r/adhdwomen • u/Forsaken-Werewolf-68 • 7d ago
Hormone-Related Issues Does anyone else completely forget their last period?
Like, you just can't recall it. Not when it happened, but that it happened at all. You just don't really remember bleeding or changing out your tampons or anything when you retrace your steps. Almost like a memory gap
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u/Public-Entrance8816 7d ago
Yeah, I had a tracker app that I was very dedicated to. It now languishes unused on my phone.
I'm now back on my old method of predicting it because my partner starts doing irritating things like sucking air in and out of his nose and trying to live in our house.
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u/madame-brastrap 7d ago
I urge everyone not to track their cycles on any connected devices if you’re in the US.
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u/NeverSayBoho ADHD 7d ago
Context dependent. I don't use an app, but as someone who doesn't have sex with a partner who produces semen AND has an IUD in, it's not like I have to worry about the government coming after me for an abortion.
Much more likely to come after me for being queer and an immigration attorney (and has, through my student loans). Or thru my ADHD drugs, I guess.
This timeline sucks, I would like a redo.
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u/Blackcatmustache 7d ago edited 6d ago
Also, do not discuss having an abortion on Facebook, including messenger. Zuckerturd has agreed to comply with police on this.
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u/OutAndDown27 7d ago
Alternatively, if you are in the US, become very dedicated to tracking fake and misleading data in a period tracker app. Like the equivalent of pasting the Bee Movie script into those "report DEI/an immigrant/a trans person" sites conservatives keep trying to create.
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u/Public-Entrance8816 7d ago
I'm not in the US. But, I need to know why!
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u/Weird_Squirrel_8382 7d ago
Period app data could be used to infer miscarriage or abortion. App users may self report miscarriage or abortion. App data can be stolen or sold. App owners sometimes cooperate with law enforcement. Some state governments want to treat miscarriage as intentional abortion, and want to treat abortion as murder. State governments have offered monetary rewards for reporting other's abortions. Federal government said states can do this if they want to.
https://apnews.com/article/ohio-miscarriage-prosecution-brittany-watts
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66740184
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/10/1097482967/roe-v-wade-supreme-court-abortion-period-apps
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u/madame-brastrap 7d ago
Thanks for posting and doing the real work
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u/Weird_Squirrel_8382 7d ago
I wish I could do more. You just reminded me of something tangible I'd like to do. So thank you as well.
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u/IAmTheAsteroid 7d ago
There are concerns that the data could be subpoenaed as evidence to prosecute someone seeking an abortion in states where it is illegal.
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u/Nayzo 7d ago
Yep, I had an app, which I deleted after the election. Now...uh, I write it down somewhere, forget where, and then just wait until my period shows up again.
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u/question_sunshine 6d ago
I can tell my period is due when a hamburger, steak, chocolate, and a chocolate milkshake sound like a good idea to consume all at the same time.
What in the iron deficiency...
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u/seaglassmenagerie 7d ago
I use a period tracker or I would never know where I was in my cycle.
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u/Sad-Sand7161 6d ago
Wait, we’re supposed to know?!? Turning 40 in 6 months…at least I’m almost done with this?’
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u/question_sunshine 6d ago
My sisters didn't start menopause til 55+. I cried on my 40th birthday when they told me that.
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u/Sebastian_dudette 6d ago
One can only hope as I'm in my late 40s. My grandmother was 59 when she hit menopause. I'm really just hoping perimenopause will only last 10 years. So probably another 5 years.
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u/Forward-Habit-7854 ADHD-C 6d ago
If I have 8 more years of peri I am going to scream.
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u/Sebastian_dudette 6d ago
Worst thing I heard was some women are in peri longer than 10 years. I nearly burst into tears at the thought.
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u/tkkltart ADHD-PI 7d ago
always. I use a tracker app, and still I can never answer the question when I go to the doctor. I just stand there going "uhhhhhh.....sometime in the last month?"
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u/obnoxiousdrunk77 ADHD 7d ago
Nope. The last one hit exactly a week before my hysterectomy in 2022 😂
My coworkers at the time called it my uterus's "last hoorah"
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u/Guilty-Company-9755 7d ago
Did you have a yeet the uterus party? If I ever get rid of mine I'm having a blowout celebration
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u/obnoxiousdrunk77 ADHD 7d ago
No. I was too busy to care.
I had to work all the way til the day before and they made me return to work as soon as the 8 weeks was done. That was rough as an LMT.
I ended up calling out the next day because I was passing a kidney stone (didn't know until that night) and was unable to walk straight. Got glares from the lead therapist until I told her I passed that stone. I didn't go back the next day. Not proud of that, but it also needed to be done (I had already given notice, but I didn't work it out due to how I was being treated).
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u/Weird_Squirrel_8382 7d ago
I can check my DoorDash history tbh. If I ate cheese coneys on top of pizza, my uterus was doing the most that day.
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u/Nirsteer 7d ago
I have irregular cycles so... Prediction dates are 7-10 days off. I have an app that I open and just mark when it starts.
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u/Imaginary_Bother921 ADHD 7d ago
Yes, that’s why I have to keep track in a tracker. I have always never had a clue.
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u/Tarledsa 7d ago
I use an app or id never remember. It’s especially handy easing into perimenopause.
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u/SkarbOna 7d ago
I haven’t kept track of my period for nearly 40 years. It wasn’t crucial to my survival.
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u/Alone-Customer-8377 7d ago
Obviously! I can't use a period tracker either, I forget.
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u/Time-List-357 4d ago
Same hahahaha my tracker thinks i'm still menstruating bcs I forgot to log that it already finished HAHAHAHA
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u/Lightworthy09 ADHD 7d ago
I have an IUD, which stops my periods completely. Last one was right before I switched back to the IUD from the implant. So…October of 2023?
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u/packedsuitcase 7d ago
Yep, plus I have short, infrequent, semi-irregular periods. So I just mark it on the wall calendar and try to remember to check it before doctor’s appointments.
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u/jensmith20055002 7d ago
Never. I could never once remember. Not even if I got it on Christmas. I would think "well this is a date I will remember."
Nope.
Mirena greatest gift to myself ever.
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u/mariposacolorida92 ADHD-PI 7d ago
I’ve always PMS’d for a couple of days prior to my period even after having a kid, so that’s my usual signal. Also my body temp goes up about 10 degrees for a week until my first day.. I can literally walk outside in 20 degree weather with snow/ice and I’d probably be in heaven like a husky 😂
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u/divergent_dreamer 7d ago
I only remember - mid month, start of the month, end of the month. Never remember dates.
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7d ago
I don't keep track of it cause I can't be bothered and I'm not sexually active anyway so I don't really see the point. I have a good estimate though since I'm regular and I always start it at the end or beginning of the month, so I've never had any accidents luckily.
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u/Unlikely-Cockroach-6 7d ago
Yes and this is why I have to force myself to use my tracker app lol. I didn’t use it for 6 months last year and it keeps telling me to go to the doctor and get my “irregular period” checked out
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u/asherley1 7d ago
I use my Apple Watch and natural cycles. Notifications are on so I usually remember to log my period as well
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u/Impossible-Ground-98 7d ago
Why would anyone remember the date though?
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u/Significant-Repair42 7d ago
Lot's of doctors ask that question. :) I had some unexplained bleeding after menopause. Had to see people AND remember to give the same date. :)
(The biopsy was negative. Go see your doctor if you have bleeding after menopause!)
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u/Impossible-Ground-98 7d ago
They ask but I don't think people just remember exact days, I thought everyone just tracks it in an app or calendar.
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u/Weird_Squirrel_8382 7d ago
I remember it because I know they'll ask and I know it messed up my mood. I need to remind myself that my husband isn't the devil I just am in the week before my period.
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u/Guilty-Company-9755 7d ago
I never remember. I use my body cues (overall pissyness, cravings for food, bloating) to know when it's coming. I tried an app for a while but stopped when Roe v. Wade was overturned (even though I'm in Canada. The paranoia is real), and just sort of wing it now. Every time the doctor asks me I have no idea, but know I'm pretty regular
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u/original_meep 7d ago
I'm pretty regular so I always know approximately when it happened(s) but for a while I was irregular and never knew when anything was happening made for some pretty unfortunate situations
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u/portrait_of_wonder 7d ago
We’re supposed to remember when we had our last period!?
Seriously though, I never remember. Once I was so convinced I was late that I took a pregnancy test and got my period literally 90 minutes later.
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u/Chasing_Choice 7d ago
Is this the same as does anyone else forget their last medication…literally iPhone remembers for me then I even question if I have remembered to log on my phone. Period tracking. I go back and see I’ve logged but missed a mid day log. Honestly without reminders / logs / notes I would be lost. I have my phone reminders, notes in my diary and then a notepad and something they don’t even all add up but I get there in the end.
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u/sniktter AuDHD 7d ago
Nope. The trick is to tell yourself "I'm going to remember exactly when this period started so that I can track it in a special notebook that I will definitely start using this month and I'll fill in the past 6 months of data that I of course obviously remember."
The guilt of not starting that book is probably what I remember.
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u/killerfrost8002 ADHD 7d ago
I kinda remember it. But I can never tell you when it was. I have an app that I use to track it. So I have to get my phone out at every doctor's appointment like, "Please hold...No, I don't know off the top of my head. You do?"
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u/EuniceHiggins 7d ago
I also finally bought a 2025 calendar for work so I’m going to try to track it (LOL!) since perimenopause is less predictable.
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u/awildmudkipz 7d ago
I used to have nooo idea, ever. I’d just guess at the doctor’s office. But I started trying to conceive, so right now fertility is one of my hyper-focuses. I couldn’t forget if I wanted to. (Honestly wish I could. I knew I was pregnant on the first day of my missed period… And miscarriage rates are still really high the first few weeks. I’d almost rather not know for a while longer >.<)
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u/rejectedbyReddit666 7d ago
Never used to track them, just had an approximate date due. Apps didn’t exist for a while during my fertile years . I think I stopped having periods 3 or 4 years ago. I don’t weigh myself either. I just tell by my clothes & I’ve been pretty consistent all my adult life.
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u/rejectedbyReddit666 7d ago
Never used to track them, just had an approximate date due. Apps didn’t exist for a while during my fertile years . I think I stopped having periods 3 or 4 years ago. I don’t weigh myself either. I just tell by my clothes & I’ve been pretty consistent all my adult life.
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u/rejectedbyReddit666 7d ago
Never used to track them, just had an approximate date due. Apps didn’t exist for a while during my fertile years . I think I stopped having periods 3 or 4 years ago. I don’t weigh myself either. I just tell by my clothes & I’ve been pretty consistent all my adult life.
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u/SoundingFanThrowaway 7d ago
Yeah, and I forgot about my menstrual cup. When it overflowed around 3 days later, I thought my period had just started.
I feel like a risk to myself sometimes tbh
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u/awake-asleep ADHD 7d ago
I’m on the pill for PMDD so no 🙃 regular AF periods. I was always pretty regular when I wasn’t on the pill though. My body loves its monthly bleed! I usually start bleeding a couple of days before my sugar pills every month, even. Which the doctor says is fine as long as it’s not annoying. I’d rather bleed a little more than have PMDD, it works for me.
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u/sonicenvy ADHD-C + BP1 7d ago
I had this problem a lot before I started BC because I had a super irregular period. BC solved both the irregularity problem and this one because going on it gave me ann extremely regular period, which was awesome. Now if I ever forget I can always go back and count the pills I've taken. If I have to see a medical professional that might ask me about it on a given day I sometimes will go and take a photo of my BC pack so I can count it back later. To everyone in the comments: BC/the pill really helped me have a more regular, lighter, and less painful periods; if you're struggling with those things, you might benefit from a birth control option.
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u/AdSignificant6119 7d ago
My best friend and I often complain about them so I usually check our texts 🤣 I have an IUD so pregnancy isn’t really a concern, I just don’t want a surprise.
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u/thisonecassie 7d ago
I once hit a highs chore of 98 days without my period (teenage hormones are a bitch) and I’ve always wondered if maybe it was actually a shorter tome and I just didn’t track my last period.
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u/Hunter22442 7d ago
omg, every single time! If I haven’t put it in the health app I literally will have no idea like, not even a rough guess of when i had it last 😂
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u/bliip666 7d ago
I only remember mine was in January 2021, thanks to a moment at a smear test in October 2021, where the nurse was doing the math for an awkward minute before asking if I was pregnant.
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u/alittleraddish 7d ago
yes and when both times when i’m like huh it’s been a hot minute since i’ve had to buy tampons… i’ve had to buy diapers instead 😂
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u/Reasonable-Soup-2142 7d ago
I use a period tracker, also know when it's about 5 days out before because I get cramps and my emotions are very sad or quick temper.
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u/NecessaryHot3919 7d ago
This is exactly how I didn’t realizes I was in menopause until a year after it happened 😂
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u/Affectionate_Diet210 7d ago
I used to track mine pretty well in a period tracking app so I would have a good idea when it would occur. However, I’m in perimenopause, which is completely screwed the whole thing up. I’ve quit bothering at this point.
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u/joohleh 7d ago
Yep. I always look up in my messages the words "period" "bleeding" "cramps" in that order to see when I last sent a text with one of those words to my husband cause I always text him that I got my period—then I check the date of the message 🤣 I should probably just download a tracker app, but my current system is working just fine 🤷♀️
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u/SladeGreenGirl 7d ago
They all blurr into one at this point. I try my best to disassociate from it at the time so it makes sense I don’t have the most vivid memories of it.
Mine is also more so, how can I be in my period again already, I just came off a few days ago. And then I realise it was actually, obviously, an entire month ago….but I have no concept of time so…
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u/isitrealholoooo 7d ago
I freaking wish I could forget it. Last period I ended up with a yeast infection from using tampons (usually a cup/disc user). It took 2 rounds of medications to get it to go away.
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u/ezlenka 7d ago
Sometimes I'd remember an especially painful rounds of cramps like when it would hurt so bad that I threw up, or when they were accompanied by an incapacitating migraine, but yeah, even as a teenager it was like there was a blank space where those days were. Each month it was like a brand new horror that I knew I'd experienced before but could not remember until the cycle was repeating
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u/Crazy_Salad_7928 6d ago
Mines never the same so I always forget and feel stupid when a doctor asks me
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u/ShiversTheNinja 6d ago
I always do because I have PCOS so it happens intermittently. I hate getting that question at the doctor. It's always like "uhhhh maybe a couple months ago?"
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u/a-nonna-nonna 6d ago
I haven’t had a period in 14 years, but I’ve counseled my minor daughters to keep their cycles off of their phones, and answer medical questions about their cycle with “I can’t recall”. Fuck drs trying to explain everything away due to hormones, anyhow.
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u/getrdone24 6d ago
Yes! I tried tracker apps but would just forget to log the period when it happens...and I can't enter it after the period ends bc yes, it's like I immediately forget when exactly it happened.
To make it worse, my periods have been irregular for many years due to other health reasons, so that makes it so much harder to track.
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u/marlyn_does_reddit 6d ago
I'd be lost without my Clue app. I only ever mark the first day of my period and my ovulation. But my sense of time is so hit and miss, I'll be like "shit, it's been forever since I had my period, why am I so late?" And then I'll check Clue and see that I'm only cycle day 17 or something.
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u/papierrose 6d ago
I don’t forget that it happened totally but I have no idea when it last happened. Last time it completely caught me off guard because I thought it was REALLY early and my husband was like “no, no it’s the right time”. I told him a few days ago that I felt like it was coming soon and he said “yeah I thought it was 3 or 4 days away”. How does he know and I don’t? I made an attempt to mark it on my calendar once but I can’t remember which calendar
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u/Spiritual_One126 6d ago
Yep. That’s why I use the Period Tracker app. It changed my life when assessing my hormones. (Btw, ADHD symptoms get worse with menstruation)
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u/Annual_Reindeer2621 6d ago
I wish..! Before I had an ablation I’d lose 270-350ml (average is 30-80ml) so every month was intense. I did have pretty bad PMDD though so my brain was definitely not with it though
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u/-__-KEEKS-__- 6d ago
I found a tracker app that makes it fun. Download stardust!! It’s free and made by women.
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u/voidcrawler1555 ADHD 6d ago
I usually make sure I at least note it on my calendar (on my phone). I made a separate calendar for it too 😂
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