Tonne of questions about periods and what affects them

[Berry124]

Hi, I started my period on the 8th November and they normally last for seven days and are quite heavy and from what I have noticed, will be heavier on the second to the fourth day and slowly decreasing until it stops on the fifth till the seventh day. However, for some reason this is what it used to be over four months ago where I would get brown discharge on the last days of my period until it stopped and I have got this again where I had heavy bleeding from the second till the fourth day then brown discharge from the fifth day and today. Is this normal? I have started my period two weeks before my 14th birthday and at the moment it is two weeks until my seventeenth birthday, so have been having periods for 3 years. Is this spotting/discharge normal when I have been having periods for three years? Or can it still be irregular?

I was also wondering can change in diet affect your period in terms of how heavy it is as I was previously told I had IBS so had constipation etc and have changed my diet to a healthier one avoiding ALOT of junk food and containing more fruit and veg and fibre? Another thing I wonder is if you have a heavy period one month which was a 27 day wait(to get the period) could this then cause your next period to come a few days earlier, like 25 days and not last as long (like what I am experiencing now)? Final question, can stress also cause your period to be 4 days early at the most?

Sorry if this is a lot to ask but I heard that periods can vary a lot and have always wondered these questions. Thank you

[Berry124]

Also, I have never had vaginal intercourse or had a bare penis anywhere near my vulva or had anyone ejaculate on or very near my vaginal area, all I have done is manual sex where I was dressed and washed my hands and Heather informed me that there was no risk of pregnancy. My body is just acting weird at the moment and I get easily paranoid.

[Sam W]

Hi Berry,

The thing to keep in mind with periods is that our bodies are not machines. Our cycles will vary, or or symptoms will vary, and that's pretty normal. For instance, I'm someone who has super variable cramps. One month they're mild or non-existent, another they're horrible. That's not necessarily a sign of any specific thing going on in my body, it's just my body being my body.

I think, if you haven't, reading this article might be a great place to start learning more:
On the Rag: A Guide to Menstruation

[Berry124]

Ok thank you I will have a look

[Berry124]

I read the article you gave the link to and it made a lot of sense but I read that if you get brown discharge it's like leftover blood after your period has stopped, which concerns me as I normally have a period lasting between 6-7 days but this time the brown discharge came on the 5th day :/ which I have never had :/

[Onionpie]

Hi berry124. Discharge isn't only brown at the very end of your period -- that's just a time when it's very LIKELY to be brown. People sometimes get brown discharge at any point during menstruation, as all it is is older blood, that doesn't necessarily mean it's "leftover" blood. So just because discharge is brown doesn't necessarily mean your period is thus over. Plus, variation of length of periods by a day is a pretty common occurrence, not really something to be concerned about.

Does that help clarify all of this for you?

[Berry124]

Oh ok I was just concerned as I have never had a period like this before but that's reassuring I looked at the article linked above and it didn't answer the question I asked previously about if stress could make your period earlier or not. I was just wondering as I track my periods on my calendar and since February they were every 28-29 days exactly then when I started college and now have massive work loads they suddenly varied between 23-29 days and I just wondered if stress can make your periods come earlier and whether change in diet or weight could also cause this. I just wondered this as I know that stress and weight and diet change can make your periods later or not occur at all but not if they could make it come earlier as wouldn't your period coming earlier mean that you have ovulated a bit earlier? Or is that not quite right?

[Berry124]

It's just something that I have unanswered questions too, I always want to know stuff lol

[Mo]

In theory, the same sorts of things that make a period later could make it earlier. And sometimes you'll be earlier or later for no reason you can really know at all. It's possible to make guesses as to why a period might come at a time other than when it was expected, but sometimes the answer is just "your cycle is irregular right now."

[Berry124]

Ok I understand it now thanks I read somewhere that if your period comes the same day each month or week then it's irregular? If I have that right, would that mean that my periods were always irregular as they used to come 28days at the weekends for 6months from when I was 15 to past 16 then changed as I am nearly 17 in a week? I just wonder as my body has been a bit strange lately and I have anxiety every now and then about pregnancy from things that do not pose risks, so just wanted to make sense of it all. Could all this period stuff be linked to me growing up more as im getting to my late teens and my body is being strange at the moment as I get slight pain in my breasts and think that they are getting bigger and my hips have widened recently giving me a figure which I never used to have and my hair has got darker.

[Berry124]

Plus I am one of those people who take a bit longer to develop, especially compared to my sisters in terms of starting periods and not being 'flat chested' anymore .

[Onionpie]

I think the reason we say that if your period is coming on the same day each month then it's irregular, is because there are different numbers of days in a month. So if you're always getting your period on the 16th of a month, the cycle is actually varying because some months have 30 days, 31 days, or 28 days, so the 16th of each month will not always be the same number of days apart. Whereas if your period really is regular, it will slowly shift what day it lands on as the year progresses and the number of days in the month changes. So someone with a regular cycle might start on the 16th at the beginning of the year but end up starting on the 7th or something by the end of the year. Periods can also go from being regular for a while, to being irregular, for many various reasons, some of which we can never really know. If you have been menstruating for less than 3 years, that's another reason for why your periods might be irregular, as it takes years for our cycles to really become regular.

[Heather]

Here's more information on that right here: http://www.scarleteen.com/article/advic ... e_or_is_it

[ratperson]

Just popping in - periods can be irregular even on birth control. Mine start or end on different days depending on things like stress level, diet, and just whenever they feel like it. Bodies really aren't machines, and there's so much happening that we can't even tell is going on (digestion, how the weather affects our bodies, our body temperature, all kinds of stuff) that it's hard to tell sometimes when they'll start or stop. I've also had the varying heaviness (even before birth control) and that didn't stop until I'd been on birth control for a while, and even now every few months I'll notice 'oh, day x is heavier than it was before!' or 'Oh, less cramps on day y!'.

[Berry124]

Hi, ratperson, I am not on birth control but I have got really bad IBS which is linked to digestion as well as lots of hard work from college and because of my IBS, I have cut down on A LOT of foods I used to eat, so that may be one of the many reasons for a shorter period as well as stress, change in exercise I do since I stopped etc.

[Berry124]

Just worried that there might be something health wise wrong with me as my period is late at the moment and it's the 28th day of my cycle and have been getting twinges of cramping pains since late last week. Then again I have increased the amounts I am eating as I wasn't eating enough. This is confusing

[Heather]

Again, these are conversations to have with your healthcare provider. They are the only people who can soundly assess your health with you.

Remember, too, that a late period, medically speaking, is a period later than five days after the very latest you would expect a period. So, unless you usually have cycles around 22 or 23 days long, your period is not likely yet late in the first place. And, of course, periods are not always regular or like clockwork, anyway. Shifts or changes in menstrual cycles are very common, especially when you are younger.

[Berry124]

I guess my periods have varied a lot recently, all since my lifestyle changed and all the cycles have been from 21 days-29 days this year, especially since starting college and having lots of stress. Does growth also affect a period? It's possible right, because I have grown 2inches since my cycle lengths changed and am still growing. Wouldn't that affect my weight which affects menstruation?

[Berry124]

Problem is, I don't know if 28 days is my regular anymore like it has been for two years, as it has suddenly changed and has been between 24-26 days until now :/ I mentioned to my doctor about this and they said doubt there's anything wrong as they say I have IBS so when I said I have pain in my lower left side, where both part of my intestines are and my left ovary are, they didn't look into it and said it's probably IBS They won't listen to me even though I get a heavy, dull feeling there with a regular sharp pains and am weeing a lot even when drinking nothing and my cycles have suddenly changed as well as tonnes of spots which are worse than they have been for years

[Berry124]

Plus, you guys have said that there is no pregnancy risk from what I describe so that isn't a factor of strange cycles and this is why I don't understand what's wrong with my periods anymore. I haven't missed one in three years and I always get stressed but they always still came the exact same time. I don't understand this

[Mo]

Like Heather said, it's very normal for period cycle length to vary, even when you have a history of regularity. The number of factors that can impact your cycle timing are huge, and there's really no way to know, at any time, what if anything is causing those changes. It's always ok to ask a doctor to spend a little more time talking with you about pain you're feeling, or explaining what they think the issue is, if you feel like your concerns are being brushed aside. But it also sounds like your doctor didn't see a cause for concern here. Pain and cramping are never fun, of course, but they aren't always indicative of a greater underlying problem.

It really sounds like you're still very caught up in your anxiety here - have you had any luck seeking out some support for that?

[Berry124]

I just haven't missed a period for 2 years now and have had stress many times still with normal periods. My period was meant to be Thursday, 28th day of the cycle, which hasn't happened for months so why is there no sign of a period to be seen? All I know is that I normally get breast tenderness before my period, which I had this morning. My sudden change with periods is what's really getting me paranoid, as I haven't done anything for pregnancy to happen and I haven't got a pregnancy test as I know there's no need: haven't had direct contact with ejaculate anywhere but my hands and even then I was fully dressed and washed hands with soap and water four times before going to the toilet, never had intercourse or direct genital contact with anyone, haven't even had anyone directly touch me there and I know because of all this, I AM NOT PREGNAT yet it's really annoying me that my whole body is messed up, I can't stand it with also having to wait for blood test results for possible cancer to come back With the anxiety, I haven't had a chance to do anything about it, I mentioned it to my mum but she said I'm fine. Just need my parents even though I am 17 doesn't mean I don't need them every now and then, I feel like they don't see how I am and just shrug it off

[Redskies]

Hi, Berry.

We can hear very clearly in your conversations with us on the boards and in chat that you feel very unsupported and isolated. I'm really sorry that your parents don't seem to be taking your mental health concerns seriously - I know that feels lousy and it's really not what you need. We Do take your need to be supported seriously, and we recognise that it's a need you have, and that not having enough people in your corner who are prepared to really hear what you need to talk about is likely driving some of the worry and anxiety you're feeling. That's why we've been suggesting you take steps to get some support, because we really want you to have it, and we're pretty sure you'd feel somewhat better if you had it. Waiting for test results for unknown-possibly-serious-stuff is hard anyway, and everybody could really do with someone to lean on in that situation.

There are very likely services available to you to provide you with support, both through a medical route by asking a doctor for help with your anxiety, and through youth services that often have counselling available. We'd be very happy to support you in accessing those services, but the main moves and the first moves with that need to come from you, because it's only likely to be of benefit to you if it's something that you want and pursue for yourself. I know it's harder if/when you don't have parental support, but you don't need your parents' permission or agreement to seek these kinds of services.

[Berry124]

I just get really paranoid about pregnancy as you probably know and now my period is two days late yet I have breast tenderness and cramping and know what a real risks are for pregnancy. I just want my period! What you said describes just how I have felt for a long time and my boyfriend is the one who has noticed that I seem really down alot of the time and hes the only one there for me. With finding help, I dont know how I would fit it in college ruins everything as I travel for three hours a day and get back late when places close and people have finished work etc.

[Berry124]

I don't know where to start with getting help though as I have no idea how to find it when the doctors dont take notice of me