Did you realise your periods had been disrupted following your Covid-19 vaccination?
Women in Tayside and Fife are speaking out about their experiences after it was revealed 4000 women reported problems – including heavy, late and painful bleeding – to the government’s medicine watchdog.
That figure may be the tip of the iceberg as many women say they didn’t make the connection until reading about the issue.
Fears of early menopause and unwanted pregnancy are just some of the concerns women have had but not thought to report.
Katie Smith from Kirkcaldy is one of many women to realise her symptoms could have been related to her vaccine only after the issue was highlighted last week.
She said: “I didn’t even think it was the vaccine, but my periods are all over the place now.
“I’ve experienced spotting and then a shorter period – it’s a bit scary and to be honest it’s made me fearful for the second vaccine.
“At one point I actually thought I was going through an early menopause until I read about the disruptions to periods.”
Laura Christie from Dunfermline added: “I was really concerned when my period was over a week late, so I had to take a pregnancy test.
“It then dawned on me after I read about the link between the vaccine and irregular periods that I’d recently had my second dose of the vaccine.”
What are the issues reported so far?
Issues reported by women in relation to their period included:
- Heavy bleeding
- Delayed periods
- Bleeding between periods
Should I be worried?
NHS inform says there is currently no increased risk of period problems or unexpected vaginal bleeding after taking a vaccine.
The number of reports is relatively low given the number of women who have taken the vaccine and how common period problems are generally.
And Dr Viki Male, Lecturer in Reproductive Immunology at Imperial College London has said there’s no evidence to suggest Covid-19 vaccines reduce fertility, publishing an explainer on her Twitter feed.
As an immunologist working on pregnancy, I know people have a lot of questions about the #COVID19 #vaccine, #fertility, #pregnancy and #breastfeeding… 💉🤰🏻🤱🏾
This explainer summarises what we know so far (it's reassuring!) and I update it regularly…https://t.co/Aw0S36nD2a
— Viki Male 🏳️🌈 (@VikiLovesFACS) March 3, 2021
What should I do if I experience this?
Any member of the public or health professional can submit suspected side effects experienced from the Covid-19 vaccine through the Yellow Card scheme.
If you are concerned about changes to your period, speak to your GP, especially if you experience bleeding after the menopause.