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.

My actual period is fine. Not too heavy and I don't experience period pain. For me it's the day before which is difficult. I genuinely feel like I'm dying. It's really debilitating, overwhelming tiredness and exhaustion. Even the simplest of tasks is like climbing a mountain. It's hard to explain quite how bad I feel. Almost flu like. As soon as I get my period, I feel fine.

Mine have ways been absolutely fine.

Although in March I got a stabbing pain out of nowhere that literally knocked me off my feet and I was on the floor shouting for DH to get some pain relief and a hotwater bottle. Lasted just over an hour but was agony.

And then at some point last year I had another extremely painful episode where it felt like Labour pains and I was crying and had to go to bed. Again, it only lasted an hour or so.

A few days before my period I get a really intense headache that just won't shift. Usually lasts a day or 2. I also get very hot, sweaty and hungry. I can be snappy and irritable. On the rare occasion my skin can feel sensitive to touch . If I could i would stay in bed all day .

When my period arrives most of my symptoms disappear. Other than some cramps and bloating .

It's before my period that's the issue for me !

This is interesting as I a few years ago I stopped taking the pill after taking it for over 20 years, so only really experiencing my completely natural cycle relatively recently, I now realise that I get migraines and nausea right at the start too, and feel yukky for a day or two just before the start. Then rubbish cramps for the first 1-2 days then fine. It seems like the migraine / nausea is far more common than I realised (jeez you'd think given the % of the global population this affects, that they'd have come up with something by now...).

Hardly at all. I get a bit grumpy sometimes. And it stops me having sex but that's about it.

Does the mini pill make you gain weight?
Or kill your sex drive?

I’m nearly 38. Day before I come on I’m absolutely furious at everything and feel like I cannot hack my life. As I’ve got older my cycles are out by a couple of days (can be out by over a week either way), my periods last a day or two longer than before, and I get a random day of bleeding a couple of days after I’ve finished sometimes. Sometimes I get nipples that are agony to touch and horrible cramps but not always.

I can’t conceive naturally and have low ovarian reserve (discovered during ivf 7 years ago) so I kind of rage about my periods being worse than they used to be because they’re pointless! Last time that I was on the pill I was suicidal and bled non stop for the entire time I was on it so I’m on no contraception. No idea why they’ve changed.

Oh yeah I forgot the ovulation plain Wtf. I'm 42 and the ovulation pain seems to be getting more pronounced.

Since having my last child my periods have been very heavy, ridiculously so. But I've never had a problem with pain. I don't feel anything. I probably am slightly more sensitive leading up to it but not much really. But never cramps or anything else.

Mine have been horrific my whole life. Painful and heavy as a teen to the point I thought I'd pass out with the pain. Not much pain after my children but heavy flow. It's got worse and worse over the last 15 years and the last 5 ish years I've had vertigo and migraines in time with hormone levels dropping etc. PMS to the point of psychotic and feeling like I'm having a mental breakdown. Anxiety and deep depression in the run up.
Very anaemic which has made me feel like crap. Constant prescriptions for iron but period comes along and wipes my levels again. Finally after a little trepidation I've been taking the mini pill and this being the first month I've had no period! Very bloated though and still getting the migraines. Think PMT was better this month too. Worried about the weight gain as I'm already big and that's the reason I can't have a hysterectomy right now.

The things we have to put up with

I got tingly headaches for a day or two before, not too bad but annoying. Same goes for period pain/sore boobs

The worst bit though, is definitely the flooding. First 2-3 days are just awful and I avoid going out unnecessarily

I'm 43, so thinking peri menopausal

I'm an irrational mentalist 3 days of the month. It's awful.

I’m 53 and have gone through the menopause, thank god, but before that I’d get 2 days of migraines around ovulation. Then I’d get migraines for the 3 days running up to my period and the first two days, I’d also get the period shits the day before and the first day of my period. I’ve had long term pelvic girdle pain since I had DS2 27yrs ago which always got worse around my period, too.

I had very heavy, painful periods too, which I had an endometrial ablation for. Before that it was difficult to leave the house for the first couple of days because of the flooding.

I'm 43 and it is very heavy for the first 2 days and very irregular at the moment, no idea when it could occur. PMS crankiness is constant other than a week or 2 after period starts. Used to have shocking uterine and back pain but that seems to have eased to very little after babies.
Currently 15 days late according to my app and the frustration is high.

@Solasum oddly enough I had that problem with hormonal contraception for a while and therefore hadn't used it in 10 years. But my periods where so painful and debili I thought sod it I'd give it another try, I did have spotting for the first three months of taking it but that has gone now and is so much better. It was definitely worth trying again.

Hardly notice them. I'm 46. They're v light, pain-free and only last 2-3 days. I know I'm lucky.

I haven't found this to be the case, in fact I'm losing weight right now (using calorie counting) as I finialy feel.like I have the energy and willpower to do so.

28 day cycle, cramps for an hour or so first day, then no pain. I use about three regular tampons a day for three days, very light on the fourth day. They have been the same since my periods began, 42 now and looking to conceive number 2 so a bit more aware of my cycles at the moment.

They're fine. Minor cramps the first day and feel a bit tired, so sometimes take an ibuprofen which sorts me out. Moderate bleeding for the first two days then tails off. I'm 45 now and the cramps were worse when I was young, but have never stopped me doing anything. I am lucky!

I'm a moody greedy cow for at least a week before. Then an emotional wreck for the next week. I basically get two weeks a month of normality. This has started recently since I hit 35

I'm 44. I get night sweats the week before, crippling back pain 2 days before and for the first three days, anxiety and/or a feeling of total doom the day before it starts. But the worst symptom I have is uti/thrush for the two days before and sometimes a week after. Total pain. Literally and figuratively. I also get bad fatigue and brain fog

The periods themselves are either light and short or more often long and very heavy to the point where I go through a big pad an hour which makes work and life quite tricky for a week.

After going my whole life with regular easy periods that didn't affect me at at all this has all started in the last year and I feel betrayed by my own body. Bastard things.

Oh yes I also get the nausea people have mentioned.

Perfect 28 day cycle my entire menstruating life with cramps and some clots the second day and lasting 5 days. Some emotional swings the days leading up to and mainlining Fredos is a reminder I am about to come on.

January I had one lasting two weeks (very light for second week), skipped February and had a normal one in March. I guess I’m in peri. I’m 49. Fingers crossed for an easy time.

Horribly. I have a 28 day cycle. Day 27 & 28 are crippled with pain. Day 1 & 2 are also crippled with pain with the addition of really heavy flow and diarrhoea. I'm also like many others caught in the anaemia cycle.

Ovulation pain is double the menstrual pain and I have to catch it early with 1g of paracetamol and 800mg of ibuprofen. If I don't catch the pain with medication, it causes me to sweat profusely, vomit, pain that makes me double over and wish for death and a feeling like someone is stabbing my arsehole (I sound dramatic, but it is exactly as I describe).

On a side note, for the past 6 months, I have been experiencing bleeding from day 13 to day 27 and pain in my stomach so I went to the GP. She did an internal and said my cervix looks healthy, swabs came back clear too. I had to beg for an ultrasound. Ultrasound came back that I'm riddled with fibroids (biggest measuring 58mm) and a thickening of the endometrium. I'm praying that this qualifies me for a hysterectomy. I just want it all out and done with. I'm 36.

They cause me two weeks of pain and fatigue.