Psychological menstrual cycle when living together with a cis woman?

[Lady Lisandra]

I've noticed a few months ago that my partner is menstruating I get something similar to menstrual symptoms. I get angry easily and cry over the most stupid things. More than normal. I had expected that, but this an last month I even had tummy aches. Not strong enough to prevent me from getting out of bed, but enough to make me want to stay at home covered with a blanket.

Menstrual cycles tend to synchronize between women with bonds. Could something similar happen with trans women? Has anyone experienced something similar?

[Dani]

Interesting report.

It is well known that women living together do tend to synchronize their cycles. This is the first I have heard of a trans woman with a similar comment. This is very possible and I see no reason to doubt it.

[sarah1972]

It is somewhat controversial discussed here. There are several MTF who do have similar symptoms. Others claim without the right plumbing it cannot happen. Menstruation is however mostly hormonal controlled in cis-women.

For me the answer is clearly yes. I am on Progesterone 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off (to simulate a female cycle) and usually around the time I am taking my last Progesterone of the month and a few days after, I do get cranky, I get food cravings and I am just more moody. Add to that bloating and occasional cramping in the stomach area. It is not the same every month but it is very consistent. The timing also matches up, cis-women periods start with a sharp drop in progesterone two weeks after progesterone started spiking.

My wife usually figures it out and I get a smirky look / comment "Is it that time of the month again??"

I really read a lot about HRT before starting but this did surprise me. I missed that part somehow.

I know lesbian couples where the cycle started lining up, to the point where they are fully in sync. So for you it would make sense that it happens around the same time.

[Angela Drakken]

Yeaaaap. (And it SUCKS.)
Actually, if Im right, shark week begins in about 5 or 6 days now.. Its pretty awesome because for 2 weeks out of the month we hate eachothers guts, since mine usually closely follows hers.. Im told its more relates to taking progesterone over the estrogen, again Im no doctor and have no explaination for it. It just sucks.

Sent from my LG-H812 using Tapatalk

[extraaction]

Interesting report.

It is well known that women living together do tend to synchronize their cycles. This is the first I have heard of a trans woman with a similar comment. This is very possible and I see no reason to doubt it.

it is reported frequently, and I even believe in it too....theres a ton of anecdotal evidence....and yet the medical community has yet to find evidence of it officially.

that said, the herb Vitex can work wonders to get rid of pms symptoms

[ClaireBear]

Firstly, the overwhelming consensus of medical research indicates that menstrual synchronisation doesn't exist.

Secondly, if you are cycling progesterone, your hormone levels will naturally fluctuate in a cycle approximately similar to cis women. Your experience of emotion, circadian (sleep) cycles, parenting propensity, pheremones, etc will all cycle accordingly.  It's possible that the hormone cycle might coincidentally align with other women.

Your stomach cramps, unpleasant as they sound, are unlikely to be related to your hormones.  Period pain (menstrual cramps) in women is associated with contractions within the uterus.  When the uterine muscles contract, they constrict the blood supply to the tissue of the endometrium, which, in turn, breaks down and dies. These uterine contractions continue as they squeeze the old, dead endometrial tissue through the cervix and out of the body through the vagina. These contractions, and the resulting temporary oxygen deprivation to nearby tissues, are responsible for the pain or "cramps" experienced during menstruation.

Emotional systems in menstruating women are often the result of hormone changes in the luteal phase.  If your hormones are changing during this time - eg, because you forgot your medications or you just received a new implant or injection - then that might have similar emotional effects for you.  Symptoms are things such as moodiness, depression, anxiety, crying spells, irritability, etc.

[KayXo]

It is somewhat controversial discussed here. There are several MTF who do have similar symptoms. Others claim without the right plumbing it cannot happen. Menstruation is however mostly hormonal controlled in cis-women.

For me the answer is clearly yes. I am on Progesterone 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off (to simulate a female cycle) and usually around the time I am taking my last Progesterone of the month and a few days after, I do get cranky, I get food cravings and I am just more moody. Add to that bloating and occasional cramping in the stomach area. It is not the same every month but it is very consistent. The timing also matches up, cis-women periods start with a sharp drop in progesterone two weeks after progesterone started spiking.

In regards to bloating, I was always under the impression that progesterone caused bloating so I will ask:

to those taking E alone and NO SPIRO, do you find yourself generally bloated, having a distended abdomen/tummy and the higher the dose of E, the worse it becomes or the better it becomes?

to those who added progesterone to E at one time or another, do you feel LESS or more bloated after having taken progesterone?

This might clarify as to what is the culprit behind bloatedness. Some studies suggest it is excess or unopposed E, others progesterone or a progestogen and finally, some suggest it is the lack of E as when women experience rising levels of E and T during the first phase of their cycle (follicular), there is actually less water retention and no symptoms of bloating, women generally feel quite good.

[Lady Lisandra]

Medical consensus indicates it doesn't exist, yet in experience it does happen. I'd rather trust in the experience of women. I'm not cycling E, it shouldn't be the cause of fluctuations in my hormone levels, and apparently I'm not the only one that noticed it. I guess it gets us closer to the experience of being a cis woman.