How Do You Know You Got Your Period

Do Transgender Guys Get A Period

Not everybody who gets a period identifies as a girl or woman. Transgender men and genderqueer people who have uteruses, vaginas, fallopian tubes, and ovaries also get their periods.

Having a period can be a stressful experience for some trans folks because it’s a reminder that their bodies dont match their true gender identity this discomfort and anxiety is sometimes called gender dysphoria. Other trans people might not be too bothered by their periods. Either reaction is normal and okay.

Sometimes trans people who havent reached puberty yet take hormones to prevent all of the gendered body changes that happen during puberty, including periods. And people who already get periods can use certain types of birth control that help lighten or stop their periods. Hormone replacement therapy, like taking testosterone, may also stop your period.

If you start taking testosterone, your period will go away. But this is reversible if you stop taking testosterone, your period will come back. There can be some changes in your menstrual cycle before it stops for good. Periods get lighter and shorter over time, or come when you dont expect it. You may have spotting or cramping every once in a while until you stop getting your period, and sometimes even after it seems to have stopped this is normal. Testosterone injections make your periods go away faster than testosterone cream.

We Have Huge Opportunities To Improve Our Collective Understanding Of Female Health

Carolyn Witte, chief executive and co-founder of the womens health clinic Tia

In Her Words is available as a newsletter. .

Every day, Flo, a womens health app, invites its more than 100 million users to enter intimate details about their bodies that they might not share even with their closest friends or family: the color and consistency of vaginal discharge, the length of their periods, whether they had protected or unprotected sex, whether they feel frisky or have a low libido.

For many, this level of detail helps keep track of and demystify the reproductive cycle from its most fertile days to its least.

Users with privacy concerns might have found comfort in Flos promise to keep select information collected through its app secret, noting that, even as it might share some personal data with other companies, it would not disclose details about cycles, pregnancy, symptoms notes and other information that is entered by you.

It turns out that promise was misleading, regulators say.

From 2016 to 2019, the company behind Flo, which was founded in 2015, passed on certain intimate health details of its users to marketing and analytics companies like Facebook and Google, according to the Federal Trade Commission, which filed a complaint in January saying it had reason to believe that the company had misled its users.

What Causes Your Period Top

Natural body chemicals, or hormones, cause your ovaries to release one egg about once a month. Most months, the egg and the lining of your uterus come out of your vagina as your period. This is part of your .

This cycle is what makes it possible for a woman to have a baby. During sexual intercourse, the egg can get fertilized by a males sperm and then attach to the lining of the uterus and grow into a baby.

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Frequently Asked Questions Expand All

If these problems do not go away after treatment or if you cannot go to school or do your normal activities, you should talk to your doctor.

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Why Women Have Periods

During each period, the inner lining of your uterus is shed through the vagina, the passage that connects your inner reproductive organs to your outer sex organs or genitals. This lining is mostly blood and other tissues that have been building up since your last period.

The purpose of this blood is to provide nutrients for a fertilized egg if you were to become pregnant. While girls start having their periods early in their lives, most don’t decide to start a family until they’ve already been having their periods for many years. Most women stop having periods when they are between 45 and 55 years old. This is called menopause.

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What A Monthly Cycle Is

You may have heard some women talking about their monthly cycle. This cycle begins on the first day of one period and ends on the first day of the next period. While women’s periods do tend to come about once per month, there is a wide range in the length of the menstrual cycle from woman to woman.

Some women’s periods come as often as every 21 days, some as far apart as every 35 days. The most common range is 25-30 days. Some women have regular cycles and their periods start exactly the same number of days apart each time. For other women, the length of their cycle varies from month to month.

When Do Most Girls Get Their Period

Most girls get their first period when they’re around 12. But getting it any time between age 10 and 15 is OK. Every girl’s body has its own schedule.

There isn’t one right age for a girl to get her period. But there are some clues that it will start soon:

• Most of the time, a girl gets her period about 2 years after her breasts start to develop.
• Another sign is vaginal discharge fluid that a girl might see or feel on her underwear. This discharge usually begins about 6 months to a year before a girl gets her first period.

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Signs That Indicate Your First Period Is Coming

Except the quizzes above, you may rely on the following signs to understand if your period is coming or not.

1. Breast Development

Breast development is the first sign of a girl’s period. It starts as breast buds grow from raised nipples as a result of developing fat, tissue and milk glands in the body. It usually takes 4 years to have fully developed breast. Once the development starts, period generally occurs 1 to 3 years later.

2. Hair Growth

Excessive body hair begins to develop either before or after the appearance of breast buds. Pubic hair will start to grow in the area below the lower abdomen and between the legs. Initially, the hair is soft and thin, which gradually become coarse and curly. A period generally starts 1 or 2 years after the development of pubic hair.

3. Vaginal Discharge

Vaginal discharge is an important sign of an impending period. It can either be white or yellowish, which helps in moisturizing the vagina. Once the discharge starts, period can be expected within 6 to 12 months. It is likely that a girl gets her first period within a year or so as her mother got. Doing some planning for the anticipated period is always a good idea. Keeping a pad or two in school locker can help from getting caught off guard.

Doing the “when will I get my first period quiz” and informed of the signs of an impending period, you can calculate when your period is going to occur. Then the next step is to get yourself well-prepared.

Pms Is Still A Mystery

Itâs 1 or 2 weeks before your period starts, and here come the breakouts, sluggishness, cravings, bloating, and mood swings. Sound familiar? Every woman is different, but for many, PMS is a fact of life.

But doctors donât know exactly why that is. It seems to be a mix of hormone changes during your menstrual cycle, chemical changes in the brain, and other emotional issues you might have, such as depression, that can make PMS worse.

Whatâs more, once you get your period, the rollercoaster may continue. One study found that period-related pains such as cramps, bloating, backaches, and headaches can cloud your thinking, because the pain may make it harder for you to focus on the tasks at hand. Not that you canât still do them — you can. It may just feel like it takes more work.

Lifestyle changes are usually the best way to take control of PMS. Aim to get about 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week, get 8 hours of shut-eye per night, and donât smoke. Your diet makes a difference, too, so fill up on fruits, veggies, and whole grains while you limit salt as well as sugar, caffeine, and alcohol.

Let your doctor know if PMS keeps you from doing what you normally do, or if you have symptoms of depression or anxiety. You may have a more serious condition called premenstrual dysphoric disorder that needs medical attention.

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What Will My First Period Feel Like

You may find your first period comes and goes with very little in the way of symptoms, or you may find you experience quite a bit of discomfort. Common symptoms include:

• Cramping in the lower abdomen
• Breast tenderness
• Diarrhea or nausea
• Dizziness

Most of these symptoms do not last long, and can be treated with ibuprofen or other over-the-counter pain relief medications. A heating pad or hot water bottle on the abdomen or lower back can help ease pain in these areas. More details on menstrual pain and other symptoms can be found here .

What Is A Normal Menstrual Cycle

The menstrual cycle is a term used to describe the sequence of events that occur within a womans body as it prepares for the possibility of pregnancy each month. A menstrual cycle is considered to begin on the first day of a period. The average cycle is 28 days long however, a cycle can range in length from 21 days to about 35 days.

The steps in the menstrual cycle are triggered by the rise and fall of chemicals in the body called hormones. The pituitary gland in the brain and the ovaries in the female reproductive tract manufacture and release certain hormones at certain times during the menstrual cycle that cause the organs of the reproductive tract to respond in certain ways. The specific events that occur during the menstrual cycle can be described as follows:

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Thinking About Going Hormone

We hope you learned to look out for some of the key signs your period is coming! Besides learning about period symptoms, there are many advantages to choosing a non-hormonal birth control option. From wanting to avoid side-effects to wanting to get to know your bodys natural cycle, what motivates you to go hormone-free is highly individual. Natural Cycles is designed to be with you every step of your fertility journey and can also be used to plan pregnancy if and when you want to start a family. Ready to get started?

What Is Normal Bleeding

There is a range of normal bleeding some women have short, light periods and others have longer, heavy periods. Your period may also change over time.

Normal menstrual bleeding has the following features:

• Your period lasts for 3-8 days
• Your period comes again every 21-35 days
• The total blood loss over the course of the period is around 2-3 tablespoons but secretions of other fluids can make it seem more

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Conception That Occurs Close To Menstruation Or Low Progesterone Levels May Cause What Looks Like A Period While Pregnant

Conception may not occur until mere days before your period is due if you have a short cycle or dont ovulate mid-cycle.

For example, lets say youre regularly maintaining a 26-day cycle. Chances are youll ovulate around day 13. Even if fertilization occurred that day, it would still take six to twelve days for the fertilized egg to reach and implant in your uterine lining.

If those hormone levels are insufficient, such as in a situation of low progesterone from luteal phase defect or had already begun to fall, you might have what seems like a lighter than usual period. You might even have what seems like an entirely normal period. In that case, its possible not to have any indication youre pregnant until you are already around eight weeks pregnant.

This type of bleeding is often referred to as break through bleeding, and is the most common type of bleeding mistaken for a period while pregnant. Break through bleeding is usually seen during the first month of pregnancy but may continue in the first trimester if hormone levels stay low.

Its important to note that any bleeding following the first bleed would not occur in a timely, predictable manner like a period. It would be sporadic bleeding with a varying flow. Multiple timely bleeds like a period, whether irregular/light for you or not, are very unlikely to be pregnancy bleeding.

The Period You Get While On The Pill Isnt A ‘true’ Period

Sure, you bleed during the week that you take the sugar pills. But technically thatâs âmonthly withdrawal bleeding.â Itâs slightly different than a regular period.

Normally, you ovulate in the middle of your menstrual cycle. If the egg your ovaries release isnât fertilized, your hormone levels drop, causing you to shed the lining inside your uterus, and you get your period.

Birth control pills, though, prevent ovulation. With most types, you take hormones for 3 weeks followed by 1 week of pills without them. Though they keep your body from releasing an egg, they usually donât prevent it from building up the lining of your uterus all month. The period-like bleeding during that fourth week is your bodyâs reaction to the lack of hormones from the last week of the pill.

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Are There Other Period Symptoms

Besides tracking the timing of your cycle, some people also know a period is near when they develop certain symptoms that are caused by the menstrual cycle hormones. The most common symptoms reported before a period include bloating, moodiness, food cravings, breast tenderness, headache or menstrual cramps. Within a day or two after the period begins, the symptoms disappear naturally. If you experience some or all of these symptoms before most of your periods, itâs called Premenstrual Syndrome or PMS.