Erm...this is about periods, female replies only please...!

Post Reply New Topic

I can't comment on tampons because I never really got on with them myself (I'm one of those women with a hypersensitive bladder, and I'm pretty sure they aggravated my tendency to get UTIs when I used them). But on the other stuff...

500 calories a day is WAY too little. Plus, there are more interesting things in life than obsessing about everything you put in your mouth. Plus, if you're eating reasonably healthily now and getting some exercise, you're probably the right weight for you, which may or may not resemble what anyone else thinks you 'should' weigh. Plus, at 15 you almost certainly haven't stopped growing yet. So please, ditch the diet.

(Some people say exercise helps relieve period pain. Personally I found it made mine worse, but maybe that was just the kind of stuff my sadist gym teacher used to insist I did. I can't see that gentle exercise would hurt, if you feel up to it and it does help, but it might be more than you can bear.)

On the periods, a personal anecdote - I started at 12, and my periods were hellish. Both my mother and my (female) school teachers told me, idiots that they were, that this was 'just something a woman has to put up with'. (Some days the pain would be so bad I could barely walk, you know?) At age 19, when I was having a sexual relationship, I went to my doctor to get put on the Pill and lo and behold, the pains went. Just like that. I took the Pill for about the next eight-nine years, and the pains never did come back, not even now that I've been off it for over a decade. (These days, I get very slight backache for maybe a couple hours on the first day. Nothing a little paracetamol can't handle, if that.)

You might like to get checked out to make sure you haven't got something else wrong. Endometriosis, like activebutodd mentioned, can, I understand, be badly painful, but hormones are often used to treat that too. And I'm guessing the Pill has changed a bit since I was last on it, and no doubt there are types that are safer for younger women. I would get to your doctor and explain. Please don't suffer like I did, because it's NOT something any woman should have to put up with.

I just thought of another thing I heard from a friend- apparently if you avoid sugar throughout the month cramps are less painful? Try it if you're desperate, but I think it's a crock and unkind to boot. If I don't have my allowance of chocolate I get a little scary!

Hi, I can totally understand what you are going through. ( Aspie )My mother took me to the doctors to get the pill at age 16 and it was the best thing ever. ( NOt for contraception, I was a virgin for many years) But to regulate my periods. The worst thing was not really knowing when they were coming and getting a huge shock!
I would skip the period tablets on the pill every second month, But was told could have as little as 2 periods a year. YAY! I did get some bloating/weight gain with one type of the pill and switched to another one with no problems.
I know you are young but I found after I had children my periods were so much lighter than they were in my younger years. (just my experience)
Good Luck!

Always used to make disposable underware that were smaller than depends, but kinda based on a similar concept and kept everything in it's proper place. They were leak resistant and could be worn in conjunction with pads and tampons for extra protection.
They came in boxes of three..which was good to last a whole period if lucky. I hate "Always" for discontinuing those! They were a life saver and prevented me from ruining so many pairs of underware. I never liked tampons. I wear night time pads all the time. They keep making them thinner and thinner. I sometimes use "instead" cups, because they are less dangerous than tampons because they are non-absorbing. They tend to be pretty gory though on removal...blood everywhere....

My periods started at 13 1/2 and were regular straight away. Mine are hell, they are heavier than the ocean and hurt loads. I don't use tampons, first time I tried I chickened out half way because it was painful. I always wear night time pads, but it still does nothing and it ends up leeking onto beds and chairs and towels when i've had a shower, I once leaked on a chair in school, and I had to tuck my chair in really fast when leaving the class room and rushed out of there as fast as I could, thankfully I was never found out.

One thing I find useful is black underwear. They dont have to be scrubbed as hard, or bleached if any leakage occurs. Just a tip...

I definitely recommend going to your GP - you probably don't even need a gynecologist, just your family doctor. If you don't think you can ask your family about it - go to your school nurse and explain the situation. While there are some ignoramuses out there, there are many, many, many women who will be sympathetic to your discomfort. See if the school nurse can maybe arrange an appointment with a GP - then talk to him/her about birth control options.

Lots of people have mentioned the pill and I can tell you, it works wonders. I still have my period every month but it is regular as clockwork (starts every fourth Tuesday between 12-2pm, finishes that Saturday evening), much lighter, and I have had a day of MILD cramps twice in the last eight years. Also ask your doctor about Depo Provera birth control injections - these are a quick injection every... I think it's every six months, and in most cases it stops the patient's periods completely.

Also, please don't feel weird about going on birth control when you're only sixteen and a virgin: I started on it when I was seventeen and I didn't have sex for another five years! I don't think of it as birth control so much as period control. I originally went on it to help improve my skin, believe it or not, and also to lighten what were very heavy periods - but (a tip if you have an unsympathetic male doctor) I also claimed that I had a boyfriend who I was considering sleeping with, and I wanted to be prepared. Turns out this was seen as an excellent argument - even later when I went to get my prescription refilled and told my doctor that it never ended up happening. She happily renewed it since I was so pleased with the "side effects" (ie the effects I actually wanted!).

I know others have commented, but I feel I have to add something here: going on a drastic diet to lighten or stop your period is most definitely NOT the way to go. There are literally dozens of other options that are far less damaging to you - many are even good for you! Did you know that going for a run (and I don't mean a marathon - a good brisk four or even just two mile jog) the couple days before your period will lighten it a little and help with cramps? My roommate and I used to do this all the time in school before I went on the pill - and even sometimes afterwards. Another thing that will help (but will also help with generally feeling good, not just at that time of the month) is not to totally binge out on sugar and salt right before and during. You don't have to cut it out completely - but sitting down and eating twenty peanut butter cups the day before your period is not a good idea, no matter how irresistible it may seem at the time (ahem).

Good luck - I hope you find something that works for you.

Hi AJCoyne/Snowy Owl,
I went through some of what you describe a few years ago--long enough that I now feel more comfortable with myself, but not long ago that I don't remember it well. Like you I was into dieting in high school, which I now regret. There are foods that don't promote PMS symptoms.

I hope you can find (or have) an excellent woman doctor or GYN nurse who primarily sees girls and young women (and hopefully is familiar with AS/ASD). It's obviously your decision, but tampons (plastic applicators are likely to be easier) won't fall out and don't shift around like pads, or cause the mess that pads do. I hope you have a sister you get along with or friend's mother or therapist who you can talk in-person about this stuff with. It helps so much.

Also read Our Bodies Ourselves or hang out on their website. Recent studies suggest that diets with few or no dairy products seem to reduce PMS symptoms; see what your doctor says, of course.

As for "humilitiating messes," they really are. I'm 26 and had such an experience a year ago. It took me like 8 months to fully recover from my embarrassment, and not all the women I discussed it with were understanding. It happened during a work meeting, of all places. Then I found an Ani DiFranco song called "Blood in the Boardroom," which is on YouTube. It's pretty good, and kind of cool that a song talks about this. You will get through these difficult years. It seems that you have great resolve and the ability to deal well with problems. Keep up the good work.

I highly recommend tampons with an applicator. It was ten years before I switched from pads to tampons and I went through much of what you describe (anxiety and stains).

And I would try Oona PMS2 supplements before going with contraception. I didn't want to take birth control pills and Oona has made a huge difference in my pain level!

...

I've always found pads to be much, much messier than tampons--at least, tampons with applicators (and I don't use any other kind). True that you have to wear at least a pantyliner with them (just in case), but usually the liner stays pretty clean. With pads, I always felt so icky, all that blood pressed up against the outside of my body.

The tampon string actually stays pretty clean if you change the tampon often enough not to leak through (every two or three hours on your heaviest days, less as it lightens up). When I put a tampon in, I tuck the string up just inside the outer folds of my labia (no mess there) to keep from peeing on it next time I use the bathroom. This works really well to keep the string clean (relatively speaking, of course; it's still in your general nether regions ).

But tampons versus pads is a very personal decision, and that's why both continue to sell, I suppose. In my case, I knew before I even got my first period that I was going to start using tampons as soon as I could figure them out.

Adding soy to my diet helps me alot with the mood swings and the cramps. I'm not sure if they sell it in the Uk but I realy enjoy the silk brand of soy milk it's got alot of difrent flavors and tastes more like a light milkshake then anything from a health food store. The pill will help alot with the whole mess and it's not uncomon at all to use it to control exessive bleeding and cramping. I'd try and start with the lowest dose you can find being small and young. The shot takes 6 mos to leave your body not a great idea when your not sure how your body will react and the underskin implanates are hell to get out an leave large scars. The comany trained alot of doctors on how to place them but not very many on the right way to take them out. Also if your not crazy about tampons try and find pads with wings or tabs on them they stay in place and keep the sides of your underwear clean. I think everything else has been well said by the other women

For some people, codeine can really upset your stomach. It's a random thing whether you're one of them or not I guess, so be careful about taking it.