Having my period sucks, and no one will convince me otherwise. This is why the HelloFlo commercial is wrong. Funny, but still wrong. No one can tell me that somebody can want to menstruate so badly that they even fake it.
I knew my period was a necessary part of growing up, but I wasn’t happy at the thought of bleeding from my vagina every month. Always the late bloomer, I didn’t want to grow up. I was heartbroken for the loss of my childhood. I felt that my own body was betraying me.
When I told my friends at school, they replied with, “but you should be happy. It means you’re healthy.” I certainly didn’t feel healthy. I was in pain and bleeding heavily. This can’t be what being a woman is like, I thought. It just can’t.
For many women, their periods are nothing but a slight inconvenience. Some see it as an opportunity to slow down and relax. Some consider the flow as a part of their womanhood, something to celebrate and be proud of. For me, it’s nothing but suffering. My periods are heavy, last forever, and hurt like giving birth. I actually have the expertise to make that comparison.
And then there are the syndromes. You may have heard of PMS, pre-menstrual syndrome. Yes, I have that too. I am very well acquainted with the general moodiness, the pain in my back and belly, and the swelling that makes wearing some of my favourite clothes uncomfortable. That PMS then morphs into MS (menstrual syndrome), which manifests itself with more pain, more extreme mood swings and crankiness but this time all of these symptoms are accompanied by a heavy flow of blood. After that, many women go back to normal, but I’m left with post-menstrual syndrome and I am so tired and exhausted after more than a week of bleeding that my normal never happens. I hardly get to catch my breath before the next PMS occurs.
I hate the irregularity of it, too. I can never predict when my period will start. The wait and uncertainty are hard to stomach and make it impossible for me to function. I tried everything, from hormone treatments to natural remedies and diets, and nothing worked. I’ve been on the pill for a while and that didn’t help either. Not only did it do nothing to alleviate the pain or intensity of bleeding, but it also caused weight gain and nausea.
It was like being between a rock and a hard place. I just couldn’t win.
When I was pregnant and wasn’t having my period, it was actually one of the few things I liked about being pregnant. The post-partum was gross, but I got through that too, and eventually I reached a time when there was no period. Thanks, breastfeeding!
It was bliss. No weight gain. No mood swings. No bleedings. I wasn’t at the mercy of my hormones anymore! For the first time, I thought, “this is what being a healthy woman must be like.” The irony of this doesn’t escape me, of course: after all, men don’t menstruate and having a period is a woman’s domain. But it made me feel everything but lady-like. Not having my period for a while helped me realize how much this basic feature of a woman’s body was making me sick and miserable.
Now, of course, I am back to having my periods again, and it is just as awful as it was before. Actually, it is even worse because now I have children to take care of, and I can’t do it when I’m pre-, ante- or postmenstrual. I just can’t be a good mother when I have my period. The flow messes with me in all kinds of ways. I’d rather not have that because I actually prefer to be a happy, relaxed mother.
In short, something needs to be done about the whole menstrual situation around here. I need to find a better pill that and that doesn’t cause any of the horrible symptoms.
You know what? I’m desperate for this grossness to stop. I’d take some pill side effects over the period any day. Because being a woman doesn’t mean being defined by your body anymore and it certainly doesn’t mean that I need to suffer. That period, it has to go. Period.