"that time of the month"

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What sort of inconveniences do periods cause, other than cramps?

Are women on their period unable to do certain things, like riding bikes or swimming?

I can get a wee bit irritable

Some women will prefer not to do certain activities during menstruation, depending on whether or not they like to use things like tampons. Yes, riding bikes and swimming can be affected. What activity a woman can handle is a very personal thing which depends on what her period is like, how she feels during it, and how she likes to deal with it.

Some women feel very sick. It's not just about cramps. Some women, like me, get achy all over. Some women get severe migraines. Sometimes nausea is part of it. Women can also be prone to being anemic and can have more symptoms during that time of the month. Feling unwell will also affect activity level. Some women get so sick they have to call into work.

And, like InsomniaGirl said, irritability can be there regardless of physical well-being, though feeling lousy can make it worse. I know I also generally feel gross and especially fat and ugly during that time of the month.

The best place for me (although I rarely get to pamper myself so much) is curled up with a heating pad under a heavy blanket. I don't mind being around people, but I'd want to do something calm like watch a movie. After a couple of days, I'm just about back to normal.

It's a good question for a guy to ask. Knowing these things will help you be more understanding of any potential girlfriends.

No two women have the same kind of periods, and also a woman's period will change throughout her life (sometimes heavier, sometimes lighter, sometimes shorter cycles, sometimes longer cycles, etc). So there is no one answer to this question. Some women have heavy periods with bad cramps and nausea and can't leave the house when they are menstruating. Other women have light periods with hardly any symptoms and it doesn't negatively effect their life at all. It is completely individual to the woman, so asking about all women's periods is kind of pointless.

ETA: I'm kind of amazed that more adult men don't know this kind of thing. Makes me think physical/sex education is really bad in most places, if guys don't learn basic stuff like this in school.

No, there is no one answer, but having an understanding about the variety of ways a woman can be affected by this allows for a boy or man to better understand his girlfriend, wife, or even sister when she complains about things. It also makes her complaint more believable and not just "something in her head." It really is a compassionate question.

As far as sex ed...when I was in school, they only talked about the facts regarding the progression of the cycle and how that affects ovulation and pregnancy and such. There was no talk about how females might actually FEEL. I'm not sure a mixed class is the place for that, anyway.

It takes guts for a guy to ask a question like this... I know my husband has asked a question out of curiosity here and there, and there have been times when I've just answered "trust me, you don't want to know."

One more thing I will add to Wilburforce's comments about variations... Some women have shorter cycles (fewer days between periods) and some have longer cycles. Some women are very regular (same day each month), some are very erratic. And this is still all part of *normal*. If a woman has gynecological issues that need treatment, all of these variations would be even more extreme. I know a young woman whose period continued for 9 weeks straight and didn't stop until she was put on the pill to get the hormone levels under control. She had some serious anemia as a result.

I was taught to expect things like cramps, bloating/water retention, irritability/mood swings, loss of energy, etc. Symptoms of menstruating was something we learned about, and I think it's basic enough (and since nearly 50% of the population will experience it) that it should be taught to everyone. I didn't say it wasn't worth knowing or not a compassionate question. I just wanted him to know that it varies by the individual, and if he wants to understand a particular woman's experience it's best to just ask her about it.

To the OP: There are some general things to be known about the process of menstruation, but because of the variability of women's experience with it it's best to ask the individual woman what her experience with it is (if she is willing to talk to you about it--it is rather personal and not something every woman wants to chat about with the men in their lives). So if you want to know what your mothers/sisters/cousing/friends/girlfriends are going through in regards to their periods, it's best to talk to them about it directly because each of them will be different.

These are common PMS symptoms:

Edema and weight gain (water weight)
Breast tenderness/swelling
Headaches
Abdominal bloating
Diarrhea or constipation
Lower back pain
Mood swings or irritability
Difficulty concentrating
Strong food cravings
Low energy
Clumsiness
Mental confusion
Sleepiness or trouble sleeping

Those are all fairly normal symptoms that women can have even if they do not have any serious gynecological problems. Some women get mild PMS symptoms that go away quickly. But other women have more severe symptoms that last longer. Women with extreme PMS (PMDD) can also become very depressed or even suicidal.

There is also a condition called menstrual hypersomnia, which I think I probably have, where you get very tired and sleepy and just want to sleep round the clock while having a period.

Some women have very long cycles where they could go months without having a period. That might sound like a good thing, but it's usually not, because it's a sign of hormonal imbalance and other health problems.

Other women may have very short cycles, heavy bleeding, bleeding between periods, or a period that just doesn't stop. The more blood is lost, and/or the faster it is lost, the more exhausting it is. It takes time for the body to recover.

If a woman has a serious gynecological disorder, like endometriosis, the pain can be very severe and intense.

One thing to keep in mind is the organs in the pelvis are all closely connected via the nerves. So when a woman has menstrual pain, it can also cause pain in the digestive tract, the urinary tract, or the lower back. Likewise a back injury, digestive problem, or bladder/kidney problem can trigger more severe menstrual pain.



Some are able to do those things, some are not. I personally wouldn't be able to. I am not very athletic to begin with, so even on a good day I would have a hard time riding a bike, and I can't really swim anyway. But on my period, no way. It's usually the best I can do just to get out of bed, feed myself, and maybe go to work if I'm not in severe pain.

Every woman is different, and our bodies also go through a lot of changes as we get older. Some woman who have normal periods in their 20s start having more problems in their 30s because progesterone levels drop and they become estrogen dominant. Peri-menopause usually starts in a woman's 40s but it can start earlier.

my grades suffered while i was menstruating. if i did my normal jogging, i would get very painful cramps just afterward.

Agreed about taking guts to ask, and what sex ed mostly teaches. Whether or not I am on the pill effects the duration, frequency, and how it effects me.

Nothing takes guts to ask on a forum.

In real life, I would have to be very close to a girl to ask such an intimate question.

The worst I get is the cramps and then I get sort of bloated and gassy....also I can have more trouble pooping, like feeling backed up. Sort of helps if I alternate between tampons and smallest absorbent pads I can find that almost feel like not wearing one I hate the large puffy ones though.

Yea true, i did consider guts not being the right word. Just being well informed is closer to it.

Why not? To keep boys from learning?

I suppose the case could be made that boys who are definitely not having a girlfriend or any kind of physical intimacy with a girl anytime soon (e.g., because their parents will make sure not to let them) have no business gaining that knowledge.

When I was a teen, it would make me very sensitive anything hurt my feelings. It also made me not able to deal with any teasing and stuff so I was getting into fights in school so I was put on birth control so I would have a thicker skin. Also because my family got tired of walking on eggshells. But thanks to birth control, I always knew when my period was coming so every time I got to the green pill, I would put a pad in my underwear. They made my periods regular than irregular. I could remember when I was 13 when my period would end and then five days later it starts again or a week later. I hated having my periods and wished I didn't get them that soon. But birth control took away the cramps and the heavy periods and the irregular cycles.

Also I had hot flashes and I would get irritable. The thing is women don't realize how short tempered and irritable they are when their time of the month comes, I don't realize it.

My periods have never kept me from doing anything, I just hated bloody accidents or when my period would start in school and my Dad would have to bring me pads or new panties and pants. Now I don't have to worry about these things anymore.

My elementary school taught that stuff about periods saying how women get cramps and stuff and it freaked me and half of the girls out in my class. I was then having anxiety about getting my period even though I hadn't had one yet and then one girl in my grade first got hers in another class. I was even more afraid of growing up because I didn't want my period. My mom was pretty pissed at my school about it and then I found out I wasn't the only one who was freaking out about it.

Now I wonder if young girls should really know these things about their periods before they start theirs than just knowing about period cycles and different ways of handling it. After all do you really want nine and ten year olds freaking out about these things and worrying about it and not being able to enjoy their life because they are soo worried about getting a period? No wonder things get sugarcoated for children.

When I'm on my period, I can have low energy, get very tired & feel like 50 lbs weight is on me.