Are blood clots more painful than “runny” periods? I have no idea how to phrase this question. I’ve heard of blood clots in periods but do they hurt more? Can you feel them coming out? From a gay man who’s never been near a vagina (post being born).
- I think the most painful periods are when you end up looking and have passed a clot, so yes.
- Not for me. The pain is the uterus tensing/squeezing/twisting to shed the blood lining inside itself. What comes out is soft. Can be pretty alarming to see the clots though.
- No, it feels the same.
- Not in my experience.
- Haha! This is a great question. I find that the clots (there are some, yeah, they can be quite big and the first time I saw one I was actually alarmed), don’t hurt more when they come out – they’re only small on the grand scale of things even if they look big on a pad. But they often come with a worse period, as though the cramps need to be stronger to push them out.
- I don't think so! At the end when it’s a bit darker you sometimes get these clumps which I would say are more like thick mucus when you have a really bad cold so pushing those out are almost like mini contractions.
- Yes, when it’s runny (you feel it) it’s less painful.
- Not to my knowledge? I don’t tend to pay attention to the pain in connection with the blood type because you don’t watch it come out.
- Love your honesty… Not for me.
- Nope, not more painful. And nope, can’t feel them.
- Not sure but that would make sense. The clotting tends to be in the beginning/heavier part.
- No, never felt one come out really.
- Not normally, I feel like the blood clots come out towards the end of the period rather than at the beginning for me (when is most painful).
- Yep, I can feel them coming out. Both hurt a lot.
- Haha! You don't feel them coming out, but it is a bit of a shock each time when you see and wipe them. I think there may be a correlation between the more painful stabbing cramps and clots moving?
- Yes, you can feel it sometimes, but not with a menstrual cup.
- Personally I only realise it has been 'clots' when I see it on my pad/pants/tampon or whatever.
- There's a correlation between thick blood/clots and high pain for me.
- Not that I'm aware of.
- It depends on what the medical reasons behind the blood clots are. They can cause A LOT more pain, also when those clots or cysts get dislodged from the womb lining they cause cramps and when they burst as well they hurt as if you have a needle pricking you on the inside. Also, you lose a lot more blood when they are expelled, therefore you're more likely to feel tired, over time you get anaemia and so on.
- You feel blood clots coming out. I get them every period. They don’t hurt per se, but they happen during the heavier days of my period when my cramping is at its most intense.
- They don’t hurt more but do feel more uncomfortable when they come out.
- My flow tends to be more heavy with blood clots. Heavier period sometimes means more painful cramps.
- Maybe it’s just me but what… I thought blood clots just came out the same as other parts of the period. I guess my periods don’t seem so ‘clotty’ (I’m sorry for this response), so no it doesn’t hurt but I also don’t imagine it would hurt too much if they were bigger either.
- Not more painful. Yes, you can feel them coming out
- Can't tell for sure, not sure if cramps are related to the size of clots or flow.
- I personally do not feel them, you just see them. But my periods are not as heavy as others.
- They are not painful for me, but they are disgusting. If you’re not using a tampon, you feel it as if you would be pooping from your vagina. Imagine, sometimes it happens while you’re making a point in a meeting at work, while running, on a date… you name it. And you need to pretend that it’s not happening. It’s so sad, it's hilarious 😄
- You can sometimes feel them but they don't hurt.
- It has a slight difference for me.
- Personally, I don’t find passing clots painful… but you can sometimes feel them. It’s very nondescript. I use tampons or menstrual cups so it’s harder to notice through the pain than with a napkin/pad.
- No, they are not more painful, but more annoying depending on your menstrual products as they don't absorb.
- No, blood clots and weird spongy tissue sort of just drop out. They are just more messy if you aren’t equipped! Bleeding is more like a very slow drippy wee.
- I have no idea.
- I think so, yes, more painful. And yes, you can feel them coming out!! Quite something to not skip a beat in a conversation or in a meeting whilst one pops out!
- Haha! Not really, in my experience.
- I don’t notice a difference and they don’t hurt to come out, but it is stressful when you feel one because it means you must get to a toilet very, very quickly.
- It's always runny, you just see little clots in the blood sometimes, normally on heavier days (first two days there's often a lot more blood). Heavier days can be more painful but that's from cramping, you can't feel the clots, they're pretty small.
- Haha! I have had them and no they didn't hurt more (my personal experience). Don't think there's any good way to phrase the question!
- Not in my own experience, I can't feel them personally. Cramps are just the bodies way of getting the uterine lining out of your body, so I'd assume it doesn't matter about the consistency
- Haha, the answer is yes!
- I've had two miscarriages and after the second one, after I came home from hospital, where they had to perform an abortion, during the night I was sort of in labour when a huge clot/ball came out, when I was on my way to the toilet. It hurt so much.
- I still can't look at nor eat blackberry compote or jam without going back to that moment. Because that's what it looked like in a way.
- But apart from that horror story during periods, yes. It has to be pushed out, so your uterus is contracting, which is not, or less, the case when it's flowing.
- I don't think I've had clots before, but yes, heavy periods you can feel coming out.
- You'll feel more blood flowing out, when there's clots you’re having a heavy day. It can be more painful, for me it's usually more painful when my period is starting or slowing down.
- Nah, not really. For me (never had a child) there are blood clots when I get up from bed on the second day. I need the toilet really fast then as it's a mess otherwise.
- For me, no. They are not any more painful but you can feel them more. Like you can feel them coming out of you (as in they’re heavy) but not painful.
- Not really, generally the heaviest day or two is the most uncomfortable but the pain is in the muscles around the area, rather than the blood actually coming out.
- I have no idea.
- Oh, that makes sense why some of the phrasing in these questions isn't quite right – someone who's not had a period wrote them. Yes, I think they hurt more.
- No, they’re not more painful for me.
- They don’t hurt exactly, the clots aren’t hard or anything, but it’s definitely a different sensation to a runnier flow. Like laying a tiny soft egg I guess – haha!
- No, they don't or at least not for me. They just come out as normal.
- They're not painful. You can feel them coming out. I get a mix of both pretty much every period.
- Never had one and I haven’t heard about it? A few of my friends discharged cysts, in particular those with endometriosis.
- The clots themselves aren't more painful, but sometimes what's caused those clots (people with various conditions) can be more painful. You can't feel them coming out exactly, but if you're having a heavier period which includes clots you can feel a sort of gushing sensation sometimes.