Heya

The warning is just in case anyone on here doesn't like to read about any details of the female monthly cycle.

I've been palaeoing for almost three weeks.  In the first couple of weeks I experienced things that seem fairly common experiences - initial elation, panic at finding things to eat, days and days of constipation followed by things becoming normal, very obvious water loss, and definite fat redistribution, if not fat loss as yet, and lately loss of apetite coupled with depression - which is fixed once I remember to eat something.

A benefit I hadn't read about was the INCREDIBLE difference in my cycle this month.  Long story short, I am normally in fairly awful pain for 5 to 7 days before I get my period, and cannot go to the bathroom for two days before and two days after I get it - and if I do, I sometimes almost pass out from the pain of it.  I am usually also in so much pain on the first day from cramps that I cannot walk upright without very strong pain relief (handfuls of Neurofen).

Well.  I was a bit surprised when I realised this morning that it was due.  Which I found out because it had arrived.  I had to look up a calendar to make sure it was actually supposed to come today.  It hadn't occurred to me - no pain whatsoever, before, or now.  And no problems going to the bathroom.  None.  If I really concentrate I am aware of the mildest, slightest sensation of pain, but its so faint it would normally not catch my attention.  A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!

Cutting out all grains etc. (I've cut out much more than that) might be something for other women to try who suffer from really bad monthly cramps.

Such an incredible relief!  This effect of a version of paleo WOE (I'm quite restricted within paleo foods) alone makes it worth it.

Go Palaeo!!!

Hi! How's the rest of it going? I gather that you've been able to settle in and you've sorted what you can and can't eat.

You certainly sound much more relaxed lol

Hehe.  Yes, well (sheepishly) I have a little laugh at myself now when I see others go through the same panic.

Trawling for recipes on the internet has really helped!  I can now make very good grain- and dairy-free coconut flour muffins, cookies, cakes and desserts - and coconut dumplings to go in curries and soups.  My friends are still whinging a bit that its too hard to feed me, but I just say roast chicken or a piece of BBQ meat and lettuce (salad) is fine.  I had a friend over for afternoon tea this week, and another for dinner last night - they loved the food, and it was completely paleo and 100% thyroid safe    So, yes, much more relaxed about it!

Thank you again for being supportive when I was going through my panicky stage - I hope you are doing really well too.  You definitely seem to have it quite under control 

It's making such a difference to my health...and I keep getting compliments about my 'glowing skin'.  My, what a difference no grains makes!

Yes.  My wife had this experience too, as well as some of the other ladies here, I think.  Now we know why cave women made those series of 29 marks on baboon bones - they had to keep track, because they didn't have cramps to warn them!

Hmmm...I wonder.  But I guess if a woman has a regular average 28 day cycle, she can check where its up to every night just by looking at the sky.  And (tangent) given that women who live together generally end up with synchronised cycles, your mum or sisters getting theirs indicates your is due too...but interesting idea about the marks on the baboon bones...

I wonder why else humans might need to count to 29...

I had the same experience.  Definitely have some issues return if I eat non-paleo foods within days of my period.

Regarding the foggy thinking on low carb, I had several days of it when entering ketosis the first time, but after that no problems.  I don't see any problem with eating some paleo carbs if you think better with them, but when you have a break from school, you might want to intentionally enter ketosis for a week or so to let your brain adapt to burning ketones so that you don't need to worry about it.  These days, I often feel more alert in ketosis.

Your brain and body DOES need carbs in order to function, especially in women's cases.

Yeah, we do need carbs--but our bodies can make all the carbs we require out of proteins and fats.  We don't HAVE to get them out of our diet, although we certainly do crave them sometimes!

I still get some cramping, but it's not nearly as bad as it got non-paleo.  That was a completely unexpected bonus of paleo.

I think a lot of the PMS symptoms subsiding on Paleo has to do with getting the correct mineral balance. Being deficient in B-vitamins, iron, magnesium & potassium can really take a toll on your body, especially when it's trying to shed dead cells and whatnot. I've noticed that I only have to take one or two Ibuprofen for the first day of my period, as opposed to popping them every 4 hours when I was on SAD. Some months I don't have to take any at all!

Hmmm...I wonder.  But I guess if a woman has a regular average 28 day cycle, she can check where its up to every night just by looking at the sky.

I was half joking about the "keeping track of one's period" thing - though no one seems to have come up with a better theory.  I suppose if you tied a string around the bone to indicate where the full moon would be relative to the period or vice versa, it would help remember what phase of the moon to look out for.  Two different colored strings could track one's fertile period, which could help if one were trying to conceive or trying to avoid conceiving.

I meant to mention another side effect, to see if you've come across others the same...I am finding that in general what I am eating is very low carb...its not deliberate, its just a side effect of the foods I can eat without causing problems. 

Whilst I can have an essentially no carb day and do physical work all day long just fine, if I sit down at the computer to think and type, its very, very hard going.  Its not calorie related though - a meal of fatty red meat, coconut oil, cultured butter and avocado gives me the energy to work in the garden for hours - but I can't think straight in order to study.

My brain functions so much better when I deliberately eat foods with more carbs...which generally means eating food I'm not supposed to, but my brain just seems to need a certain level of blood sugars for me to think clearly.  I had always thought that the brain needs certain fats to function properly - I hadn't considered that it needed sugar too.  Especially given that I can do physical tasks all do long on minimal incidental carbs.

This is probably that you're on the edge of ketosis, as others have mentioned.  Here's what's going on.

Muscles can function either on fat or on carbohydrate, with the muscle cells taking up either fatty acids or glucose from the bloodstream.  This is also true of most other tissues.

The central nervous system is different, though.  The blood/brain barrier, which prevents infections from getting to the brain, also prevents full size fatty acids from getting to the brain.  If you are on a moderate to high carb diet, the nerve cells operate fine on only glucose from the bloodstream, though.

If you go to a very low carb diet, blood glucose falls, which is probably why your concentration is not as good.  However, if you stay in this state for long enough - a few days - the liver starts breaking down fats into smaller fragments called ketones.  Ketones can cross the blood brain barrier, and can be used by brain nerve cells, though there may be an adjustment period.  Once the adjustment period is over, the brain operates just as well from the ketones from fat as from blood glucose.

If you are constantly on the edge of ketosis - say, alternating between zero carb days and higher carb days, or getting just enough carbs to keep you out of ketosis - this adjustment may not happen, an your brain may feel "fuzzy" when your blood sugar gets low.

Cramps vanished as soon as I went on paleo 

(so did periods after 2 months but that's another story!)

Wait--does this mean congratulations are in order?!