How did your period change as you got older?

29 comments

1. came off birth control at 30 so any experience beforehand is pretty invalid
   first 2 years it was mostly non-existent, now almost 5 years later, it is consistent and pretty predictable — 31-34 day cycles and heavy af for about 12-24 hours then light/ spotting for 2-3 more days

2. For the past 2-3 years it’s been all over the place. Cycle can be anywhere from 12 days to 90 days, lasting 2 days to 10 days. On the plus side though, I don’t really get PMS anymore and my cramps aren’t as bad as they used to be.

3. It has always been very predictable and consistent. When I was a teenager, it was pretty light and lasted for 3-5 days. I got the copper IUD in my 20’s and it became a much heavier, full week ordeal. IUD had to be removed 10 years later, now I am back to super short periods (3 days usually) but goddamn are they painful.

4. I have never been on birth control and I noticed mine are getting shorter. Went from 7 days to 4/5 days. Didn’t notice a change until my mid to late 20s. I started my period when I was 11.

   Edit: I don’t have kids so I know that’s a factor. My PMS is unfortunately still as bad as my teen years. 🙁

5. In my 30s and after having kids:

   It’s lighter, pink discharge on day one, heaviest on day two then just old blood by day 5 instead of 7 days of leaking in my sleep.

   The cramps are usually in my back now instead of the front – sometimes they radiate into my upper thighs, yay!

   I still get super hot and sweaty and moody and spotty in the run up to it.

6. My period has gotten much heavier as I have aged. Aside from that, I am one of those women who is a roller coaster of emotions during my period. The best part of getting older is that you sort of learn to distinguish period emotions and life emotions. I say sort of, because period emotions are some of the hardest to sort through.

7. My period has stayed the same but my pms has gotten much worse the older I get

8. More and more irregular lol

   First time I had my period, my “norm” cycle was every 3 months. Then it turned into every 6 months. All of them have usually been super light too. These past few years, it’s been every single fucking day with maybe a few days break. From spotting to light. Now, it’s back to being sporadic where it’s for a full week, and then a few spotting a week or so later then switching back to every day spotting with a few days break.

   I have gone to the doctor/gyno, none are of any help lol.

9. Less painful and lighter.

   My cycle is shorter, used to be 32 days, now its 28 to 29 days.

   I’m 33 now and I also get weird phases where my blood is the consistency of water and I leak even though my sanitary towel isn’t full. Thankfully it doesn’t happen often but I think it’s peculiar.

   I still have 7 day periods though, that’s one thing that’s been consistent for as far as my memory goes back. I don’t get why we need a 7 day period, it gets super boring after day 3 or so.

10. i used to get awful heavy week long periods every 40ish days. now mine come every 27-9 days and last about 3. I also get a really bad migraine two days before.

11. I’m mid-40s and after decades of very regular 5 day (+/-) cycles every 28 days, the past couple-few years they’ve gotten more erratic and tend to be 3 VERY heavy days with a day or 2 of spotting now.

12. My periods have definitely gotten a lot more painful over the years, to the point that I can hardly walk on my heaviest days. (Somehow my legs hurt the most..) I’ve never wanted to use hormonal anticonception but this year I gave in. Now that I recently started a paid job I don’t want to call in sick every month.

13. Just wondering what some women’s experiences have been, granted they’ve never taken birth control? Birth control seems to be a factor in many stories.

14. I was never emotional when I was younger, but once I hit my 30s I started crying all the damn time at the start of my period. I’ve never been on any birth control.

15. My periods used to be super irregular up til I was in my mid-20s. I’d never get any signs of when they were coming. No pain. No cramps. The only thing was that they were always a week long.

    My periods are regular now but they tend to be shorter. Usually 4-5 days now. They’re still painless though so that’s nice.

16. I started mine at age 9, I’m 23 now. From the age of about 11, mine were really bad pain-wise. I missed numerous days of school due to severe cramping, and my period would last 7 days or more.

    I gave birth to my son in March of 2021 and, since then, my periods have been generally less painful and much, much shorter. I tend to be more emotionally affected but physically its nowhere near as bad!

    Irregularity has become a bit of a problem though!

17. Much much heavier. And PAIN. Pain like you wouldn’t believe. Birth control helped with that.

18. Only difference I have noticed is I get acne around my chin a few days leading up.

    The week leading up is an emotional nightmare

    And the clumps! Omg it’s like huge chunks of my insides are just falling out of me. Just chunks of bloody meat.

    The smell is different… Before I couldn’t smell the metallic to the blood and now it’s very obvious

    There is an ache not in my belly but within my vagina… Ya know how babies will need to gum on stuff when they teeth… Its like I just wanna stick something up my vagina and roll it around to alleviate that ache

19. It’s steadily gotten much lighter and less painful over the past 21 years. From 7 days when I was a teen down to 3/4 and rarely any cramps. No kids, a few short years on HBC (which didn’t seem to change anything). Had my hormones checked out a few years ago because I was concerned and apparently that’s pretty common.

20. I’m 34, my periods are 38 days apart after childbirth and there’s spotting day one day two is heavy bleeding then third day is brown blood, and then I’m ovulating pretty quickly because I feel horny after I start bleeding.

21. it was originally so painful i would be screaming and not be able to walk and throw up every where they were so traumatic i was put on birth control as a minor

    now it is not even painful at all but i do get many new symptoms like strange night mares increased sex drive needing to sleep more losing my appetite having acne break outs and being much more emotionally reactive

22. It’s decided that “monthly cycle” is a guideline and not a time frame it needs to actually abide by. I’ve had two periods in a month twice this year.

23. As I got older, my period became more irregular. I remember when I was in highschool and college I get it every month, for only 3 days max.

    When I entered the workforce, I started skipping a month, couple of months etc. Now I’m on the pill because I freaked out when I didn’t get my period for like 6 months lol~ and it’s longer now. It takes like 7 days.

    My doctor said there’s a lot of factors such as stress, weight gain/loss and age. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’m hoping I could get off the pill soon coz it makes me feel so fat lol

24. My endometriosis started flaring up. Im now on continuous birth control for over 2 1/2 years to stop my periods and thus my adenomyosis symptoms

25. Heavier periods, period 💩, which I have never gotten earlier years .and my period comes every month now. Very emotional and sweaty and 🥵

26. I started with a 7 day period, super heavy. And then right before I was sexually active it was so heavy (only 5 days though) I would bleed through a pad in one gush. After losing my virginity its light and usually lasts 4 days. It’s so nice

27. Mine got shorter – 7 days to 5 day during my 20s. Then early 30s I got fibroids that threw everything into chaos.

28. It surprisingly got more manageable(ish). It used to be heavy and last a week. Now there’s only 1 heavy day and it only lasts 3 days

    Cramps got much worse though. However, I would rather have bad cramps than a bad flow at school. Even though cramps leave me at home sometimes

    Also, I do get more emotional on my period than I did years before

29. It became consistent from the age of 17 and longer! From 3 to 5 days now!