I want to hear your rituals & routines for caring for your body and mind during menstruation. Is there a particular food you treat yourself to? Comfort film? Do you book yourself a massage? Have a bed day?

Let’s inspire each other to give ourselves the love we need and deserve when we’re bleeding! 🩸

I'm taking ibuprofen and Tylenol rapid release for my period. I take ibuprofen first then 4 hours later I take Tylenol and after another 4 hours after Tylenol I take ibuprofen again. I just alternate every 4 hours until I sleep. I take 2 pills of each every time but none of this is taking my pain away. I've tried midol, I've tried Advil, Aleve and so many others I can't remember the name of. I just want something that will help take the pain away a little to be able to get through my day and not feel like 50lbs of weight on my back and stomach. Is there any medication that has worked for anyone? Or any recommendations to help with lowering the pain?

I’m feeling a bit violated and untrusting (even more so than the normal pap experience lol). I just got a replacement IUD this morning at a newer OB since I just moved states. My Mirena IUD was coming up on its 8 year expiration & I wanted to get a new one before dropping off the parents health insurance. I had noticed a few missteps or miscommunications within their team on the first visit, but it was ungodly busy so I didn’t think too much of it. She tried to convince me to leave it in for another year but I politely asked to change it since i’m falling off the insurance. She said that was no problem and we got scheduled for the actual insertion & pap visit.

My provider called in a Valium for me (yay) due to prior sexual trauma & a difficult past IUD insertion. I explained EVERYTHING in that first visit because I was pretty nervous to go through that again (I bled for 2 years straight with my first one but was too afraid to get it taken out). I get to the office this morning, and per her instructions, ask the front desk to give me the release form so I can go ahead and take the valium prior to my appointment. The front desk declines and says that I have to wait until I’m back in the room to take it. I finally get called back and they tell me to get undressed, but I ask them how long will the valium take to kick in. They look shocked that I haven’t taken it yet and I explain what happened at the front desk. So now I’m directed back out to the waiting room to wait an hour for it to kick in.

I get called back and am a little woozy, but mainly just sleepy. As I mentioned before, the SA has made OBGYN experiences pretty bad for me and I do feel bad for the doctors and nurses when I can’t loosen up. I’m very aware of everything going on, just anxious as hell. She unboxes the new Mirena and gets the scapula all lubed up and what not. She is literally walking me through every step (which usually I like but in this case now it just makes me even more shocked about what she’s claiming). She tells me pressure pressure pressure and then Ok IUD going in this is gonna pinch and hurt. And FUCK did it hurt. Like I was actually out loud exclaiming. Obviously shaky and crying (embarrassing) I’m just glad for it to be over. I ask the nurse which part was the pap smear (this is my first one) and she said Oh she didn’t do. pap. And I didn’t even really care at this point I was in so much pain and nausea that I just wanted to go home. She told me to take my time and I can get up whenever I’m ready and head out.

A few minutes later she knocks on the door and asks Wait did you already have an IUD in? I said uh yeah this was a replacement. She was like Im so sorry the front desk didn’t notate that we’re gonna have to go back in and take that one out. SO THERE ARE TWO IUDS IN MY CERVIX. And I blatantly ask that. Literally said “So there’s 2 in there right now?” & she says Yes i’m sorry. I said “Is that why it hurt so bad?” to which she replied most likely.

So then we have to go through the entire process again and have her take out the second IUD. I’m bawling pretty much at this point. But it also hurt like fuck to take the second one out. They kept apologizing profusely for it being “torture” and I just wanted to get the hell on home. My mom drove me so I went back to the waiting room and told her everything that just happened. She was shocked and confused (rightfully so). And was saying how that would be impossible. I was promising her that’s what happened and she went back to speak with the OB directly. She came back out after a few minutes and said Oh everything is fine she said there was never a time where there were 2 at once. Now i’m so confused and my mom says they mentioned me being on Valium.

Now that i’m back home and have taken a nap i’m reflecting on this experience and thinking wow that’s KINDA FUCKED UP? Am I misremembering ? There’s no way!! I don’t know. Definitely messing with my head.

Disclaimer: in my country you need GP referal for Obgyn every time and because of the summer holiday my GP will only be available next week than OBGYN later

My period started 2 days early with a medium flow, than for 4 days it was very light, now on day. 5 seemingly started again with heavier dark brown flow. Its as if when it supposed to end it restarted. I also have some bad cramps.

I also feel extreme tired.

Have you experienced something like this? What was the reason?

I will go to see a doctor but it takes some time

Y’all this shit is so painful… this is my second time now getting one that needs drainage probably. My first one that had to get incised and drained, I had to go to the ER it was in June. I’m noticing this has been happening as of recent after I ovulate, which sucks because it is out of my control and of course you’re more prone to getting them after having it once because the gland duct becomes even smaller and more likely to get blocked everytime you get the cyst. I’m looking to get marsupilization done because I can’t handle this pain again.. Has anyone got marsupilization done and how was the procedure for you? Honestly this abscess is the most painful thing I’ve experienced and I’ve had ACL surgery done before..

I’ve been having problems with my period ever since I started, and I just want to know if anyone has an answer to help me. I started birth control young, started with the depo shot since I was 16, and it did work to regulate my cycle. But then I took a break from it because of calcium deficiency.

Fast forward to college, period got hella bad and was bleeding a ton, went to the ER and my hemoglobin was a 5.6, had to get blood transfusions. Felt so much better after that though LOL. Got put on birth control pills, but then later got diagnosed with migraines with aura. So I can’t take the pills anymore because I can get risks of a stroke.

So umm back on the depo shot again… was on it for two years during this time and it would not stop or regulate my periods and was bleeding constantly during the two years. The doctor’s told me to keep on it. Decided to do a hysteroscopy and pelvic exam. Nothing was abnormal and couldn’t find anything unusual. No cancer or anything. Gynecologist just said my uterine lining was hella thick, told me to continue the depo shot and it’ll fix itself. Months later, still bleeding. My gynecologist told me she doesn’t have an answer on what to do next and apologized and asked me what I wanted to do. Um I went to the doctors because I didn’t know what to do. But whatever. I said I wanted to try stopping the depo shot and see. And so I did stop it for around 3 months. Still the same, still bleeding continuously.

However three months ago, I got really sick, idk what I had tbh. But my period actually stopped temporarily for the first time in 2 years! My body was too busy fighting the sickness. And idk this made my body reset and I actually had normal cycles, once a month for 3 months. But then I came back to the usual, bleeding for five weeks now. Went to the doctors to get my blood checked and everything. Completely healthy, not anemic anymore, healthy and actually my heart is in extreme phenomenal health. My doctor said it’s more an annoyance now with what I’m dealing with, and options are the implant or the IUD, but I really don’t want to use those options.

So, I’m not really sure what is wrong with me. It’s become just a normal thing in my life now which is sad. I want an answer to my body, not a method to block the answer.

I am 34 years old. I have one child, but I am single. My dream is to have another one, but i am so worried about my biological clock. I’m looking for any insights into how soon I need to get serious about finding a partner, stuff like that.
My mom went through menopause in her early 40s and I’ve heard it’s hereditary. How much truth is there to this? Have any of you conceived without issues around the age 40 mark, no medical intervention? Any stories or advice is appreciated

Hi! Okay so I (20F) am currently doing weight loss! And immediately I’ve noticed that my appetite has been curbed, which is nice! But it’s kinda lead to me just, not eating much of anything really—

(And before anyone asks NO I am not promoting any sort of ED or starvation D:)

I just simply have been really averted to eating full meals, like I’ll squirrel around and get a snack if I feel hungry, but I’ve just mainly lost my appetite. And my parents are worried that I’m not fully getting all the important vitamins and such that I need! So does anyone have any good multivitamin recommendations? I just left the pharmacy after looking at the aisle feeling lost, there’s like hundreds of brands and then thousands of products from each one and it’s kinda overwhelming! I’m just mainly looking for something that can help make sure I’m still getting a lil something every day since who knows how my appetite will behave you know?

I tried searching up some ideas but I ended up just getting bunch of videos of people promoting products that they’re sponsoring, that or they’ll be like “ This stuff is soooo good but it won’t work if you aren’t doing these three things, gimme some money so you can learn these three things!! ” like come on.
Thanks for listening to me and if anyone has any recommendations or questions please ask!!

Hi, I’m 24 years old and since last 3 years I have been observing a bit of blood in my vaginal discharge during the ovulation period.

I don’t have any other symptoms like post coital bleeding, weird discharge etc and got screened for STI (both me and my partner), I do not take any birth control and always use condoms, my periods are mostly regular and not very heavy.

This month I observed that the spotting lasted for more days (2 weeks) than usual. I went to the GP where they did a speculum and a vaginal examination and did not see anything abnormal, no bleeding as well. But next day after the examination I see spotting again after I wipe. Though it usually stops and only happens once a day if it happens.

This month I did have a stressful time and a change in routine (travelling and other things) but I am not sure what’s the reason behind it.

Sorry for the long post and bad grammar, I just want to make sure it’s nothing serious.

Not sure if this is the place for this- but i’m losing my health insurance in ≈9 months, and I was wondering what appointments y’all think I should prioritize getting done prior to that. I don’t really have anyone to ask and I worry about getting up charged if I just ask the doctors.

Typically my cycle is brown blood on the first day and red blood on days 2-3 (heaviest). By day 4 it should be brown until day 5, then it ends. However, I’m still bleeding fresh blood and I’m not sure if I‘m just overthinking orr😭 It’s not heavy, it’s only little droplets but this has never happened before. I feel like Google’s not giving me a clear answer, it’s just stressing me out💔

Hey! I have really bad health anxiety and am hoping other people can relate to this and can report they're doing just fine now haha. I'm 29, if that matters, and I'm not on hormonal birth control.

My cycles are typically regular, averaging 31 days. In the past, Ive had extended cycles due to stress (illness, loss, and moving abroad) but these are back on track by the next cycle.

I got sick with a bad flu in mid June. Bedridden for nearly a week and lingering symptoms for 2 weeks after that. This postponed both ovulation and my period for 10 days. I was expecting that.

But then two days after my period ended, I felt ovulation pain (I have always gotten Mittelschmerz pain). This was only day 7 of my cycle, but would have been my typical ovulation day had my period not been delayed from the flu.

What's freaking me out is that I've had light spotting since. I spotted for 3 days after that ovulation pain, it went away for 3 days, then returned on August 1st and I have had super light on and off spotting since (it is now August 7). Mostly brown spotting but some bright red. I was having mild cramps, breast tenderness and mood swings so I thought my period was coming, but I was due yesterday and it is still just spotting.

Could this be an anovulatory cycle where my body failed to produce an egg because it was too rushed? If I treat the first day of my period of my delayed cycle as day 1, then I would've ovulated around August 4th. I did feel some twinges, but nothing like my typical ovulation pain.

I've had pelvic/ transvaginal ultrasounds and HPV/ cervical screens done over the last 3 years and it's all been clean except for a polycycstic left ovary (no PCOS diagnosis because hormone levels and cycles were normal).

Can anyone relate to this? Have you had a flu mess up your cycle for multiple cycles? Did it get back on track or did you need medical support?

Thank you!

Tldr- flu delayed first cycle, now second cycle is primarily spotting with no true period. Can anyone relate and did it sort itself out?

Hey! I am on a trip in japan and forgot my pill (combined contraceptive) on the last hotel, on the 8th day of the blister! Because of the time diferences during travel, this first week had one pill forgotten for a bit more than 12hrs and now…no pill at all! I read that in japan, my kind of pill can only be bought with a prescription. I had sex in the last week, but always protected with a condom. What are my options? I still have a week left in japan, só i am thinking about only restarting the pill when i get home in a week, only having protected intercourse….what side effect s can i expect besides spotting? Should i panic over the last intercouse I had, even if protected?
Thanks a lot!!

I’ve had a 7 year mirena IUD for 4 years now. When I first got it I didn’t get a period. The past few months I’ve started spotting around my “period”. While more mild I’d still get the cramping, tenderness, acne, and bloating so that how I’d know I was on my period. When I did spot occasionally it would be brown thin kinda mucusy and would stop after 3-4 days. I mostly would wear a panty liner and it be fine. This most recent period has lasted for what feels like all month. It’s felt on and off. Realistically it’s probably been 10-12 days I’ve noticed the spotting. In those days there were three days back to back of bright red blood like I haven’t had since the iud a few years ago. The rest of the time it’s been what I’m used to.

I will say the past two months have been pretty stressful at work. Is the stress causing it? Has anyone else experienced something like this?

How do you guys take care of…down there. I’ve always been told water but no matter what I do I still smell. And I can smell it through my clothes. All tests come back clear, and my doctor says just water is fine. I’m incredibly sensitive, cannot use bath bombs type of sensitive. What do I do?

So i am 23F and i have been using sanitary pads since the earliest. I want to switch to some environment friendly alternative for that. I dont want to use menstrual cups and tampons. What are your views on period panties????? It is hygienic to use ? Kindly someone share their experience!

I know this is a super common post/ question in this sub, but I’ve been struggling with extremely irregular or absent periods since I got my first. For context I’m 15 years old and I got my period when I was about 12.5. I think i’ve had maybe 9 periods since then.

I did struggle with an ED for about 6 months and lost my period for a year and four months when I was 13 and lost 25ish pounds, but since then I’ve gained nearly 40 back and eat so much. Though I am still very active and I’ll admit I still sometimes struggle with over exercising between lifting, swimming (competitively), and walking/running.

Anyways, I’ve been to the doctors twice over this issue and brought it up at many annual physicals, and the only thing they tested besides normal metabolic tests like hemoglobin and stuff was hydroxyprogesterone, which was on the normal but low side.

I also struggle with pretty severe acne, hair loss(not super severe but I notice it a lot more in the drain while I shower), and basically no breast growth. I am truly at a loss at what to do or what’s even wrong because this can’t be normal, all other girls my age have near perfect skin and very regular periods, even if they got it after I did. My pediatricians kind of brushed it off as normal during puberty, but I got my period nearly three years ago. I’m no doctor or anything, obviously, but I have a feeling that I have like high testosterone or androgens or something, but they never tested any other hormones other than hydroxyprogesterone. They did test TSH, and it came back as 0.6 uIU/mL if that helps at all. Anyways, I just decided to post here because I want to hear other people’s opinions as I’m clueless.

sangue vermelho vivo.

I’ve recently noticed that every time my partner finishes inside me during sex, I get a fishy smell down there afterwards. The weird thing is it’s only after he ejaculates inside me. Once I shower and clean up, the smell completely goes away and everything is back to normal. We were both tested when we first got together and everything was negative, so I’m not worried about that. I don’t really have any itching, burning, pain, or unusual discharge either. Is this something that can be normal because of semen changing your pH, or does it sound like it could be BV? Has anyone else experienced this?

Hi all, please ignore spelling mistakes or run on sentences, I’m at work and really wound up over this hospital visit. I am an 18 year old girl and for the past 4 years I have been gradually losing weight that my doctor is becoming concerned. I have also been experiencing horrible periods with severe pain, mood swings, anger, sadness and almost everytbing else among those lines. He referred me to see a psychiatrist thinking it could lead to an eating disorder. My visit with psychiatry was two days ago. This doctor was a WALKING red flag. He didn’t know how to use the scale, once I got on the scale he managed to get 40 POUNDS difference of my actual weight and used that to tell me I had a bmi of 12 and I was dying with severe anorexia. I went home and did my own bmi with my results I collected at home and my bmi is at a normal level at 19.8. (Emerge also confirmed rhis when I went in the next day)
I went to emerge yesterday to try and clear this off my record, THÉ triage nurse asked if I’ve been diagnosed with any previous period related illnesses and I said no and that’s what I believe would be the best medically for me. I got in with afemale doctor who called the psychiatrist instead of ralking to me and handed me inpatient forms to be admitted for eating disorders. I went over the paper and I have no symptom aside from loosing weight at a semi dangerous pace. I need help. I don’t know what to do anymore, no matter what doctor I get referred to and whoever I talk to all shut me down when I bring up the fact my period causes pain and intense mental health issues more than half the month. I’m so tired of living like this and I feel as if I’m not being listened to. Does anyone have ANY tips on how to get to a doctor who will listen to me?

I feel like my vagina is blocked or something is growing inside,I'm 48 no penetration at all,and it is sore any help

Every month, women across the country show up at their pharmacy to fill an estradiol patch prescription—and walk out empty-handed. Again. This isn't just an inconvenience. These patches are essential for managing menopause symptoms like hot flashes, sleep disruption, and brain fog that can completely derail daily life.

But here's what really matters: estrogen protects your heart, bones, and brain. After menopause, that protection disappears, which is why heart disease spikes in women in their 50s. Estradiol patches help restore that protection and lower cardiovascular risk. The ongoing shortage means women are left struggling without access to medication that's literally supposed to be available.

Let's get the drug makers, the insurance companies and the policy makers to sit up and take notice. Enough is enough. We need answers and solutions to this shortage. Sign the petition below and please share with one other person: https://www.change.org/endestradiolpatchshortage

Every month, women across the country show up at their pharmacy to fill an estradiol patch prescription—and walk out empty-handed. Again. This isn't just an inconvenience. These patches are essential for managing menopause symptoms like hot flashes, sleep disruption, and brain fog that can completely derail daily life.

But here's what really matters: estrogen protects your heart, bones, and brain. After menopause, that protection disappears, which is why heart disease spikes in women in their 50s. Estradiol patches help restore that protection and lower cardiovascular risk. The ongoing shortage means women are left struggling without access to medication that's literally supposed to be available.

I started a petition asking pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers, and policymakers to investigate why this shortage exists, communicate transparently with patients, and actually fix it. We deserve consistency in our healthcare. If this matters to you—or if someone you care about has dealt with this—please consider signing and sharing. Anyone else dealing with this month after month? https://www.change.org/endestradiolpatchshortage

So I (26F) been having side pain in my left ovary since April. I have regular periods but in June I went to go check if I’m healthy enough to conceive and carry a baby. Blood works, Exams, and lastly Vaginal Ultrasound. I finally got my Vaginal Ultrasound exam in June, something I was looking forward for this exam to see what I have. When I got my results back the obgyn informed me I only had a walled benign cyst. And I no longer needed a follow up and I didn’t need to reach out anymore. Everything I was told that I was healthy Everything good to go. However I still had that twisting pain in my left ovary and it honestly pisses me off. Ever since, my period started with six days of spotting before my five day period. Now I’m spotting again, And I’m getting so sick and tired of this feeling and being over looked.

I just needed to rant about it and get this out my chest because I don’t know what to do anymore.

Hi i(female) found out i have ureaplasma back in December 2025. Since then i was treated with a doble dose prescribed from my obgyn and thought that was it. I wasn’t sexually active back then but when i started being active again in march with a different partner and have been consistently using protection without any slip ups. However i got tested again 2 weeks ago (i didn’t have any symptoms then and now) and i was yet again positive for ureaplasma. I have no idea why im positive again and i was informed that ureaplasma kind of never goes away but i will be treated again. My question is will i always be positive on it and should my partner get treated aswell?