The FINAL Verdict, Vegetarianism, and Me...

[Warning: This post contains feminine topics that would be considered TMI. Reader discretion is advised.]

Yesterday morning, I received unequivocal, undeniable, and NOT unreliable proof that we are NOT expecting Baby #3.

In other less-confusing words: I know I'm not pregnant because I got my period. (Yes, I totally went there.)

A part of me is sad about what may have been, but definitely not sad enough to poke holes in all the condoms in the house.
The other not-sad, more-relieved part of me wants to celebrate, so if my girlfriends are reading this (and they all should be), let's do sushi!

So, here I sit, zapped-and-zippy on Advil because my cramps are killing me. (Yup, went there again.)
I'm still trying to process my feelings of the past few days. So, you're spared my soul-baring until a later post.

However, I will share with you, dear friends, the reason why I think I ended up on this recent rollercoaster ride: my newly-established vegetarianism.

After getting a negative on my HPT on Sunday, I thought "If not pregnancy, what else?" Then it struck me that going veg may have done it. Eliminating animal flesh eliminates a source of excess hormones, both natural and injected (in the animal - not in me). Maybe my body was trying to deal with the sudden change.
So, I hit the "magic info box" to see if there were other women similarly affected.

Again, google did not disappoint.

Yes, many new-vegetarian women temporarily experienced one or more of the following:
1: longer cycles (ie. late periods), some by weeks
2: missed periods, as many as two
3: anovulation (ie. temporary infertility where no egg has been released)
4: lighter flow
5: shorter periods

If you're considering going veg, be prepared for any of the above.
So far, I've experienced #1 and #4 (light for me, but still heavy). I'm also hoping for #5. Too bad "No Cramping" wasn't on the list... meh, at least I have Advil.

There you go, dear friends. Do you agree or disagree with my assessment? If you have another idea, I'd love to hear it!

12 comments:

  1. hey there ~ your verdict makes sense! I eased into raw/vegan and right now at 80% raw and 20% cooked vegan and or some days ease into lovely decadences like sushi ;-) + mahi mahi on the grill! I don't like being too rigid about things; plus I'm a mom.

    girl~~~the #4 WILL happen :-D it's all a transition though, but I definitiely went more into veggies/raw because of health issues like *girl stuff* and other.

    Feel free to DM if any questions.

    Take care + hugs ;-)

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  2. Must say, I'm a little sad you're not expecting #3. But I'm all up for celebrating it! (If R is not out fishing, I'm free Tues and Wed next week)

    I really thought you were... then I got an email from another friend and *she's* expecting. Guess my Spidey-sense was misdirected.

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  3. DH, when pressed about this issue (sorry to share with my DH, but it IS in your blog!) suggested low iron could be a contributing culprit. I asked him about it because we had, in the past, discussed the issue in relation to hyper-athletic women (as if I have to point out: not me! HA!) And he keeps little bits of information forever.

    Disappointed/relieved for & with you. Been there too, so that about sums it up!

    Go eat some bacon.

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  4. @taste memory -
    You inspire me! :) I'm aiming for about 80% raw vegetarian... although the raw % will likely come down during the winter.
    I'll most likely experience more changes, so I'll be DMing a lot with questions as they occur! Thanks and hugs back :)

    @myrtle -
    I'm so lucky to have such great girlfriends! :) We may be back from camping by Wednesday, so we can aim for that.
    Congrats to your friend who *is* expecting :)

    @harmzie -
    Rule 1: If it's on my blog, it's fair game! :) I don't divulge my secrets on this thing, so anything I write here should be considered share-able.
    In fact, feel free to tell everyone you know that one of your closest and most clever friends has this blog because she loves stalkers, public humiliation, and telling people about her boring life, then tell them the URL. ;)

    Thanks for the Fe idea. I'd been thinking about taking iron supplements again for a while now, and this transition from meat to veg may have been easier on my system had I done so.
    Roomie has long told me how Mr.Harmzie is his trusted source of health and fitness info. :)

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  5. How do you congratulate someone for NOT being pregnant?! :P Regardless of the outcome, it must be good to know one way or the other. I would have been just a little sad too, I'm sure the idea started to grow on you, just a little. If you go down the Fe route, go natural, I've taken Thompson's Organic Iron before and had the best Fe levels ever in my bloods (I'm always low), and they don't mess up your insides like pharmacy/prescription pills (stay away from Ferrogradumet!). It's really interesting what you found out about the effect of going veg. I'm not (though am a low meat consumer), but was, more or less, for a year when I was living in hostels (only because I'm very fussy and wasn't going to eat the rubbish they served up and called meat!). My periods were so light and short (tmi post warrants a tmi comment :P). I thought that was just the effects of being on a pill that suited me, because when the Dr refused to prescribe it again I went through hell for two years and ended up in surgery for endo. Even now, 4-5 months post surgery, they're still heavy and annoying, and I've been back on that pill for about a year now. And for the past two years I've probably consumed more meat that I had before. Something to think about... maybe I should go veg again for a couple of months, see if it has an effect again! Thanks for sharing your findings :-)

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  6. So... to paraphrase... "sorry, false alarm, it was only gas!". :-)

    It's alarming how the symptoms of going vegetarian overlap with the symptoms of premature onset menopause (or, with pregnancy)!

    And here's something else to consider, now that you're no longer giving your hair a daily bath in a chemical stew, perhaps your body was missing some of those additives!

    There are still too many variables to draw any firm conclusions from this experiment. We'll have to run it again but hold some of those variables constant. OK with that? :-)

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  7. @Nicola -
    LOL... yeah, "congratulations on getting your period" is just a weird thing to say, isn't it?! :P
    Just today, I bought myself a bottle of Floradix... a natural source Fe! It tastes good and is so gentle. I was anemic while preg with Mini, and was given an Rx for SlowFe. It made me feel AWFUL! So, I'm with you on the natural route :)

    Wow, thanks for sharing your experience... You know, so many of my friends who've been on the Pill ended up with endo. I myself ended up with a mild case, but still, I can't help but think that the Pill was the cause.

    I'd love to know the results if you do decide to go veg again Thanks again, Nic. :)

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  8. @Albert -
    Yup, totally gas. :)
    Well, I really doubt the no-shampoo habit would've made such a big impact. I think my age and the new veg diet are the two things that would probably affect my cycle most.
    I don't want to go back to eating meat nor can I stop time, so I guess, I'll just keep all things status quo and see what the next cycle turns up. :)

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  9. Hey girl, I don't know about temporarily, but I know that most people find relief from common monthly symptoms when they switch to a healthier diet.

    For me - my period got lighter and I hardly notice much about it anymore but it is still regular as ever, close to 2 yrs later.

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  10. @Sarah -
    If this is permanent, I'm all for it! :) I don't think I've had a lighter period as this since I was at the peak of practicing CRON 2 years ago.

    The articles in my search reported only temporary effects, so thanks for sharing your experience... definitely something for me to look forward to!

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  11. hey, this is a really informative post; so i guess couples who are trying to conceive shouldn't go completely veg huh? ;-)

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  12. @caryn -
    LOL well, I don't think I'd say that! I know of many vegs that are prolific reproducers :)

    Besides, all evidence I found for any documented infertility occurred only during the meat-to-veg transition and due to extremely high soy usage.

    So, I certainly wouldn't use vegetarianism as a reliable form of birth control! ;)

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