Period pain symptoms

Pain felt before and/or during your period is a well-known symptom that could be experienced by as many as nine out of ten women and people of reproductive age who menstruate. Also known as dysmenorrhoea, period pains can often be mild, or they may be more intense or even severe enough to impact your daily life.

Below, we take a look at dysmenorrhoea symptoms to help you understand what you can do about your period pain.

What does period pain feel like?

In general, period pains typically start at the beginning or end of your period, lasting for around three days. They can feel like:

• Painful cramping in your tummy or abdominal area
• Sharp pains in the abdomen
• A dull aching sensation in your tummy
• Pain radiating from your abdomen to your back and/or the top of your legs.

Period pain can coincide with other symptoms relating to the beginning of your period, such as:

• Fatigue
• Bloating
• Changes of mood
• Headaches
• Diarrhoea.

Even though period pain is a normal and expected part of your menstrual cycle, that doesn't mean you just have to put up with it. Your pharmacist or GP can recommend period pain treatments to help you manage your symptoms if needed.

When to see a doctor

The period pain described above is what's known as primary dysmenorrhoea - in other words, there's no identifiable cause of your period pain beyond the period itself. Secondary dysmenorrhoea is the term used to describe period pain that's caused by an underlying health condition.

Secondary dysmenorrhoea is usually categorised by a change in your menstrual cramps' symptoms - whether that means they've become more intense, or they last for longer. Other signs to watch out for include:

• A heavy feeling in your back and/or tummy
• Pain similar to period cramps that occurs at other times in your cycle
• Any type of severe period pain regardless of how usual it is for you - severe meaning painful enough to stop you from getting on with your usual daily routine
• Pain during sex.

As well as these pain-related signs of secondary dysmenorrhoea, you might also experience the following symptoms:

• Heavy flow
• Bleeding at other times during your cycle, including after sex
• Irregular periods
• Unusual discharge at any time in your cycle.

These symptoms don't necessarily mean that there's something wrong, but if you experience any of the above signs or you're at all concerned about your period pain, it's important to get it checked out so any problems can be dealt with as soon as possible. If there is an underlying health condition causing your painful periods, then it's likely that more specialised treatments will be needed to tackle the underlying cause.