This is a topic which everyone seems uncomfortable talking about, even with our OBGYNs. All women experience it however. I'm glad I can talk to my closest female friends about this stuff. So I am just gonna write my heart out about it, for all those women who don't have someone to talk about it with, or think they are the only ones with awfully painful and icky periods!
Once a month, actually it used to be twice a month, I would feel the pain of being a woman. The cramps, migraine, back pains, bloating, irritation and lack of rationality, mood swings, comfort food binges, nausea, vomiting, depression, zits (pimples), crankiness, increased whining, feeling like your head's in a cloud... These are general period symptoms, and PMS symptoms. Not all women experience this, but many do. Many women have other complications... like endometriosis etc. Everyone knows there's all sorts of women out there, with different body types and shades, colors, features, personalities... we also have different periods!
Some women have a short period, no pain, they barely know it happens. Some women experience ghastly periods, long painful, heavy. Others have medium periods. There are also all sorts of pads, tampons, and eco-friendly feminine hygiene products to use. Some women just use a thin, tiny panty liner, others use a tampon, other use a thick pad, some women have to use a combination due to super heavy flow.
As lovely as we are as women, beautiful, elegant, we can turn into that loud mouthed, outrageous, obnoxious, rotund auntie every now and then... then again some of us don't. Some women have their period like it's any other day. I envy those women, however at the same time, the pain and bleeding I go through reminds me of how difficult it is being a woman. Yeah it's difficult for me, the pain is crippling, my emotions a mess, and all the PMS symptoms and then some. It's just my body is different and I have to come to terms with it. My hormones levels, uterus shape, etc. are different from other women. No to uterus/ hormone levels are same, and none are perfect! On my period days, it's hard to go to work, hard to even walk sometimes!
The period is a beautiful thing cause it reminds us about the miracle of birth, and the joys of giving birth...or not! Yeah if the period is this bad, how much better can the birthing be? People say the baby is so worth it, I'm not convinced yet. I'm sure my time of "realization" will come, don't push it on me! It's just not now, not today. Yeah the miracle of the human body is what comes to mind, though: how the body knows when to shed the lining, to release the egg because it hasn't been fertilized, let it go... let it flow... breathe!
Women who have problems with their periods, endometriosis, fibroids, PMS, etc. means definitely something is whacky with the hormones. Which means the doc puts you on "the pill". which regulates periods through hormones, and helps out with other complications. Which basically means difficulties in weight loss and other complications are in the books for you by the age of 30. Did you know some women take oral contraceptives, the pill or birth control, just so that they can alleviate period symptoms due to under lying health problems, which are untreatable other than surgery, or so my OB/GYN tells me. Which isn't helpful cause then you are on pills till you want to pop out babies, and then - hysterectomy! So when people are up in arms about paying for birth control, due to religious or health insurance purposes, they need to experience MY PERIOD. Then they will shut up. Forget rape, periods are bad enough!
My Period: it's painful, makes me crumple up in a ball and cry; makes me crave comfort foods, and depression just a few of the things I experience. My period makes me get angry at the ones I love at the drop of a hat; I can from Dr. Jekyl to Mr. Hyde, sweet elven princess to an Orc, I am not kidding. Other than that I loose huge amounts of blood, and have been anemic on account of this. Not to forget that sometimes there are clots, and sometimes messes occur if I don't keep an eye on the clock. Oh how many clothes, and bedsheets I've had to wash/ or ruined. Drinking makes the flow heavier and the mess happens sooner, however the pain becomes easier to ignore. My period has humiliated so many times due to red patches on my white pants, when it sneaks up unexpectedly- breakthrough bleeding! Why does that happen? Apparently due to stress, life, and the body just felt like period-ing. High blood pressure sometimes can be a side effects of periods, which doesn't make sense because you are losing blood. Bloating up and feeling like Jabba the Hutt for 3 days. It's nice cause after that you feel super skinny, plus apparently during menstruation you burn more calories. Nausea and vomiting at the slightest smells, and the olfactory glands change or something... it's like pregnancy almost. Migraines, oh yes with Aura too please! A headache like no other, vision affected, skin sensitive to touch, sensitivity to light... all while your lower tummy area is bloated and aching very much. The last few days its like a crunching, crumpling pain, like its squeezing the remaining stuff out. The first days its a scrapping pain, and the lower back hurts a lot. Throw in a fibroid, endometriosis, and a retroverted and retroflexed uterus: this makes it a little more painful. The shape and positioning of the uterus is hereditary, from birth and it's just the way the body is. I'm glad I can take a medication that makes this a once in three months only thing. It sucks to go through it 12 times. At one point my body was like "oh once in two weeks seems like a good schedule to have a period." I pleaded, "please that's not fair, my other friend has her period lightly once in 5 weeks, why can't we be like her?" My body told me "we're just different, deal with it." I couldn't deal with it for a long time, besides wanting to have a different shaped body! My period has always controlled what I do, wear, my emotions at times even, and my life! So birth control, or "period control" pills were such a dream come true, especially since they will not perform a hysterectomy on a 28 year old, and not even on a 30 year old who hasn't had kids yet.
My dad always said "Women go to work, and they deal with it. You never see a woman taking a day off for her period do you?" When I skipped a class or stayed home from work due to tectonic movements in my uterus- Cramps! I always wanted to reply"you don't know that." or "maybe those women don't have my type of period", but after a few times of trying, I realized he wouldn't understand. Most men won't understand. A man has no place in making those calls whether it is contraception, rape or abortion. You don't have a vagina, or uterus... don't say anything!
I wonder though how many women would take a day off for the first or second day of her period (especially when Motrin helps sometimes, and mostly for a few hours. Also recent studies have shown prolonged use of motrin can cause deafness)? How many women go through such an obtrusive period that they can't do stuff they love? As a kid I remember girls wouldn't want to play sports cause they didn't like it and would use period as their excuse. I love sports, I love climbing, yoga, going to the gym, and my period really gets in the way of me living my life the way I wan to live it. Now a days I know a lot of active girls, how does there periods affect their lives?
Some people tell me, "have kids, get it over with", others would say "do what you have to"... but in the end it comes down to us women and our bodies. I don't think I need to pop out babies so I can get on with it. I will try the solutions available first. I'm super happy that I am in charge of my body, and I am even more in control of it now that I do yoga (I do not recommend yoga on the first three days of the period however). There have been times I have been off the pill, and have controlled the menstruation and flow through eating healthy (no alcohol, caffeine, sugars etc.) and exercise, but it is difficult... it's a whole system, just like losing weight. In fact the endocrine system has everything to do with weight loss- thyroid, ovaries, adrenal glands etc.! Sigh! So lets meditate and breathe into those organs that are out of balance or feeling ill. Perhaps through meditation and yoga I can get my period to manifest less "in my face" type and more subtle like - panty liner only (heavy and obnoxious flow versus, a light and less debilitating flow)! Then again this is what truly makes us the stronger sex putting up with so much!
Once a month, actually it used to be twice a month, I would feel the pain of being a woman. The cramps, migraine, back pains, bloating, irritation and lack of rationality, mood swings, comfort food binges, nausea, vomiting, depression, zits (pimples), crankiness, increased whining, feeling like your head's in a cloud... These are general period symptoms, and PMS symptoms. Not all women experience this, but many do. Many women have other complications... like endometriosis etc. Everyone knows there's all sorts of women out there, with different body types and shades, colors, features, personalities... we also have different periods!
Some women have a short period, no pain, they barely know it happens. Some women experience ghastly periods, long painful, heavy. Others have medium periods. There are also all sorts of pads, tampons, and eco-friendly feminine hygiene products to use. Some women just use a thin, tiny panty liner, others use a tampon, other use a thick pad, some women have to use a combination due to super heavy flow.
As lovely as we are as women, beautiful, elegant, we can turn into that loud mouthed, outrageous, obnoxious, rotund auntie every now and then... then again some of us don't. Some women have their period like it's any other day. I envy those women, however at the same time, the pain and bleeding I go through reminds me of how difficult it is being a woman. Yeah it's difficult for me, the pain is crippling, my emotions a mess, and all the PMS symptoms and then some. It's just my body is different and I have to come to terms with it. My hormones levels, uterus shape, etc. are different from other women. No to uterus/ hormone levels are same, and none are perfect! On my period days, it's hard to go to work, hard to even walk sometimes!
The period is a beautiful thing cause it reminds us about the miracle of birth, and the joys of giving birth...or not! Yeah if the period is this bad, how much better can the birthing be? People say the baby is so worth it, I'm not convinced yet. I'm sure my time of "realization" will come, don't push it on me! It's just not now, not today. Yeah the miracle of the human body is what comes to mind, though: how the body knows when to shed the lining, to release the egg because it hasn't been fertilized, let it go... let it flow... breathe!
Women who have problems with their periods, endometriosis, fibroids, PMS, etc. means definitely something is whacky with the hormones. Which means the doc puts you on "the pill". which regulates periods through hormones, and helps out with other complications. Which basically means difficulties in weight loss and other complications are in the books for you by the age of 30. Did you know some women take oral contraceptives, the pill or birth control, just so that they can alleviate period symptoms due to under lying health problems, which are untreatable other than surgery, or so my OB/GYN tells me. Which isn't helpful cause then you are on pills till you want to pop out babies, and then - hysterectomy! So when people are up in arms about paying for birth control, due to religious or health insurance purposes, they need to experience MY PERIOD. Then they will shut up. Forget rape, periods are bad enough!
My Period: it's painful, makes me crumple up in a ball and cry; makes me crave comfort foods, and depression just a few of the things I experience. My period makes me get angry at the ones I love at the drop of a hat; I can from Dr. Jekyl to Mr. Hyde, sweet elven princess to an Orc, I am not kidding. Other than that I loose huge amounts of blood, and have been anemic on account of this. Not to forget that sometimes there are clots, and sometimes messes occur if I don't keep an eye on the clock. Oh how many clothes, and bedsheets I've had to wash/ or ruined. Drinking makes the flow heavier and the mess happens sooner, however the pain becomes easier to ignore. My period has humiliated so many times due to red patches on my white pants, when it sneaks up unexpectedly- breakthrough bleeding! Why does that happen? Apparently due to stress, life, and the body just felt like period-ing. High blood pressure sometimes can be a side effects of periods, which doesn't make sense because you are losing blood. Bloating up and feeling like Jabba the Hutt for 3 days. It's nice cause after that you feel super skinny, plus apparently during menstruation you burn more calories. Nausea and vomiting at the slightest smells, and the olfactory glands change or something... it's like pregnancy almost. Migraines, oh yes with Aura too please! A headache like no other, vision affected, skin sensitive to touch, sensitivity to light... all while your lower tummy area is bloated and aching very much. The last few days its like a crunching, crumpling pain, like its squeezing the remaining stuff out. The first days its a scrapping pain, and the lower back hurts a lot. Throw in a fibroid, endometriosis, and a retroverted and retroflexed uterus: this makes it a little more painful. The shape and positioning of the uterus is hereditary, from birth and it's just the way the body is. I'm glad I can take a medication that makes this a once in three months only thing. It sucks to go through it 12 times. At one point my body was like "oh once in two weeks seems like a good schedule to have a period." I pleaded, "please that's not fair, my other friend has her period lightly once in 5 weeks, why can't we be like her?" My body told me "we're just different, deal with it." I couldn't deal with it for a long time, besides wanting to have a different shaped body! My period has always controlled what I do, wear, my emotions at times even, and my life! So birth control, or "period control" pills were such a dream come true, especially since they will not perform a hysterectomy on a 28 year old, and not even on a 30 year old who hasn't had kids yet.
My dad always said "Women go to work, and they deal with it. You never see a woman taking a day off for her period do you?" When I skipped a class or stayed home from work due to tectonic movements in my uterus- Cramps! I always wanted to reply"you don't know that." or "maybe those women don't have my type of period", but after a few times of trying, I realized he wouldn't understand. Most men won't understand. A man has no place in making those calls whether it is contraception, rape or abortion. You don't have a vagina, or uterus... don't say anything!
I wonder though how many women would take a day off for the first or second day of her period (especially when Motrin helps sometimes, and mostly for a few hours. Also recent studies have shown prolonged use of motrin can cause deafness)? How many women go through such an obtrusive period that they can't do stuff they love? As a kid I remember girls wouldn't want to play sports cause they didn't like it and would use period as their excuse. I love sports, I love climbing, yoga, going to the gym, and my period really gets in the way of me living my life the way I wan to live it. Now a days I know a lot of active girls, how does there periods affect their lives?
Some people tell me, "have kids, get it over with", others would say "do what you have to"... but in the end it comes down to us women and our bodies. I don't think I need to pop out babies so I can get on with it. I will try the solutions available first. I'm super happy that I am in charge of my body, and I am even more in control of it now that I do yoga (I do not recommend yoga on the first three days of the period however). There have been times I have been off the pill, and have controlled the menstruation and flow through eating healthy (no alcohol, caffeine, sugars etc.) and exercise, but it is difficult... it's a whole system, just like losing weight. In fact the endocrine system has everything to do with weight loss- thyroid, ovaries, adrenal glands etc.! Sigh! So lets meditate and breathe into those organs that are out of balance or feeling ill. Perhaps through meditation and yoga I can get my period to manifest less "in my face" type and more subtle like - panty liner only (heavy and obnoxious flow versus, a light and less debilitating flow)! Then again this is what truly makes us the stronger sex putting up with so much!
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| I have a better picture of this... in fact in Donna Farhi's book there's a much better explanation. |
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