How much does your period affect you each month?

[Puskaboots]

And how old are you?

I'm 40 and I have a day of migraine and nausea, preperiod, I have to spend a day in bed for.
Then my first day of bleeding is very painful with leg spasms and backache.

I have to make sure I don't plan on doing much that day too.

The rest of my period is unnoticed mostly and my flow is never heavy. Just a very painful start.

I've also noticed my period cramps starts a good 7 to 10 days before blood now too.

No big deal luckily. Have taken painkillers for them probably less than twenty times my whole life.
I'm 52.

Migraine occurs two days before period. Migraine again two days after period ends. Like clockwork.
Bleeding is heavier now in 40s and more clots.
Back pain/ uterine cramps not as bad as when in teens and 20s. Pmt isn't great. I generally hate mankind for the week leading up to it. Ovulation pain in 40s, which never happened prior. Less tearful week before period compared to 20s/30s.

40
It can vary from fine to "please ring an ambulance"
Some months I take paracetamol, naproxen, dihydrocodeine and morphine and it doesn't touch it, other months are fine
When it's bad I can't do anything except scream on all fours
Roll on gynae appointment

It is absolutely the case for me that they worsened after pregnancy. My youngest is now 5 and my periods are much heavier than they were before. I did read something that said it can be common because the uterus has stretched during pregnancy and is left larger or slightly saggier than it was before. No idea if that's the case or not but it sort of made sense to me.

My periods pre children were moderate for 5 days. Now they're initially so heavy it's like all the blood just falls out of me on days 1 and 2 and then there's barely anything for the other three days.

Ovulation symptoms are worse than period for me. I’m 36. I get really really irritable with no patience and feel awful around ovulation time.

Period - I retain a lot of water leading up to it and feel constantly hungry with insomnia for a night or two. A few spots. Day of period feels like a relief and I feel great.

Mine were awful, from ovulation through to the day my period ended, head aches, cold sweats at night, ovulation pain, period pains, heavy bleeding and bleeding when ovulating.

Im 42 and finally had a hysterectomy 4 weeks ago and feeling great already.

I went through awful periods for 10+ years, tried everything suggested to me but nothing helped.

The diversity of experiences is so interesting. I've never had period pain before so don't even know what it feels like. Always just assumed it was genetic although am now down a rabbit hole reading about the science of diet and period pains! According to the Zoe website there is "not enough good quality research on this topic". No surprise given it's women's health!

I used to get mild cramps as a teenager but it stopped in my 20s. Now no symptoms at all. I have to make a conscious effort to remember I empty my mooncup. I'm clearly very lucky.

Endometriosis and adenomyosis here, so were pure hell. Pain at ovulation to day before then a migraine and constipation then as much blood as you can imagine and pain everywhere worse than giving birth full on for about 6 days then I got a week or so off then rinse and repeat.

Needless to say I'm on the mini pill since giving birth and I never want another one ever again!!!

Mine is like a cross between if you've got food poisoning/norovirus and contractions
It goes down my legs too and comes in relentless waves

Quite a bit. I start getting ravenous hunger a week before I start. Then I have really bad, heavy periods, sometimes with clots. I have always had bad periods but it seems to have gone worse since I got sterilised a few years ago. I'm ok as long as I get my cocodamol tablets on prescription, and buy incontinence pads, then I can carry on as normal. I'm 36.

Wow I can't believe how many of us get migraine with it.?

Endometriosis and a 25 day cycle. I live on a TENs machine for period pain which is as bad as my labour pain, in fact I describe it as labour pain. Because of this and the ovulation pain and the chronic fatigue caused by the endo I haven't worked in 20 years. I am nearly 50 and this shit is still going on. And yes I have tried a lot of medication, surgery and am now trying acupuncture to help.

Also so sorry to hear how bad it is for so many of you. I’ve never had any issues bar crampy discomfort on the first day. If I come on in the evening then the first night cramps tend to be more painful. But not pain I’d think of painkillers for. I don’t notice any emotional changes in the days before, definitely get a few spots though. Most of my friends talk about huge mood swings when pre menstrual, I must be very lucky.

Mine were awful too. Pain thankfully only on the first two days but otherwise a full week of seriously heavy bleeding, flooding through clothes onto chairs/car seats etc, lots of clots, blood running down my legs when showering, honestly like a chain saw massacre, staining sheets and the mattress which finally resulted in me regularly going to bed in a carrier bag. Honestly, truly disgusting and fobbed off by a number of [male] G.P.'s over the years who clearly thought I was a wimp and exaggerating despite the fact that I'd had five children with just a whiff or two of gas by way of pain relief! Then, suddenly, got to 50 and it just stopped just like that! No menopausal sympytoms, not a single hot flush or anything. Shop shut. And thereafter I felt GREAT. There is hope ladies and all you suffering have my utmost sympathy. The wisdom of hindsight - I should have been MUCH more forceful and pestered the life out of the G.P's but in those days it was a woman's lot and you just had to lump it.

@HeBeaverandSheBeaver that's an interesting euphemism for time of the month 🤣

2 weeks out of 4 I am ok.
The week before my period I honestly feel mentally ill, I can’t make decisions or cope with anything. I would sell my house and live in the middle of nowhere in my own. I get intrusive thoughts. I also get constipation so badly my clothes don’t fit as my tummy is swollen.
The week of my period I am so tired and I wear period pants and fanny pads as my period is so heavy.
Can’t wait for menopause - I am not saying that lightly as I know it’s a miserable time for lots of women but I can’t wait for the end of my stupid fucking periods 😡 that have been a pain the arse (literally) since I was 14 and I am forty fucking two!

That turned into a rant, sorry.

I’m 36, usually get flu like symptoms about 3/4 days before, the disappear the minute it starts though. The day it starts it feels like I have concrete on my uterus and get a headache. The kind that feelS like someone hitting you around the head with a baseball bat. 2nd and 3rd days are the worst. It is usually light the 4th day comes back the 5th day and by 6th day it’s finished. Since I started at 14 it always used to be a week late, the last 2 years it’s like clockwork.

Not at all!
I'm 41, not had a period in 3 years since I started Cerezette. Can highly recommend!

I went on the mini pill a decade ago and have never had a period since. I plan to remain on it until age 55. No PMT, no bleeding - flaming marvellous. Highly recommend.

None. Have a mirena and I don't have them at all. Without them I got bad leg pains and stomach cramps but nothing unmanageable. I think I have some hormonal mood fluctuations like pmt.

I am 47

my periods affect me very very badly emotionally, they always did but it’s got much much worse since about age 40.

i feel murderous with rage for several days beforehand and I’m vile to my poor DH… newer symptoms are terrible anxiety just before and during my period, to the extent I was thinking just a few days ago I need anti anxiety meds.

i get so tired for a day or two I can barely drag myself around.

I probably need to start investigating hrt but I have a hormone condition that I think might mean I can’t take it.

really sick of it, the emotional roller coaster is horrendous and takes a week to (sometimes) 10 days out of each month. Dreading it being the same for my DD because my mum was like this too.

Absolutely awful. Bleeding so heavily I'm having to change protection every 2 hours the first 2 days including overnight. Massive clots that splash when they fall out of me. Feeling wiped out and light headed for around a week afterwards. Pain in my belly, back and thighs and sweating along with the period.

I've been put on desogestorel recently to see if it helps.

Have you considered hormonal contraception OP? That sounds pretty unbearable. I was on the Depo injection for years and didn’t have periods at all. Only came off it to conceive.

Grumpy and hangry the week before. The day before by period starts I normally have an energy surge, good day to get stuff done.
Day 1-2 is flooding and diarrhoea, definitely can't go into the office but fine to work from home. Then heavy ish for another 2-4 days. I need painkillers and Spatone to cope.

Really bad design.