I don't know if this happens to anybody else, but when I'm having my
period I have to pee constantly. I don't worry about having any leaks because
I am in the bathroom so often. I guess this has something to do with the
bladder and the uterus being right next to each other.
On the first day of my period I often feel a bit like I'm in a fog.
This is something I didn't begin to experience until I was in my twenties.
I feel a bit like I'm not quite awake. Sometimes I will be a little bit
uncoordinated or mix up words I'm saying. I often feel on this day that
I would like to be alone. I feel meditative and not particularly extroverted.
After the first day or two, I usually don't really notice my period. The
flow is strongest for the first two to three days, when there is a lot
of blood and clumps of sloughed-off lining. After that it tapers off. My
period lasts about seven days, but is very light the last two or three
days. On the last day or two the flow turns a greenish-yellow color and
has a sort of acrid smell. I have no idea what this is, but I have gotten
used to it, and I've talked to one other person who has a similar thing
at the end of her period.
I think the most 'uncomfortable' part of my period is the total flushing
out of my body. All of my bodily functions seem to speed up so that I have
a rush out of my colon, uterus and bladder. Sometimes this is a little
confusing.
I have an irregular flow, but I have noticed lately that I bleed quite
heavily in the first day and then it is over except for a couple days of
light spotting. The day that is heavy is difficult. The best thing to do
would be to just lie in bed, but it seems that I must always work or have
something planned for that day.
My period is no fun. I have really bad cramps starting the day before,
my back aches, my thighs ache, and I get headaches. I take Advil for the
cramps, four pills at a time. I bleed like crazy. I can go through a super-
plus tampon in an hour or less. The first day of my period I'm always running
back and forth to the bathroom. If I don't stay on top of it, blood would
literally be running down my legs.
I like pads usually, but the one thing that really bugs me is how they
start to chafe by the second day. Maybe it has to do with my vulva being
extra sensitive at that time, but there is always a point when I just want
to rip the pad out of my panties and be free, especially in hot weather.
For the last few years my periods have been made up mostly of - well,
I donÕt know what they are - I call them clots. They are chunks
of almost black stuff, accompanied by some blood. I guess these are big
pieces of my uterine lining. My friends and I call this "chunky style."
Whatever they are, they are amazing. I can feel them when they are coming
down, and when I can I head to the bathroom to pass them straight into
the toilet. I do this partially because they don't absorb into napkins
very fast, and they feel gloppy, and partially because I want to see them.
They actually sort of sit on top of tampons, and make removal messy. When
I pass a big one I feel kind of shaky, like I've lost a big part of myself..
Here's a big hint: when you are wearing shorts and having your period,
always check your thighs for blood before you leave the bathroom!