Can your period cycle change?

Can drinking high amounts of water delay your period or change your cycle?

• Okay so since Lent I made amends to stop drinking anything that has sugar in it (pop, juice, chocolate milk, tea, etc.) so I've been drinking a lot of water since Ash Wednesday, like more than I ever have (like my pee is clear now lol). I was supposed to start my period on March 1st and it's almost March 3rd and I still haven't started it yet. I'm almost three days late and I'm not sure why. Instead of having my period and bleeding (you know, the usually), I've been just discharging, like, a lot. Sometimes the discharge is watery and clear, while other times it's white, which is my usual discharge color but instead, the discharge has been like on overload and been doing it a lot more than usual. I haven't been cramping or been sore around my breast, I've only been having pains around my mid to lower back area. I've been tired and exhausted recently but I haven't been stressed or anything. I'm not sexually active nor am I taking any type of birth control so I'm kind of confused about what is going on. And I know it's normal for you cycle to change when you first start your period but I've been having my period since I was in the 6th grade, I'm in the 11th now so my cycle should be pretty set in the stone right?

• Answer:

  Hi, Asa. To begin, with regards to "set in stone", your period is a biological function, which means it has something that tells it when to happen, how much, how hard, etc. There is what most people consider a "normal" period, but there's nothing that says your brain can't be a jerk and mess it up. lol. Also, if you have too much water in your bloodstream, the estrogen (chemical that makes you have your period) could be less noticeable due to all the extra fluid; maybe not strong enough to cause your period this month. Anyway, about the water. The soreness of your lumbar (lower back) is consistent with what you would see if someone was dehydrated; but you're obviously not. If you can be dehydrated, you can also have hyperhydration. Hyperhydration is when you actually have too much water in your body. I don't know how familiar you are with dynamics of cells and whatnot, so I'll make this simple: your cells need water, not too much and not too little. If they have too little, they wrinkle up and die. If you have too much, they swell up and burst. You could be experiencing the back pain for this reason. The cells of your lumbar muscles are swelling up, putting more pressure on everything, causing pain. As for the vaginal discharge, if your body is telling your uterus not to have your period right now, your uterus could be creating this discharge because it's not doing what it should be doing this time of the month, so instead of creating blood, it's creating what it can (your discharge). Okay.. Sorry for that long, boring message. If you have more questions about anything medical, or just want to talk, message me at [email protected] :)