How do you plan for holidays, spa days etc when your peri and periods are becoming irregular?

[Fomfue]

Ive taken the period stop medication before (can't remember the name of it). I was always regular. Once I stopped the medication I then had my "overdue" period after my holiday, spa break etc. But taking this medication now would force a period once I stopped taking it, and I may not have necessarily been due one

What does everyone else do ?

I’ve never used anything to stop a period. Just deal with it if/when it comes, but I’ve never had periods that are too difficult so I wouldn’t class having my period as ruining anything. I’m not a great fan of swimming/soaking in a jacuzzi type things either.

I'm going on holiday tomorrow and I got my period today. Other than ditching the white jeans, it'll be business as usual. I use a moon cup and it doesn't stop doing anything

Progesterone in tablet form doesn't agree with me, so although I tried it once, I vowed not to use it again.

I switched to menstrual discs around five years ago and found them much more agreeable as a form of sanitary protection once my periods became unpredictable in my late 40s. It isn't ideal having periods on holiday, but with the disc (or a cup, if you prefer) in place I felt safe from leaks, etc. You can even have sex with a disc in place, if you and your DP are comfortable doing so.

Where do you get the discs from? I used to get them from Amazon, but they stopped doing them years ago and I’ve never found them anywhere since.

I just carry on regardless, I’m very irregular and light these days though, been 5 months since last one though I’ve gone 7 months before then restarted regularly, go figure

Mirena coil

I have heavier periods now (mid 40's) so am prescribed Tranexamic Acid tablets. I try not to take them unless really necessary but I do find them very useful as even 2 pills in the morning can really slow things down for the day. You can take more so I imagine they would virtually stop the flow in this situation. Mine are also very irregular so these have been a lifeline for me generally as I always seem to come on at the worst possible time...

Amazon. I just checked - they still sell them.

From what I hear, periods can get heavier at this time? If that is not the case, why not just wear period knickers/swimsuits? So if it happens, you're covered, but they're not uncomfortable anyway?

You just carry on regardless?

I never had regular periods anyway, but life never stopped because of them. Painkillers, protection and get on with it.

Yes, period pants and bikini bottoms are great too (although I wouldn't swim in them with anything more than a bit of light spotting).

I used the Ziggy disc for my last stages of peri, got it direct from the manufacturer:

https://www.intimina.com/ziggy-cup-2?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=13718173336&gbraid=0AAAAACxQj5ChOhmVIi2esK7G8jU3tsfLk&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyv3duYnrkwMV4JlQBh0VQCvJEAAYASAAEgJGOPD_BwE

OP i so sympathise. I have had so many holidays/Christmas days/theatre trips/gigs marred by heavy cramping periods (and no sex).

I'm now on HRT with a mirena and it's life changing. I have a period every now and then, bleed for about 5hrs then it stops. Cramping is very mild compared to pre Mirena.

Don’t you just use tampons?

@CurlewKate menopausal bleeding drenched a tampon in seconds in my experience. I couldn't keep them in, the clots overwhelmed them. I was changing period pants every hour.

@Moveyourbleedingarse I can sometimes have the same with tampons. Im not necessarily always heavy or always light, it can be a real mix. And if clots appear ...OMG.. they overwhelm the tampon and I leak. Not a risk I want to take in a mini skirt or dress in the middle of a social setting.

Very relieved that mine arrived yesterday as in holiday soon and it should be done by then. However would have just taken the necessary and dressed accordingly.
OTOH tomorrow I am on a work field trip in some woods with mostly male colleagues I haven't met before which could be tricky!

You religiously take Tranexamic acid (GP prescription) and ibruprofen or naproxen (both can be bought OTC) from the minute the bleeding shows up. Both together make a massive difference. The NSAIDs decrease the quantity of blood lost and Tranexamic acid slows the flow.

Or get a Mirena coil fitted.

I’ve had heavy periods with endo my whole life, they’re even madder now I’m 44. If I tried to manage holidays around them it would be futile.

Good grief the 'surely you just carry on as usual' comments on here are irksome and pointless. If you've always been able to jog on through it all with a tampon and doing everything as normal, clearly this thread is not for you, is it, and nor do you have any useful advice to a problem that is clearly real for a lot of women.

Sorry to sound narky, but I'm on day 27 of a horrendous, continuous, period right now (have consulted, bearing with new medication) and for the last few years there's been little scope to simply carry on as normal through even the 28 day spaced bleeds that lasted 7 days were disruptive enough to most normal holiday activities.

So if your advice is 'simply don't have a problem', why bother posting?

And to take my own advice about not posting if you can't be any help, I would say...

• period pants for insurance (WUKA are very comfortable)
• period bikini bottoms if not too heavy, but be careful coming out of water because it can make even a tiny leak look dramatic
• I found provera more effective that tranaxamic acid for setting bleeding, if you can get a prescription

Would you consider a mirena coil? My periods pretty much dominated my life. Very heavy, very painful and it got to the point where I couldn't really leave the house for long when I had them, unless I took a change of clothes/multiple pads and tampons and painkillers. I had a mirena fitted in October last year, and I havent had a period since. Absolutely life changing and I wish I'd had one years ago.

It shouldn't be an issue to get provera during peri, the issue is knowing when to take it.

You could consider mirena which should stop your periods altogether or vastly reduce them, or the mini pill which can regularise your cycle and give you a predictable bleed, or if you run two packs together you can skip a period.

The doctor at my recent BUPA health check said that the mini pill can also be used with HRT to prevent breakthrough bleeds and unpredictable bleeds if you are on continuous HRT rather than sequential.

What planning do you mean?

do you mean so that you can have loads of sex?

or do you just mean do that you can go in a pool? If it’s the latter, I don’t think about it whatsoever, just wear appropriate swimwear/sanitary product.

I mean to wear mini skirts, shorts and dresses in a warm city while potentially v heavy and clotting and drowning a super-sized tampon

I used a mooncup