Seven in ten British women will experience ‘debilitating’ period pain for almost four solid years of their life, according to researchers.
And an overwhelming 78 per cent of those will have been told by a medical professional that it is completely normal to have discomfort every month.
A study of 5,000 women found the average sufferer will have three days of pain a month, equivalent to 1,350 over 450 periods.
They will have visited a doctor at least twice, but 49 per cent were told the only option to calm symptoms was birth control.
One in ten (9 per cent) say their period pain is excruciating, while 24 per cent describe it as an intense, sharp, stabbing feeling.
And 47 per cent find their periods particularly debilitating – with 31 per cent calling them unmanageable and 48 per cent admitting they lack any energy.
The average woman will experience three days of period pain a month, a new study has found (file photo)
Research found that 37 per cent of those who suffered pain have been forced to spend hours in bed, while 34 per cent couldn’t even leave the sofa (file photo)
Ashley Florestal, for period pain supplement firm Monthlies, which commissioned the study via OnePoll, said: ‘Severe period pain is not normal, and women shouldn’t be left to navigate their pain alone without support, investigation or solutions.
‘What they experience may be common, but that doesn’t mean they have to accept it as their only option.’
The study found of those who have ever suffered period pain, 37 per cent have been forced to spend hours in bed, while 34 per cent couldn’t even leave the sofa.
Just under a third (32 per cent) have cancelled social plans, 28 per cent have avoided exercise and a fifth (19 per cent) have booked time off work.
A quarter admit their monthly cycle has also led to a lack of confidence (26 per cent) and feeling less able to concentrate in meetings (23 per cent).
Meanwhile, an aversion to physical contact is a symptom for 21 per cent – with one in ten admitting that their period pain has led to an unsatisfactory sex life.
But just 17 per cent know exactly what period pain is – cramps due to tightening of the womb’s wall. And 73 per cent don’t fully understand their cycle.
Monthlies’ nutritionist Geneva Sade added: ‘Period pain should never feel like a life sentence.’
