PAINFUL periods are often dismissed as something women just have to put up with, but doctors say that you shouldn’t suffer in silence.
If pain or heavy bleeding is getting in the way of work or the things that you enjoy, then it’s vital that you see your GP.
Dr Hana Patel: ‘There are lots of different options that can help’
Professor Dame Lesley Regan, women’s health ambassador for England, says: “Heavy or painful periods can seriously impact women’s lives, making learning, working and caring more difficult.
“They can also be a sign of health conditions that need attention.”
Mild pain during your period is normal – it comes and goes, but doesn’t get in the way of daily life.
But if you have lasting pain that makes it hard to concentrate or sleep, then it’s time to seek help.
For some, the pain is so severe that it’s hard to think, get out of bed, go to the bathroom or get dressed.
Dr Hana Patel, a GP from southeast London, says: “I see a lot of women and girls who think they shouldn’t complain.
“But there are lots of different options that can help.
“It depends on what’s important to you and what stage of life you are at, and whether you are of childbearing age.”
Heavy periods are also common. You might experience them when you first start your periods, after childbirth or during menopause.
But whatever the cause, if you are changing tampons, pads or menstrual cups every hour or two, using a combination of products at once or bleeding through your clothes, you must speak to a doctor.
Other reasons to see a GP are if you’re bleeding for more than seven days, passing clots the size of a 10p coin, feeling faint or short of breath, and experiencing pain when going to the toilet or during and after sex.
Dame Lesley adds: “There is treatment available, so I urge all women to know the signs of a problem period.”
Anita Guru: ‘Hormone replacement therapy has been a lifeline’
‘I had brain fog, I was angry all the time’
NIGHT sweats, hot flushes and erratic periods were the first signs of the perimenopause for Anita Guru, when she was 39.
This is the phase before periods stop completely during the menopause.
Women typically go through the menopause between the ages of 45 and 55, but it can start earlier – either naturally or due to certain medical treatments such as chemotherapy.
Now 42, Anita, who lives with her husband, Pavan, also 42, in Guildford, Surrey, says: “My mental health was nosediving fast. I felt like a completely different person.
“I had brain fog, I was angry all the time, my mood was very low and my anxiety extremely high.”
She adds: “I spoke to a GP, who validated my concerns and what I suspected was happening. The GP agreed I was probably going through the perimenopause.
“I started on hormone replacement therapy, which has been a lifeline.”
Abby Summerville: ‘At one time it was so bad that I was gripping the kitchen worktop’
‘I’m pain-free now’
JEWELLERY business owner Abby Summerville, 45, has suffered from extremely painful and heavy periods since she was a teenager.
Going on to the contraceptive pill made periods easier to manage, but Abby had to stop taking it in her thirties, when she and her partner James, also now 45, were trying for children.
“The cramps were so bad that sometimes I couldn’t get out of bed,” she says.
“But I assumed that was the deal I’d been dealt and got on with it, as women do.”
After the couple had their sons Max, now 13, and Seb, 7, Abby’s pain got even worse.
“I was buying the strongest painkillers I could,” she says.
“At one time it was so bad that I was gripping the kitchen worktop like I was in the early stages of labour.”
Abby went to see her GP, who referred her for an ultrasound.
It showed dark masses around her uterus. Investigation using a camera probe followed.
“The doctor said I had adenomyosis, which I’d never heard of,” she says.
Adenomyosis is where tissue grows into the muscular wall of the uterus, so that it gets swollen.
The GP set out various potential treatments, including surgery.
Abby decided to have an intrauterine system (IUS) contraceptive coil fitted. This releases the hormone progestogen and can make periods lighter or stop them altogether.
“I have noticed a huge difference,” she says. “When I would normally have been on my period there was no bleeding or pain whatsoever.”
Adenomyosis is more commonly diagnosed in women over 30.
The condition can affect anyone who has periods.
Some symptoms of adenomyosis affect your periods, including pain and heavy bleeding.
Other symptoms can happen any time in your menstrual cycle, such as: pelvic pain (pain in the lower part of your tummy); bloating, heaviness or fullness in your tummy (abdomen); pain during sex.
Some people with adenomyosis have no symptoms.
Speak to your GP practice if heavy or painful periods or menopause symptoms are affecting your daily life. Find out more at www.nhs.uk/womens-health
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