Due to endometriosisi I take the pill for 3-4 months straight, so my periods are infrequent. When I do have them, my cramps are debilitating to the point that I can barely leave the house without the aid of narcotic painkillers.
I’m 5’4, 130 pounds, hourglass/athletic build.
My cramps are horrible, but only last for the first 24 hours. I didn’t start getting cramps until I was close to 30 (I’m 40 now).
I’m on the short-ish side, I’d say a combo of curvy & athletic.
Cramps about twice a year (they last a day, I take an aspirin and lie down), light periods (used to be extremely irregular; now, in my early forties, more or less regular). I might get more emotional before my period, and tend to get very tired and a bit crabby the day before, but that’s it. I’m 5’ (apple, not pear), and my weight does not influence premenstrual anything, whether I’m skin and bone or seriously squishy.
I’m very lucky, I rarely get cramps. Maybe once or twice a year I will get a slight twinge on the first day of my period, but it’s not enough to even be described as uncomfortable. I have a light flow that generally lasts about 3 1/2 days.
My body type is tall and athletic.
Yes. On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d say they’re about an 8. I pretty much medicate myself constantly for the first 3 days.
I’ve been both thin and fat with cramps. I would say I tend to store abdominal fat, and I am very muscular. My breasts are pretty large, proportionately. Medium height for a woman.
I’m 5ft 4 inches and quite athletic and kind I weigh 125 and I’m kind of curvy and I don’t get bad cramps and sometimes I don’t have cramps at all but when I do all I have to do is take an advil and my cramps go away but If I don’t take advil I’m fine.
Before having a baby, I was almost never off the pill. I was off it for maybe six cycles (I had excessive bleeding and went on the pill for that reason). During that time I sometimes had cramps that were so bad, all I could do was lie curled up on a cot in the nurse’s office.
Since having a baby, I’ve been off the pill again for eight cycles (we are trying to conceive again). The cramps have never gotten worse than “mild annoyance”.
I am medium height, tending to pudgy, hourglass figure.
Well, back in 2004 when I was having periods, I rarely had anything like a cramp. My periods lasted 2.5 days and were no big deal. No I appear to be cruising into menopause at age 51. I had hot flashes for about a week, but not bad ones. Nothing since.
StG
I am very thin, athletic, but curvy… if that makes any sense (I’m naturally both small-framed/underweight and lean/muscular, I stay fit, and I have a tiny waist and my hips/ass are def there).
I’m 27 and have never taken the pill, I’ve suffered some pretty bad cramps/period side-effects in my life, and I never have a period without some degree of cramping - but I’ve found through through experimentation that the amount/intensity of cramping I have is dependent on my lifestyle. Eat right and do cardio=easy period. Eat crap and don’t get my heartrate up regularly=painful, exhausting period.
Before I went on the pill, my cramps were pretty bad. They occurred on the first day of my period, and while some months were less intense, I usually had to miss school that day - I probably could have made it through the day at school, but if I had to sit up straight without a heatpack pressed against my abdomen I’d be in too much pain to absorb anything I was supposed to be learning. I never threw up from cramps (but then, I never throw up at all) and I think I passed out once (though I was already lying down at the time, so it’s kind of hard to tell). Since going on the pill, my periods have been a breeze, cramps have been reduced to a little twinge that’s not even painful. I’ve been through a couple of cycles where I stopped taking the pill, and on those occasions the cramps came back, and unlike before, they woke me up at around dawn on the first night of my period instead of waiting until I was awake.
I’m very short, my body shape is squishy/curvy and according to my BMI, I’m ‘normal’ weight.
I have cramps but they aren’t debilitating. It’s mostly a dull ache the day I start. I’m apple shaped, overweight, average height.
1. Do you have cramps during your period, and if so, how bad are they?
I may have had a cramp once or twice ever. Ever since my period started I have been really irregular. The only time I ever had one even semi-regularly was when I was taking the pill and even then it wasn’t every month. On its own my body gives me a period (and a pretty light one at that compared to my friends) about 3 or 4 times a year.
Besides light bleeding the only thing my period seems to cause is an extra case of the hungries.
2. What’s your body type (thin, fat, short, tall, athletic, curvy, squishy, etc.)?
Short, thin/athletic.
ETA: aaaaaaaaaaaaand I see this is a zombie thread. DAMNIT, I need to pay more attention.
1. Do you have cramps during your period, and if so, how bad are they?
Yes, on the first and second days. If I don’t take ibuprofen I get bad abdominal and lower back pain and I can’t stand up straight. The pain doesn’t go away completely with painkillers though.
2. What’s your body type (thin, fat, short, tall, athletic, curvy, squishy, etc.)?
Tall (173cm), curvy, pear shaped, 60kg, far from athletic
When I had periods, yes they were very bad, as in couldn’t go to work bad. Now I take Cerazette and don’t get periods. Happy days.
Fat hourglass.
Tall, slender, athletic. Very mild cramps, taken ibuprofen less than ten times in mg life for discomfort, most months nothing more than pressure for a couple days. Very light periods, 3 to 4 days. Always exercised, swam, hiked, had sex during my period as it was inconsequential.
Had a few monstrous periods after delivery that landed me in ER due to fainting from blood loss and the pain was shocking, like first few hours of labor. Hate to admit that before that experience, assumed women who complained overmuch were exaggerating and overdramantic (unless endometriosis). I really had no idea what some of you girls go through, and geez I’m really sorry.
I “bloomed” late, starting my first period around the age of fifteen, but I always had very bad PMS symptoms, including cramps. It was manageable until I hit about twenty-seven. Then I became irregular with mind-shattering periods, but did nothing about it, figuring it was just genetics.
Over the course of the last two years, it escalated, and through a few painful circumstances, I learned I had four uterine fibroids (one the size of a small basketball) and that my uterus had expanded to the size of a five month pregnancy. The problem with this is that the uterus still coats itself entirely with endometrial tissue, so I ended up with Super Sized periods.
Even two months after my hysterectomy, I still cramp, though. It isn’t anything like it used to be, though.
5’ 4", pear-shaped, but size 4 slim.
I’m in the same boat: similar height/shape ratio and symptoms. Usually cramps aren’t bad, but when I had an IUD, there were days where the cramps were so bad that I’d drop things or puke randomly from the pain. It was, uh, special.
When I was younger, I didn’t really get cramps too much, but I’m still really irregular: my cycle can last anywhere between 20 days and 10 months*, but averages to once a month for a few months, then skipping a month or two every third or fourth month. It makes prediction a little annoying, and I’m glad I have other symptoms that make the arrival of my period easier to diagnose before I’ve ruined a pair of pants.
Dammit. Low caffeine caused me to respond to a zombie.
I’m curvy/athletic and 5’7". I have minimal cramps, but I’ve been on Mirena for a long time. I do notice that I get a little more combative once a month and tend to put on 3-5 pounds for about a week with limited to no change to diet. I also have really intensive food cravings during that time; I can’t imagine that fighting those cravings helps with my mood.
Double zombies don’t have enough blood in them to have cramps.