Me too. Hey, I get curious about people's cycle lengths. what sort of time cycle are you on (and anybody else who's reading this*)? Has it varied? I've always been about 32-36 days except, interestingly, when I started work at Zenith, when it suddenly plummeted to about every 13-20 days. It settled in at about 28 says at the start of 2001 and has crept up again until now I seem to be back where I started.
Well, after being on the Pill for far too long, I have a regular every 3 weeks clear then a period for between 4-7 days.
However, as soon as I come off the Pill, my cycle reverts back to it's regular timing, which is irregular. Apparently I am lucky enough to have an irregular cycle which means I could come on every 2 weeks or every 5 weeks and I get no warning as such. Lovely. Used to be nerve wracking wearing any pale colours or going swimming (not that much blood came out when swimming) or staying in someone else's bed.
Never realised others had crappy irregular cycles too. Everyone else in my family is/was a 3 weeks off, one week on cycle, cept for me.
Glad to hear others have this problem.
Before the Pill, I had very heavy periods which started very heavy, then after 3 days got medium, then a few days lighter. I got lots of pain too and really bad mood swings - and I mean bad. Now, I have maybe one day heavy, two or three medium and then just spotting.
Well, I was on the injection until last August, so I didn't have any at all. Then I didn't have any for ages after I came off the injection, either, not till January.
At the moment I'm not on the pill or the injection, for the first time in about ten years, and am remembering exactly how painful my periods are. I seem to be on a fairly normal cycle of 30 days or so, with one day of non-painful bleeding, a day or two of pain and another day or two of nice bright red bleeding that doesn't hurt. I think.
I sometimes get more creative/sexual around my period. I like gaylemadwin (queerbychoice's)'s quote:
When I'm not on the Pill, I have a fairly regular cycle of between 26 and 30 days. It's self-correcting - if it's 26 days one month, I can bet it will be 30 the next, thus restoring the average of 28. It tends to be fairly heavy and lasts seven days - bright red bleeding the first day, dark red with clots for another four, then tailing off through bright red and brown for another two. When I tell doctors this, they often refuse to believe me, on the grounds that I should only get fresh bleeding for that long if I have endometriosos or PCOS or some other nasty, which I don't. I get fairly bad PMS the week before, with water retention, period pains for the last day or so and a sort of nasty sensation that I can only describe by saying it's as if my blood is fizzing inside me. This (understandably, I hope you will agree) makes me grouchy and snappy. Mega-doses of Evening Primrose Oil help a little.
When I first started the Pill, I had only minimal bleeding for the first six months or so, but with irregular spotting in between Pill breaks. Now it's settled down to something closer to the original pattern - it usually starts two days after the last tablet and is brownish for two days, bright red for one, dark red with clots for two and back to brown for another two. I still get water retention, especially if I don't eat right, but I don't need the EPO and I don't get the fizzing sensation, so it's no longer necessary for the rest of the household to take cover. I occasionally get period pains, but they're much, much milder than before.
My cycle seems to have settled to a fairly regular 28 - 30 days (with an ow-ey ovulation), and last 5-6 days. Until I was 16 (periods started at 12, we're a fertile family), my periods were every 20 days and lasted about 10. Between 16 and 20 they usually ran at between 28 and 34 days, heavy, lasting about 8 days. Thank fuck that's over.
I have chunky days. I usually start rather light, get heavy within the next 24 hours, remain heavy and extremely painful for the next 2 days, then tail off. Chunky days usually occur on the second and third days.
since you asked (sort of): the shortest i've ever noted my cycle to be is 35 days, it's usually forty-something, and once in a while i essentially skip a month and will have a break of something around sixty days before my next one. surprisingly though, i never have trouble predicting when the next one's going to start - i'll find myself thinking about it and checking i've got enough supplies and stuff, and then two or three days later it happens. although i don't like the irregularity, i don't mind that it can be so long in between bleedings; super-plus size tampons apparently absorb 12-15g of blood, and if you're changing every three hours for three or four days before switching down to 'super' size for another three days... well, it sounds like a scarily large amount to me. and the cramps are an absolute bitch. although i've got PCOS, i refused to let the doc put me on the pill - he'd said that it was highly likely it'd give me more problems with water retention, hair falling out, even more difficulty losing weight and so on, but he still wanted to put me on it. i decided to see what a healthy diet and homeopathic treatments did for me instead *wry smile*
no subject
Date: 2002-06-14 02:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-06-14 02:52 am (UTC)*except for the boys, of course
cycle length
Date: 2002-06-14 02:59 am (UTC)However, as soon as I come off the Pill, my cycle reverts back to it's regular timing, which is irregular. Apparently I am lucky enough to have an irregular cycle which means I could come on every 2 weeks or every 5 weeks and I get no warning as such. Lovely. Used to be nerve wracking wearing any pale colours or going swimming (not that much blood came out when swimming) or staying in someone else's bed.
hey, you asked!
Re: cycle length
Date: 2002-06-14 03:09 am (UTC)Note to Simon Draycott, whom I see drawing breath: Shut up.
Re: cycle length
Date: 2002-06-14 03:25 am (UTC)Glad to hear others have this problem.
Before the Pill, I had very heavy periods which started very heavy, then after 3 days got medium, then a few days lighter. I got lots of pain too and really bad mood swings - and I mean bad.
Now, I have maybe one day heavy, two or three medium and then just spotting.
no subject
Date: 2002-06-14 03:18 am (UTC)At the moment I'm not on the pill or the injection, for the first time in about ten years, and am remembering exactly how painful my periods are. I seem to be on a fairly normal cycle of 30 days or so, with one day of non-painful bleeding, a day or two of pain and another day or two of nice bright red bleeding that doesn't hurt. I think.
I sometimes get more creative/sexual around my period. I like gaylemadwin (queerbychoice's)'s quote:
It should not be called a period. It should be called an open quotation mark.
no subject
Date: 2002-06-14 03:35 am (UTC)When I first started the Pill, I had only minimal bleeding for the first six months or so, but with irregular spotting in between Pill breaks. Now it's settled down to something closer to the original pattern - it usually starts two days after the last tablet and is brownish for two days, bright red for one, dark red with clots for two and back to brown for another two. I still get water retention, especially if I don't eat right, but I don't need the EPO and I don't get the fizzing sensation, so it's no longer necessary for the rest of the household to take cover. I occasionally get period pains, but they're much, much milder than before.
TMI yet?
no subject
Date: 2002-06-14 01:05 pm (UTC)I have chunky days. I usually start rather light, get heavy within the next 24 hours, remain heavy and extremely painful for the next 2 days, then tail off. Chunky days usually occur on the second and third days.
Was that *way* too much information>
no subject
Date: 2002-06-18 04:28 am (UTC)the shortest i've ever noted my cycle to be is 35 days, it's usually forty-something, and once in a while i essentially skip a month and will have a break of something around sixty days before my next one. surprisingly though, i never have trouble predicting when the next one's going to start - i'll find myself thinking about it and checking i've got enough supplies and stuff, and then two or three days later it happens.
although i don't like the irregularity, i don't mind that it can be so long in between bleedings; super-plus size tampons apparently absorb 12-15g of blood, and if you're changing every three hours for three or four days before switching down to 'super' size for another three days... well, it sounds like a scarily large amount to me.
and the cramps are an absolute bitch.
although i've got PCOS, i refused to let the doc put me on the pill - he'd said that it was highly likely it'd give me more problems with water retention, hair falling out, even more difficulty losing weight and so on, but he still wanted to put me on it. i decided to see what a healthy diet and homeopathic treatments did for me instead *wry smile*
no subject
Date: 2002-06-14 03:10 am (UTC)I too prefer the red ones. I have one normal day, followed by 2 days of hardly anything.
no subject
Date: 2002-06-14 03:32 am (UTC)