Period pain without the Period?

[Asta19]

I've been in peri for a couple of years. Periods were still regular as clockwork, heavy but they always have been. Then the last 3 months the periods have been little more than spotting but horrendously painful! The worst of my life. This month no blood at all as of yet but again awful pains, my temperature is raised and feel crap. Is it usual to go on having period symptoms while not having a Period?

I've just had this. It's the second time this year that I'm skipping a period. I'm 47 and it's the first times I've missed periods so far.

I've just had a week of cramps, mild headache, waking up early, crappy mood, craving sugar etc. classic PMS symptoms but period never came. Today feels normal again, as if period was over. It's called Phantom period apparently.

Other things I've noticed is rubbish memory, confusion, hair thinning. Nobody tells you these things...

It's all pretty shit isn't it! My memory is so crap at the moment. I googled phantom period and you're right, it seems relatively common. Ugh I thought if there was no blood there would be no pain!

It's pretty shit indeed. I thought I had early onset of dementia my memory was so unreliable.

It's my second phantom period, and it's pretty unsettling. I think it can be adjusted with low dose pill. I might look into it, if it becomes too annoying.

Because there's such a taboo around the menopause thing, it's hard to know what is normal.

I had this. It’s awful not having the sense of relief when the period starts.

You’re so right about the taboo. I have told my adult DD all about it! We explain periods and sex but no one talks to you about menopause. She admitted she had no clue what menopause entails so I have warned her. I said she might be lucky and have no symptoms but at least she’s now much more prepared when the time comes. In fact I’ve even shared it with my adult DS! (We’re very close). Obviously not necessarily in as much details as with DD but at least he will also know a little something about it if he later gets married and his wife gets to that age. I knew about hot flushes and sketchy periods but that was about it. At least my DC are much better informed. To be honest they had noticed something was up anyway as they noticed how much I was forgetting things and I think they were quite concerned! I think it was somewhat of a relief to them to be told I wasn’t going senile!

I seem to have period pains most of the time, I suffer badly with IBS all the time now (I used to have attacks just before my period arrived). For so long I’ve been thinking there was something wrong but as you were saying no one tells you about the menopause( yet it’s clearly a massive change to our bodies).