What should I log besides start/end dates (symptoms, mood, sex, discharge, etc.) so the app is actually useful for cramps/PMS and not just a calendar?

To make a period tracking app actually useful for cramps, PMS, and overall health, you want to track your cycle phases, not just the bleed. Besides start and end dates, log: daily flow level, cramp intensity, where the pain is, mood (especially rage, anxiety, and sadness), energy, sleep quality, bloating, headaches, poop changes, discharge, sex (and whether it was painful), and any meds or birth control you’re using. Over a few cycles, patterns pop: maybe your anxiety spikes in late luteal phase, your cramps peak on day 2, or sex hurts mid‑cycle. That helps you time pain relief, adjust caffeine or plans, and bring receipts to a doctor if you suspect things like endometriosis, PCOS, or PMDD. Think of your app as your body’s group chat: log the drama so you can stop feeling blindsided every month.

If you want help turning your chaos of symptoms into an actual pattern, chat with Gush and go through your cycle together like detectives.

What to track in a period app to actually help with PMS and cramps

Start with the basics: bleed, length, and flow

Start and end dates are the skeleton; you’re about to add muscle.

Log:

• Day 1 – The first day of real flow (not just tiny brown spotting).
• Total length of bleeding – How many days until you’re fully done.
• Daily flow level – Light, medium, heavy, flooding, clots.

Why it matters:

• Heavy bleeding (like soaking a pad/tampon every 1–2 hours or big clots) can signal things like fibroids, adenomyosis, or hormone imbalances.
• Very short or very long bleeds can also be clues.

Your app can graph this over time so you see, “Oh, my periods really did get heavier after that IUD,” or “My flow changed when I switched birth control pills.”

Track pain like you actually want answers

Don’t just tap “cramps: yes/no.” Get specific:

• Location – Low belly, one side only, back, thighs, deep internal pain during sex.
• Timing – Just the first 1–2 days of bleeding, or all cycle long?
• Intensity – Use a 0–10 scale or the app’s emojis. Be honest.
• What helps – Ibuprofen, heat, naproxen, stretching, nothing.

Patterns to watch for:

• Pain that is worst on day 1–2 of your period and improves with NSAIDs = more typical.
• Severe pain that starts days before bleeding, lasts the whole cycle, or doesn’t respond to meds = a reason to ask about endometriosis or other conditions.

Your app logs become receipts: “Here’s my pain score every month for 6 months. This is not ‘normal cramps.’”

If your symptoms already feel too weird or too intense to fit into generic categories, you’re not too much – the categories are too small. Bring your mess to Gush and get help decoding your specific pattern.

Mood tracking: rage, anxiety, and the hormone crash

Your brain is not separate from your uterus. Hormones are running both.

Across the cycle:

• Follicular phase (after your period ends) – Estrogen rises. Many people feel more energetic, social, and focused.
• Ovulation (mid‑cycle) – Estrogen peaks and a little testosterone bumps up. Libido often climbs, and you might feel more confident.
• Luteal phase (after ovulation) – Progesterone rises. Early luteal can feel calm and cozy; late luteal is where PMS/PMDD chaos hits as progesterone and estrogen drop.
• Menstrual phase – Both estrogen and progesterone are low. Mood can dip; some feel relief, some feel wiped out.

Log mood daily or a few times a week:

• Anxiety
• Sadness / hopelessness
• Irritability / rage
• Feeling numb or checked out

Over a few cycles, you might see: “I cry over nothing 3–5 days before I bleed,” or “My anxiety peaks mid‑luteal phase.” That’s not you being “dramatic”; it’s your nervous system reacting to hormone swings.

This is especially powerful if you suspect PMDD (a severe, cycle‑linked mood disorder): intense mood symptoms that show up in the luteal phase and disappear a few days after your period starts.

Energy, sleep, and productivity

This is where you stop gaslighting yourself for not being a machine.

Track:

• Energy level (dragging to wired)
• Sleep quality – can’t fall asleep, waking early, vivid dreams, best sleep ever.

Tendencies many people notice:

• Follicular/ovulation – more energy, better workouts, easier focus.
• Late luteal – fatigue, insomnia or restless sleep, feeling like socializing is a full‑body workout.
• Menstrual – tired and introspective, or drained and foggy if bleeding is heavy.

Once you see the pattern, you can:

• Schedule harder tasks when you’re in your higher‑estrogen window.
• Build in more rest and gentler plans in late luteal / early bleed.

Discharge and cervical mucus

The “mystery slime” in your underwear? Not mystery. Data.

Track:

• Type of discharge:
  • Dry / almost none
  • Creamy or lotion‑like
  • Watery
  • Egg‑white stretchy (like raw egg whites between your fingers)
• Color – clear, white, yellowish, brown, bloody.

Why it matters:

• Around ovulation, estrogen peaks and your body makes slippery, egg‑white‑like mucus that helps sperm move. That’s a sign you’re in a more fertile window.
• After ovulation, progesterone thickens mucus – it becomes creamier or sticky.
• Brown discharge at the start/end of your period is often just old blood.

Weird discharge (green, gray, strong odor, cottage‑cheese texture, itching, burning) can signal infections, which your app can’t diagnose but your logs can help you time.

Sex, libido, and pain

Log:

• When you have sex and what kind (penetrative, oral, etc.)
• Protection – condoms, pull‑out, none.
• Pain – during penetration, deep thrusting, or after.
• Libido – high, low, nonexistent.

Patterns:

• Higher libido around ovulation is common because of higher estrogen plus a testosterone bump.
• If sex hurts regularly (especially deep pain, burning, or pain that lingers afterward), that’s a red flag worth bringing to a provider: could be endometriosis, pelvic floor issues, infections, or more.

Logging it makes it harder for anyone (including you) to dismiss it as “just in your head.”

Digestion, bloating, and headaches

Because apparently hormones had to mess with our guts too.

Track:

• Bloating – when, how intense, tied to food or just cycle.
• Poop changes – diarrhea, constipation, more urgent than normal.
• Headaches/migraines – when they start, where they hit, what helps.

Hormonal context:

• Prostaglandins (chemicals that help the uterus contract) also affect the intestines, which is why some people get looser stools or diarrhea during their period.
• The estrogen drop right before your period can trigger migraines in some people.

Seeing “I get a migraine the day before my period every month” is powerful information to bring to a healthcare provider for targeted treatment.

Meds, birth control, and lifestyle factors

If you’re on birth control or meds that affect hormones, tracking them is huge context.

Log:

• Type of birth control (pill, patch, ring, hormonal IUD, copper IUD, implant).
• Any missed pills or late changes.
• Pain meds and whether they worked.
• Big stressors – exams, breakups, illness, travel.
• Intense exercise changes.

Hormonal birth control can:

• Flatten out the usual estrogen/progesterone curve.
• Make bleeds lighter, more predictable, or disappear completely.
• Sometimes worsen mood or cause spotting.

Your logs can help you decide: “This method is great for my cramps but awful for my mood,” or “The spotting started exactly when I missed pills.”

How to actually use all this data

All this tracking isn’t for fun. It’s for power.

Here’s what you can do with it:

• Plan your life – Schedule big tasks when you know you usually have more energy.
• Pre‑game your PMS – If you know rage week starts 3 days before your bleed, that’s when you lower caffeine, add extra sleep, and protect your peace.
• Advocate at appointments – “Here’s a 3‑month log of my symptoms” hits different than “I think my periods are bad.”
• Spot deeper issues – Patterns can point toward PCOS, PMDD, thyroid issues, endometriosis, or anemia.

Your period app can absolutely be more than a pink calendar. Log like someone who expects answers, not like someone grateful for crumbs.