Lana outcome painful

What you've told us

You experience a number of symptoms associated with painful periods. You’re not alone. Nine out of 10 women in the UK suffer from period pains, while 57% (!) say the pain has affected their ability to work.

The good news is that with the right diagnosis and treatment, the majority of women are able to find balance and maintain great gynae health… which means you can too!

Should you be on red alert?

Living with painful periods can be distressing. There’s the physical and emotional toll your symptoms can have on you and there’s the uncertainty of not knowing if something more serious is going on behind the scenes.

While painful periods aren’t always a sign that something is wrong, having an awareness of common (and not so common) gynaecological conditions puts you in the best position to advocate for yourself when you’re speaking to a doctor.

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We’re launching a virtual service to connect you to our team of expert gynaecologists. Our doctors will always hear you out and tailor their support to your unique circumstances.

Drop your email to be notified as soon as we’ve launched.

or keep reading for more information on causes of painful periods...

Here are some causes of painful periods:

Endometriosis is a long-term condition in which endometrial tissue that is meant to grow along the uterine lining goes rogue and ends up growing in places outside the uterus (for example, on your ovaries). This tissue can become inflamed, which leads to pain and bleeding. Read more

Adenomyosis is similar to endometriosis with one main difference: instead of endometrial tissue growing outside the uterus, in adenomyosis, it grows into the muscles of the uterus.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and endometriosis have overlapping symptoms so the two conditions can mimic each other. IBS symptoms, such as cramping, often flare up during your period.

Fibroids are noncancerous growths that develop inside and around the uterus. They can cause severe cramps, sharp stabbing sensations in your tummy and back aches. Read more

Infections such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) can cause inflammation of your reproductive organs, resulting in pelvic cramping and pain.

Adhesions are scar tissue from previous surgery. Scarring can lead to attachments in and around your pelvic organs, causing pain that can increase during your period.

Gynaecological cancers, while rare, can lead to changes in your normal periods such as unusual cramping and pain, depending on the size and location of the cancer.

Please be mindful that this list is here to educate and isn’t meant to be a diagnostic tool 🙏🏽

Should you just go with the flow?

Here’s why it’s important to get to the bottom of your painful periods:

1) While they aren’t necessarily cause for concern, painful periods can signal an underlying condition that could have a long-term impact on your health and fertility. Rather than leaving you feeling worried about this, we want to empower you to seek out answers that could prevent symptoms from worsening.

2) There are effective treatments that can help you manage your symptoms. Period. Historically, it hasn’t always been easy for women to access these, but Bloomful is here to shake things up.