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 started at about 11 although irregular just got cramping hours before..then regular but not heavy.

Now I get cramps randomly and sometimes weeks before period shows.
I only have a show as in I bleed once and thats it for another 50 or more days.

23-26 day cycle. Day 1&2 of period are heavy, cramps, super tampax every two hours or so plus pads incase I can't get to the toilet. Used to be accompanied by vomiting/fainting but I've been given strong painkillers so as long as I take them in time then I just feel faintly sick and dull achey pain. Only allowed to take them for max two days though, then go with normal strength ones. Then a couple of days with a medium flow, then 3 light. Last day sometimes only need a pad. Feel bloated for the whole week, either diarrhoea or constipation.

Then the 4 days of high energy, get loads done, only want to eat healthy foods etc. Followed by the crash of ovulation, another day of bleeding, strongly suicidal etc. for a couple of days. Then only mildly (as in kill yourself just appears on the 'to do' list when I run through the things I need to do in my head) . Also mild cravings for sweet and salty things. Also get paranoid about stuff. Everything increases gradually for two weeks, with getting irritated and shouting over the most ridiculous things in the last week until the bleeding starts, emotional stuff switches off and the pain begins again.

Cycle is a bit shorter since having DC, used to be 28 days always, now its not always the same. Period was not so painful when I was still bf, but now I've stopped each one seems worse!

Oh and I lose any kind of body temperature control during the first few days of my period. Over-heat at night etc. it's really weird.

Pre kids was on the pill so a few days, nothing major. Post kids, and getting progressively worse, day one stay at home. Super+ tampon & pad changed every 45mins - hour. Feel in a stupor, have to be careful sitting/moving as flooding/loss of clots can be messy. Night time have to stay up until gone midnight and set alarm for 6 (not good at getting back to sleep so can't do a 3am wake up). Super+ tampon, big pad x2, knickers x2, jogging bottoms and a couple of towels on the bed.
Day 2 can go for a couple of hours between changes, can leave the house etc, day 3&4 light, then nothing for a day or two, then light for a day.

BUT - following on from posting on here a couple of months ago, someone suggested taking ibuprofen at max dose as soon as possible, and for the second month in a row, day one is bearable, and can go a couple of hours quite safely. Hope it continues!

Thank goodness for tranexamic acid tablets!
Pre tablets 4 days of heavy bleeding changing super ++ tampons sometimes hourly when at its heaviest, large clots some as big as the palm of my hand that I can feel traveling down vagina (sorry TMI!). I always have a 5th day where it stops completely and then one more day of lighter bleeding. A year ago went to gp with palpitations and literally being unable to get out of bed. Unsurprisingly very anaemic had a hysteroscopy biopsy, scans and bloods showed up nothing just mild thickening of lining of uterus.

Started on tablets a year ago and the difference is unbelievable, now just using super size tampons and can go for 3-4 hours between changes. Still have very large clots occasionally, but really can't understand why I let it go on for so long before I went to get it all checked out. Still last 6 days though...

Does anyone else have a day where it stops and then starts again?

I had an IUD fitted in December 2010.

Haven't had a period for 2 years (the last 3 were about 3 months apart and lasted 24hrs).

Reading this thread has utterly convinced me to have another one fitted in December 2015.

Started age 13, and always had a like clockwork 28 day cycle.

Would get cramping the day before and the first day, bleed heavily for two days, stop bleeding completely for the next three days, then have a light bleed for three or four more. Sounds odd, but perfectly normal for me.

Was on the pill for a few years, and have had three children. Cramping improved after having children.

In my mid 40s, everything changed. Periods got much heavier and cycle more erratic. I'd bleed very heavily for a few days one month, then hardly at all the next. Then I might not have a period for a couple of months and a major flood the next time. It was getting very difficult to manage. I got a mirena coil fitted and hey presto, no more periods. I'm 50 now and the mirena should see me through to the other side of the menopause, so I hope I'm done with periods for good.

4 days mine lasts. Some period pain on the 2nd day but very mild and on the third ive forgotten that im on andboften forget my tampons.

Gross story but once I coukd smell a disgusting smell, really bad and I thought something was definitely wrong. The smelk was awful so I rummaged around and out came a rotten old tampon Gross and waaaay TMI but I blame that on too much vodka tonight lol

But I am as regular as a clock and I'm not on any contraception. Excuse my typos in previous thread. Again I blame the vodka lol

Started around 12, very heavy the first few day with cramping and clots the size of 50p. The very light the last few days.

Horrendos. Huge clots and I have to wear about 4 towels. Sometimes even that's not enough. However I have never suffered much with period pains. I have a bag of period Knickers, that I only use for my period as they are all ruined and when my period has finished I put them on a 3 hour boiled wash.
They (Periods) make me drained of any energy at all. Last period was that bad. I had to take a few days off work. I am ttc so I am concerned that it could be a sign of the change. I am 38 so no spring chick.

I have a marina ? Coil so I don't even get periods any more which is great.

Spot on face few days before- just one! Constipation day before then period starts, very light at first. Am very clumsy that first day- always dropping things. Usually poo and bleeding starts properly.No cramps. Usually starts properly overnight. Two heavy days - super plus tampon evety 3 hrs. Then quickly trails off over next 24 hours. Need regular tampon which has brown blood on it and lasts all day. Nothing at night then.

Also lose appetite for first 3-4 days.

Lulu. I get a spot as well, before the witch turns up (A big mahoosive one on my cheek). I've kind of got used to it coming to visit now.

I'm on the pill purely to help with painful, heavy periods, so unbelievably this is an improved cycle:

Really sore, sensitive boobs anything up to 10 days before I come on. Feel very irritated/ emotional with PMT for a few days before I come on too.

Terrible stomach cramps for the first 2-3 days, alternate between mef. and trans. acid to help with the pain. Often also have a hot bath, or turn my electric blanket up to top heat and lie face down on it.

Heavy flow for the first 2-3 days, then another few days of lighter flow which usually continues until I start the next cycle of my pill. Very TMI but when I'm on the pill most of the blood is brown , does anyone else have this? Definitely doesn't happen when I'm not on the pill.

Before I was on the pill the pain was totally debilitating. Every period would see me sobbing on the floor in pain. Also had the added complication of ovary pain which was 10x worse than cramps, and turned out to caused by cysts. Hate being a woman sometimes!

Oh yes, forgot the clots too! Usually they appear after some bad cramps.

Started at 13 first two months nothing to write home about total doddle. Lasted 2 days and no pain.

Month 3 oh my god, horrendous pain that made me throw up and beg my mum to knife me to stop the pain. Was delirious with it at one point. Have a 60 day cycle (luckily) the bleeding lasts 11 days and for first few days is heavy, dark and has lots of clotting. I was once standing waiting for shower to warm up before I stepped in and had removed underwear and I actually had a puddle at my feet, then I got the pill which helped. Now I'm off pill ttc and so far it's been bearable (the pill helps immensely, GP gave me painkillers which did feck all cos I threw them up again) heavy and still have cramp but nothing like it was as a teenager. I had to tell gp I would top myself unless he sorted it out as they refused the pill due to me being 15. He wrote that prescription fast as I was actually serious I would've done it to not have to face that pain again.

Think the bad cramps before clots is the contraction of the uterus to push them out.

Dreadfully painful periods as a teen that everyone thought I was making up. So embarrassing when it happened at school and I was literally rolling around on the floor. The feeling was similar to labour pains.
Been on the pill since then but have come off it to TTC. No problems these days 25 day cycle with 5 days medium flow and no pain.

Pain every day of my life since I was 13. I'm 35 now. About to have my third surgery in 3 years. It will show I don't have cancer. I know that. It won't change my life though. I'm already infertile, and told at every fucking appointment to have children because it will solve it all. I have been told for years the only solution to misery is something my body can never do. Yay. Go me.

Usually, I get a really heavy flow, terrible cramps, headache, energy drain all on day one, then day two is light, day three is just spotting.

On the nexplanon, it's lighter, but it lasts about 4-5 days, and the PMS is worse (though, it's still very mild).

Earnest question, for cheesetoastie and others who cannot bear children but have horrendous periods which are explicitly not helped by meds. Have you considered getting a hysterectomy? I know they are not as commonly given these days (in my mother's time they were performed as easily as giving out aspirin, for even the slightest pain/problems, presuming you didn't want any more children - and there is a lot of interesting medical gender theory written on that subject), and know that you are likely to have to take hormone supplements (which may or may not screw with you in other ways) thereafter, but surely it is an option? No periods, no pain, just a selection of pills; and you are likely taking meds anyway? Yes, it does very much officially end your chances of bearing kids (although they did just do that uterus transplant in Scandinavia...), but if the doctors are certain you are infertile, is the operation not an option for you? Have your doctors or you considered it at all?

I have three fibroids. Main one is tennis ball size by the cervix.
I'm 15w preg at the moment. I went to docs because my periods were sooo heavy I couldn't leave the house. Sometimes they would last 11 days. I had flooding, huge clots, there was no respite. I was also so exhausted I could barely function.
Doc suspected fibroids, sent me for scan and lo and behold..Plus I'm anaemic. Luckily after several months on high dose of iron tablets I got pregnant.
I had a terrifying period-like bleed at 13w with no explanation. 3 scans later baby is normal but I can't relax. Not sure if the fibroid could have caused the bleed but I suspect so.
Go to GP-worst bit for me was ending up with anaemia.

Ps used to have awful pains from age 13 till about five years ago. Weirdly, my horrendous period pains virtually disappeared when I cut gluten out of my diet. Gluten is implicated in endo I think-it's inflammatory in some people.

Last 7 days, first day usually very light, 2nd and 3rd day very heavy and painful - have to use nighttime pads and change almost hourly, and use several pads overnight and sleep on a towel to catch any leaks. I also get extreme IBS, makes working very difficult and embarrassing. Then get 5 days of moderate flow and much less pain.

Just had first child, hope the periods will be lighter now!