Hey everyone,
Haven't posted in, well, forever. I've read some posts on drinking red wine and its effects on estrogen. Here's the thing with me. On occasion I will have a glass or two of red wine each evening. If I do this for a week ... I begin to bleed and fairly heavily. (I have gone 6-8 months without a period.) I hadn't had any wine for over a month and began the symptoms of ovulation with the normal discharge but it went on for 2 weeks ... sore boobs and everything else. I'm 5'9" and slender and pretty boobless. So, feeling crappy I got myself some wine and started with my glass of one or two a night. Voila'! At the end of the week I start having a period. I'm on my third day. Stopped the wine and today I'm cramping.

However, aside from the cramps, when I started bleeding I actually felt better. So, do I quit drinking so I stop having the periods or is having the periods a good thing?

I'm not on HRT

Thanks!
Sheryl

IMHO I would never use alcohol to self medicate. I have seen people die from alcoholism doing this. I am not saying this will happen to you though. Just something to think about.

This is interesting! I don't drink these days because of my peri-palps, stomach acidity & migraines; however, when i used to, it was usually a glass of red wine. I would find though if I drank it the night before my period was due, i usually suffered with worse cramps than normal the next day. I also found drinking during a virus or cold seemed to prolong the virus!

Hey Sheryl:

What a great concept!!!! I don't know anything about what the effects of red wine could be in the context of peri, but we've all read the reports of the benefits it supposedly has for the heart, etc. (I personally was even more overjoyed when they said that dark chocolate was good, though lol).

I've been having problems with odd bleeding patterns, and have tried to avoid taking bcp or hrt .... at least up to this point. It sounds like what you're saying is that, for you, red wine seems to be helping with symptoms of estrogen dominance. If that were the case, it seems like a much more healthy and natural way of dealing with the second half of the cycle.

Maybe you can get the wine growers in California to finance a study! Seems like no one else studies these issues. lol

As far as "self-medicating" is concerned, all we ever seem to do in peri is figure things out for ourselves, because all the doctors seem to want to do is push hormones on us, while badmouthing the bioidenticals, which other people seem to think are more beneficial. When it comes right down to it, you have to do what feels right for yourself (within reason). Even the doctors offer a whole range of choices and foist the decision off on us.

Raising my class and toasting,
Wits

Thanks for the responses. For sure, it would be nice if someone did an actual study of this. I guess in some small way I've done one of my own.

I spoke with my sister about this (I'm trailblazing for my younger sisters) and she said why give up the wine if it seems to even out the estrogen. I really can't say for sure. It seems rather odd that it has this particular effect on me. I can drink any other kind of alcohol without this side effect.

I understand people's concern about the possible consequences of self medicating but I have also seen the consequences of doctors who really know less than we do about this whole peri thing.

As for me, it isn't self medicating or I'd have a bottle by my nightstand. It's an evening treat. However, I am seriously considering buying an extra bag of the party size M&Ms for Halloween to HIDE under the bed!!!

But, I still think it's odd that I can go months without a period and as soon as I have that week of wine ... BOOM I'm having a period. I had to go through my purses to find a sanitary napkin.

Wits, do you think that sounds like estrogen dominance? Like I said in my post, this month was the first time I had actual PMS symptoms that lasted so long. I've had short cycles of ovulation without a period but this one went for 2 weeks with the boobs and everything. The wine seemed to break it and then breakthrough. HA!!!

Anyway, thanks again all. I'm open to all thoughts.
Sheryl

Hi Sheryl:

Maybe we can compare symptoms. I have really long intervals in between periods (maybe six weeks), and then when I do get one it's really prolonged (12 days minimum .... and I had one that lasted six weeks in the summer!). I went to my gyn; found that I had a thickened endometrial lining (from imbalance b/w estrogen and progesterone and anovulatory cycles), and had a d&c to address the thickening and make sure there were no abnormal cells.

Gyn wants me on bcp to prevent the imbalance from happening again, but I really don't want bcp. What I'm low on in the second part of my cycle is progesterone, and not having enough means that I bleed a long time rather than getting it all over with in four or five days like when I was younger. (I'm 45 now). I have been thinking about progesterone cream, but that's as far as I want to go. Have heard such scary things about women my age getting blood clots from taking bcp. Because you said that you were having trouble in the period leading up to your period, I thought that maybe you were having the same problem as me. I would like something that would sort of make the bleeding start at the right time, and even be heavier, but limited to the appropriate number of days. This thing with periods lasting 12 days minimum is not good for quality of life.

Best, Wits

Does Pinot Grigio work as well>!?

I have read somewhere that red wine relaxes the uterus, maybe this is why? i drink red wine regularly and if i feel crampy before my period i will make sure i have a couple of glasses!

I say that if drinking the wine helps you feel better because it gets your period going then you should do it! I hate that bloated feeling of waiting, waiting and waiting for a period to start. You are lucky you found something to help.

I on the other hand cannot drink wine anymore, even one glass makes me feel yucky. I do have one shot of vodka with some cranberry juice almost every night.

A couple of glasses of wine every once in awhile is not self-medicating. Now if you are drinking the whole bottle that might be a different story!

I would wonder if you are "craving" red wine during the time your period is almost ready to start - it may be a symptom rather than a cause? What do you think?

Zelma

hi sherlyh

this is a very interesting thread. i nearly always have 1 - 2 glasses of red or rose wine in a evening and i have done this since starting with this peri stuff.

i do it for 2 reasons: -- 1) it relaxes me and gets rid of that horible tension
2) i have raynaunds disease and the wine widens my arteries, making me feel less cold

3) as i am the bcp, i am aware that there is a risk of blood clots, but the wine reduces this risk!! they treat heart paitents in the uk with one glass of chilliean wine.

so there are 3 good reasons for me and now you have just added another to my list, stops estrogen domminance. Way hay. i just knew it was benefical for you (in moderation of course)

as far as self medicating goes, this is nothing like sm at all. i have wide experince of patients sm, when i worked as a nurse on the mental health unit and 2 glasses of wine doesn't even come close!!!


sherlyh, you stick with your wine, sounds like an excellent theraputic intervention to me!!!

love dorry xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx