"Oh, it's not THAT bad" (warning, rant on feminine issues)

[IDrinkaRum]

Andara! I thought I was the only one with the hypersensitivity! Whew ... Finally, someone who understands what I'm going through. I thought I was going insane. And you're right: even the air touching me sets me off.

[Seshat]

My hair hurts, sometimes.

And yes, 'squealch when I sit down' and 'flood when I stand up'.

Incontinence, and diarrhoea, and constipation (the latter two at different points).

Cramps.

Nausea, absolutely.

Headaches.

Weakness and light-headedness - anyone else get that?

[lupo pazzesco]

Major cramps. Clots. Squish and whoosh as well here, plus I get the diarrhea and gas. Ick! >.< Headaches are occasional, but I do get the weakness a lot, Seshat, and the lightheadedness on occasion.

Dinner stayed down, though, so good news!! when xx_wolfie_xx picked me up from work, he brought me home, made me take one of my prescription painkillers and put me to bed for a couple hours until it kicked in. It took the edge off enough that the nausea abated. Right now, though, I've got my laptop as a heating pad, and the legs are still achey, but not as much as the back and abdomen. Ugh.

The only part of me that gets hypersensitive is my chest. I absolutely HATE wearing bras right now, but have no choice when I'm working. But again, it ties back into being called a drama queen. Which, when my emotions are on a rollercoaster to begin with, doesn't exactly help matters any. There are some days when my poor boyfriend has stated directly to me "Honestly? I will just do my damndest to get out the door, because I don't know what to say to you. I just agree with everything, and that still sets you off, so yes, I'm a coward that way."

I'll tell you right now, the biggest critic is my sister. She just doesn't realize how LUCKY she is. We've got both sides of the family with histories of endometriosis, PCOS, and uterine, cervical or ovarian cancer. As such, I can't think of one female family member that has EVER had an easy time of monthlies. She coasts through them. Never needs more than a pantiliner, and maybe a couple motrin the first day. That's it. So, it's hard for her to grasp why I'll curl up in bed, with the pillow over my face, blankets pulled up to my chin and swear at her when she wanders in wanting to talk or go somewhere or do something.

I'm a drama queen. It's JUST my period. I really need to get over it and not let the world stop because I'm doing what every other woman in the world goes through...

[AdminAssistant]

I'm a drama queen. It's JUST my period. I really need to get over it and not let the world stop because I'm doing what every other woman in the world goes through...

It would be a fun experiment to replace "period" with "pregnancy and labor" in that sentence, and see what the reaction is.

[Mishi]

*hugs and chocolate for all* I'm lucky, in that mine have gotten much better since I've had kids, but they still hurt a lot. I'm not flooding or getting huge clots anymore but my legs hurt, my back hurts, lots of cramping, and for the first 3 days it feels like there's a baby crowning. I'm stressed, because they've been weird lately and my doctor freaked a little when I listed the symptoms. Tried to talk to my best friend about it, and she just doesn't understand why I'm worried. Ugh, I really don't want to go for the ultrasound (wand? Bullshit!!) but I need to know what's happening.

*Big gentle hugs for lupo* Hope you're feeling better and able to keep food down.

[Lillfilly]

I used to have to miss a day or two of school at the beginning of my monthly, it was just so heavy and painful. Naproxin is what helps me the most. It's not so bad now though; the pain is still the worst the first 2-days and I look like I'm bleeding to death!

[Amanita]

Even in the Pagan community, which is supposedly so tolerant, I see women shamed for not loving their periods. One essay I read somewhere (can't find it at the moment) was incredibly harsh, telling women that if they were having period troubles, it must be due to their lack of exercise, and that the author wasn't interested in anyone's excuses for not exercising as much as she thought they should. She even said that such women were violating the wiccan rede for allowing their bodies to be harmed. The hell?

Nowhere in that entire mess did she suggest that women go to the doctor in order to rule out PCOS or other disorders that might be the root of their problem. Nooo. Just work out more, or you're violating the wiccan rede, for shame!

[tropicsgoddess]

My hair hurts, sometimes.

And yes, 'squealch when I sit down' and 'flood when I stand up'.

Incontinence, and diarrhoea, and constipation (the latter two at different points).

Cramps.

Nausea, absolutely.

Headaches.

Weakness and light-headedness - anyone else get that?

I get gassy as hell during that time and sometimes during the first day or two I feel weak and shitty. Headaches...not much but the backaches, more so in the first few days.

[fireheart17]

I don't know if this is due to the Implanon or not, but when that time of the month starts, I feel really constipated.

Lupo, have you considered the Implanon to help with your cramps? It has helped a GREAT deal since I went on it.

[Lace Neil Singer]

It's at times like this that I am grateful for free healthcare, cuz I could not imagine what my life would be like without having had the pill to improve my monthly torture.

I say "monthly" but before I went on the pill, my periods were so irregular that I never knew when I was going to get one, till the bleeding started.

*note to the squeamish; look away now*

I used to bleed so much, tampons were useless and I had to wear giant thick pads and change them every couple of hours, or they'd leak thru. I was anaemic cuz of all the bleeding, had terrible cramping and to top it off, an occasional migraine. -.- Seriously, had anyone told me at the time "It's not that bad, just take a paracetamol!", they might have ended up gushing blood, too. Luckily, my mother (who was, and is, a nurse) took me to the doctor and had me put on the pill, which stemmed the blood waterfall to a manageable amount.

[Akasa]

Those who minimize the suffering of others because theirs isn't that bad are horrible. Before my surgery my periods were so bad I'd be in the fetal position under my desk crying when my periods hit and get sent home. But If I tried to call out I'd get reamed so whether I felt like working or not into work I'd go so I could get sent home.

[lupo pazzesco]

Lupo, have you considered the Implanon to help with your cramps? It has helped a GREAT deal since I went on it.

Can't afford it. It's not one of those available in my area, I don't think, but I haven't checked. I've looked into pricing and whatnot, though. The clinics around here will do sliding scale payments on the pill and Depo Prevara. I would love an implant that I wouldn't have to worry about taking a pill, and maybe it would actually help.

Even when I was playing BC Roulette, looking for a pill that actually WORKED, we (Doc and I) only ever really found one that would "suffice" and not really "work" and it was a weird dosage that's difficult to find.

Thankfully, it's Friday, so hopefully the LAST day of hell. Last night, I thought I was DONE with cramps, and boom. Revival of Riverdance on my innards while I was cooking dinner. Doubled over the counter and whimpered while trying not to drop a knife on my bare foot. >.<

And yes, Akasa, I agree with the sentiment about horrible people. My sister minimizes EVERYTHING, even before she went on Depo, she used to say it wasn't THAT bad, and that I needed to just deal with it. I even got called a drama queen after wandering out to the kitchen for water to take some naproxen with. She'd been cooking...something, I don't know what, and I caught a whiff, and threw up in the kitchen sink.

Ugh. Just ugh.

[LexiaFira]

tosses in another sympathetic and understanding ear. i STILL have those kind of cramps, however they start off slow and build to the radiating pain and stomach issues. naproxin or aleve works if i take it as soon as i wake up and eat something. it also makes the whole monthly part shorter. but just because its that way for me i KNOW its not like that for all.
i just wish some people understood that and didn't have to witness said pain moments to believe.
many hugs

[BlaqueKatt]

I have the bad vomiting/backache/thighs hurt/niagra falls period as well.

I managed to find an herbal* remedy for at least the horrific "look like a slasher movie victim in 10 minutes" amounts of blood. so I now get horrific cramps for 1-2 days and manageable bleeding for 3-4 days-YAY! But if I run out of the herbal, or forget to take it, I remember quite quickly why I do take it.

Also I've found for myself if I'm out of naproxen, the ibuprofen liquid capsules work almost as well.


*herbal not homeopathic, and for me and the few people that have asked me about it, it works near miracles. went from 5-9 days of change super plus tampon with overnight pad as backup every 30-60 minutes to using a diva cup** or sea sponges.

** diva cup holds 2 oz, without herbal I lose two oz of fluid every 2 hours, with herbal it's 2 oz or less every 8-12 hours.

[IDrinkaRum]

As mentioned in y earlier post, I have a script for Lysteda. Been taking it for the past two days. Really works! No more gushing. No more sneezing, coughing, breathing and gushing.

However, I'm still exhausted. This weekend all I've wanted to do is sleep. I haven't been this sleepy since I was pregnant.