Each month a woman experiences a menstrual cycle. That means for the average woman who menstruates for 40 years, she has 500 periods over her lifetime. The cyclical process of menstruation is a delicate and complex one–it’s no wonder women experience so many physical and emotional changes throughout the month. You might find you feel really good one week a month. The rest of the month you may experience changes similar to the Dow Jones: Up-and-down-and-up-and-down.

If one segment of your hormonal process is off, your entire cycle may suffer. Often you don’t even realize why you’re feeling tired, or in pain, or suffering unusual menstrual or ovulatory symptoms. During your menstrual cycle, estrogen, progesterone and other hormones are continuously on the move. Your well-being depends on a proper balance between estrogen and progesterone, as well as appropriate levels of FSH and LH. Once I understood these changes.

Your body prepares and expects a baby every month of your menstruating years. It does this by lining your uterus with a rich, spongy bed of blood vessels, glands, and cells–not unlike a soft cuddly crib. When that doesn’t happen, menstruation cleans out the uterus and tries again. While the uterine crib is being made-up, your ovaries harvest several eggs and then pop out the best one. If your egg doesn’t meet a sperm, your womb sheds its lining–strips the bed so to speak–and starts anew.

The day you begin to bleed is day one of your cycle, which averages 28 days (although most women have normal cycles ranging from 20 to 40 days). A simple way of visualizing how your hormonal process works and how that correlates with the journey of the egg, is to divide your cycle into four phases.

The four phases of your menstrual cycle

Phase 1: Menstruation

Days 1-5: Menstruation occurs; estrogen levels are low and then begin to rise. Pituitary secretes FSH.

Phase 2: The follicular or estrogenic phase

Days 6-8: Estrogen levels continue to rise, egg-producing follicle grows.

Days 9-12: Fertile-type mucous is produced by the cervix to help sperm find the egg. Pituitary begins secreting LH.

Phase 3: Ovulation

Days 13-16: Ovulation occurs and LH begins to fall. Estrogen peaks and then decreases slightly. High estrogen levels turn FSH off. Basal body temperature dips then rises.

Phase 4: The luteal or progesterone phase

Days 17-20: Progesterone begins to rise. Estrogen rises again slightly. Egg travels toward uterus.

Days 21-24: Estrogen and progesterone levels peak then begin to fall.

FSH and LH also on the decline.

Days 25-28: Body prepares to eliminate uterine lining–menstruation

The hormonal feedback mechanism during a menstrual cycle.

Hypothalamus secretes:

Follicle stimulating hormone-releasing factor (FSH-RF)

Luteinizing hormone-releasing factor (LH-RF)

Pituitary secretes:

Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)

Luteinizing hormone (LH)

Ovaries:

FSH stimulates the development of follicles

Follicle secretes estrogen

LH stimulates ovulation

Corpus luteum (left after follicle releases egg) secretes progesterone

Uterus:

Health care professionals have used natural progesterone cream since 1950’s to help relieve the symptoms of menopause, hormone balance, bone support and PMS. It is a natural solution for women and an alternative to synthetic hormone replacement therapy, (HRT).

Please note that there can be other causes. This is for education only. It is not intended to treat, prevent or cure a medical disease. If you have a medical condition, please consult a health care professional.