The period (menstruation)

This month’s post is dedicated to the period or menstruation. It is a subject that I would like to address from my experience, in case it can serve others who go through the same thing and if the people who read it can provide some valuable insights.

I had my first period quite late, when I was 14 years but only three months before turning 15. So I was quite excited, since it was the last of my friends and I was beginning to worry. From my third period I began feeling pain, the famous “menstrual cramps”, and from there the ordeal began (apart from the hair/acne problem that I have already treated in other posts). I have to say that I think my period pain is genetic, since my mother also had menstrual cramps and I remember when I was a child and she stayed in bed one or two days a month. I think it can also be related with the fact that she did not give birth, but had a C-section. Some people say that those who had painful periods and have given birth stop having painful periods, but I’ve seen this is not always the case.

A second issue is “timing”. My periods comes with me to all good times: New Year’s Eve, trips, etc. It comes also on weekends, of course, but I almost prefer this because, as I feel so bad, I can stay at home during the weekend. To give some examples, the first year I had my period it came with me to my high school study trip, in which we spent all day doing water activities. I had never used a tampon because I had hardly had five periods until then. So it was very uncomfortable because I didn’t put it well, it bothered me, it stained everything… At New Year’s Eve I had to stay at home because my period came just that night. It also came with me to a transatlantic flight, and I had previously taken an aspirin for the traveler syndrome (to avoid clots doctors recommend taking aspirin before long hours of travel, and also wearing compression stocks). Since aspirin avoid clots, on that trip I bled like an open tap, great.

But the worst part is pain. I have fainted twice. One of them it was at home. It was a weekend (of course). I got up for breakfast and noticed that it was starting to hurt, but I wanted to wait until I finished breakfast to take my ibuprofen. Suddenly it started to hurt a lot and I noticed that I was getting dizzy, and I just had the time to run to my bedroom and throw myself in bed before I passed out. When I woke up my parents were looking at me super worried. The second time it was on the city bus, the one I took to go to work when I lived in Belgium. That day was a working day, and I had an ibuprofen after breakfast, I had some discomfort, but I thought it would disappear in a while, when the ibuprofen I had taken made effect. I got on the bus (maybe the bus rattle made it worse) and I began to feel very bad, I was thinking about arriving at the office and being able to lie down even on the table…and when I woke up the bus was empty and an ambulance had arrived. They put me in the ambulance (first time in my life) and took me to the hospital, I told them that I was fine, that I just needed a little water … but they refused to give me water! Already in the hospital they took me on a stretcher (as in the movies, haha) to a room and there they made me some tests and they pricked me on a finger to draw blood (the issue of fear of needles I will treat in another post, but that day I was so stunned that I didn’t notice that they punctured me). After one hour lying there they told me that I could go home, but that it had to be on my own (on the bus again, I expected them to at least take me home in the ambulance).

During the nine years I took the contraceptive pills I totally forgot about the issue of period pain, and that is another reason why I took them so many years. But when I stopped my pain returned. Luckily my pain crises (one hour or two) have been almost all at home in my bed. Sometimes I think that the time to give birth, the contractions, must be something similar. A problem that I think I have solved is that of ibuprofen damage. Ibuprofen is very hard for the stomach and should not be taken lightly (a friend ended up with an ulcer because she took ibuprofen like chewing gum). But I have test many medicines and for my period pain (a pain that is inflammatory) ibuprofen is what goes best. My problem is that most of the time the crises start when I wake up in the morning (maybe going from horizontal to vertical position?) and with an empty stomach. Also, with the pain, my appetite is totally taken away and I can’t eat anything. So, of course, ibuprofen does even more damage to an empty stomach. I had hydrocutions and vomited (also on an empty stomach), and really wanted to go to the bathroom. And, I am ashamed to say it, but I had to do my thing in a basin next to the bed, because I was so bad that I was afraid to go to the bathroom and pass out there. A doctor told me to take omeprazole before ibuprofen, because it acts as a protective layer on the stomach and then ibuprofen no longer hurts you. Omeprazole can be taken on an empty stomach. This way, when I have morning crises I also take it on an empty stomach. In times of crisis I usually take up to 1200 milligrams of ibuprofen, which I fear is quite a lot. I already know about cardiovascular risk and such, but what else can I do? On top of that, I am half a day groggy and afraid of having an overdose or something. It also used to help having an electric blanket on my stomach during my crises, which last about two hours (although the longest was 4 hours, I thought it never ended). Ah! An important issue is not to drink milk when taking ibuprofen, milk does not go well with medication.

My problems with period pain made me afraid to travel (and my mother was also afraid of me traveling). But I decided that it was not going to affect me, and I have not stopped doing anything for that (although in the days of crisis I had to stay at home). The problem with this is that it is like a Russian roulette, there are times that from when I notice the first cramp until my period starts, five days can pass, and I spend those five days scared and taking ibuprofen because I don’t know when the crisis will start. The truth is that it is a horror. And it seems to me that if I take ibuprofen (to prevent pain in advance), I delay my period more, so during the wait I take more than I should without need.

Another issue in which I am a bit special is that I only like to put on compresses. I think that for those who have period pains it is better not to wear tampons, because it could affect the pain issue. In addition, someone told me: How do you empty a water bottle better, dropping the water, or putting cotton in it to absorb the water? I have only used tampons if strictly necessary. And the menstrual cup, I think it’s a great invention, but I don’t use it, at least as long as I still have period pain.

Well, that’s my experience, you can see how beautiful.

Until next month!!