Messing with menstrual cycle--mortal sin?

[Veronica97]

First I will say that the chances of me getting pregnant at my age (45) and with my husband being sterile are very very slim. That said, I try to be open to life at least mentally during the marital embrace and in general. My period is due any time but I’m not “late”. For selfish reasons, I wanted to hurry up and get my period to start and get it over with. I read on the internet that if you exercise and drink plenty of green tea, your period will start. I read about some other things that might help start it, but stayed away from anything that might cause a miscarriage if pregnant. The green tea and exercise seemed safe (which I drink anyway), so I tried that. But my period didn’t start. So then I read that you can delay and/or shorten your period by taking ibuprofen consistently before and during a period. So I started taking it. But then I later read that ibuprofen can double the risk of miscarriage, so I stopped taking it. Not only that but I read that green tea can cause neural defects in a developing fetus. Now I feel incredibly guilty–like I’m trying to manipulate my monthly cycle the same as women who take the “pill”. Even though I know that green tea and ibuprofen are not the same as the “pill”, I wonder if I have sinned in doing these things? This also caused me to think about other medications/supplements that I take for good reasons (such as for obsessive compulsive disorder and acid reflux) but that I’ve read may cause miscarriage or damage to a developing fetus. Again, the chances of me becoming pregnant are very slim. If I did, by some miracle, become pregnant, I would consult my doctor immediately about my medications/supplements in order not to do any harm. Have I sinned in trying to manipulate my monthly cycle (not intending to cause miscarriage or prevent a pregnancy)?

 

[1ke]

I read on the internet that if you exercise and drink plenty of green tea, your period will start.

Green tea and exercise have nothing to do with your menstrual cycle.

So then I read that you can delay and/or shorten your period by taking ibuprofen consistently before and during a period.

This also has nothing to do with your menstrual cycle.

I wonder if I have sinned in doing these things?

Wasted your time? Yes
Sinned? No

This also caused me to think about other medications/supplements that I take for good reasons (such as for obsessive compulsive disorder and acid reflux) but that I’ve read may cause miscarriage or damage to a developing fetus.

These are medically necessary. There is nothing sinful in taking these medications.

Have I sinned in trying to manipulate my monthly cycle (not intending to cause miscarriage or prevent a pregnancy)?

No.

I do think you are wasting your time here, I would suggest you read some NFP books or the book Fertility, Cycles, and Nutrition by Marilyn Shannon.

 

[Kit15]

I don’t think trying to jump start your bleeding in of itself is a mortal sin. Trying to time it to the day sounds like an exercise in futility maybe. But not a sin.

I have PCOS and I ovulate anywhere between 2 and 9 months (maybe even over a year by now…the data is inconclusive). After a very long cycle, the flow is so heavy it keeps me from leaving the house for the first day or two. So my NFP doctor gave me progesterone every three months of no bleeding to help flush me out. It’s not the same as true menstruation because it doesn’t follow ovulation but it helps keep me human.

Different way to look at the question. But even with drugs I can’t pin down what day it will start.

 

[RoseMary131]

First I will say that the chances of me getting pregnant at my age (45) and with my husband being sterile are very very slim. … The green tea and exercise seemed safe (which I drink anyway), so I tried that. …by taking ibuprofen consistently before and during a period. …Now I feel incredibly guilty–

This also caused me to think about other medications/supplements that I take for good reasons (such as for obsessive compulsive disorder and acid reflux) but that I’ve read may cause miscarriage or damage to a developing fetus.

Do you think the issues that cause you to need Rx for OCD, contribute to your guilt for exercising, drinking green tea, and taking ibuprofen as a sin?

Maybe you suffer from being scrupulous as part of your OCD.

May you feel God’s peace.

 

[1love]

I’m trying to manipulate my monthly cycle the same as women who take the “pill”

I think this is where you slipped. You could use that false logic and make yourself guilty of anything!

It boils down to:

• You tried to manipulate your period. Birth control pills manipulate your period. Therefore, your attempts to exercise and take OTC medication are as bad as using birth control pills to have risk-free sex.

You could also say:

• Today I hid a box of mints from the toddler. When someone robs a bank, they hide money. Therefore, me hiding the mints was as bad as robbery because both me and the robber hide something.

or:

• I am taking medication that makes me drowsy, so today I lay on the couch to rest. When people drink to excess, they also need to lay down. Therefore, being drowsy because of a prescribed medication is as bad as drinking to excess.

I hope you can see what I’m saying here. I’m saying it because I hope you will think of it next time you wonder if you have sinned because your behavior is similar to what a sinner would do. Sin requires intent; therefore you cannot accidentally commit a mortal sin. Knowing that you suffer with scruples, if you’re not sure whether it’s a mortal sin, it probably is not.

As my confessor told me: “When you’re not sure, think to yourself: What would a normal person think?” He was teasing a little, but he’s right. That has helped me a lot!

 

[Veronica97]

I think there’s a couple of things really bothering me. For one, the reason I wanted to either hurry my period up or delay it, is b/c I wanted to be intimate with my husband this coming weekend and for selfish reasons more than not. Secondly, on the same web page where I read that green tea can start your period, there were some other things listed like mega doses of vitamin C and various herbs (and it said these things could cause uterine contractions and thus, miscarriage) , so naturally I avoided those things. And so now I read about how too much caffeine (green tea has caffeine) can cause miscarriage and green tea can also cause neural tube defects. I also read that green tea could possibly lower estrogen levels, bringing on your period. So I sort of feel like I could have caused something tragic to happen by trying to cause my period to start, even though there is very little chance of my being pregnant and I certainly did not intend any bad consequences. I already drink green tea everyday, so I didn’t think drinking a little more, warm with honey, would be harmful. I suppose it’s the intention that matters, but I still feel bad. I don’t even know how I would confess all this if I need to confess it.

 

[Rau]

Veronica - I can find nothing wrong in what you’ve sought to do. If a dietary supplement or other treatment were to be invented that reduced a woman’s period (I mean the period of bleeding) from 6 days to (say) 3 days, I’m sure it would be hugely popular and of no greater moral consequence than taking a headache pill.

 

[St_Francis]

Veronica,
If younare still concerned about this, you should discuss it with your priest. However, you did not try to cause any problems, you avoided those things which seemed too strong, your husband is sterile, so I think younare in the clear.

Bit talk with your priest if you are still concerned, and maybe me tion the OCD in case you have a bit of excessive scupulosity.

 

[RoseMary131]

I think there’s a couple of things really bothering me. For one, the reason I wanted to either hurry my period up or delay it, is b/c I wanted to be intimate with my husband this coming weekend and for selfish reasons more than not. Secondly, on the same web page where I read that green tea can start your period, there were some other things listed like mega doses of vitamin C and various herbs (and it said these things could cause uterine contractions and thus, miscarriage) , so naturally I avoided those things. And so now I read about how too much caffeine (green tea has caffeine) can cause miscarriage and green tea can also cause neural tube defects. I also read that green tea could possibly lower estrogen levels, bringing on your period. So I sort of feel like I could have caused something tragic to happen by trying to cause my period to start, even though there is very little chance of my being pregnant and I certainly did not intend any bad consequences. I already drink green tea everyday, so I didn’t think drinking a little more, warm with honey, would be harmful. I suppose it’s the intention that matters, but I still feel bad. I don’t even know how I would confess all this if I need to confess it.

Dearest Veronica,

We can show you the flaws in your thinking that would show you are not sinning when you drink green tea, exercise, or take ibuprofen but due to the great suffering you have with OCD thinking, you will talk yourself right back into the “fear that it could be a sin.”

You need to speak with your doctor and therapist. You said you take Rx for OCD, but do your receive actual therapy to help you walk yourself through changing your thought patterns.

We can give you answers BECAUSE we are using a different thought pattern than you are using. Your thoughts run in a habit, in a pattern of rationalizing EVERYTHING to be sin once you get the small idea it “possibly might be a sin.”

Until you retrain your pattern of thinking, you can and most likely will draw a conclusion that everything is a sin once you allow “its a sin” to enter your thought.

“Its a sin” is a habit thought that you speak to yourself. It is not a true statement. You do not need to listen to it. You hear it, know that you heard it, AND move about your day.

Just like the person who must learn not to check the door, “Tonight, I will not check the door to see if it is locked. Every night I check. Every night it is locked. Every night I check again. Every night it is still locked.” In order to break that habit, they have to NOT check the door - no matter how much they fear or how bad they feel.

You have to stop checking the “Is It a Sin Door”. Don’t go to the “Is it a Sin Door” today. Refuse to check one more time.

With an OCD thinking mind, you will judge yourself guilty of sin without looking at the facts. You will turn the facts to appear as if they are sin. You will not look at the facts without judging a way they can become sin.

May God lead you to the right person who can help you understand truth -vs- fear of sin.

 

[Veronica97]

I think this is where you slipped. You could use that false logic and make yourself guilty of anything!

It boils down to:

• You tried to manipulate your period. Birth control pills manipulate your period. Therefore, your attempts to exercise and take OTC medication are as bad as using birth control pills to have risk-free sex.

You could also say:

• Today I hid a box of mints from the toddler. When someone robs a bank, they hide money. Therefore, me hiding the mints was as bad as robbery because both me and the robber hide something.

or:

• I am taking medication that makes me drowsy, so today I lay on the couch to rest. When people drink to excess, they also need to lay down. Therefore, being drowsy because of a prescribed medication is as bad as drinking to excess.

I hope you can see what I’m saying here. I’m saying it because I hope you will think of it next time you wonder if you have sinned because your behavior is similar to what a sinner would do. Sin requires intent; therefore you cannot accidentally commit a mortal sin. Knowing that you suffer with scruples, if you’re not sure whether it’s a mortal sin, it probably is not.

As my confessor told me: “When you’re not sure, think to yourself: What would a normal person think?” He was teasing a little, but he’s right. That has helped me a lot!

This makes a lot of sense, and I do see what you’re saying. Yes, my mind does tend do this.

 

[Veronica97]

Veronica,
If younare still concerned about this, you should discuss it with your priest. However, you did not try to cause any problems, you avoided those things which seemed too strong, your husband is sterile, so I think younare in the clear.

Bit talk with your priest if you are still concerned, and maybe me tion the OCD in case you have a bit of excessive scupulosity.

Thank you, St. Francis. I’m feeling a lot better about the green tea. I remembered that it was decaffeinated anyway, so no danger of too much caffeine. And I did read that green tea MAY lower estrogen levels, thus bringing on a period, but I also read that miscarriage is caused my HIGH estrogen levels, not low estrogen levels. So I doubt VERY seriously if I did any damage by drinking 3-4 cups of green tea for a couple of days! Unfortunately, now I’m concerned b/c when I was reading about things that can start your period, I saw that cinnamon tea (made from boiling cinnamon sticks) might work. But b/c it said something about making your uterus “hot”, I didn’t think it sounded like a good thing to do, so I didn’t. But then I remembered that I’ve been taking cinnamon supplements twice a day for years in order to prevent yeast infections, and I wondered, “Maybe I shouldn’t take these supplements anymore if cinnamon can bring on a period.” I even read that pregnant women shouldn’t take cinnamon supplements b/c of a risk of miscarriage. But I still continued to take them these past few days b/c I wasn’t taking them in order to start my period–I was taking them to prevent yeast infections. Now I’m wondering if I mortally sinned by continuing to take them even after I had read that cinnamon might bring on your period or cause a miscarriage. The chances of me getting pregnant are probably LESS than 1 in 1000–still I want to do what’s right.