THE ESSENTIAL
- More than 11,000 women have reported abnormalities in their menstrual cycle after receiving a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
- No direct link is established but the Medicines Agency is trying to respond to concerns.
They are more than 11,000 women and are waiting for answers, but for the moment there are only hypotheses to explain the major disorders of their menstrual cycles which appeared after the anti-covid vaccination.
Reactogenicity
According to the ANSMwhich made an inventory last Thursday and publishes a series of advice, the reactogenicity (fever, headaches, nausea, etc.) caused by vaccination could indeed, as during an infection, influence the hormones involved in the menstrual cycle.
And as stress and anxiety are known factors of disruption of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis which regulates the smooth running of the menstrual cycle, the expert body also mentions them.
Thus, the act of vaccination and/or the context of a pandemic could potentially explain these disorders, but other factors such as an underlying gynecological disease, pregnancy or contraceptive treatment are also mentioned.
In any case, this matter is taken very seriously. assures Christelle Ratignier-CarbonneilDirector General of the Medicines Agency in France (ANSM):”There is a concern for women, it must be taken into account and not left alone in the face of the troubles they feel“.
Pains
On the networks, the testimonies are eloquent: abnormally long bleeding during menstruation or outside of menstruation, or on the contrary an absence of menstruation for several months, significant pelvic or abdominal pain, reactivation of symptoms ofendometriosis and until the surgical removal of the uterus because of abnormal bleeding in quantity and duration…
On social networks, under the keyword “Where is my cycle?”, They are added to the approximately 11,000 declarations of this type already recorded “officially” by pharmacovigilance centers in France.
Serious or unexpected
Cycle disorders (also called cycle abnormalities) are irregularities in the menstrual cycle that can affect both the frequency and the intensity of bleeding: periods can be irregular, painful (dysmenorrhea), too abundant or too prolonged (menorrhagia ) or absent (amenorrhea).
It is also possible that bleeding occurs between two cycles (metrorrhagia).
Women suffering from menstrual disorders following vaccination against Covid-19 are invited to systematically declare themselves on a dedicated site, signalement.social-sante.gouv.fr.in order to document their symptoms and be able to analyze them.