Common ≠ Normal: What Your Menstrual Cycle Is Trying to Tell You

Dr. Chantal Davis
Jul 17
4 min read

Understanding period symptoms through a holistic lens

By Dr. Chantal Davis, L.Ac. | Free Flow Health | San Diego Acupuncture for Women’s Health

Navigating what is normal and not normal is not always an easy task.

Many women are taught to accept pain, heavy bleeding, mood swings, and exhaustion as just part of having a period. If it’s happening to everyone, it must be normal… right?

Wrong.Just because something is common doesn’t mean it’s normal.

At my San Diego acupuncture clinic, I work with women every day who have been suffering through difficult periods for years—often thinking there was nothing they could do. The truth is, your menstrual cycle is a window into your overall health. Symptoms are not punishments—they’re messages from your body that something is out of balance.

Let’s break down what’s truly normal, what isn’t, and what those symptoms might be trying to tell you.

🚨 What’s Common (but Not Normal)

Many of the period symptoms women live with are actually signs of deeper imbalance—especially when they’re intense, disruptive, or recurring.

Here are some examples of what’s common but not optimal:

Severe cramps that require medication or bed rest
Bleeding through pads or tampons every hour
Clots larger than a quarter
Bleeding longer than 7 days
Irritability or rage before your period
Insomnia in the days before your flow
Headaches before, during, or after your period
Hot flashes or night sweats
Debilitating fatigue or low motivation
Excessive bloating that makes clothes not fit

✅ What a Healthy Cycle Looks Like

In both Eastern and Western medicine, a regulated menstrual cycle is considered a sign of good health.

A healthy cycle is typically:

26–32 days long generally speaking
3–7 days of steady, moderate bleeding
Some mild cramping or bloating is okay
Emotional sensitivity or introspection is natural
Low to moderate fatigue as the body shifts energy inward
No excessive pain, clotting, or disruption to daily life

Yes, it’s normal to want to slow down during your cycle. Yes, you may feel more aware of things you’ve been pushing aside. But periods shouldn’t feel punishing. They should feel like a rhythm your body can move through with ease.

🌿 Why These Symptoms Show Up (Eastern & Western Views)

🔥 Night Sweats + Hot Flashes

Western perspective: These can signal low progesterone or estrogen imbalances, often tied to perimenopause or high stress.
TCM perspective: This points to Yin deficiency—especially Kidney Yin—which governs fluids and cooling in the body. When Yin is depleted, internal heat rises.

😴 Insomnia

Western perspective: A result of estrogen and progesterone fluctuations disrupting melatonin and cortisol levels.
TCM perspective: Often tied to Heart Yin or Liver Blood deficiency, especially if you feel restless or wake at 1–3am. Stress and overthinking may also play a role (Liver Qi stagnation).

💢 Heavy Bleeding + Clots

Using more than 6–8 pads or tampons per day, passing clots larger than a quarter, or bleeding for more than 7 days is not normal.
Western perspective: May point to fibroids, polyps, hormonal imbalance, or endometriosis.
TCM perspective: Often due to Blood stagnation (causing clotting and pain), which over time depletes Blood and Qi, leaving you feeling drained.

🤕 Headaches Before or After Period

Western perspective: Often due to estrogen withdrawal or magnesium deficiency.
TCM perspective: Liver Qi stagnation or Liver Yang rising is common here, especially if the headache is behind the eyes, at the temples, or worsens with stress. Blood deficiency is likely the culprit if it comes on after your period has started.

🥱 Excessive Fatigue

While a little fatigue is expected (your body is shifting inward and shedding blood), feeling like you’ve “hit a wall” may indicate Blood deficiency, Spleen Qi deficiency, or adrenal stress.
Think of this as your body waving a flag saying, “I need better nourishment and less pushing.”

🥬 What You Can Do About It

You don’t have to “just live with it.”

At Free Flow Health in San Diego, I offer a comprehensive, compassionate approach to cycle support:

✅ Acupuncture to regulate hormones and calm the nervous system

✅ Traditional Chinese Medicine to correct the underlying patterns (not just mask symptoms)

✅ Nutritional coaching to support Blood and Yin through whole foods

✅ Lifestyle guidance and emotional support to help you tune in, not push through

I also offer virtual wellness coaching for clients who are outside of San Diego or want more in-depth emotional and lifestyle guidance.

🌙 Listen to Your Cycle — It’s Speaking for You

If your period symptoms are disruptive, painful, or confusing, it’s time to stop ignoring them.You don’t have to suffer. You don’t have to go it alone.Your cycle is a brilliant communicator—let’s learn how to listen.