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Amphetamines and the Menstrual Cycle

fairnymph

Bluelighter
Joined
Jan 16, 2000
Messages
15,750
Note: The following effects DO NOT usually apply to women taking hormonal birth control (the pill, depo provera, norplant, etc).

Does the time of the month affect how high I'll get and how much I'll hurt my brain?

Yes. When estrogen levels are high (during the late follicular stage, corresponding to days 8-13 of the menstrual cycle, where day 1 is the first day of your period), various different effects have been observed with amphetamine use. During this time (when estrogen levels are high and progesterone levels are low), more dopamine is released and less is broken down than at other times.

In research, women reported feeling more “high,” “energetic and intellectually efficient,” and “euphoric,” and liking and wanting the drug more when amphetamines were administered during this part of the cycle, as compared with other times. Similarily, cocaine is more enjoyable and potent during this time of month as well. The follicular phase in general (days 1-13) tends to be a better time for stimulant use than the luteal phase (days 14-beginning of period). The comedown is also better (milder, with fewer nasty side effects) during this part of the month.

Another benefit of stimulant use during the late follicular stage (days 8-13 of the menstrual cycle), is that as a result of elevated estrogen levels, neurotoxicity from the drugs is decreased -- i.e. it's better for you brain to get high at this time of the month, and you're more likely to have an enjoyable experience all around.

Can amphetamines affect when I get my period, and should I be worried if I stop getting my period altogether when using amphetamines?

Many recreational drugs can affect a woman's menstrual cycle, with stimulants like the amphetamines and opiates having the most influence. It is very common for a woman's period to come early, come late, or stop completely for a while, especially if the woman is usually a bit irregular or if she is thin. Stress and low body fat contribute to menstrual irregularity, and many women who use stimulants lose some weight and eat less than they might normally, which only increases the effect on the menstrual cycle.

You should NOT be worried if your period is thrown off by stimulant use, unless you have become unhealthily thin or you are abusing stimulants (using them multiple times a week). If that is the case, then it is possible that your stimulant use may make it more difficult to regain cycle regularity once you stop using.
Amphetamines have never been shown to affect fertility, however, so you certainly shouldn't be concerned about having children later. There is no reason to think that stimulant use is harmful to reproductive organs.

Written and Compiled by fairnymph on 11/18/02, for The New Bluelight

References:
White T, Justice A, de Wit H. Differential subjective effects of D-amphetamine by gender, hormone levels and menstrual cycle phase. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2002 Nov;73(4):729.
Justice AJ, De Wit H.Acute effects of d-amphetamine during the early and late follicular phases of the menstrual cycle in women. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2000 Jul;66(3):509-15.
Justice AJ, De Wit H. Acute effects of estradiol pretreatment on the response to d-amphetamine in women. Neuroendocrinology. 2000 Jan;71(1):51-9.
And the Health Q&A Forum and Archive @ www.bluelight.ru

[Edit: Fixed vB coding after upgrade - Orlando]
 
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I actually wrote this up after reading through a few clinical studies (thus the references). As far as I know, no one has written anything like this online. I basically reviewed all the research I could find and tried to explain it in a way that would be relatively easy for most people to understand. PuristLove is compiling a an updated MDMA FAQ and asked me to write this section since fairly little is known about how amphetamines (including MDMA of course) affect the menstrual cycle. I figured it would help the tweakers too. ;)

If you like, I can email you the actual studies I read (they are all pretty similar so I'd probably just email you one). They're kind of long and there might be some jargon you're not familar with if you dont' read research articles very often, but these particular articles weren't too hard to understand. Anyways, let me know if you want a copy...

[ 19 November 2002: Message edited by: fairnymph ]

[Edit: Fixed vB coding after upgrade - Orlando]
 
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i was wondering... if u take birth control or like depo-provera... and u tweak... would it affect your birth control? i mean, if u tweak, while taking birth control, could i pregnant? would the tweak affect the regulation of hormone levels?
 
charismatik -- As I stated at the very beginning, NO, amphetamines do NOT significantly affect birth control. Amphetamines do NOT make it more likely for you to get pregnant.
Amphetamines' effects on your menstrual cycle and hormone levels are NOT powerful enough to override hormonal birth control like the pill or depo provera. Hormonal birth control is quite strong and has far more of an effect on your hormone levels than amphetamines.
nasaltr0n --
Apparently, dopamine levels are raised both by increasing production of dopamine and inhibiting MAO-b somewhat. So dopamine levels are being boosted from both ends.
[ 20 November 2002: Message edited by: fairnymph ]
 
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