The Biatch

That comes every month…

So for the past 6 months or so ( mostly age related the Dr. Says ) I have been getting sick the week prior to menstruation. Not sick as in the norm. But I catch a cold or the flu like clock work. Any of you ladies get this?

I always used to get weaker during that time period but my immune didn’t go down as well.

I am just kinda stuck on what to do training wise. I train through colds etc but i am thinking maybe i need to really plan a better deload for that week or if that will help anyways because often training seems to help me recover from colds…I just am getting bummed that each month i have to fight something…

Ugh! I hate the rag, lol!

Thoughts?

What does your nutrition look like?

Are you taking the usual stuff like fish oils and Vit D?

Might be worth getting a blood test to check hormones and determine if your white cell count is low. I went through a phase about three years ago where my cycle got very irregular and I was getting every virus going (prior to this I always joked that I had the immune system of a shark as I never got sick). This lasted about 8 months. I was doing a lot of Crossfit-style metcon workouts so I went back to plain heavy lifting with lots of rest between sets and also cut all aspartame from my diet (since I was chewing a LOT of gum and aspartame can do weird shit to your body). I’d already cut out grains.
Blood test revealed hormones were in the normal range but cell count was low.
After the last virus, I didn’t get sick again for another two and a half years.

Iron levels?
sleep schedual?

plus what Bobbi and Cal said.

Multi, vit C, vit D, omegas.

Thanks ladies…i believe my diet is pretty well in check and i do take fishoil and a vitamin plus extra vitamin D. I have cut back a bit on my exercise and am feeling good with the program i am on. it’s just so weird because like you Cal i Usually have a killer immune…
Did you find out why your white cells were low?
It could also be stress related i suppose…
I don’t have a Dr any more so blood work is out for the near future anyways…I will just have to try to be extra good to myself and listen to my body a bit more especially during that time…

Like nlmain said it could be iron too. I have low iron and feel drained out when it’s on E. Low iron is VERY common in female athletes.

Never even thought of iron…thanks for he tip!

how many times a week are you eating red meat? spinach can help too.

Good Sources

Clams

Pork Liver

Oysters

Chicken Liver

Mussels

Beef Liver

Beef

Shrimp

Sardines

Turkey

you can always go with a supplement too. It depends on how low your levels are. I would stick to adding one of these every day or 2nd day for a while and see how you feel. If it doesn’t get better you might need a higher dose and you can add the supps. If that doesn’t fly and trouble persists you might want to get some blood work.

eat up the good stuff coyote :slight_smile:

Hhmmm eat spinach most everyday in my salad…but read meat? Now that’s it’s not so much BBQ season maybe 2x per week! I need to braoden the horizons lol!

out of that list I eat beef and other red meats (bison/horse ect), the turkey, shrimp and sometimes sardines. I hate all liver.

try to double your 2x a week to 4x a week and let us know how you feel.

Cooking with cast iron, without a non-stick coating, is often recommended for low iron levels. I haven’t seen anything as to what degree this helps.

can’t help ya.

i bleed bbq sauce and piss bourbon.

That sucks. I hadn’t gotten sick for years, but then last October I got the H1N1 flu (like millions of other people). Well, since then I have gotten sick again 6 times. Every couple months or so. Every time I try to ramp my training back up, I get sick. I take vitamins, fish oil, eat a good diet, plenty of fruit and vegetables, get sun exposure for D, all my blood work is beautiful. I kinda wonder if that H1N1 bugger did a number on my immune system somehow…

And I have been amazed at how long it takes to get my strength back in the gym. After the flu I had in July, I didn’t get my numbers back for a month AFTER I felt otherwise completely recovered. What the heck.

i really am talking out of my butt, but i wonder if it could be some kind of allergic response and if anti-histamine may help. just a thought.

i notice i get a bit wiped out a few days before / during my monthly. mostly experienced as achy hips / lower back and general blah, though.

when i managed to quit smoking i had quite a period of catching every cold / flu that came my way. staph infection in nose, infection in broncheal tubes etc… a course of anti-biotics seemed to clean everything out and then i was fine. never had cycle related illnesses of that kind, though.

hope something works out for you.

After giving you such thoughtfull advice, I’m now coming down with something, I just realized I haven’t had any red meat in weeks AND I have my period facepalm

way to go champion. lol.

Lmao, now that’s just not fair !

completely refuse to believe you are sick…lol, it may work…

Andersons- those viruses are very mean creatures for sure…I am betting that your body is still repairing itself after your bout with it…it’s amazing how long something can linger in your system!

Alexus- strange how our bodies react to certain things isn’t it? I guess it could be an allergic reaction…but I don’t think so in my case. I think menstruation is just so harden my body that it can’t really keep up with everything, lol. Even my gums bleed that week! I do get ovarian cysts as well, perhaps they are flaring up…

The joys :slight_smile:

Maybe i will just rip it all out and take on menopause XD