To think I ever wanted to start my period?!

[LondonLady1980]

I remember being a teenager when me and all my friends were so desperate to start our periods as it was such a milestone, the sure sign we were growing up and womanhood was beginning….

And now they’re the absolutely bane of my life.

1. The cramps, the headaches, the exhaustion.
2. The clots, the mess, the flooding.
3. Being confined to the house for at least 2 days.
4. Sitting on towels, clothes being ruined.
5. The endless washing.
6. The heating always being on to try and get all my period pants dry as I’m going through 5 pairs a day.
7. Waking up constantly throughout the night due to leaks.
8. The accompanying diarrhoea.
9. The anaemia.
10. Doctors really not caring how much it impacts your life.

The only good thing is that it gives me a valid excuse to cuddle a hot water bottle 24/7.

Mind you, another positive is that my two sons are going to be super sympathetic towards any future girlfriends as they witness every month the crap and misery I endure (and are very sweet about it).

I know the menopause is going to bring with it lots of negative experiences too (us women are so lucky aren’t we?!), but after 26 years of periods I am so done with them!

I know my experience of having periods isn’t the reality for all women, but it’s my reality and I wish they would fuck right off!

I feel better for the rant.

My heart goes out to all the women who have it worse than I do.

Currently sitting on a towel with my hot water bottle and feeling very sorry for myself.

This would be my worst nightmare if I had a daughter.

I used to work as a nurse and I would have to take 3 pairs of spare trousers to work with me each day just so I could change into them when needed. I was so thankful they were black though so hopefully I could get to the changing room before any flooding was noticed by anyone.

I used to hate it.

I work on a self-employed basis now which involves me going into people’s homes and for the first 3 days of my period I can’t work because I can’t take the risk of anything happening whilst I’m there. It’s so difficult.

I really sympathise, OP, it sounds horrendous. I can't really relate though, I never had too much bother with mine until I hit perimenopause in my mid-40s when they became erratic and heavy. A Mirena sorted that out, I never had another period and I'm now postmenopausal, which is wonderful.

I don't know how they haven't invented sonething yet to completely stop periods.

They ruin a lot of women's lives for one week a month. And they are so pointless

I hear you. It’s horrible. For me, the flooding which was always bad, got worse (and stayed worse) after a covid infection. I recently heard about the PBAC scale and did a tally - it really brought home what normal blood loss was. There seems sod all help for anaemia if you’re not collapsing too. What’s the point in tests if there’s no help after?

NHS website says ibuprofen can help with a heavy flow (assuming you can take it). I was so pleased when I finally hit menopause - it has been made such a difference to my life

Mine started at 10 and were painful and horrible from the start. I didn't get on with the transexamic acid or hormonal contraception, just had to stuff myself with painkillers. Then perimenopausal flooding... it was horrendous if I had a cold because every time I sneezed there was an abbatoir in my pants. Now my HRT is causing weird bleeding, the blessings of being a woman never seem to cease. If anyone starts going on at me about sacred moon cycles and spiritual meanings, I'm going to ram a super size tampon up their nostril.

What's the cleaning product please?

It's awful

but if you use night pads + maternity pads + period pants, you really shouldn't be leaking that much and ruining so many clothes, or need to do so much washing.

You can survive heavy (but REALLY heavy ) periods and miscarriage when you pad enough. And one big towel on your bed for peace of mind.

Don't get me wrong, it's shit, but you can try to make it a bit more manageable.

Sometimes you can't stay home, and you have no access to a loo for 2 or 3 hours so you really don't have the choice. Period shorts for heavy bleeding with maternity pads etc are a life saver

you realise you can leak through tampons, and heavily .. don't you?

I am hoping that at least women realise that you don't get to regulate the flow, if it's heavy, it's heavy, theres' literally nothing you can do, it's not a decision!

Totally agree, OP! 😩

Only difference is that I really, really didn’t want them. I was always bewildered reading Judy Blume books. All the girl characters were desperate to start their periods and to wear a bra. Couldn’t relate to that at all!!

Yeah, the menopause is not all bad!

My eldest DD was almost 18 before she got her first period.

It was not long before she told me that periods suck. Yes, honey, they do.

@Halfwaytheree I don't experience them as bad as the OP but for the first 2 days I can wear the heaviest duty tampon and a number 6 always pad and will have leaked within an hour. You're very lucky to be able to not experience it the way some of us do. OP, you sit and feel sorry for yourself and give yourself some treats because you deserve them😊

😂😂💐💐

You do realise you can buy tampons for different levels of flow? There’s not only one type.

Yes I leak through tampons quite quickly

Why don't they just invent something to stop periods altogether. They have no use whatsoever.

Someone mentioned the coil before. That doesnt work for everyone.

They need to invent something better

Just checked my receipts, they don’t sell it anymore but it’s the Remuvie stain remover

I can’t use tampons as they make the unbearable cramping pain worse and I also have a tilt to my cervix so they don’t sit correctly. I also use an app to tell me when to expect it and it had to give me a 10 day window as my cycles are anywhere from 26 to 50 days.i do know when it’s coming though as the cramps make me pass out and throw up so it’s a nice little warning system.

You have no clue and are very lucky

As I said before, I can leak through the heaviest flow tampon in an hour on the first two days. Do you just think all of us are too stupid to know what to use and how to use it? That's what I'm getting from your posts. @Finto1111 tampons are absolutely useless in our situations aren't they?

It’s the one part of the menopause I am desperate for. Problem is both my mother and grandmother were mid 50’s before they got the menopause so I have a least a decade to go 😭

Yes OP. I flood badly now. A tampon and a pad and period pants aren't enough altogether on the first two days of my period. My husband had to bring a change of trousers into the school where I work as id leaked by 10am! I'm anemic and on 300mg of iron a day to keep that at bay, it just about stops me being anemic but I'm still exhausted and now constipated too because of the tablets. Tranxemic acid doesn't do much to help.

So my doctor has listened and I've decided to try the coil as I'm 44 and my mum didn't go through menopause until 56. I can't have another 12 years of this.

My nana had a hysterectomy because of flooding heavy periods. That would be my next option.

are you that ignorant or frankly not very bright?

You think we haven't considered buying the biggest tampon size?

What do you think the tampon for the biggest level of flow actually does? Put a magical spell to stop heavy flow?

If you ever have a daughter, please educate yourself, for her sake

we one idiotic comment away from "you can't bleed in the water, you don't need tampons in the bath"

the fuck you can't.

Urgh. Sending solidarity op.
i often spend the first 2 days of my period sitting on the toilet as it’s just easiest not to move.
the size and volume of debris my body expels blows my mind.
Super heavy plus tampons plus maternity pads - all bled through within about 15 minutes for a few hours. Then it’s hourly. Waking up all through the night with flooding. I’ve destroyed mattresses even with sleeping on layers of towels and protectors underneath. Feels very undignified. I have to take multiple changes of clothes in to work and a few times have still ended up rinsing knickers in the sink and drying them under the hand dryer. I’ve had to have office chairs replaced. The seat in my car is wrecked.
Have PCOS and newly diagnosed endo. No one seems to give a shit though how badly it can affect daily life!