If you are having problems with your period and they are affecting your lift, there is help and support available.
Before you see a clinician about your period problems, it can be useful to keep a diary of your symptoms throughout your menstrual cycle. This can give your doctor a detailed idea of what happens, and when, during your cycle.
Painful periods
You may have period pain if:
- You have pain in your tummy at the start of your period, or several days before your period
- You have painful cramps in your tummy that spread to your back and thighs
- You have a sharp pain or a dull ache in your tummy.
Period pain usually lasts for up to 3 days and can affect your daily activities.
You can ease period pain by:
- Having a warm bath or shower
- Using a head pad or hot water bottle on your tummy
- Try massaging your tummy and back
- Try some gentle exercise like yoga, swimming, walking or cycling
- Use pain killers like Paracetamol or Ibuprofen
- Cutting down on alcohol and not smoking may also ease period pain.
Period pain happens when the womb tightens during your period. It’s often a normal part of the menstrual cycle.
Sometimes painful periods can be caused by a condition such as:
- Womb tissue growing in other places
- Growths in and around the womb
- An infection of the womb, fallopian tubes and ovaries
- An intrauterine device (IUD) can also cause period pain, particularly during the first 3 to 6 months after it has been fitted.
If your period pain is severe or worse than usual and painkillers are not helping, please contact 111 or your GP for advice.
Book a routine appointment with your GP if your periods:
- Become more painful, heavier or irregular
- You have pain during sex or when peeing or pooing
- You’re bleeding between periods.
Your doctor may recommend the follow treatments for period pain:
- Anti-inflammatory medicines like Naproxen and Mefenamic Acid
- A TENS machine – a small device that uses mild electrical impulses to reduce pain
- Contraception like the pill, implant or injection – these thin the womb lining making your period lighter and easing the pain.
Heavy periods
You may have heavy period if you:
- Need to change your pad or tampon every 1 to 2 hours or empty your menstrual cup more often than is recommended.
- Need to use two types of sanitary products together, such as a pad and a tampon
- Have periods lasting more than 7 days
- Pass blood clots larger than about 2.5cm (the size of a 10p coin)
- Bleed through your clothes or bedding
- Avoid daily activities like exercise, or have to take time off work due to your periods
- Feel tired or short of breath a lot
It can be normal to have heavy periods. They can sometimes be heavy at different time, like when you first start your periods, after pregnancy or during menopause.
Sometimes they can be caused by:
- Conditions effecting your womb, ovaries or hormones such as polycystic ovary syndrome, fibroids, endometriosis etc.
- Some medicines and treatments, including some anticoagulant and chemotherapy medicines.
- Stress and depression
Treatments for heavy periods can include:
- Some types of contraception such as the intrauterine system (IUS) or the combined contraceptive pill
- Medicine to help reduced the bleeding, such as Tranexamic Acid tablets
- Prescription only anti-inflammatory pain killers, such as Ibuprofen or Mefenamic Acid
Book a routine appointment to see a GP to discuss your heavy periods if:
- They are affecting your life
- You have had heavy periods for some time
- You have severe pain during your periods
- You bleed between periods or after sex
- You have heavy periods and other symptoms such as pain when peeing, pooing or having sex
Irregular periods
A period usually lasts 2 to 7 days, with the average period lasting 5 days.
The length of the menstrual cycle varies from woman to woman, but the average has a period every 28 days. Regular cycles that are shorter or longer than this, from 21 to 35 days, are also normal.
Some women have an irregular cycle, this is where there is a wide variation in:
- The time between your periods (they arrive early or late)
- The amount of blood you lose (they may be heavy or light)
- The number of days your period lasts
Causes of irregular periods can include:
- Puberty, when you start your periods
- The start of the menopause (usually between the ages of 45 and 55)
- Pregnancy
- Hormonal contraception
- Losing or gaining a lot of weight
- Stress and anxiety
- Exercising too much
- Sometimes, conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome and underactive thyroid gland can cause irregular periods.
Book a routine appointment with your GP if:
- Your periods are irregular (please keep a diary or log your cycle history in an app)
- Your periods last longer than 7 days
- You have irregular periods WITH other symptoms such as weight gain, tiredness, hair growth on your face and dry or oily skin.
- Your periods are irregular and you are struggling to get pregnant
Stopped or missed periods
There are many reasons why you may miss your period, or why your periods may stop altogether and many women will experience missed or late periods at some time, and this can effect anyone who has a period.
Some common causes of a missed period are:
- Pregnancy
- Stress
- Sudden weight loss
- Being overweight
- Overexercising
- The start of the menopause
- Taking the contraceptive pill
- Breastfeeding
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome
Sometimes the gap between your periods may just vary each time. Your periods might come early or late and this is known as having irregular periods.
Periods can sometimes stop due to a medical condition such as heart disease, diabetes, or an overactive thyroid.
Book a routine appointment to see a GP if:
- Ou have missed your period 3 times in a row
- Your periods have not started by the time you turn 16
- You’ve missed your period and have other symptoms such as weight gain or weight loss, tiredness, hair growth on your face and dry or oily skin.
PMS (premenstrual syndrome)
PMS is thought to be lined to changing levels of hormones throughout the menstrual cycle.
Not all women get PMS. If you do, the range and severity of symptoms may vary and can include:
- Mood swings
- Feeling anxious, upset or irritable
- Headaches
- Tiredness or trouble sleeping
- Bloating or tummy pain
- Breast tenderness
- Spotty skin
- Greasy hair
- Changes in appetite and sex drive
Symptoms usually start and can intensify in the 2 weeks before your period and then ease and disappear after your period starts.
Things you can do to help:
DO
- Exercise regularly
- Eat a healthy, balanced diet – you may find that eating frequent, smaller meals every suits you better than 3 larger meals a day
- Get plenty of sleep – 7-8 hours is recommended
- Try reducing your stress by doing yoga or meditation
- Take pain killers such as Paracetamol to ease the pain
- Keep a diary of your symptoms for at least 2 to 3 menstrual cycles
DON’T
- Smoke
- Drink too much alcohol
Book a ROUTINE GP appointment if things you can do to help are not working or the symptoms are affecting your daily life.
Ovulation Pain
Some women get ovulation pain. It can affect anyone who ovulates, which is when an egg is released as part of your menstrual cycle.
Ovulation pain often:
- Feels like a dull pain or sharp sudden twinges
- Lasts from a few minutes to 1 or 2 days
- Happens about 14 days before your period
- Only affects 1 side of your tummy at a time
- Switches sides each time, depending on which ovary releases an egg
You may also have a little vaginal bleeding or discharge during ovulation.
Ovulation pain is caused by the ovary releasing the egg. There are some conditions that may cause a similar pain, and these include:
- Conditions that affect the womb such as endometriosis and ovarian cysts
- Some sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
- Scar tissue from surgery that you’ve had near the ovaries, such as a caesarean section
- An ectopic pregnancy
You should contact 111 or your GP surgery for urgent advice if you have tummy pain AND:
- The pain is severe, and painkillers have not helped
- The pain keeps coming back
- You think you might be pregnant
If ovulation is the only cause of your pain and it is not severe, a warm bath or painkillers such as Paracetamol or Ibuprofen may be all you need.
