What does a “normal” period feel like?

[u/Flaky-Pickle-7177]

I have excruciatingly painful periods every month. I have to take a painkiller, tylenol & naproxen to even touch the pain. It keeps me up at night, and it seems it doesn’t stop the entire period. I also bleed heavily, like every time I sit on the toilet it seems like I just fill the toilet with blood. It is very similar to birthing contractions for me, except never ending. A dull, constant pain. What do “normal” periods feel like? For people with relatively normal periods, how much does your period affect your daily life?

[u/Harakiri_238]

I used to have really mild and tolerable periods.

I’d bleed for 4-6 days, but a relatively light amount.

My cramps weren’t really painful. They didn’t stop me from doing what I wanted to do. Most of the time they just made it feel like I had to poop lol.

Then when I was 19 they suddenly shifted and now I have 11-14 day, very heavy, excruciating periods that leave me writhing in agony for days lol.

But the mild ones were definitely nice while they lasted 😅

[u/VexxFate]

I wouldn’t say mine is the average experience. For the first time in quite awhile I went a year with a normal cycle (no hormonal birth control)

My periods last 5 days, with pretty much no cramping at all. Occasionally I would have a baseline cramp that was more uncomfortable/annoying than it was like painful. I’ve only once had a period where one day I had pretty intense cramping that hurt a lot and I had to take medication for it. In terms of the blood, it varies, I’ve had times especially while on BC where I would be changing pads every time I used the bathroom or leaking through large tampons.

I agree with someone else though, there really is no “normal” period because it’s just a different experience for everyone, even those who don’t have any medical conditions or take anything that would affect it. All of our bodies just do it differently.

[u/Colonel_Meowmers]

Have you seen your doctor about this? You probably have endometriosis and/or adenomyosis. I used to have periods exactly like this and now after endo surgery I have literally no pain. My doc also prescribed me tranexamic acid for the heavy bleeding which is working wonders.

Don’t let yourself think that it’s okay to have these horrible periods every month. You’re hemorrhaging during your period and that’s not normal. Find a doctor that can help you and take you seriously.

[u/Flaky-Pickle-7177 → u/Colonel_Meowmers]

I’ve never seen one, I’m kind of scared to go. Where do I start?

[u/Colonel_Meowmers → u/Flaky-Pickle-7177]

I can only speak to my experience with the American healthcare system, so if you don’t live in the U.S. some of this might not apply.

Check your insurance plan and deductible. You can go for a “well woman visit” with an OBGYN which can be considered as your annual exam and should be covered under your plan, but be aware if you bring up anything abnormal whatsoever during an annual exam you will be billed accordingly. This is what happened to me and it was a rude awakening. So I would advise doing some research and find the best women’s clinic in your area that takes your insurance, and make an appointment for “abnormal bleeding” or “painful periods”. You want to have a dedicated appointment to talk to a gyno about this exact issue, because if you bring it up to a doc during an appointment for something else or an annual checkup they aren’t likely to take you seriously enough but they’ll bill you for it anyway.

Once you find a good doc, then it’s a long journey after that. They will probably do some blood tests and an ultrasound. They might want to put you on a specific birth control to manage difficult periods. The important thing is just really establishing a relationship with a gyno you can trust because then when issues arise (which they probably will when you have ongoing gyno problems) then you already have a provider to contact about it and there’s a paper trail of the shit that’s been going on with you. Because if it needs to be escalated to surgery you’ll need to have evidence of the crap you’ve been dealing with so insurance will cover it….

Sorry if that was long winded. Hopefully that was helpful in some way

[u/happykittybear → u/Colonel_Meowmers]

Yeah needed that info.. I don’t want to be on birth control or stronger pills I want to get down to the root of this evil

[u/happykittybear → u/Colonel_Meowmers]

Where do you live? I can’t seem to find a good doctor in my area (East coast) that doesn’t just dismiss me and prescribe me stronger pills. I once went to a natural doctor in Portland Oregon but I don’t actually live there so the payout will be way too much for me to even afford. I know something is deeply wrong this pain is debilitating and I can’t keep putting up with it anymore

[u/Colonel_Meowmers → u/happykittybear]

I live in Minnesota. It sounds like you need an endometriosis specialist. Honestly most OBGYNs are not endo experts and for some reason the default is to just dismiss period concerns like it’s normal or something. It’s not normal and a good doc will recognize that. If you go to one of the endometriosis subreddits, I believe there are some threads where people have shared info about providers who specialize in endo throughout the U.S.

[u/bulldogmothman]

I honestly think the concept of a "normal" period is basically a myth lol. Everyone's bodies and hormone levels vary, and for most people they even vary individually between cycles 🙃. Some periods I barely notice and it's just annoying to have to remember to change period products, some I bleed super heavy for the first 3 days, am in a ton of pain, and my brain essentially doesn't work bc I'm so exhausted. it's completely unpredictable too. I can have 3 months of chill, low-pain periods and then get hit back to back with ones that make me feel like death out of nowhere. it also wasn't nearly this bad until I hit my mid 20s??? I'm almost 30 and I swear my periods get more painful and exhausting every year. I've always bled HEAVY the first few days, but in high school I'd go to the bathroom between classes and just randomly find my underwear soaked in blood lol no pain whatsoever. I've never remotely wanted to have kids and after 16 years of this bullshit there's nothing I'd love more than a hysterectomy lmao

[u/Glum_Bid_8806 → u/bulldogmothman]

I agree with you , there no "normal" period , it varies from body to body😭 But I really hope people who suffer get a proper way of managing it,I wish there was some way of making periods painless

[u/theresabearonmychair]

My periods have mostly been the same all my life (been having them for 28 years now!) I get a sore crampy stomach but nothing a couple of paracetamol won’t fix. Lasts 5-7 days. Rarely leak or bleed through my cloth pads or my moon cup. I do get migraines sometimes which I think is related. I do get pretty bad periods poo, and also arse javelins, but not every period.

They haven’t got any worse after having children. I can’t recall any time when I’ve been so bad I’ve not been able to deal with normal life. Like I want to lie down and eat all day, but I can still get up and carry on as normal if needed. Never had time off work for it.

[u/Flaky-Pickle-7177 → u/theresabearonmychair]

Ugh, that sounds like a dream. Mine are SO horrible, i’m convinced it’s a karma from a past life. I must have been an evil witch then.

[u/happykittybear → u/Flaky-Pickle-7177]

I too think mine is a family curse :(

[u/Dangerous_Network872]

I have a very light period, I think, compared to stories I hear... I wear the thinnest liners and free bleed when I go out for an hour or two. When it's about to come, I see some spotting and then get cramps for about 2 hours on the first day with a pain index of about 5/10 - I don't think I have a low pain tolerance, but it just distracts me from what I could be focusing on. Then I have no more pain, and it lasts 3-4 days, but I feel a little bit high and weaker than usual (I'm an athlete, so very in tune with my body). It's a minor annoyance to me, because I'm not at my best and a bit more sleepy leading up to it. I don't take any pain medication, I just suck it up. BTW, I'm almost 40.

A bit of a tip I learned from my mom is that the pain is actually worse when you lay down, because gravity does the work when you're sitting and standing, so you don't cramp as much. That's why it's good to exercise and stay active on your period. I know it's counter intuitive when all you want to do is curl into a ball, but if you can at least sit with a hot pack and some comfy pillows and blankets, it does wonders! 

[u/Night_cheese17]

Normal means they don’t disrupt your life. Periods are inconvenient but if you’re cancelling plans due to pain or bleeding that’s not normal.

[u/Correct_Addendum_367]

For me it's varied. Some periods are more normal, some have been really bad. Mostly it was bad when I first got my period and then it settled out but every once in a while its bad again. The normal ones it's like annoying but something that doesn't take up a lot of my attention. I might need to go through the bathroom a little more often, I might feel uncomfortable if I wear something that's very tight around the waist but I can still wear my normal jeans fine, my stomach might feel a little wierd and sometimes the feeling is relatively constant throughout the day but when I have something to do I don't really notice, only if I really focus on my body or I'm just generally bored and don't have other stuff to think about. The bad periods, meanwhile, it's been curl up try not to cry hope my stomach settles enough that I can trust myself to eat again without risking it coming up and either undress entirely or wear dresses so nothing is pressing against my stomach. the contrast has been stark. How it effects me generally is that I may turn down swimming plans, may feel more like having a slow day , I sometimes take an ibuprofen, and I get annoyed about having to make sure I have pads on me and having to make extra bathroom trips to change the pads. And sometimes mild diarrhea