Period Pain: What’s normal?

For the most part, girls are brought up with the narrative that period pain is normal. And that goes for anything from mild right through to debilitating pain. It’s something we can empathise with each other about, and period pain is so common that it almost becomes an expected part of menarche. You may even be viewed as an outsider or lucky if you have pain-free periods.

But the narrative needs a serious update, because “common” means something very different to “normal”.

With every woman’s body being unique, and with the reproductive system being so intricately driven by hormones we were taught very little about (if anything), it’s no wonder that having a pain-free period can feel entirely out of reach. In fact it may not even come to mind as an option in the first place.

Worse yet, we seem to have a healthcare system (in the UK at least) where the default solution for period pain on any level of severity is to shut down our menstrual cycle entirely, by prescribing the contraceptive pill. It just sticks a plaster over the wound, and in many cases of primary dysmenorrhea especially, ignores the presence of whatever caused the pain in the first place.

So, what exactly is “normal”?

There is a range of “normal”. It is anything from an entirely pain-free period, up to being able to feel a mild cramping sensation, perhaps with a 1 out of 10 level of pain, or 2 at most. After all, your muscles are physically cramping in order to expel the uterine lining that has been built up during your last cycle. However, everyone of course has a different pain tolerance and a 1-10 scale won’t mean the same thing for everyone.

But if you are needing to take 2 or more pain killers in a day (such as ibuprofen) to cope with your period pain, take strong pain killers of any kind, or you are in so much pain that you either cry or are unable to work or continue going about your day as you usually would, then that is a strong sign that your pain is not normal.

There is an underlying issue that needs to be addressed.

Other signs that your period pain is not normal can include fainting, nausea or vomiting, needing to call (or feeling like you need to call) an ambulance, or ending up in A&E.

Most importantly, if you aren’t sure whether your pain is normal or not, please book an appointment with your GP to get it investigated anyway. They should ask you a series of questions about your level of pain, run blood tests, and in some cases book you in for an ultrasound scan. The latter tends to be done if something like PCOS or uterine fibroids are suspected.

If you have tried reaching out to your GP or a gynecologist and feel unheard or dismissed, especially if you have been to multiple professionals and still feel the same way, please get in touch via the form at the bottom of this page and we will explore it together.

A common situation I see is that women are checked for causes of secondary dysmenorrhea (that is, period pain caused by a pathological condition such as endometriosis or PCOS), but if their results come up clear, they are ‘diagnosed’ with primary dysmenorrhea instead and then told to take pain killers, to “wait it out”, and often to take the contraceptive pill.

And that’s all the options they’re given.

But let’s be clear: this is not ok.

For starters, primary dysmenorrhea is a symptom and not a diagnosis or the root cause of period pain. It is the medical term for severe period pain. And chances are, you were already acutely aware that you do, in fact, have period pain…

At the core of all of this is education - or the lack of it. Education around what’s normal, what’s not, how our cycles and hormones work, and what foundations we can put in place to support optimal menstrual and reproductive health.

You might find that googling a symptom like dysmenorrhea or period pain can lead you down all sorts of rabbit holes, or lead you to a total dead end where the main solution you can find is to ‘use a hot water bottle’. If you are struggling with period pain in any way and it’s disrupting your life, I highly recommend you start by reading The Root Cause of Period Pain, which you can find in our shop or linked below. This eBook dives into primary and secondary dysmenorrhea, what causes period pain in the first place, and shares practical tips that you can implement today to take charge of your period pain.

So to conclude: debilitating period pain is not normal. The narrative change starts today. Will you join us?