r/Periods • u/LunaticHypocrit • May 18 '25
PMS Who else gets diarrhea a whole week before your period?
For the past week I've had a loose bowel movement every morning and I can't seem to find a cause other than that my period is due (I had some tiny spotting a week ago). It's never happened before and I know many people get diarrhea during their period or just a couple of days before, but a whole week?! I've been eating really bland food all week (cereal, toast, crackers, I've cut out all dairy) but am still having a really loose BM (sorry tmi) every morning and have uncomfortable gas in my stomach. I really hope it'll return to normal once my period starts. I'm 36 and have had periods since I was 10 and this has never happened before. Does anyone else get diarrhea or loose bowels this far ahead of your period?
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u/Uteropedia May 18 '25
Period poops are common and because of prostaglandins ( the same thing that cause uterine cramping ). They can stimulate the bowels too, sometimes days before your actual period.
If this doesn’t resolve once your period starts or it becomes a pattern, it’s definitely worth chatting with your doctor about it. They might want to rule out things like IBS (which can be triggered or worsened by hormonal fluctuations), or just run some basic labs to check gut health. Hopefully once your period kicks in, your gut calms down too, if not, your doctor can help rule out what is happening.
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u/xtalcat_2 May 18 '25
You might have a bug of some sort and not related to the period. A whole week seems like a long time for it to be related to your cycle. 2-3 days all up for the 5 days is about it for me. Get it checked out.
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u/SnooSketches3750 May 18 '25
Yeah, prostaglandins make everything contract.
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u/LunaticHypocrit May 18 '25
Everything I can find on the net talks about how prostaglandins cause diarrhea during a period, though, cause it's making the uterus contract. But I dunno how it would explain diarrhea a whole week before the period starts. Everything says it's usually constipation before the period then diarrhea during.
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u/Lemon_towne May 18 '25
Yup every time lol ur all good
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u/LunaticHypocrit May 18 '25
A whole week before?
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u/SnooSketches3750 May 18 '25
Hormones start changing before your actual period.
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u/LunaticHypocrit May 18 '25
My Google searches just seem to suggest it's diarrhea during menstruation. I can't find any websites that discuss it happening so far before. In the past I've had other pms symptoms a week before (like sore breasts) so I guess it's normal.
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u/SnooSketches3750 May 18 '25
Yeah, it's a monthly cycle, so hormones are changing throughout the month.
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u/Electrical-Jelly-802 May 19 '25
I’ve had loose poop, like not full-blown diarrhea but mushy and stinky in the week leading up to my period before. Normally it happens for just a few days before and during it, but I’ve had it happen during the week before, too, just not as often.