GO WITH THE FLOW

Irregular cycles, newly heavy bleeding, sudden pain—it’s hard to know what’s normal when it comes to your period. Enter our no-holdsbarred guide to everything menstruation: common issues at every age, myths that need busting and when it’s time to call you

How to cope with pesky period and perimenopause symptoms

Until Sarah turned 38, her Aunt Flo was nothing but predictable; she showed up every 27 to 29 days, accompanied only by a tinge of lower-back pain. There would be a slightly heavier flow on days 1 and 2, and no symptoms at all by Day 6. Then, one month, all hell broke loose. “Suddenly, my period was extremely heavy and clumpy,” says Sarah. “I was changing a pad and a super-absorbent tampon every 10 minutes. It was like a murder scene.” It wasn’t just the amount of blood that threw both Sarah and her cycle for a loop; new symptoms surfaced over the next few months. “My whole midsection and vagina hurt. Plus, I had an overall sick feeling. I was in so much pain.” Though Sarah initially thought this was just her period changing with age, after about six months, when the excessive bleeding had become a regular occurrence, she made an appointment with her doctor. And it’s a good thing she did. As it turned out, she had two uterine polyps, small tissue growths that are attached to the inner wall of the uterus and extend into the uterine cavity. Following two years of unpredictable flow, clotting and pain, Sarah’s doctor performed an endometrial ablation (see Flood Control below) and removed her polyps for testing—and her monthly visitor relented. We’d bet there isn’t a woman out there who hasn’t been bugged, caught off guard or inconvenienced by her period. “Women just don’t know a lot about their periods,” adds Dr. Ashley Waddington, an obstetrician-gynecologist and assistant professor at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont. “We get a lot of questions from patients about what’s happening and what will happen in years to come.” Here’s a decade-by-decade breakdown of what you need to know.