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Why do people experience unusual period symptoms after being vaccinated?
After receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccinations, many people experience relief – and many also experience temporary side effects such as nausea, muscle aches and headaches. Doctors agree that unless it lasts longer than a few days, none of these reactions are of concern. But now people are worried about a new side effect that has not been reported before: heavier, early or otherwise irregular menstrual periods. In February, Kate Clancy, PhD, asked her Twitter followers if any menstruators noticed anything strange after receiving the vaccination. “A colleague told me she had heard from others that their periods were difficult after growing up,” she wrote. “I’m a week and a half from the first dose of Moderna, got my period maybe a day or so early, and I’m in my twenties again.” Dr. Clancy’s answers were flooded with similar stories. Some said they began to notice unexpectedly; several mentioned that they experienced periodic symptoms, including cramps and bleeding, for the first time since receiving IUDs or through menopause. And similar conversations are taking place elsewhere on the internet: there are numerous threads on Reddit that track the connection between menstruation and vaccinations. After her tweet hit, Dr. Clancy began gathering information for a scientific study devoted to the impact of the vaccine on periods. At present, there is still no scientific evidence of a direct connection. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which detects side effects through the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), at least 32 people have reported changes in their periods – but this is not a big reason to concern, as about 56,000 people were included in the report. However, there are a few possible reasons for the pattern that has been documented on Twitter and Reddit. Heather Bartos, MD, a Texas OB-GYN, says that any change in stress level (even if the change is just pure, straightforward relief) can affect your period. She has noticed these changes since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and since people started getting vaccinated. “Just the tension of the pandemic, people came in with menstrual irregularities, without periods,” says Dr. Bartos to Refinery29. ‘I always say: a one-time or a two-time period is not a problem. But if it’s a three, four, five, then it’s all different, it’s a little more worrying. ‘Dr. Bartos adds that it is not uncommon for people with IUDs to notice unusual bleeding when they get colds or other flu and infections. And if you experience side effects from the vaccine, especially fever, you may notice a painful period. These symptoms, rather than the vaccine itself, can affect your cycle – and research has shown that people who menstruate are more likely to have a stronger immune response and stronger side effects due to estrogen levels. “When you have a fever, everything goes so painfully. If I get a fever, the joints that are more prone to arthritis will hurt. The areas that are prone to weakness will only hurt more, ‘says dr. Bartos. “So if you have a history of endometriosis or adenomiosis, or things like that where it’s just not normal tissue and becomes spasmodic anyway, it’s likely to get worse if there’s a fever. Periods and menstrual pain are too often medically overlooked and written off – just look at how long it takes before someone is diagnosed with endometriosis – it is worth investigating any possible link between menstruation and the COVID vaccine. Dr. Bartos notes that the vaccine is still new and that there is still a lot for epidemiologists to study. But at the moment, there is a lot of evidence confirming that even the worst side effects of the vaccine are temporary and harmless. “People think the side effects of vaccines are harmful, and they get worried when they look at them and read them, but it’s actually a good thing,” Abisola Olulade, MD, a doctor in San Diego, told Refinery29 . “It tells us that your immune system works and responds the way we want.” As you can see? How about a little more R29 goodness here? What happens if you do not have a vaccine reaction? COVID Vaccine Enhancement Shoots Arrive COVID-19 Vaccines May Have Surprising Benefits