Periods, will they ever be a thing of the past for women??

[BDeyes]

Well just that really. I'm in my 40s now and been having periods for over 30 years. I've always hated having them, always found them a total hassle and inconvenience. My grandmother used to call periods the curse! I've always had anxiety about leaking or smelling at that time of the month, they can ruin holidays (not being able to swim in the pool etc) I know there are tampons but I've not been able to use them since the birth of my dd. Periods also sometimes rule what clothing we wear such as cannot wear white pants incase of leaks and we dar'nt put new knickers on anywhere near being due on as its guaranteed it'll happen whilst wearing new undies! Also some woman suffer terrible cramps.
I was just thinking I cannot understand why women in 2022 are still menstruating at all. with all that medical science can do these days it hasn't become a thing of the past. I know there are certain contraceptives which stop periods but they also temporarily take away fertility whilst on them too. Do u you ever think periods will become a thing of the past? Also it'd be much better for the environment without millions of sanitary products being discarded each day.

Why do you think its a piss take. They are in most women and girls a sign our bodies are working properly. Anything that affects our cycles such as stress or not eating properly is something that should be rectified . Our bodies should not be viewed as the problem.

What's a problem is being stuck at work without access to a toilet fir hours on end or being expected to travel all the time with no concern about where and how we take care of ourselves. The answer should never be to just fuck up our bodies even nore with long term medication.

And God don't give them ideas . Of we all just took the pill and stopped them altogether they'd never look into all the debilitating conditions some women ajd girls suffer from..why take 7 years of appointments to get a dx of endo when u can shove a 9 Yr old on contraception 🙄

No. Do not let them.off the hook this way.

Besides I bled constantly on the pill its not a magic cure. Can increase depression amd weight gain and all sorts.

We need more research into things that actually help long term for those with problematic periods. Not to fuck up our bodies further to save them the hassle.

😂 do you understand biology?

Maybe I'm unusual but my periods don't bother me. I would rather live with them than take some form of medication to stop them.

Internalized(are you american) misogony? Hahaha a phrase you learnt recently?

What a marvellous argument!

I would love an option that worked for me, can’t have combined pill and Progesterone only pills hasn’t stopped periods for me at all in over 10 years on mini pill haven’t missed any sadly.

Same.

As for 'daren't wear white or new pants'. That's what washing machines are designed for.

Have also used reusable sanitary wear for years and now with the invention on period pants more recently, they are a game changer. 2 daughters here too and no disposable sanitary products going to landfill from this house.

I see what you mean OP, but what I hate and would love evolution to change eventually is starting periods st 9 or 10! Surely it's not necessary anymore?! Women are having children later in life now than they used to, it would be great if periods started a few years later.

I personally would be uneasy about messing with my hormones to the extent that not having periods would imply. I have a low threshold for that though - I also don't, and never have, taken the pill or used any form of hormonal contraception. That's my personal decision, and needs to be put in the context that I don't have particularly horrible period symptoms - if I did, I'd probably feel differently.

So while I can see it being possible to avoid periods (you sort of already can - though possibly it's not recommended - if you take the pill back to back I believe?) I can't see a time when no one has periods, because there'll probably always be women like me, to whom they're not a massive deal, and who wouldn't be keen on taking something to stop them.

Bleeds when you're on the pill aren't periods,they're withdrawal bleeds. The GP told me there was always a break every month as when it was first introduced women (and their husbands 🙄) could be reassured everything was in working order.

Buy yeah, obviously you need real periods or we'd die out!

Having periods month after month for thirty years, possibly with a couple of years break for two children, is a highly unnatural situation and pretty stressful to the female body. That's why women taking the Pill have a much lower risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer, and why anaemia is rife among modern women of child brewing age.

It's increasingly common for younger women to opt out through their choice of contraception.

The pill made me feel wierd and depressed. I welcomed periods back when I stopped taking the pill back to back. Like a previous poster, I cramps are worse if I don't exercise enough or eat too much crap so it's a good reminder to keep on top of things.

There would be no way to delay or stop periods that would not impact all other aspects of development. Including brain development. Why do that to a healthy 9 and 10 year olds who's bodies are developing exactly as they should.

My then 13/14 year old daughter when starting her periods ate well, she was a dancer & swimmer so fit when she started her period. The following year her experience was a 2/3 week break then heavy painful bleeding. Bad acne as well. being 14 and calling me as she flooded at school & needed a new skirt. She needed the pill to function normally.

it makes me sad that some women have written they wouldn’t put their children on hormones or maybe we all should eat better and exercise. If only it was that easy but by saying it you are making people like my daughter feel quite crap about herself as if she failed. In order for her to live a normal life the pill gives her that freedom.

She is now 19 & to her that pill gives her freedom. Yes it protects her from getting pregnant but that’s not why she takes it- she takes it to be able to live life.

It's called menstrual extraction, and I remember hearing about it in the 1970s. It was never made illegal in most places.

I never caught on, whether legal or not, because inserting a straw through the cervical os is not always a welcome or trivial procedure.

And it did decline in US following Roe v Wade, which does suggest that a proportion were not using it for menstrual convenience.

Wiki is suggesting renewed interest, again for reasons unconnected to menstrual convenience

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_extraction

I love this!
I definitely use my period as an excuse for a few days me time, with plenty of painkillers and a book. Unfortunately, I do have to work today while in agony, but I work in healthcare and no qualms in telling my colleagues that I'm suffering!

All the contraception I've tried that has made them lighter has had worse side effects, so now I just accept it. I agree mine are worse when I'm eating badly.

Workplace has no toilets? Only make you travel if you are able to take care of yourself? Time off around your period then expecting a retreat?
That's taking the piss
I have not suggested that gynae probs/ issues should be medicated or not investigated, or periods should be stopped by drugs.
But your suggestions are unworkable, particulary in workplaces such as the armed forces etc. Even asking for such favours in an office is likely to cause great resentment.

Please explain why just because a female has a difference of opinion with another female about female stuff, is it internalised misogeny?
We don't all have to agree that being a woman is some sort of greek tragedy, just as many men will agree with the issues here
Ridiculous

You need to go to your GP. You shouldn't not be able to use a tampon after birth.

It depends what you view as favours though doesn't it?

Workplaces sticking to legal requirements would be a help. If you are retail and Lone person working alot then you cant leave the floor. The answer is more staff , and those staff taking their legally entitled to breaks. That should not be viewed as a " favour"

If people are stuck being unable to leave their posts and not taking their breaks and being resented because they dare to disappear to change a tampon for 5 mins then that definitely is a workplace problem not a period problem.

We have lost the plot with work. Forced over time, being the last to leave all the time, not being able to take breaks, long periods on your own , it's not a favour to not work.like that and it's not a period problem it's a work.problem.

Where I work you are on your own for up to 5 and a half hours. If u need the loo you have to hope there's a quiet minute or 2 where you lock the tills away and leg it or lock the door for a min.

I hear you OP. I hate my periods too. When I was a teenager they were so bad and made me so sick that I missed quite a bit of school. On my heaviest days they also used to rob me of sleep and I would feel so tired and generally awful, but am still expected to get on with everything, when really all I want to do is stay home and do fuck all.

I will say that recently I have made the switch to washable pads and they make a world of difference. They are so much more absorbant than any disposable ones I've ever had. I can now sleep through the night, rather than getting up every two hours lest my bed becomes a scene from the Nightmare on Elm Street.

But eventhough I have learned to manage them, at this point I am looking forward to menopause. I seriously wonder how bad it could be compared to my horrendous periods.

Period underwear and swimsuits are a great invention. Just wear them around the time your period is due. Problem sorted.

I agree that if men went through the agony I feel every month, they would research a better solution than those available at this time.
I’ve been trying to get pregnant for 10 years now, so can’t use contraceptives, and ibuprofen has destroyed my stomach lining.
Every month my period is unwelcome, as it’s simultaneously a sign I didn’t get pregnant and a punishment akin to torture.

Also, I've read somewhere that periods in early teenage years are actually not natural. Girls used to get their periods around the age of 18 and extremely heavy periods were not common either. We have a lot of endocrine disruptors in our food and water and that's messing with our cycles.

Periods aren't compulsory. You don't have to suffer them unless you are actively trying to get pregnant. The mirena coil, implant, injection, or pill can stop your periods. Very few people can't tolerate any of those options.

Why do you choose to have periods OP?

It’s not a real period, but it was still recommended by my GP and endocrinologist. Even though you don’t get the same thickening you do get the expulsion of the lining which I think is they key bit particularly to reduce the risk of endometrial cancer. They suggest you should have at least 3 bleeds per year, which I wouldn’t get naturally.