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Periods, pain and hormones: the guides
Endometriosis, heavy periods, fibroids, PMDD and period pain. What is common, what is not normal, and what to ask for.
6 guides by Sian Anderson. Every clinical claim links to its source. Information, not medical advice. Updated 5 November 2026.
Period pain that stops you working, bleeding that floods through protection, a week each month when your mood falls off a cliff. Common is not the same as normal, and none of these is something you have to live with.
Endometriosis takes around nine years to diagnose in the UK, according to Endometriosis UK. These guides set out the symptoms, the NICE guidance your GP works to, the treatments, and the overlap pages for when pain could be one of two things.
If you take a weight loss medicine, the guides also cover what weight change does to your cycle and how the medicines sit alongside hormonal treatments.
Every guide in this section
Heavy periods: what counts as heavy and the treatments that work
NICE defines a heavy period by its effect on your life. The signs, the causes, the blood test, and the coil, tablets and procedures which reduce bleeding.
Period pain: what is normal, what helps and when to get help
Pain which stops your normal life is a reason to see a GP. What helps, how ibuprofen compares with paracetamol, and signs of endometriosis or adenomyosis.
PMDD and PMS: telling them apart and getting treatment
PMS affects 4 in 10 women and PMDD around 3 in 100. How the two differ, why you track two cycles before diagnosis, and the treatments the NHS lists.
Fibroids: who gets them, the symptoms and the treatment choices
Fibroids are common, non-cancerous growths in the womb, more common in Black women. The symptoms, the scan, treatments from tablets to surgery, and weight.
Endometriosis or IBS? How to tell the overlap apart
Bloating, cramps and painful bowel movements fit both endometriosis and IBS. The overlap, the cyclical clues, and the tests and questions to ask your GP for.
Where this overlaps
Bodies do not sort themselves into chapters. These guides from other sections come up again and again alongside this one.
- Getting heard at the GP: how to prepare and what to ask (Being heard: women and medicine)
- Periods on a weight loss jab: what changes, and when to worry (Weight loss medicines and women)
- Fertility, pregnancy and weight loss medicines: how to time it (Weight loss medicines and women)
- Iron, tiredness and heavy periods: the blood test to ask for (Women's health checks)
- Menopause brain fog, anxiety and low mood (Menopause and midlife)
- Constipation on a weight loss jab: fibre, fluid and what works (Eating well on a smaller appetite)
Periods, pain and hormones: questions
How do I know if my periods are too heavy?
NICE defines heavy bleeding by its effect on your life, not by measuring blood. Changing protection every hour or two, flooding, clots larger than a 10p coin, or planning your days around your period all count. The heavy periods guide covers the treatments.
Is period pain ever normal?
Cramps on the first day or two that settle with ibuprofen or paracetamol are common. Pain that stops you working or sleeping, pain outside your period or pain during sex is a reason to see a GP. The period pain guide lists the signs.
Why does endometriosis take so long to diagnose?
Symptoms overlap with IBS and ordinary period pain, scans often look normal, and pain has too often been dismissed. The endometriosis guide sets out what to track and the NICE guidance to quote at your appointment.