Period pain: what is common and what is not
· 1 min read
Cramping is expected. Pain that stops you living your life is not, whatever you have been told.
Cramping in the first day or two is common and is caused by the uterus contracting. Pain that keeps you off work, wakes you at night, or does not respond to ordinary painkillers is a different thing, and it is often dismissed for years.
Roughly where the line sits
Common: cramping in the lower abdomen and back for one to three days around the start, easing with over-the-counter painkillers, a hot water bottle or movement.
Worth investigating:
- Pain that stops you doing normal activities
- Pain not relieved by standard painkillers taken properly
- Pain that has become significantly worse over time
- Pain during sex, or when passing urine or stool, especially around your period
- Pain along with very heavy bleeding
- Pelvic pain outside your period
Why this matters
Endometriosis affects roughly one in ten women of reproductive age, and diagnosis has historically taken years — largely because severe period pain gets normalised, by patients and clinicians alike. Adenomyosis and fibroids are also common and treatable.
None of that is diagnosed from an app. But a record of how bad the pain is, how long it lasts and what it prevents is the evidence that moves a conversation from "periods can be painful" to "this warrants a look".
What to track
A consistent 0–10 rating, where it hurts, how long it lasts, what you took and whether it helped, and — most persuasive of all — what you could not do that day.