I am SO OVER periods

[ShouldIJustKeepChangingTables]

It was only just over 2 weeks ago I had a hot water bottle for period pain; now it’s bloody ovulation pain. Hate hate hate that I have to put up with the constant mood swings and pain and fairly heavy bleeding.

Starting to think I need to look at contraception again, but have been a bit worried by all the tales of mood swings and bleeding getting worse not better. I was on the mini pill years ago - the dr wasn’t that happy for me to be on it as we have a history of migraines in the family and eventually persuaded me off it.

What’s the most reliable period-stopping, non-mood-depressing method people would recommend?

It'll be different for everyone, but I've been on depo provera (injection every 12 weeks) for years bar a break to get pregnant/have child and it stops my periods completely. No mood swings at all. I can't take estrogen based contraceptives because of family history so the pill was out, tried the mini pill and bled constantly. Apart from it taking a few months for my periods to return after deciding to have a baby, it's been great for me.

Implant.

I've been on it for about ten years now.

Before that depo pro era.

Hate periods.

What was your doctor's issue with the mini-pill?

It's the mini-pill that is recommended for migraines. And it sounds as if you don't even have migraine, just someone in the family with it, am struggling to see where your doctor was coming from.

Personally I have found it marvellous - no periods so no period pain and no menstrual migraine. Life changing.

I had my womb out once I'd had my kids. I wish it was offered to women as a standard option, it's so freeing and no negatives
There are so many problems from it that would disappear

I miss mine so much, they were no trouble ans it made me feel young 😭

Try being 57 and still having regular periods 🙄 I hear you op. I’m so sick and tired Of them.

With you 100% @ShouldIJustKeepChangingTables !!! They are horrific, and are not called 'The Curse' for nothing! One of the best things about menopause is those fucking things stopping!

I swear to God if men suffered periods, pregnancy, and childbirth, MUCH more research would have gone into stopping the pain and trauma DECADES ago.

Have you tried the mirena coil?

The mini pill is used if you have migraine. I am on mini pill. It’s the combined you can’t take.
i have been on mini pill for over 10 years and have next to no period and it is bliss having had the discomfort of very heavy periods, cramping in agony etc etc. I don’t like taking it but needs must.

Oh I hear you op! can anyone recommend anything for the bloating and mood swings (not contraception) please? Herbal/non herbal…ANYTHING?? 😩

I'm on deostrogel pill which means I have no periods. It's been life changing. I was getting to the point that my periods left me depressed and low every month.

I took the normal pill back to back for years and years until my GP told me I was too old. Absolutely gutted. If I could have bought it on the black market I would have. Am now past menopause and it’s so fantastic to leave all that pain, mess and inconvenience behind

Yes! DEPO is amazing. Simply no periods. Has changed my life!

I really, really suffered with my periods and my GP put me on Desogestrel - it's really worked for me. I do sometimes get the odd light period but my pain is very rare now as well.
I hope you find a solution that works for you.

I agree OP - I am perimenopausal and my periods are heavier than ever and last longer. I am on HRT now so that does help

Me too. I'm trial and erroring different birth control , to hopefully keep them at bay until I reach menopause.

What a lovely lot of replies, thank you! I think I partly just needed to hear I’m not alone.

I feel like so much of my life is underpinned by dealing with women’s health related inconvenience.

I'm put off by the coil as so many of my friends have had horror stories about it, particularly around the discomfort of having it in. Good to hear that about the mini pill, I wonder if I’m confusing what I had previously with the combined pill - it would have been about 15 years ago now. The implant sounds good apart from lots of stories online of bleeding getting worse or at least not stopping - not sure if that’s just a small minority experiencing it.

I hadn’t heard of depo / provera; am going to look into that more. Have just bought 60 tablets of norethisterone as we’re going on holiday and I want to enjoy it without a week of pain and grumpiness and then a week of dealing with blood - it’s really made me reflect and yes, @SweetBirdsong, couldn’t agree more that there’s no way men would still be putting up with this shit in 2024!

I have chronic migraine and take the mini pill, it's not a problem. You often can't take the combined pill. I have no periods on it, although took 4 months to sort itself out but we'll worth it. I normally have horrible painful, heavy periods they are bo fun and it's so much better without them.

The depo, I tried and end up with light constant bleeding for over six months, it also took 3 months for the injections to waer off after I stopped them and I hadn't been using them for long. I would go back on the mini pill if you found it helpful before.

Love my mirena, on my third one now and no period for about 14 years now. Not pleasant having it in/out but for me no worse than a smear really. All of my friends love it too.

I decided to give the minipill 3 months, bled every day and stopped at the end of the third month just when I was going to give up.

Never bled since and it must be 15 years later.

My BFF thinks her Mirena is the best thing ever.

Sorry to hear about all the suffering.

I read a book at 26 which made me a natural period sort, came off the pill, had the full flow of hormones, rode the wave of ovulation and feeling wicked and then the clouds coming over - day 22 was always my worst day mood wise, always so sad and tearful. I'm 49 almost 50 now, 7 months gaps between one day bleeds until started HRT and no bleeds as yet. I did miss them tbh. Them stopping only means one thing and it's a big marker in the life road, one I wasn't sure I was ready for. But then I had one and remembered the pain, managing the wet string and all that and I thought, aha, life does it right usually, gets rid of these when we have just about had enough, and makes us accept the change of life.

The Mirena is fantastic no heavy, flooding periods for 5 years now. I have put on 2 stone though so one problem has replaced another.

I was ready to have a hysterectomy. Tried the mirena coil and have had no problems and no periods for years!

I'm on my fourth mirena, aside from having it removed to get pregnant, I've not had a period in over twenty years. Took a few months to settle with the first one but fine after that. I don't really understand why people tolerate having periods unless they absolutely can't do anything medically to stop them.

I have every sympathy, OP.

Perimenopause was awful for me with very heavy, flooding periods which nothing helped. I had to wear adult nappies to cope with them and was always borderline anaemic. How I was never fully anaemic I will never know.

I tried tranexamic acid, which helped for a while but then became ineffective.

I tried the mirena coil (against my better judgement, I didn't want it) but bled heavily for a whole year on it before they finally removed it. So that went well (not), and the fibroids that it was supposed to help shrink actually grew while it was in. Basically, I was a totally unsuitable candidate for it but doctors and gynaecologists flogged it ad nauseam.

I then tried a six month course of monthly Zoladex injections to resolve the issue. Periods stopped for almost a year before returning with even more of a vengeance.

I then had the worst of the fibroids removed. Still had a few periods after that but then they finally stopped. I was 57, and it was almost a year ago now (I must have spectacularly stubborn ovaries).

If they restart again then this time I will absolutely insist on a hysterectomy.

Good grief @Topseyt123 that’s much much more awful than anything I’ve experienced, I’m so sorry!

It’s the trial and error bit that has put me off trying anything to be honest. I travel a lot for work and have 3 small children - I am really worried about suddenly having to deal with full time bleeding or even more mood swings when it’s hard enough to achieve an equilibrium across daily life as it is. But I do agree @PragmaticWench, I do need to make it more of a priority, because this is really shit.

Can I ask about sex drive on the different contraceptives - at the moment, mine spikes for about a week after the ovulation pain, then tanks again until just around when my period ends. Did anyone used to experience similar when they had periods and has it evened out / increased / decreased since taking contraception?