to ask everyone to describe what their period is like

[Thurlow]

Not exactly a TAAT, but inspired by one. And nosiness too But also thought it might be interesting for people to see whether theirs are worse than others and so might need a visit to the GP, as you can't really tell how bad yours are until you know what others are like.

(Nosiness because the heaviness makes me wonder occasionally whether I ought to get checked for fibroids)

Right. Apologies in advance for the TMI..

Mine last 3-4 days. Sometimes cramping a night or two before it starts is bad enough to wake me in the middle of the night and stay awake for an hour or so to have a cuppa and wait for tablets to work. First 2 nights I get through a super extra plus tampon and a nighttime towel, first 2-3 days I get through a super extra plus tampon with 3-4 hours. Haven't tried just using a towel on those days as I suspect it would be disastrous! But not too painful during a period (no need for tablets) and it ends quite abruptly. Not on any contraceptives.

I've not actually had that many periods. As an adult I mostly free flowed, going to the loo every few hours to wipe. If I thought I wouldn't be able to visit the loo as soon as I could feel near drip point I would wear a tampon. So, light physical symptoms but HELLISH emotional ones.

Wow I never really appreciated how lucky I am until I read his thread! Started at 12, and they were sometimes heavy in the first few years and long, 7/8 days. Then I went on the pill at 18 and they became super light and shortened to 5 days, and have stayed that way since I came off the pill to ttc. I wear a towel at night but don't really need it - it's usually still completely clean in the morning. First 2/3 days I change tampon/towel at lunchtime, when I get home from work and before bed, the last 2 days I usually just wear a towel all day as it's really not enough to change it. (Towel because I worry about TSS leaving a tampon in for more than 8 hours - though plenty of people seem to wear them for longer than that overnight without qualms.)

Mine is horrendous right now. It's my first one in two years after being pregnant and breast feeding. It's making up for lost time.

Normally, very painful first day. Then lasts 4 or 5 days.

Maid : I don't know what causes the differences but reading about all the horrendous periods on this thread and others does make me think (probably irrationally!) that I'm not having 'proper' periods and maybe something is wrong??.

needyou this is certainly making me feel less fertile!

Jeez - this is an eye-opener to read. I hadn't realised how tough it is for so many :(

Mine is roughly 30 days, bleed for about 6-7, heavy (for me) for a few days, then light. Heavy means changing pad every few hours. Mostly not much pain, maybe one ibuprofen on the first morning. It used to be much more painful when I was younger, particularly teenage, and pain used to radiate down the front of my legs.

I am 48 and they have got heavier and more regular in the last few years. I get totally exhausted on the day before - and oddly often don't recognise what it is until I start the next day (or more often during the night). I am also more irritable the day or two before.

Never been on the pill, and don't use tampons because they are always uncomfortable.

Mine is just like Mrs Schadenfreude with the diarrhea and vomiting etc, plus leg cramps, and shoulder pain, except it lasts 10 days, so the first 3 days I change tampon every hour, don't sleep much and am generally exhausted. It's interfering with my life completely. I am severely anaemic, I'm on 400mg iron which does fuck all but maintain my low level. I collapsed recently, got took to a&e who asked why I hadn't had a blood transfusion as iron so low. Only to be sent home as no beds... So I just keep on taking the iron, which makes me nauseous all of the time

I've been told that the more anaemic you are the more you bleed, so Im caught in a cycle of bleeding heavily, becoming more anaemic, bleeding even more heavily, becoming more anaemic...

I flood for 7 days so have to use tampons and towels and carry spare clothes around with me and have a plastic bag in my car to stop ruining my driver seat.

I've had the mirena fitted and that has made no difference part from the fact that the trans acid no longer works effectively like it did pre mirena fitting.

I am just venting now, but at the end of my tether and drs won't consider anything else until I've reached the six month mark on the mirena.

Only once I have had it like vandercamper - curled up on the floor rocking with pain - lasted about 4-5 hours. I began to wonder if there was something seriously wrong with me. Thankful that is has only been the once.

Never had children. First day very light, then three days very heavy, then more dribbling for a few days. Cramps on day 2-3.

Never experienced PMT (to the amazement of men who think that because I am female, any expression of an emotion other than smiling benevolence can be dismissed as "her time of the month".)

Mine last 4-5 days. First two days are super heavy but not very painful, never suffered bad period pains but since having DC ovulation is quite sore... Super heavy meaning I need to change my pad every hour at least. Sometimes there's small clots and almost always I leak onto the bed sheets. The third day it starts tapering off, getting a bit lighter and I only need to change my pad every 2-3 hours. By the fourth day it's virtually none existent and usually I only get blood when I wipe, often it's starting to go brown in colour as well. Sometimes there's a fifth day same as the fourth and other times it's over on the fourth day.

I expect it around the same time every month so fairly regular but no set date as I used to have pre children. The day before my period I feel really helpless and worthless, feel like giving up on life tbh it's horrible. Then it comes and all the negative feelings disappear. The week before my period I get PMS which is shit.

Started at 14. Week before foul moods, feel like I could hit people, tearful, hate clothes on my body, everything too loud. Period pains night before. Then lasts about 3 days very light.

37 day cycle.

Oh and I've never been on hormonal contraception, just relied on condoms my whole life. Have three DC. Before DC the flow and length of periods were exactly the same but they always run like clockwork and came on the exact same day every month.

I don't get them now - Mirena for years but I remember them well - they were never much of a problem.

Regular 35/7 before had DS, 30/7 afterwards.

I'd be constipated for 2-3 days then when it was about to start I'd start pooling again & would go 3-4x/day for the first 2/7

Dull low tummy pains the day before, not enough to need pain-relief then low backache for the first 2/7 - not usually enough for tablets - one dose of anadin extra would be fine if I needed anything

Bleeding light/moderate - low/medium flow tampons usually fine. Tended to dribble on for nearly a week.

The main problem for me with my lovely light almost pain-free periods was absolutely murderous PMT for a week before

pooing not pooling! Autocorrect!

My last bleed was 3 weeks and that was only stopped by medication 3x day. It starts heavy and gushy with some clots. My PMT (and during) was and can be horrific.

Wonderfully enough, there's no reason why I bleed so long.

average 30 day cycle
day 1 fairly light, cramps, sometimes headache
day 2-4 very heavy, usually waking in night to change super pad, changing maybe 8 pads a day, cramps and feeling faint at times - I have flooded out a lot since coming off pill 14mths ago
day 5 fairly light again and fades to nothing

can't use tampons, just couldn't deal with them at all. 2 dds

Usually 7 days.
Day 1 very light
Day 2-4 medium I think. Tampon lasts 6-8 hours
Days 5-7 getting lighter until just spotting.
Never any cramping or pain. It starts without any warning. I have a copper coil and found it had no effect on my periods.

Don't have one.

Depo injection.

Fab stuff (if it works for you)

Oh and the boobs...don't even look at them...They mega inflate and are hot and stinging and tingle constantly for about a week prior

Mine require a CSI clean up unit following me around to make sure I havnt left any fluids behind on any surfaces, sorry TMI I know.
Huge always maxi night time towels, and when really bad tena lady pads, this is night or day.

Have to sit on a bath towel, and hope that work doesn't fall on the really bad days.

Started when I was 12 and very heavy for a few years. Often needed to bring a soar uniform to school

Now 35, two days max. No need for much more than a panty liner or one of those teen lilets. Sometimes heavier but not often.

Post birth, two weeks of light bleeding.

I have lots of fibroids but not in an area that affects birth but bit sure exactly where on womb, if that makes a difference?

?pare

I must be incredibly lucky. They are every approx 23 days. I never have any symptoms that its about the come. Lasts 3 days. First day and a half is moderate, then barely there. I dont have any cramps/bloating/changes in mood.

Well, when I have one (I have PCOS and am very irregular) I have to sit on a hand towel because I flood. Sometimes I wake up thinking I have wet the bed, it's that bad. I can't use tampons or disposable pads because I think I must be allergic or something as I always get a horrible temperature, prickly feeling all over and really bad diarrhoea. So I use reuseable pads. I pack myself as best I can and I don't leave the house. And still I leak. It's humiliating and I am actually very grateful that I don't have them every month.

I also lose massive clots sometimes.

Oddly enough, they aren't painful any more, although for years the pain was so bad that all I could do was curl up and rock backwards and forwards and sob.

They last a few days and every time it stops for about a day and then starts again for another day and then stops until the next one.

Which can be 2 weeks later, or several months later and brought on by the pills I have to take if I haven't had a period for 3 months.

I will be very VERY glad when I go through the menopause!

I'm in my late 40s and think I might be in perimenopause. My cycle has changed twice in the last few years. Until about 10 years ago my cycle was 28 days as regular as clockwork and my periods always lasted 5 days, never what I would call excessively heavy but getting lighter towards the end. I then went into a phase of having a rather short cycle but also very short periods. At the moment it is fairly long (4 1/2 - 5 1/2 weeks) and the periods themselves are probably about a week in total, but very light indeed for all but the first 3 days - one towel can last a whole day and night. In the first 3 days I probably change towels about every 3-4 hours during the day, but I usually put another one further back and overlapping the main one as I sit down a lot at work and sometimes the flow can go off the back of even a long towel, and I can't always go to the toilet exactly when I would like (caring role). I also use this method at night for the first couple of nights. I only use tampons when I'm swimming and rarely use one for more than 2 hours - my cervix is a bit low, not low enough to cause any other problems, but tampons don't stay in place as well as they used to and it would get messy.

I've never really had period pains or PMS, but when I was a teenager my thighs sometimes ached a bit during the first half of my periods. I've also noticed that I sometimes find being stroked or tickled uncomfortable the day before I start, but not often enough to be sure there's a correlation.