Long Haul Flight And Menstrual Cycle

[kvalidir]

Hi does anyone know if travelling on a long haul flight (Monday) could have caused my usually super regular period to come on a good week or so early please. There seems to be annecdotal google things, but does that have any scientific basis? TIA x

[Sqad]

Not my area of expertise BUT many factors can effect you periods, anxiety, change of routine and certainly i would have thought change in time zones associated with long hall flights.
The scientific basis is hormonal....CORTISOL and oestrogens.
That is my lot on the subject Kvali.

[NoMercy]

Did you take anti-coagulant prophylaxis prior to flying?

My mother used to get her period come on every single time we went on holiday, regardless of the length of the flight. It really spoiled things for her.

[anneasquith]

Not totally uncommon if stressed/anxious .

[NoMercy]

I see no mention of stress or anxiety in the original post. I'm sure Kval would have taken that into consideration had stress or anxiety been present.

[anthro-nerd]

Periods can be affected by so much (it's so annoying!).

[237SJ]

Constant long haul flights can mess up the cycle but it's unlikely with just the one trip. There's a lot that is not known about what flying does to the body

[anneasquith]

I'll bow to your Superior medical knowledge nm.

[kvalidir]

Thanks NoM, no I didn't take anything. I recently came off the pill though (about 3 months ago) so I suppose that might also factor into it. It's just really odd as I never normally get irregular periods, always 27/28 days so it's quite a surprise although tbh it seems to have more or less *** off again now, just really odd for me, and yeah Anne I have been very stressed about some things, so could be that too I suppose x Thanks both x

[jim360]

I've been digging into this and found plenty of references in the literature, although some early ones I think aren't yet online. Here are a few:

http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/4694855

http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/7387577

http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/17383933

I have no idea if you can see these, but rest assured they all have delightful titles. Anyhow, the point appears to be that the menstrual cycle and circadian rhythm are linked, so that disruptions in one have effects upon the other.

[kvalidir]

Thank you everyone :)
I can see them but not open them Jim, but thank you anyway :) x

[Sqad]

I assume that this last early period was a NORMAL period?

[kvalidir]

Well it's been very light Sqad and has now all but disappeared, normally I have one heavyish day then 2 or 3 light days, this came on yesterday afternoon and has now more or less gone away again, so normal enough nothing sinister looking anyway lol

[Sqad]

Kvali...I would take a pregnancy test, particularly if it was a different colour, lighter and associated with some headache..........;-)

[kvalidir]

Okay thank you Sqad x

[jim360]

It's a long-term frustration of mine that it's hard to access scientific papers without either a hunk of cash or a university membership.

In any case, I wanted to add that most of the papers I saw/linked to seemed focused on stewardesses, or those who take long-haul flights more regularly. Maybe it's a little harder to prove a causal link between just the one flight (or two) and changes in cycle.

At any rate, hope it was useful. I defer to Sqad, as usual, on more concrete medical advice :)

[NoMercy]

Hello again, just got back from my walk.

Stopping the pill is definitely a contender. Also even just a few lbs of weight loss can induce ovulation as you clear out stored oestrogen when you lose fat.

Stress can affect your cycle but given that it was only a light bleed, I'd say stopping your pill is responsible. It can take a couple of months for your hormone levels to drop.

If this becomes a frequent occurence and looks more like intermittent bleeding, arrange a smear test through your GP / Practice Nurse.

[kvalidir]

Thanks Jim & Nom, yeah I did go on a bit of a starve diet before I went and lost 7lbs (ate like a pig there though, the food was amazing), I'm thinking it's probably a combination of everything (sans Sqad's suggestion hopefully which would be catastrophic), stopping the pill, weight loss, quite a few nerves about the trip etc. xx