Do you lose working days per month to your period?

Speak to GP . Your problems sound extreme to me . You poor thing 😔
For context I never took a day off work for any period problems throughout all my reproductive years and I work in a fairly female dominated profession and only very occasionally worked with a female who was unwell enough to go home early from work.

Absolutely this. I am so thoroughly sick and tired of reading women’s dismissive attitudes towards gynae problems. “That shouldn’t be happening, you should see a doctor”.

Do they think that we haven’t seen doctors repeatedly for years and years, banged on doors, cried, begged, tried every single hormone/painkiller/fucking snake oil treatment/surgery that we possibly can already?

In desperation I had my ovaries removed in my 30s, to bring on early menopause after 25 of hell with endo/adenomyosis, experiencing pain as bad as labour pain for two solid weeks each month and losing a pint of blood every period.

We know it isn’t normal. But we can’t stop it, and a lot of the time nor can the doctors.

I think I would probably miss one day of work if I didn't work from home. There are several days where I work below my normal productivity though because of brain fog and that sort of thing.

Not normal as far as I’m concerned. I get one day of cramps but painkillers are enough to deal with them and, other than that, I barely notice. It definitely doesn’t impact my work and I don’t feel the need to plan around them at all. I manage a few women and I’d say every couple of months, someone asks for a day off or to WFH because of period pains.

I think i work under capacity for 4 days a month but i dont miss work.

Thee flip side is i think I work over capacity at a different point in the month

. I think my energy levels fluctuate quite a lot with my cycle overall From sluggish to superhuman to like a man.

there is surgery, hormonal treatments. The challenge is to come out of the GP appointment with a referral to gynae (if possible, an endo specialist) rather than being gaslighted by the GP for years that this is normal and to just take some ibuprofen (been there :( )

Yes, I plan around it, I will literally thing, oh sugar that falls on the first day or my period. However mostly I can plan for it. Eating well, prioritizing sleep and having more caffeine for the exhaustion, making less outside work plans. It was horrific when kids were babies because I couldn't prioritise sleep and would be half dead. The 1&2 year old age with each of them was almost impossible

not normal. what investigations/treatment are you having? you should get medical held and definitely should not have to live like that.

I only have a two day period now so really I don't particularly notice it. That sounds awful for you and must be so restricting. Have you considered perhaps going private for a consultation with a specialist?

I’m 40. Unfortunately I now get 3 days of hellish hormonal migraines, meaning I usually do have to spend 2-3 days on “lighter” tasks and only doing the real concentration type work when absolutely necessary, because it takes longer than usual and I really struggle to concentrate. It’s not good.

I can’t drive either until painkillers kick in and at least take the edge off.

I get a headache before my period and am tired first couple of days. I think realistically women are impacted by their periods, our hormones and the fluctuations in them are an absolute biological fact.
I just try and plough through , I think we all do.
There are medications for heavy periods and cramps. I have used those in the past. Am also a big fan of industrial quality period pants.
I work in a hospital and work 13 hour shifts. I don't think much allowance is made for nurses / medics etc sadly .

Sadly it’s not that simple at all @Didimum

If it’s something like endometriosis, treatment options are limited.

Yep - but I get menstrual migraines, regardless of what contraception I'm on. So one day with the migraine, and at least another day where I'm barely hanging on.

I try to overachieve the rest of the month, a d employers this far have all been understanding. I would actively avoid working in a place that sanctioned after x amount of absences because I'd be screwed.

I can't really tick either of those boxes.

As a teen my periods were so debilitating I'd throw up and faint from the pain, I missed a lot of school.

I don't know if they got better it I just learned to deal with them better, still painful but I take co codomol and do a little less than usual - if work is busy I find it distracts me anyway.

If I was missing days from work every month I'd have been referred to occupational health and possibly be on a performance improvement plan if it wasn't deemed to be a disability that needs reasonable adjustments.

I do think that whilst we should expect help when we are struggling due to our female biology we also need to be careful not to put progress of women in the workforce back.

I did read that in Spain women get several days off a month to deal with their periods with a go letter. That is bizarre if true - why hire a woman in that situation if you can hire a man?

For me this is a signal that you need medical intervention to get your physical symptoms under some control. I understand feeling a bit rubbish and it isn’t pleasant, but I think being incapacitated is outside the norm – or if not then it’s 2025 and no one should be dealing with shit like that when they don’t have to.

In my case, I feel quite moody, sometimes have cramping but I feel like I still work at the same capacity.

Never.

I barely acknowledge mine so definitely seek advice.

I'm similar to you, although my job is more physical than intellectual, but yes I often have a day a month (or sometimes more) where I'm operating under normal productivity levels.

I've recently, the last six months or so, started getting a terrible headache a few days before and the first two days of, this is further hampering productivity.