progesterone and estrogen production by the ovaries throughout the menstrual cycle. This herb helps to regulate irregular periods, tending to shorten a long cycle and lengthen a short one.

As a rule, before suggesting progesterone supplementation, I’d recommend we get these young women under the care a GP skilled in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT). But I know, as do a good many women, this is easier said than done. In my neck of the woods, for example, the few GPs identified as BHRT specialists - my own GP included - are no longer accepting new patients. So its a choice of a 70 kilometer trip up the highway to Melbourne or take a punt on a local doctor.

Opting to stay local, I took Cara to visit a male GP I’ve know for some 15 years. During our consultation, I explained that Cara was exhibiting symptoms of pronounced PMS and spotting mid-cycle, perhaps early PCOS, and that she wanted to come see him to have herself checked out. After examining Cara and speaking with her privately, Dr ‘X’ informed me that I was worrying unnecessarily, and that it would cost me a small fortune on tests that wouldn’t, of themselves, prove anything. He (wait for it!) suggested Cara go on the contraceptive pill to ‘fix’ her menstrual problems. What a bloody cop out! Cara and I left his surgery $75.00 lighter in the hip pocket and none the wiser for our troubles. I held my tongue only because Cara pleaded with me to not make a scene.

Therefore, with little choice in the matter (some of us mothers face financial constraints), Cara and Dominique have begun to dab on small doses of progesterone the two weeks leading up to their period to see if things improve. So far so good. Both girls are recording their progress, especially the subtle changes that might otherwise go unnoticed. Incorporating Vitex into their health regime months earlier, along with other nutritional supplements, failed to off-set their estrogen dominance which, to me, indicates they have arrived at the point where it’s reasonable to trial progesterone supplementation.

I’m constantly advocating ’safer’ contraceptive alternatives, hence I bought each of my daughters a fertility detector for Christmas. These came with my free ‘lecture’ on understanding ovulation, using condoms to protect against STDs, and why it’s important to keep a journal.

Robin, I’m of the opinion that if we’re going to give our daughters a fighting chance against breast cancer and the likes, we can assit them in implementing some rudimentary guidelines that will tip the balance in their favour.

Here are a few tips that I encourage my daughters to follow:

• Balance estrogen dominance by supplementing a small physiologic dose of natural progesterone for the 2 weeks leading up to their period.
• Get plenty of fiber into their diet (20-30mg daily).
• Keep their bodies hydrated throughout the day with ample filtered water.
• Supplement vitamin B6 (50-100mg daily) for up to 2 weeks each month.
• Supplement magnesium (200-400mg daily).
• Consider a morning glass of organic ‘Green’ juice as power food for the body.
• Essential oils (omega 3-6-9) are the building blocks of the body, and are essential for good health.
• Incorporate evening primrose oil or borage oil to relieve symptoms.
• Incorporate a herbal formulation that includes some or all of the following: vitex, blue cohosh, licorice root, false unicorn root, burdock root, motherwort, cinnamon, red raspberry, ginger.
• Keep away from cigarettes, smoke-clogged nightclubs, recreational drugs/painkillers, and greasy junk food greasy.
• Stay away from high sugar/refined foods, including white flour.
• Steer clear of artificial hormones (ie., the contraceptive pill).
• Minimize where possible their exposure to xenohormones (hormone disruptors) typically found in petrochemical products and pollutants; bottled water, plastic, perfumes, hair spray, shampoo, nail polish, body lotion (parabens), make-up, to name a few.
• Get regular, moderate exercise.
• Get plenty of sleep, preferably retiring to bed before 10pm where they can.
• Be aware of stress (theirs and ours) and how it affects the body, triggering hormone imbalance.
• Buy feed lot meet, eat free-range organic.
• Get under the care of a supportive doctor experienced in BHRT.

You can build into this list strategies you have found to be helpful. The point is, we want to ever-so-gently point out to our daughters that ultimate responsibility for keeping their body healthy does indeed rest on their shoulders.

One last thing, Robin. Progesterone cream applied at pharmacological doses of between 100mg-200mg may be considered as a short-term measure (ie., 2-3 months) if bleeding needs to be brought under control fairly quickly, or is not responding at physiological doses. This approach appears to be well tolerated over the few months it takes to regulate menstruation, unless thickening of the endometrial lining needs to be addressed which realistically we wouldn’t or rather shouldn’t see in someone so young.