help! need advice for doing 585 mile ride during menstruation

[RoadRaven]

Hmmm... this reminds me... I took a low-dose pill last year but not the three weeks cycle... I made the cycle shorter to alter the time I menstruated to avoid having heavy days on a ride my youngest had entered
That worked well...

[bikerz]

I hope it's ok to resurrect this thread...

I have looked ahead on my calnedar and I see that I'm due for my period smack in the middle of the ALC ride in 2006 - and that means 3-4 days of misery and discomfort.
[I'm sure no one who knows me is surprised I am already worrying about this!]

I've read all the diva/keeper threads, and I'm just a little concerned about the porta-potty-total-lack-of-privacy scene - I can just see myself frantically fussing around with the keeper while long lines of cyclists tap their shoes in impatience!) - and then how to discreetly clean up?

So I'm thinking of trying menstrual manipulation - ideally, I'd just like to shift my cycle by about two weeks - then let it continue on its merry way, without interfering with the ride. It seems like shifting the cycle would be less disruptive overall than trying to skip it entirely, and I've got 9 cycles to get it figured out!

I have never used birth control, so I don't know much about the effects, except what I have read. Does anyone have any tips or relevant experience? I will of course be discussing this with my doc in the next couple of weeks, but any tips from you guys would be greatly appreciated. I'm also googling this issue, but, not surpisingly, there's not much out there...

Thanks

[DirtDiva]

You're not on birth control and you know exactly when you will have your period in, like, a year's time? That is just so very far from my own experience. Heck, if it weren't for PMS I'd never know when I was due...

[Irulan]

a depo shot will eliminate your periods I think

if it were me, I'd buy a box of super plus tampons and box of baby wipes and not deal with a keeper in a porta potti situation. Porta pottie are some of the most disgusting things on earth most of the time.

irulan

[drplasma64]

Or use the Insteads which are disposable...maybe you can keep them in longer than tampons.

[bikerz]

You're not on birth control and you know exactly when you will have your period in, like, a year's time? That is just so very far from my own experience. Heck, if it weren't for PMS I'd never know when I was due...

Ha! I just got tired of always being caught by surprise, and then thinking - oh - so THAT'S why I was so grouchy yesterday! So I've been tracking the dates in Outlook, and lo and behold, I'm as regular as clockwork.

a depo shot will eliminate your periods I think

I haven't seen much about the depo shot in my searching, and I don't know anything about it (I play for the "other team", so birth control has never been a pressing issue for me) Thanks for the suggestion - I'll add it to my research list...

[DirtDiva]

I tried tracking dates for, like, three years before admitting defeat and ceasing to bother. As long as I can remember when the last one was I don't tend to get too surprised.

[eofelis]

I have used the ultra-thin, extra-long, with-wings pads for riding at that time of the month. I just stick them right on to the chamois of my shorts. Works fine. I carry a couple extra pads in my rack trunk for long rides. With a wet wipe and a baggie for trash I can even make a pad change behind a bush along the road.

[SalsaMTB]

If you have 9 months to adjust it, you'll be fine. My sister actually started the pill about 4 months before her wedding because she estimated she would be starting on their honeymoon. It turned out OK for her. Since you have never been on the pill, I would give yourself 2 months just for your body to adjust to the change (I became very irratable and had headaches the first month or two when I started but each person is different). So that leaves you 7 months to adjust which is more than enough time. Honestly, I wouldn't be concerned about skipping your period with the pill. My dr. actually said to do it for my wedding. I did it a few months ahead of time so my cycle was reset and I wouldn't have to play with it the month of the wedding. When I skipped, I didn't spot, had no sign of bloat etc, it was just like any other week. I'm not really sure how you could adjust your period with the pill without skipping the week. I know I accidentally ended my sugar pill week early by one day, so now my cycle is off one day. I guess you could take that route, but that would just take a really long time. I would recommend just skipping a week assuming your dr says it's ok a couple months prior the the ride.

If you do go this route, I would also recommend starting ASAP to get your body adjusted to the pill. Like I said, it took me 2 months to feel normal when I first started. It will vary for people, but it doesn't hurt to give yourself some extra time. Also, each pill can react differently, so you may or may not need to go through a trial stage before finding the right one.

[Trek420]

bikerz

one option is we change the dates of the ride?


Trek-suddenly glad I did this ride after this was no longer an issue 420

[shadon]

as one who plays for the other team as well, I'm always kind of surprised when mine shows up...as someone else said "oh! that's why I felt cruddy yesterday"...although my friend IBS may have become my bell weather...I've decided already on the super tampons and a supply of wipes. I'll bring several pairs of skins to wear under my shorts as well.

I'm just not gonna let this bother me!

[Wendy]

There's some kind of prescription a doctor can give you to bring on a period, too. If you can get it, you could take it a couple of weeks before the ride to get the period over with before it starts. Then it's just a one-time deal that doesn't have the long-term problems the pill can cause.

[bikerz]

There's some kind of prescription a doctor can give you to bring on a period, too. If you can get it, you could take it a couple of weeks before the ride to get the period over with before it starts. Then it's just a one-time deal that doesn't have the long-term problems the pill can cause.

Thanks for the idea - I'll definitely ask my doctor about that too.

I already know (from painful experience) that riding the day before and the first 2 days of my cycle is pretty miserable. Plan A, I guess, would be to have the entire ride re-scheduled, as Trek so helpfully suggests but since that *may* be difficult to arrange, I'll look into Wendy's suggestion, then the OC, and finally just "be prepared"!

I appreciate all the suggestions!

[KSH]

I'm just curious.

What is wrong with using a "super-plus absorbency" tampon and stopping every so often to switch it out?

I know that works for me... if I am on my period.

But with the Depo shot, I don't have one anymore. Unfortuantely though, as of next year, I will have to get on the pill (Depo can only be taken for 2 years due to bone loss).... and back to having a period again! BLAH!