Women get a raw deal in society but one of the most criminal things that we experience is having to work on our periods. Every month, I am absolutely gobsmacked afresh at how horrible this thing is. The worst thing is it seems to just get worse and worse the older you get- it becomes an absolutely unfun game of “guess what new thing you’re going to get”. I have decided out of anger to list the absolute bare minimum that comes with periods- this is definitely a short list and things can be so much worse than this.
Cramps
Interesting how we just call it cramps- a cramp is something I get from sitting too long or from typing for lots of hours- period pain is not a “cramp”. For the few people reading that don’t know what it feels like, these are the layers- there’s a dull ache that sorts of starts from the top of your ribs, all down your belly, sides and back- it’s kind of like the background beat of the period pain sound. On top of that, there’s a stabbing pain that makes sure it randomises itself just enough that you can’t get used to it and it remains just as unbearable no matter how long it lasts. There’s also a kind of scrunchy pain that twists parts of your insides - you never know quite where it’s coming from, so that’s fun. Sometimes, when you take a painkiller, maybe it hits all three - maybe it hits one or two- but it usually leaves at least the dull ache, just to remind you not to get tooo comfortable.
Period shits
Don’t think there’s a lot to say about this- but bad enough that periods may induce their own special diarrhoea but who the hell wants to take a bloody shit?
Fatigue
The exhaustion is often compounded by the fact that intense painkillers ALSO make you more exhausted
Feeling like your uterus is falling out
Fever
Nausea
There’s just general nausea and sometimes there’s vomiting from the pain
General discomfort