This supplement works with your menstrual cycle (instead of against it)

 Is your menstrual cycle messing with you? Your body, your skin, your hair, your mood? Same same. I tried out a supplement that said it would help, but I was skeptical…

Ups, downs, and the rest

We’re really put through a lot, aren’t we? As women, the peaks, troughs, pain and hassle we go through every month is staggering sometimes. On top of everything else, I know that a massive factor in how my skin is, how my hair is and how my general wellbeing is depends upon where I am in my menstrual cycle.

I saw these new supplements that say they’ll help you navigate the month by giving you extra support, in what seemed to be a tailored way, and I thought, what is there to lose? I’ll either feel nothing or feel better.

As an aside, before I tried this, and for about two years actually, I’ve been using an AMAZING app called Flo to monitor my period, my skin, my mood, my mental health and my fertility, so in conjunction with that, using the supplement was very straightforward.

Would it triumph?

The name of the one I tried (pun above intended) is Triumph Monthly Cycle Supplement by a company called Vitropics. “It’s a unique three part programme, and each blend has tailored levels of botanicals, vitamins, minerals and amino acids to support optimal health, balance and harmony,” is what co-founders Donna Ledwidge and Renée O’Shaughnessy had to say.

Triump Monthly Cycle Supplement

€49.99 from Vitropics.com

I did what I was told – I took the pink sachets during my period (starting on day one), I took the purple ones during my pre-ovulation days (all these instructions are on the pack by the way, it’s really easy to understand) and then finally the yellow ones during my pre-menstrual part.

How I felt

I’ll be honest – I didn’t notice much of a difference when it came to the mid-month pre-ovulation ones. But I did notice a difference the other ends of the month in the sense that I was less bloated, my skin didn’t kick off, I had more energy and essentially, I got through the month and noticed that my period didn’t knock me for six for a week like it normally does.

I didn’t feel like I was on the back foot because of it. I didn’t feel invincible, but I also didn’t feel like I was operating at 50% capacity. I have only taken it for one month, bear in mind, and so I can’t speak to the cumulative effects, if there are any.

Drawbacks?

It’s €49.99 – which I’ll admit is more than I would normally spend on vitamins or supplements per month. However, what I’ll say is, if it works for you and you really benefit from the added support it gives, it might not seem like such a steep price – if you’re struggling with the ups and downs of menstruation, often there’s no price too high for your wellness to be improved.

Read more: PMS: It’s time to talk about premenstrual syndrome

Read more: This eco-friendly tampon brand is fighting period poverty

Read more: ‘The shame and stigma of periods has to end’

Photo from Unsplash