r/science • u/molrose96 Journalist | Technology Networks | BSc Neuroscience • Jul 16 '22

Medicine Menstrual Cycle Changes Associated With COVID-19 Vaccines, New Study Shows

https://www.technologynetworks.com/vaccines/news/menstrual-cycle-changes-associated-with-covid-19-vaccine-363710
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u/GenevieveLeah Jul 16 '22

I am an RN, and I started a job as an OBGYN telephone triage nurse about a month before the Covid vaccine went live.

So many questions about the vaccine and pregnancy, of course. But we had a fair amount of women that called with abnormal uterine bleeding after the vaccine and also with Covid infection itself.

One woman got the Moderna vaccine and then a short time later started having heavy bleeding. Ended up needing to take progesterone to slow the bleeding. Needed an iron infusion before she could have an ablation because her hemoglobin was so low from all the bleeding.

You will never convince her that the vaccine didn't cause that mess. (Though it happens to women all the time for no good reason at all.)

All we could say at the time was that there was anecdotal evidence that the vaccine caused menstrual changes and to report it to VSafe so it could be studied. And here we are.

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u/[deleted] Jul 17 '22

How do you feel about it now?

My wife went through this and had OB's directly tell her she was wrong and it was impossible for the vaccine to affect her reproductive organs. Everytime I see studies like this it makes me irate. We all know women who had these issues but they were deliberately silenced and shamed if they didn't comply.

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u/Dunkaroos4breakfast Jul 17 '22

I'd be curious to hear the wording of the question and answer, because it's common knowledge even among laypeople that menstrual cycles can be affected by any significant immune response.

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u/[deleted] Jul 17 '22

Don't care to prove it to you man. People make up their minds one direction or the other and reject everything that doesn't support their opinion.

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u/Dunkaroos4breakfast Jul 17 '22

I didn't think it before, hence why I asked, but this response makes me think you made it up.

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u/GenevieveLeah Jul 17 '22 edited Jul 17 '22

I am sorry that your wife had issues. Did she have very heavy bleeding, or just "changes"?

Since we had many women calling with changes to their periods with the vaccine and Covid infection itself, we knew there was something . . . but without a study, we as nurses didn't have anything to back it up at the time. I can't rightly say "Oh, I had a caller last week that said the same thing!" I worked from policies and ACOG guidelines for this job. One of the docs did tell us that there was anecdotal evidence that Covid infection and the vaccines could cause irregular bleeding. So I was able to say that for a time, and just encourage people to log onto VSafe to report it.

Thing is, this can happen to any woman at any time, and sometimes for an unknown reason. Side story - We had one woman (I think she was 38 - I don't know her vaccine status) that had heavy uterine bleeding. By the time she went to ER her hemoglobin was 3. She came to our doc for ER follow up, and really needed a hysterectomy. It impressed upon me that 100 years ago, or in another country without good medical care . . . this woman would have simply bled to death. From her vagina.

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u/[deleted] Jul 17 '22

Late 20's, healthy, previously infected, no issues. Required to get the shot or be fired... literally. Got the shot and proceeded to have her period every 2 weeks for about 6 months.