Are periods supposed to get "worse" as you get older?

Post Reply New Topic

I am wondering if my period getting "worse" is supposed to be normal or not. I used to not get many cramps or blood clots, but for awhile I've had such bad cramps that Tylenol and NSAIDs don't affect the pain much at all + the cramps make me nauseous, and now I sometimes get quarter-sized clots (they're not bigger than that though). My periods also seem to get slightly heavier every other period or so. They're not irregular though in the sense that they happen at a normal time, and there's no bleeding between periods or anything.

I have been worried that it's not normal, but nothing about my period has been "bad" enough where things online say I should go to the doctor about it. I'm also (FtM) trans, so I have been putting off going to a gyno for the first time since I've heard about trans men having bad experiences with them. I've also heard about women not being taken seriously and being treated like they're crazy by gynos for mentioning things like this.

First thoughts: Endometriosis?

Do you know if your mother or sister have Endo?

My mom said she had the same issues I'm having when she still had periods. She wouldn't specify what it was from though.

I'm going to try to go to a gynecologist, this is getting irritating and is starting to contribute to my fatigue. Hopefully they take my concerns seriously.

Hi, I got an IUD to deal with too much bleeding. My periods have mostly stopped. I know some people have bad reactions to them, but it's really working for me. I know a non-binary person who got the seasonale birth control so they only get a few periods a year. I prefer no periods, but they were concerned about getting a foreign object inserted inside them.

Sometimes people don't know that birth control can be used for managing periods and not just preventing pregnancy.
I don't know whether these strategies work for endo, though.

In my experience, gynos love to prescribe birth control and you should have no problems getting it. You don't even have to convince someone your periods are bad. Good luck.

Mine were always super light and mildly-symptomatic until my 40s, at which point they have become almost debilitating. At my last exam, I asked to try the pill were you only get a few periods each year, but the clinician was really pushing for an IUD instead. I’ve never taken hormonal birth control, so I am not keen on my introduction being in the form of an object that needs to be removed, as opposed to simply discontinuing pills. So, I left with nothing.

I was always on birth control since the age of 13. Then I was off them and I did fine and then my cramps would come back once a month feeling like I was constipated, I was in my early twenties then. I would solve it by popping in a tylenol or something and then I would feel normal again. Then I got pregnant and then was breastfeeding so no more period pain and then they started to come back when I was done nursing but it took months and sometimes the pain would be so bad, it would get into my upper legs but I always took a tylonel pill. Then I was pregnant again and had a IUD this time and nursed so I have not dealt with cramps except for on occasion and one day I woke up thinking I was sick but nope, it was my period and I thought I was going to throw up and thought I had gotten the bug but it only lasted a day. I plan to stay on the IUD to avoid any period pain.

Personal experiences: (1) My cramps were awful early in my life and are nearly non existent in my late 40s. Come to think of it, I did have some fibroids removed along the way. I don't recall if the decrease in cramping correlated to that. (2) My sister had it go the opposite way: nary a cramp early in life and severe cramps in her 40s. In her case, she changed her diet and the cramps lessened, coincidentally or not.

Wishing you good doctor care and relief.

You shouldn't put off going to the doctor. I don't think it's anything scary like cancer but why be in that much discomfort?

Feel better soon.

What about irregular periods? I had a late period by 2 weeks in April, and I skipped completely in June. Today, my period is spotty.

Every hormonal changes seem to get worse in my case. Pre- and post-menstrual more so.

In fact, my periods by itself seem to get better while ovulations getting worse.


My sister's periods get worse.
At least we knew why and found out at random during her work (she's a radiologist and her boss had her checked). It's been treated.
Still more painful than mine.

Not my case though. Never checked it, never had any treatments for it. Yet.
And barely minded any pain.

Gained Number Post Count (1).
Lose Time (n).

Lose more time here - Updates at least once a week.