Well, the first thing is to not panic! Easier said than done right?
I now know firsthand because last week my period was late. Yup, the period coach’s period didn’t come.
I definitely wasn’t pregnant so I needed to take an inventory of what all went down during the month so I could figure out the problem. I trust my body more than I trust anything and believe that she has always got my back. Which means I truly listen to her and have the utmost respect for what she has to say so I knew I’d find the clues.
However, it’s not always easy to translate her messages though so here’s what I did:
1. I pulled up my period tracking chart on my phone and immediately downloaded it to my computer so I could get a bigger picture (literally and figuratively).
2. I was pretty sure that I had ovulated on day 14 which would have meant that I’d technically get my period on days 28 or 29 – pretty average for me.
3. I then looked at my calendar and remembered that I’d had a somewhat traumatic visit to the gyno on that day. Hmmm, first sign that I might not have ovulated then.
4. I also went to the dentist twice (don’t ask!) AND the foot doctor (very traumatic!) within that week. Oy vey, perhaps there were too many hairy doctor visits for my poor body to handle in a short space of time.
5. I was also doing a gut cleanse back in the beginning of April which could definitely have thrown things off.
6. I checked my temperatures and cervical fluid notes and realized it was likely that I had ovulated 4 days later than I’d initially thought. Hmmm…
AND then I decided to have a conversation with my body. I’ve found over the years that opening up a dialogue with various body parts has given me the clues and answers to seemingly un-fixable issues and conditions. Here’s how it went:
BODY: Not another one! I’ve been doing this for 20 years; building castles in the sand only to have the tide come in each month and wash them away! What’s the point?!?!
NICOLE: I’m sorry. I know you’re angry but it’s just not the right time for me right now. I appreciate all the hard work you do and you build the most incredible castles and I’m so grateful for that. I work with women everyday whose bodies aren’t building the castles they need so I truly understand the importance of this work. But my soul is still wandering and it’s just not the right time for me to settle down and move into one of the amazing fortresses you create.
BODY: Ok, understood. Can I take a couple of months off then and you can just tell me when your soul stops wandering (whatever that means!)?
NICOLE: NO!!! I really do need you to continue building your amazing castles, even though they are destined to wash away. It’s so important to me that you continue to do this.
BODY: Why? It’s a lot of work you know! And in the end all that work gets destroyed and I just need to start from scratch and do it all over again. I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I’m losing my mind!
NICOLE: I’ll tell you why; because life is about possibilities. Each day I spend my life opening new doors and exploring new possibilities in this amazing labyrinth of the universe. But you possess the greatest possibility of them all; the potential for future life. I need you to protect this possibility, guard that door and keep it strong and unlocked. My wandering soul is out right now on great adventures helping other women all over the world build beautiful castles but at some point I will want to come home and when I do I need your castle to be there waiting for me. I need that possibility, the greatest possibility, to always be there waiting for me.
BODY: I’m the protector of the greatest possibility?!?! Yipppeee!! I will continue to work hard for you my lovely Nicole and I will not let you down! If it’s not too much to ask, could you send me some additional supplies? I could really use some extra progesterone to make the walls more stable so please stop stressing so much and eating those cupcakes, they intoxicate my construction crews and I’m tired of having to discipline unruly drunken laborers! If you can do that for me then I will continue to build beautiful castles for you each month and will protect the greatest possibility with all my heart and all my soul!
NICOLE: That’s a deal my beautiful Body! I will do everything I can to give you everything you need. Sometimes I really want a cupcake though so if I mess up now and then please don’t get too mad. I promise it will be gluten free and made with natural sugar! 🙂
THE END
What do you think? Are me and my body ready for Broadway? LOL
I ended up getting my period on Tuesday (4 days late – interesting!) and she came with a vengeance!! Holy shit!! Okay body, you made your point and I heard it loud and clear. This month was such a powerful reminder of how hard my body works for me every single day and I need to honor her or she is gonna speak up!
Someone recently told me that this is the most important lesson I have ever taught her. She said she was like so many other people who see their bodies as an appendage to their brains. Like some kind of beast of burden that we feel we can whip and curse into submission. I taught her to embrace her beast and respect its words.
Most of us have been conditioned to tune out the subtle signs and turn off our intuition. As you may know this can be detrimental, so I make it a point to remind women that when they become the queen of their own health they are free to open this dialogue and pay attention to the messages. There is so much wisdom to be gleaned from this process.
12 thoughts on “What to do when your period is late”
There are a lot of incredible questions on here, but it’s so much easier to get clear answers in our Know Your Flow Facebook group. Just paste the following link into your browser:http://tinyurl.com/pkflo6r
There are tons of women in there who’ve had similar experiences and it’s much more private. I also have a free Period Survival Guide for you here: http://tinyurl.com/nh7y55g
Loved the conversation with your body – so important for women to look/listen within and give credit where credit is due. Taking the time to do this is so important! Great post.
Thank you so much Heather!
I think we as a society definitely don’t take the time to “stop and smell the roses’, so to speak. It’s very important to be aware of what you as a person are going through and to listen closely to your body. 🙂
Hi there Amy! Why thank you, I appreciate your kind words so very much! So what you heard is a myth. Women typically ovulate anywhere from 10-16 days after ovulation – this is the regular length of a luteal phase. Like you said, I think two things could have happened, you may have misread ovulation, or your body may have attempted to ovulate at that time and then ovulated later than you thought. This could have happened for a number of reasons, some of which I mention above. It is likely just a one-time thing but if it permanently shifts, definitely see your naturopathic doctor.
xoxo!
This is a brilliant post, explains a lot! But I have one question, that I can’t find the answer to anywhere else. I think I read somewhere a long time ago that your period ALWAYS begins 14 days after ovulation. The last two months my period was (most unusually) a week late, and I had very clear signs that I ovulated three weeks before it came (hence lots of worrying, even though pregnancy was very unlikely 😉 ). So my question is, were those signs of ovulation misread, or could my period indeed come so much later than ovulation?
And thank you for all your fantastically presented information – you are the best source of useful and thoughtful information on my health I have found so far 🙂
Interesting stuff Nicole! I’d like to see a post about when your period comes early?! I’ve planned out the next couple of months’ special events and now it has arrived 5 days ahead of schedule meaning all my plans will be out of whack. Why, body??!!
Hi Renata!
I’ll definitely jot that down as a topic to write about! If I had a penny for how many times that happened to me, I’d be a billionaire! 🙂
This post popped up in my news feed just at the right time. I thought I ovulated on day 15 (all the right signs) but when I didn’t get my period 18 days later, i was concerned. Then literally on the 19th day my body (plus temps) showed signs of ovulation again! Looking back through my diary I have put several disruptive events together, like flying to Melbourne — right on day 14 and then to NZ and eating different foods and drinking alcohol which is way out of routine for me. Plus stress of studying in between. Thankyou again for your post.. our bodies are beautiful and we should listen to them more xx
BEAUTIFUL! Love me some sandcastles and talking about them in this way…BODY & MIND connected is lovely! Cheers to being queens!
Really enjoyed reading this and it came in a timely manner. I’m 6days late cycle day 42 and still got BFN. Haven’t looked back to see what exactly has gone on etc. however I do think I ovulated late but because of my PCOS can be difficult to get accurate ovulation day. So visited my gynae to get some noriesterone to help trigger it. However I’ve been getting some cramps so unsure if they are related to period. I’m on day 2 of the tabs now and considering taken your advice above and stop the tabs and listen to my body.
Would appreciate your thoughts
Thanks all the way from Kent, UK.
Nicole, I always enjoy reading your posts! Here’s to sturdy castles in the sand!
Haha Nicole, you are so ready for Broadway! 🙂 Over the last two years after being diagnosed with Hypothalamic Amenorrhea I really had to turn inwards and look for imbalances through my body’s messages. It was difficult to say the least but well worth the rewards. I got my period back and it has been coming more consistently over the last 6 months. I highly recommend reconnecting with your intuition to help heal your body. Thanks for your post!