"that time of the month"

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I don't really get that many inconveniences during my cycle. I do get really bad cramps at night though.

OP, I agree with those who said this is a compassionate question and it makes a big difference in a relationship if the man attempts to understand what a woman experiences during her monthly cycle.

I also agree that asking on a forum is a better setting than a mixed class in a high school. Not to keep boys from learning about this--i think they should have some understanding of it--but that it is a poor setting. How many teenage boys can keep a mature attitude about this in a group of their friends? Add the girls sitting in with them in class and you have a very awkward situation. It is better to have boys and girls split up for this type of discussion at that age, IMO. My class split up for this discussion, and i remember it being very awkward anyway.

I do think girls should be prepared for it, but matter-of-factly rather than having it explained in a way as to scare them. I told my daughter what to expect and even though she has not had a period yet, she has a basic understanding of the process and carries a pad in case she is not at home and close to a bathroom when she starts a period. In my experience, it is less frightening to be prepared.

I am not going to go into the totally yucky details (that is what takes guts, not so much to ask the question--but to explain all your girl stuff on a forum! ) but i have been one of those girls who had ongoing gyn issues from the time i was a teenager. It has always been a life-interrupting thing and my husband tries to be understanding although at times there is a gender gap. No guy is going to totally understand but it helps to know they try.

Having a hysterectomy at age 30 helped a lot (removal of uterus, but kept ovaries since i was so young and it was best not to hit total menopause at the time); i no longer had to deal with pads and periods; had one ovary removed a few years ago which helped with pain. Still have one ovary so still hormone issues with irritability at certain times of the month, even without periods.

All this to say that, if a woman has even one ovary, she has hormones and they will cause cyclical issues. If she has no ovaries or uterus, she has hit menopause and this causes its own issues. You just can't win. Likely she will appreciate every bit of understanding you can give in this area, especially if she has ongoing problems with gynecological issues outside of the normal stuff.

I will never totally understand...but I do know "the time of the month" is very difficult on a woman sometimes.

Just hold her hand if she desires that.

If she desires you leave her alone, I wouldn't get insulted.

I would just leave her some chicken soup, and go and watch TV somewhere.

I tend to get easily sad, frustrated, and even depressed when I'm on my period.

(Warning, kind of graphic)
That's not the worst part though. I usually get cramps that aren't just in my abdomen, but also my thighs, back, and even my vagina. There's been times when I've felt like someone has a hold of my labia majora. Another issue I have is that my period tends to be irregular. The duration of my period is about the same, but the amount of blood and days between periods tend to change. I'm menstruating right now, and I have worse symptoms than I usually do. I was cramping days before my period started and I had more clots than usual. I think I need to see a gynecologist eventually.

Please let me know if this is too graphic.

You probably should see a gynecologist--and check to see if you have a "fibroid" growth.

It doesn't mean you have a growth--and if you do, it's not a major, major thing, but it has to be treated.

This is something that should be checked out.

Other people: please chime in, especially if I'm wrong.

No, it's a possibility. My mom had one along with endometriomas. Both my mom and grandma had endometriosis, so it's possible that I could have it myself. I don't know if there's any research on heredity of endometriosis, but based on my family history, it might be possible.

No you are not wrong Kraftiekortie, i think too you should get checked Goofygoobers.

It is hard to say what it would be--a lot of varying gyn issues have similar symptoms and until they do ultrasounds/etc you can't know exactly what's going on. I have been through the gamut of tests, surgeries, etc. so if you have questions for me i will try to answer.

I am not quite so comfortable discussing all the details of my girl stuff on the public part of the forum; as you can see, i kept my post rather general. I don't mind discussing, just not publicly--i will pm you with any gory details. That is just me; some people did get into specifics on this thread i see.

When I was younger, I would get cramps so painful that they were debilitating. Sometimes I would vomit from the pain. I also had fairly heavy flows, and frequently got very bad headaches. Ibuprophen helps a lot.
I almost never had mood shifts: less than a dozen times in my life. When they happen, it feels kind of like my brain has been (metaphorically) skinned: not painful, exactly, but even the slightest external stimulus suddenly becomes incredibly annoying. Things that I usually wouldn't even notice would make me want to scream at someone.
Later, I got a hormonal IUD placed and stopped having periods for several years. Even after it was taken out, my periods were lighter and more 'normal.'

Not at all.

I've had all the same symptoms you described. A doctor suspected that I had fibroids, but when I had an ultrasound done they didn't find any, and no cysts either. I think some of my pain may be related to back injuries. The other likely possibility is endometriosis.

I get extremely irritable before my period. The old "premenstrual syndrome". Anyway, the annoying part of periods for me is having a heavy flow, which wrecks my underwear a lot and results in my mom getting mad at me and all like "You need to change your pad more often!". I tell her "I do!" in a frustrated tone. Yeah, I refuse to run that health risk associated with tampons which is why I wear the pads for heavy flows. Oh yeah, and I have the painful cramps with my period.