r/menstruation

I could use some input. I had unprotected sex on May 2nd. My last period started April 14th, so based on an average cycle I think I would’ve ovulated around April 28th — which would put the sex a few days after ovulation. It’s now May 21st. I tested negative on May 20th with a urine test, which is 18 days after the sex and about 8 days past when my period was expected.

Here’s what’s going on with my body: for the past 3 days I’ve had dark brown spotting with a little bright red mixed in. Last week I had dark brown discharge and a painful pimple on my chin that has since gone away. I’ve also been very tired lately.

My main questions: What are the chances that negative test is false at this stage? Is 18 days out late enough to trust it, or should I retest? Has anyone had a false negative this far along, or had similar symptoms (the spotting, fatigue, breakout) turn out to be a late period or hormonal instead of pregnancy? Do I need to be worried, or does this sound normal?

Any experiences or advice would be really appreciated.

i got my bloods taken and did 2 vaginal swabs today after i told my doctor my period is 2 weeks early for the past few months. im on the mini pill and im so sick of this, i really cant take it. idk if its just bc im on my period, but im so so so emotional and i keep getting sweats and stuff. im honestly scared im getting the early menopause at 19. does anyone else who takes the mini pill have a super messed up cycle? i like cant take this anymore its absolutely ruining my life. why was i cursed into yhis body

Hello! I have been a little concerned about how late my period is. My last cycle was like the last week of February
and since then I haven't gotten it again. I am not having any other symptoms that I have noticed. I just want to know if this is something I should be concerned about or if its not that big of a deal.

Hi, I dont really care for miss spelling but whatever,
I’m 16 F, I’m currently laying in bed crying from the pain and it’s 4:19 am.
I really hope this is a period thing.
I’m the middle girl and I’ve mever really asked for much, my older sister 19F and younger 9f have always been the scary ones that run to my parents in a thundering night or when having a bad dream or when sick.
I’ve always proudly of myself never really asked for this things and they’ve appreciated that to a large extent, what’s it gonna do? They gonna magically let it go away? Plus it makes me feel bad when they wake up because they’re both busy in the morning.

Anyways, randomly yesterday I think around 5 pm I was laying down, before hand I walked around my house multiple times because I like it with music too. So I was just laying down in my bed scrolling TikTok and I had a what I think is a bad cramp, it started in my lower belly I think or lower, I thought it was just a sign of my period coming soon and I tried to wait it out,
3 hours later it hurts so bad that I can’t even get up to get dinner, I had texted my mom while she was making it that I was hurting but she was kinda annoyed so I stopped that, I really felt like I had to use the bathroom so I had to slowly get myself up and kinda limp, but as soon as I sat on it another cramp just fricking hits me, at this point it hurts so bad, and I had left my phone in my bed so I start yelling for my younger sister instead, she gets me the pain relievers and a cup of water and I thank her.
Btw yelling hurt too, so I’m in the bathroom and for some stupid reason I can’t go, at all, even releasing gas was long and painful, so I wait until I pee just a little, then I go back to my bed.
Then my mom got concerned when another hour in I’m still in bed and I text her that I can’t join dinner because I was in so much pain, she made my favorite (noodles) she goes to my room and I ask for more pills which she says no because I already took 2 so soon, (it felt like they didn’t work)
So she goes get me a heating pad and lets me use it then leaves, it kinda works a little but more sharp when and keep going in.
My dad comes home and asks me if I’m alright and I say no, he says if sucks but tried to make a gay joke, it was lowkey kinda funny and I laugh but I keep trying to stop because that also hurt.
I’m left alone with my mom coming back to take the heating thing to charge it then coming back and giving it to me.
4 hours later my mom tells me to get up and eat something and the pain monetarily went down so I go downstairs slowly, I eat down cereal because some reason the noodles felt like way too much.
Then everyone is going to bed, I lay down, hoping to sleep the pain away, I can’t sleep so I just play on my phone for awhile then put it down to hope to sleep it off.
I’m twisting in turning in pain because everything is painful, it feels horrible, any movement hurts but eventually I fall asleep only to wake up again now 2 hours later because it hurts so bad.
Now I’m freaking crying and I don’t know what to do.

Help me, can I just take some medication? Do I keep trying to sleep it off? My dad has work at 5:10 should I wait? Please I don’t know what to do

Update, I think?: it’s now 5:20
For a little I just layed in my bed, kinda half yelling for help, nothing happened.
I renelented and did it, had to put my shorts standing uop extremely slowly for like 2 minutes and limped holding the rail to my parents room, my dad was in the garage smoking before having to get ready so I went to my mom and I woke her up telling her.
So anywho, she told me to drink more pills and I tried to tell her about the pain but she went back to sleep, so I limped back to my bathroom and took two more pain relievers and while there my dad come up and asked me if I was alright and I said No and he just told me to take more pills while I was taking pills.
wtf do I do, I guess I’m gonna try to fall asleep and hopefully it calms down despite the large pain

Update 2:
My mom got up after like another hour and went to me asking more questions, she was kinda upset at me why I don’t go sooner 💀
Anywho she’s researching with my dad and told me to try to sleep it off and if it doesn’t go away she’ll call my dad to take me to the ER she said though I really doubt it

Update 3: we went, it’s a UTI, thankfully we caught it. I had thought it was just a really bad period.

Here some things:
An untreated UTI can progress from a simple bladder infection to a fatal systemic condition in anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, but once bacteria reach the bloodstream, death can occur in as little as 12 to 24 hours.

It took 19 hours to get me there, had to pee in a cup which took so long because I couldn’t.

Their gonna me antibiotics for 5 days and run more tests. For anyone who might think you got it here are some syndromes:
Severe lower stomach/cramping
Pain lasting many hours without stopping
Pain so bad you were crying
Pain with movement/walking
Limping because of pain
Laughing/yelling hurting
Trouble using the bathroom
Trouble passing gas
Only peeing a little
Heating pad only helping slightly
Pain medicine not helping much
Couldn’t sleep because of pain
Woke back up from sleep because pain was so severe
Twisting/turning from pain
Eating felt difficult
Pain coming in sharp waves/cramps

Do not wait for it to get worse yall it could kill you.
——-

My mom acknowledged it was wrong for her to shoo me off in the morning and said that normally I don’t have much going on so she hadn’t thought it was a big deal because I’m always alright and take care of myself.
My dad was a little upset that he had to take time off work not gonna lie but then again his not the most emotional person as a veteran, but I still felt bad.
I do admit I have shame asking for things because I’m embarrassed or I hate asking for things.

There goes my record of like 6 or 7 years (lol 6 7)
Without having to go to any type of hospital L.

Thank u guys so much so urging me to go to my parents, I didn’t know it could be deadly and I was just gonna wait it out, I try to update if something else happens but I doubt it, thank u guys 🔥🔥🫶🫶🫶

never in my life had a period this long at all so i (20F) got tested for pregnancy (had taken a morning after pill a week before my period started) and thyroid problems on friday, both came out negative and they told me it would probably slow down after a couple of days. it’s currently still going and doesn’t seem to show any signs of slowing down, though it does all seem to be the color of old blood.

like i said i’ve never had a period anywhere near this long, plan b side effect or otherwise. is there anything i should be worried about or should i just wait it out?

Does anyone else feel like there periods after turning 30 are just so much more painful and hard to deal with my 33 and every time I get my period I’m in bed all day in so much pain all through out my 20’s I would work gym had little toddlers to run after now I’m completely out for the count I have to take day 1 off work and I’m crawling around the house with a heat back literally taped to me trying my best to tidy up! ( side note I can’t relax until my house is clean ) 🤣

I’m 21, 5’7 and around 102 kg. My periods were always irregular, but for almost the last 2 years they’ve mostly disappeared unless I take medicines. I’ve had bloodwork and ultrasounds done twice. I had induced withdrawal bleeds in June and November last year, and honestly I don’t even remember the last time I got a natural period on my own. In February, my ultrasound showed an endometrial thickness of 10 mm. The rest of the ultrasound was normal except for grade 1 fatty liver. I recently took medicines again to induce a period, but I genuinely can’t remember if I completed the course properly, and now I’m waiting again with nothing happening. The hardest part is constantly feeling like my period is about to come but then nothing does — no proper symptoms, no bleeding, nothing. I keep worrying that my lining isn’t shedding and that I’ll end up with hyperplasia or something serious. I know my weight probably plays a role, but it really gets to me seeing people heavier than me still getting regular periods while mine are practically absent. At this point I’m mentally exhausted from constantly waiting, overthinking every symptom, and feeling like my body just isn’t working properly.

I’ve (23F) always used tampons but have never gone swimming on my period. It’s hot asf tho! 😩 Thoughts on swimming with a tampon? Any cup/ disk recommendations? I’ve never used those before but i’m open to it :) i just don’t want to leak at my in-laws lol

Hello! For a school project (I study illustration) I am making a little booklet filled with comics and illustrations about everything period related. I am focusing on how absurd it is that what should be a normal topic has so many taboos around it. Why do we take our period products to the toilets in secret? Why are we scared of leaking through? I would like to know if there are any more scenarios or moments in your life where you’ve experienced the taboos around periods. What would you have liked to know earlier about them? What should be taught in high school or even middle school but isn’t?
Thanks in advance for taking the time to answer this! I hope I can collect enough stories/frustrations/questions to make a little booklet out of!🫶

I’m due on my period this Saturday so I need to take pads with me ugh, but I have a locker booked so I’m planning on keeping them in there with hoodies etc and just wear my bumbag with essentials into the arena. I’m wondering if I’d be allowed to take a slightly bigger bag (roughly A5 sized) with my stuff in it as well as my empty bumbag and then kinda decant into the bumbag once I’m in there?

Has anyone tried this? Are security gonna be weird about it help!
Also any tips for periods at a day festival are very much appreciated

[supprimé]

Hey, please help me understand how much or if I have made an improvement since last June, I lost my period February 2025 so it’s been a long journey. I’m 18 for reference, 172 cm 66.5 kg

June 2025:

Last July
FSH: 2.1 IU/L
LH: <0.5 IU/L
Oestradiol: <70 pmol/L
Prolactin: 219 mIU/L
TSH: 3.00 mIU/L
Testosterone: 0.7 nmol/L
SHBG: 52 nmol/L
Free androgen index (FAI): 1.3%

May 2026

FSH: 6.8 IU/L
LH: 13.8 IU/L
Oestradiol: 164 pmol/L
Prolactin: 255 mIU/L
TSH: 3.00 mIU/L
Testosterone: 0.9 nmol/L
SHBG: 44 nmol/L
Free androgen index (FAI): 2.0%

So I’m not even sure when and where I bought these. I assume they are panty liners that r long. I found them in my travel bag! I love them though since wearing them past week.

I’ve bought and have spent about $50 trying to find these exact ones!

Kotex
L Brand
Always

Pics in Comments

Is peeing more frequently before ur period normal? Anyone went/going through this???

Delete this post if it's irrelevant, but I've been diagnosed with pcos in 2023 after having pretty irregular cycles since the end of 2022. I gained a lot of weight, acne, body hair etc. With medicine and proper treatment, my periods became regular, and I lost all the symptoms gradually.

Every year around summer or monsoon, I get one cycle which is longer than usual. In 2024 during July-August, my cycle lasted for 39 days. Last year, my longest cycle was 36 days during March- April. (I was extremely worried).

Now coming to this year, my current cycle is 37 days, and I'm worried of my pcos symptoms being back. April-May are one of the hottest months where I live. It could be the reason why I'm delayed. But I also, can't help but worry.

If anyone has any advice, please share it. I'm worrying myself sick, because we're currently planning to ttc.