What should you know about menstrual fatigue?

Cramps, headaches, heavier bleeding, poorer sleep and premenstrual mood changes can all leave you feeling depleted. Anaemia is worth discussing when periods are heavy or fatigue comes with breathlessness, paleness, dizziness or a racing heartbeat. Keeping a cycle record helps distinguish a predictable pattern from tiredness that continues throughout the month.

Other possibilities include Dehydration, an infection, stress or Burnout. Chronic medical conditions, including Coeliac Disease or Chronic Kidney Disease, may also cause persistent low energy. Fatigue after COVID-19 or with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has different patterns and needs individual assessment.

Prioritise regular sleep, fluids and nourishing meals, and use gentle activity if it feels manageable. Plan demanding tasks around the days when energy is lowest, and record bleeding, pain, sleep, diet and symptoms. Avoid using alcohol to manage fatigue; Alcohol Use Disorder can worsen sleep and overall health.

A clinician can check your history and decide whether an examination or blood tests are appropriate. Do not start iron supplements without advice, because the cause of tiredness should be clarified.

Book an appointment if fatigue is severe, lasts beyond the period, repeatedly disrupts life or comes with heavy bleeding, weight change, fever, breathlessness or fainting. Seek urgent help for chest pain, severe breathing difficulty, collapse or bleeding that makes you feel weak or dizzy.

Ask whether your bleeding pattern could contribute to Anaemia, whether medicines or contraception affect energy, and what tests or treatment may be useful if fatigue continues between periods.