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Have no shame! Periods are cool, minus a few downsides (looking at you cramps, cravings, and overall hate for the world!), it's amazing how our bodies can do that! Feel free to share something you enjoy or hate, or have experienced secondhand!
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#1
When i had my first period my mom wasn't home so i got the tampons and pad ready
I was really scarred to use the tampons so i used the pad. Later that evening when i came back home i realised i forgot the wash the sheets
I raised into my room
I brother was waiting for me inside
When he saw me he freaked out
He was scarred sh-t
He told me that he found a puddle of blood on my bedsheets
I didn't knew what to say and answer so i just played dumb
The mystery of that puddle of blood is still told in my family
My elder brother was so dumb at that time
Final score:
15points
Keyboard Smasher (Submission author) 2 years ago
Just realised that there are so many typos here Sorry for that lol
#2
Blood, pain, crying, screaming, chocolate, repeat.
Final score:
13points
#3
After I ovulate, 1 of 2 things happen. I get extremely sore breasts or I get 1 or 2 thick dark chin hairs on the side of where I got stitches when I was in kindergarten. It’s so bizarre and it never happens at during the same cycle.
Final score:
12points
Aroace tiger (she/they/he) 2 years ago
The boob pain happens to me too. I want to be able to lay on my stomach=(
#4
Well what can I say.
I’m 53 so it’s all over, hooray.
I remember my face covered with pimples a few days ahead, my bosoms being ever to painful, my mood swings…
Then the beginning… that familiar sensation of something like a blade shoved in my womb… the beeline for a painkiller (which would only allow me to sort of function on days 1 and 2)… the ridiculous cost of sanitary protections and the fact that the VAT on them was the VAT for luxury products… and the pain.. and the pain… and having to power through this pain and go to work and smile and be polite to customers…
It was a few days of monthly scheduled hell for 40 years.
Final score:
10points
#5
The usual cramps, bloating, and red tsunami in my pants. But that’s old news. Lol. The week or so before my period I could get turned on by a car insurance commercial. Not kidding. It’s happened. Week of? If my husband so much as looks at me in a way that could be perceived as sexual or interested then I might pull his head off. He’s great though. He doesn’t ask me to do anything all week and he doesn’t let me do anything all week. By that I mean, he’ll take over dishes, laundry, etc if I try while on my period. He’ll just walk me back to the couch and give me my rainbow llama, electric blanket, and a cat of my choosing for snuggles. Then comes the tea and cookies. But I’m still mean to him most of the week. Ugh. Stupid uterus.
Final score:
10points
EpicWolfandSparrow 2 years ago
Agreed. Very stupid uterus. But your husband sounds like the most perfect guy. So sweet <3
#6
I was 14 when they started. 9-11 days long. Cystic acne, lots of Whataburger cravings and crying.
Still had my period through the first 3 months while pregnant with both kids... who are also birth control babies. After 2nd kid, I had 20 day sporadic and very heavy periods that caused anemia and severe depression.
Now I am 45 and they are always on time, 4 days long and totally manageable. But the cystic acne and Whataburger cravings are back with a vengeance.
Final score:
9points
#7
Getting pushed off of school grounds in a wheelchair and needing help to get into said chair is a once a month occurrence (before I was on the pill). The pain, WAS KILLING ME FROM THE INSIDE OUT!
Final score:
9points
#8
Non-Lady period haver but I wanna share my story cause it's funny.
I started my period a bit before my 11th birthday at my grandparent's house. My mom didn't come with us, and we were about an hour away from her.
I went to the bathroom right before we left and didn't notice until I wiped (black underwear and I'd had... wetness? discharge? for a while by then). I was actually pretty calm for a kid who'd hated blood. I walked out and calmly told dad we need to leave. He said okay so I got in the car. 10 minutes of hovering above the seat so I don't bleed on it later, I go back in.
"Dad, we need to leave."
"I know, I know, Harry Potter is on" (FreeForm or SyFy was having a HP marathon)
"No, we need to go NOW."
"???"
"NOW. I need mom."
"Mom? why- wait- did you start your-?"
*exaggerated nodding* "yeaaaaaaaaahh."
We got in the car and stopped by a Dollar General to buy some pads. My dad kinda explained to the (female) cashier, and she offered to help me and I said "NO" and went to the bathroom to put on the pad. It was super uncomfortable.
When I got home, my mom pulled me into the bathroom to make sure I knew fully what was happening and show me how to use a pad properly....
I put the f*****g pad on upside down. Sticky side UP. Don't ask me why or how, I don't know either. I just know I still facepalm thinking about it.
Final score:
9points
Blitzø (Submission author) 2 years ago
TL;DR: Got my first period away from home and managed to put the pad on upside down
#9
Period s**ts! So I remember reading about this and thought it was BS because it never happened to any of my close friends or sisters (not that they told me anyway). But as I'm getting a little older and peri-menopausal (periods super irregular) my biggest harbinger of periods now is a very very upset stomach
Final score:
8points
Fluffy mommy panda 2 years ago
Omg to me they are awful they did not use to be that way for me either. It started after I had my last baby too like maybe six months after. I automatic know when I have to cause of the pain.
#10
I once had a 16 week period which caused me to have severe anemia. I was tested by doctors and they concluded that they had no idea what was going on. I had to get a birth control arm implant to stop the bleeding. I still don't know what's wrong with me, and even with the implant I still bleed a little.
Final score:
8points
#11
OMG... Started at 11. Whole day in bed with cramps and heating pad. Three weeks on, one week off. Clots. Flooding. Fighting blood stains. Running to the bathroom, leaving a trail of blood drops behind me. Hospital pads not even enough. Inspired me to say, "If reincarnation is real and I can't upscale from human to house cat, I want to come back as a drag queen. You wear beautiful clothes, are surrounded by gorgeous men, and you never have a period."
Final score:
8points
#12
I actually haven't had one in 18 years or so. I have prolactinoma. The last time I had one when I was on my meds the cramps were so debilitating I couldn't do anything and had a pre-schooler to take care of.
Before I got pregnant, even when I was on my meds, I didn't get much cramping, or it was light enough. But it could have been what I used to think were bad hunger pains in the morning. My prolactinoma developed in my early teens, so I didn't have many years of a normal period.
Final score:
7points
#13
On my time of month, I always have a serious chocolate craving. But luckily, my cramps aren't too bad. (Mostly cause I use a cup tbh.) But I cry a lot. Not at anything random, mostly stuff that a lot of people would cry about normally, but usually I don't cry about stuff. So that's my experience. Also I tell my boyfriend I hate him, but I actually really love him🙃
Final score:
6points
#14
Aside from a couple days of what my father called the dbt's (dark brown thoughts) and occasional migraines, it was just a hygiene thing to deal with. Every 28 days, no guess work. I will say that at two points in my life, 16ish and 45ish, my hormones were causing ocean quantity flow. Over it now. Menopause was emotionally challenging. Crying at pet food commercials, brain fog. I think I got lucky.
Final score:
6points
#15
Not a lady panda here, but one who does menstruate:
The things tend to last 7-9 days at a time, and really hurt, the cramps are insane. I tend to get somewhat suicidal during it, but don't worry, that always goes away. I also don't think it's normal to regularly leak through supers within an hour? (the tampons)
Final score:
6points
Danielle Muniah 2 years ago
Please see as many doctors as you need to. It is not normal. Also clots bigger than your thumb nail are also not normal.
#16
Not a lady but, 7 days, minor cramps first two days, heavy flow.
Final score:
5points
#17
When I was pregnant with my first child I still had periods for the first two months of my pregnancy...I had no idea I was pregnant until month 3.
Final score:
5points
#18
The hardest thing I have learned in the almost 30 years of this is that irregular can be normal
Final score:
5points
Sarah Stevens (Submission author) 2 years ago
Somehow it didn't post my whole post and I can't edit...... The hardest thing I have learned in the almost 30 years of this is that irregular can be normal. My period has never been the same number of days long, nor the same number of days between flows. It has been curl into a ball painful and completely unknown. It has been so smelly (to where I fear others can smell what is happening) to no scent at all. It makes each month a gamble. I never know what I am going to get and when. Even when I was on the pill there would be times that nothing happened during the sugar pill week. Doctors spent 15 years trying to figure out the hormone ratio until I just got fed up with the roller coaster. There are months I envy the "normal" period experience, and others where I am grateful for a 2 day period that is 3 weeks from the last 2 day period. The chaos keeps me on my toes.
#19
I get really sore boobs like during breastfeeding. I bloat. I have had food craving even, and it freaked me out. And my periods are always unpredictable. However I have had cyclist only once in the ovaries and they popped it sort of felt like a miscarriage. And people have actually ask me if I have said condition before, and I'm like no idk why it happens. It could be a number of things. But I think is because my uterus is 3cm shorter. It makes carrying a baby harder. And ever since I had my last baby which was like 5 and half years ago. Sometimes I get really heavy periods. And have bad cramps. They even made me sick. I usually get bad headaches. I wouldn't say the pain was extreme. Cause my stomach get upset easy. But I don't know. And sometimes I cry more. And am a little more emotional.
Final score:
5points
#20
I have endometriosis and PCOS plus severe adhesions from many pelvic surgeries that complicate and add pain to what I already deal with. I don't experience pms too badly, I just start to experience cramps. Once my period comes, it's a nightmare. It's extremely heavy. I use the biggest pads available and I have to change them really frequently, and I often get leaks anyway (thank goodness for period panties). Sometimes it happens at work and it's incredibly stressful to worry about someone seeing it. Once I got up after cleaning someone's teeth and while I was dismissing him we both looked down at the huge red smear on my beige operators stool. Whoops? The physical pain is unreal. Occasionally I think I have what I think of as "normal" period pain, but some periods are next level and the pain is so bad I can't sit still, it's difficult to walk, stand, sleep or even carry on a conversation. Sometimes it radiates down my legs. Once I had to use a cane (I just pretended I was House). I have red burn marks on my abdomen because the pain of burning myself with a hot pack or heating pad is less than the pain of having my period. If it wasn't for kratom and the occasional CBD/thc gummy, I don't know what I do, it doesn't take the pain away completely but it's more tolerable. And the best part is that this all lasts a week or more. Once it was eight weeks.
Final score:
5points
#21
Also to any younger readers I just have to say how much easier periods are when you use tampons. For the first few years I only used pads which was awful during a heavy flow, especially in school. Tampons were a game changer for me.
Final score:
4points
Huddo's sister 2 years ago
I agree, and easier again using a cup, but I get why some people can't use them. My first time trying tampons was because I got my period the day we had a compulsory water safety class for outdoor ed. I didn't put it in far enough so could still feel it and didn't use one again for a little while.
#22
I got mine for the first time in June, on Father's day, so that was awkward. But I went to the bathroom like the second it started (not sure how that happened) so that was good at least!
Final score:
4points
EpicWolfandSparrow 2 years ago
Mine always feels like a really full bladder right when I start, so if I don't go to the bathroom right away I'll start bleeding everywhere, maybe it was like that?
#23
Unlike most people, I just stop eating. I will eat maybe 3 thing in the week before and after, and 1 or 2 the week of. I hate it because I normally have the metabolism of a hummingbird
Final score:
4points
#24
I started on Thanksgiving day when I was 16. That first year I had horrible cramps that would not ease with over the counter pain meds. Mom thought I was overreacting because she didn't have cramps.
Final score:
4points
EpicWolfandSparrow 2 years ago
My mom does too! She doesn't believe me when I get cramps, even though it's almost only one day of it. :(
#25
Don’t be afraid to ask for supplies or to tell your parent(s)/guardian(s)
Here’s my story :)
I got my first period in grade 6, during lunch recess. I freaked out in the bathroom and nobody was around. After I had not come out for a while, my friend came in to check on me. I remember crying and telling her what happened, and all she said was “Be right back!” She left for a minute or so, and returned with some pads. I got cleaned up (luckily I was wearing black pants) and we went back outside. I immediately told all my friends so they would know that I was “officially a grownup”
On the drive home from school, it was just me and my mom in the vehicle because my siblings were sick. I very nervously said “I got my period today” my mom was shocked but was happy to explain everything and what I had to look forward to in the future!
Final score:
4points
Huddo's sister 2 years ago
When I got mine, I was prepared (I was older than any of my friends) as far as supplies etc, although I didn't know that the colour was normal for when they start. I was at home and wanted to tell my mum straight away, but she had people over for a meeting about my brother, which went on for hours. I was almost in tears when she came to ask me how my day was since she hadn't had the chance to see me much. She said 'why didn't you just come and tell me? I would have stopped the meeting to go through it with you.' I learned to talk more openly about periods after that.
#26
My periods were a nightmare from the first time I started at age 10. It was painful, but I didn't have another til I was 13. Then, I didn't have another til I was 16. My family doctor claimed all this was normal. Then, every few months I would have an extremely painful period. This went on for years. Birth control made me regular, but if anything, the pain and bleeding got worse. I learned to schedule around at least the first four days of my period. NOTHING helped the pain. I was accused of faking it. Saw several different doctors and was given a myriad of medications to try. Nothing helped. It got to where I was anemic from bleeding constantly, and the pain was unbearable. I was finally diagnosed with endometriosis. I underwent a complete hysterectomy at age 28. My gynecologist was horrified when he opened me up. He had to bring in a pathologist to help him figure out what parts were what. It was as if someone had dumped a bucket of hot glue on my insides. My doctor was amazed that I could even walk, let alone function on a daily basis, with that kind of damage. Turns out I wasn't faking after all.
Final score:
4points
#27
I had to share how awful periods and difficulties a young girl can go through, do I went ahead and write all about my experiences which I had never mentioned to anyone. Somehow what I was writing just disappeared, and I don’t have it in me to explain it again - at least right now.
Final score:
3points
#28
I lost a lot of blood when I'm on periods. So I'm easily tired , and sometimes nauseous. But in february and march (2022) , i had anemia because of this. The time between my periods beeing too short, my quantity of blood cells didn't get the time to totally renew ( english is not my mother tongue, is this word correct?), and i was weak and often sleepy . I had to take a break from work. I work in a kindergarten and knew that if something happened to me while in class, it will be bad for the kids.
Final score:
3points
Fluffy mommy panda 2 years ago
I get so tried before and during. It awful for me. And then like a day before I'm gonna stop sometimes.....sometimes I regain a bunch of energy.
#29
The cramps... The pain... The flow... It all went away after I had my kid but it's slowly creeping back now. But now I have other symptoms - PMS is a b**ch, I am pissed off all days I'm late for no apparent reason, I'll cry for the smallest of things and my mind is constantly foggy
Final score:
3points
#30
Okay so under 16 so this could all change but I consider myself so fricking lucky so far. For me I never know when it's gonna happen, maybe I will go a month without one then have two in a month it's super irregular. It's a constant guess if I'll have any of the usual symptoms. Maybe I'll have cramps one month, and be totally fine the next. The only constant for me at least is that I'm always tired during it and thus have little to no tolerance. No clue if this is common or rare or what but hey I'm not complaining.
Final score:
3points
Huddo's sister 2 years ago
It is super common to be irregular when you first have periods. So much that I expected that and was amazed that I was regular right from the start. I'm assuming that it had to do with me not getting mine until fairly late.
#31
nothing special but i’ve vomited from cramps before. it makes me really mad when men act like women are the weaker sex bc period cramps would decimate them. some people pass out from cramps.
Final score:
3points
#32
I'm pretty lucky and I'm not. Mine last around 4 days with a little bit of cramps. However, I have the heaviest flows ever. I have to wear these big pads (since I don't wear tampons) so I don't "leak" blood on the sheets. Before that, I wore regular pads which ended up with blood on the sheets. I'm pretty sure that happened twice. Then I came up with the towel method where I layed out a towel while I slept in case I leaked blood again, which it did. Now, periods are not much of a hassle anymore, just an inconvenience.
Final score:
3points
#33
I got mine at home when I was 11. I remember the day before that, my doctor said my periods would star soon. I didn’t know how soon. The first time I saw the thing on my underwear I was scared to tell anyone. The next morning I realized it was periods and told my family. But my friend got it in school and we had it in control and we’re going to the bathroom with a change of pants when her brother saw it and totally freaked out. He fell to his knees and hugged her and was all like “nooo someone call 911 my sister is dying!!! Keep breathing ok? Get a stretcher!” Everyone crowded around and we had to explain that no, no one was dying, it’s just periods. Then some boys were like, “ what’s that?”
Final score:
3points
EpicWolfandSparrow 2 years ago
Omg lol. As I said before, guys are dumb. I cannot. I actually have some guy friends like that and I'm dead. Definitely keeps me on my toes looking for ways to weird them out+bring them knowledge
#34
I'm a trans guy so having my period gives me more dysphoria than usual. I get really bad cramps and am always tired
Final score:
2points
#35
Excruciating agony for 30 flippin' years and I just want it to end.
Final score:
2points
#36
The vast majority of doctors - of all ages and genders - don't understand just how horrific periods can be. From the PMS which makes you either suicidal or homicidal (or both) while being unable to stop binging on junk food, to the acne and hirsutism and scarring from said problems that takes years and literally thousands of euro to try and "fix" and still comes back every time the pill fails and I'm forced into menstruating, to having to get a medical judge to intervene so I can have the pain relief that actually works, all while living in a country that only allows hysterectomy if it's going to prevent physical death.
I'm this close to finding a clinic in Spain that will take my life savings and cut the f***ing thing out.
Final score:
2points
#37
I got mine during my 6th grade orchestra concert, WHEN I WAS SITTING AT THE FRONT OF THE STAGE! Thankfully I was wearing black.
I cry over everything, get ultra moody, and have pretty bad cramps.
Final score:
2points
#38
I have quite a few period horror stories to share *shudders*. But I'll just tell you about my saner/mom related ones 😃.
When I was younger my mom used to tell me about how unprepared her parents left her and how sad it made her (they gave her a biology book and $5). So she told me for years about how she set up a basket for me with all of the "girl stuff" I'd need (pads, tampons, waxing strips, heating pad, etc.). Anywho, I got my period a month after she left us (it's complicated) and was totally unprepared. I told my dad about it and the basket. He texted my mom and she said there was a pink bag under the sink with all my stuff. Turns out, she lied. There was a bubble mailer with a few tampons, cigarettes, and a bunch of used wax strips (eww). Luckily my grandma came to the rescue (she lives with us) and explained things to me, but I was so freaking mad at my mom. I was 12.
The first time I stayed with my mom (after the divorce) she decided to tell her roommates (3 guys and 2 girls) about how I was finally a woman. And proceeded to ask me a bunch of questions about my cycle in front of these strangers. I told her I was uncomfortable, locked myself in the bathroom, and called my dad to come pick me up.
Stayed at my mom's place a bit last summer only to find a bunch of my stuff missing (hot water bottle, tampons, razor, deodorant, etc.). Asked my mom about it and she said she must have accidentally threw it all away. Which was really weird because my bathroom is attached to my room so there's no reason for her to even be in there. After some further prodding I found out that she's trying to go all "natural" with free-bleeding, no shaving and all that stuff. We fought about it for a while until she agreed to compensate my stuff as long as I stopped wearing deodorant and using tampons. I have not talked to her since.
Final score:
2points
Brae (Submission author) 2 years ago
I guess I just forgot to mention what made the last one a period story 😅. I was on my period at the time, and since we were fighting she refused to drive me home. So I ended up taking the bus home and bleeding through my skirt. It was light blue, so definitely noticable.
#39
mood swings especially when me and my sister’s cycle collide . If out of stock brother to the rescue 😅 then recently migraine arghh
Final score:
2points
#40
Well I just finished my 5th one in the last 2 months, so there's that...
Final score:
2points
#41
The person who started the myth that periods get easier after you give birth should be shot.
Final score:
2points
#42
I can get really bad cramps to the point I can’t walk and I also tend to get moody for no reason while I’m on my period. I eat chocolate and use a hot water bottle to make myself feel better. It works
Final score:
1point
#43
Not a lady but they bloody suck (pun intended)
Final score:
1point
#44
Not my period. Ovulation. I would get a sudden searing pain on one side or the other of my lower abdomen every month, like clockwork. Then, I had to have a c-section. Got a local as i was very interested in watchig my baby being born. So, i was alert during the entire procedure. After the birth, the surgeon sutured my uterus and I was shocked to see him flipping it back and forth rapidly in his hands saying loudly, "Where's the other one?". Turns out, I was born with one falopian tube and my uterus flipped around in my abdomen every month or so.
Final score:
1point
#45
When I first got my period I had just turned 11 and I was a very shy kid so I kept it a secret for a couple months and then one weekend I woke up and was excited because I was supposed to be going to a friend's house and then realized that I started my period and the blood was heavy (it was usually light) and I thought oh no I can't go with blood on my pants and then mustered up all my courage and walked over to my grandmother and stood there with blood on my pants and said I need to change my pants to my surprise it wasn't as big a deal as I thought and my mom bought everything but I still think about it and cringe because of how long it took me to actually get the courage to tell my grandma
Final score:
1point
#47
Sometimes the hormones are bad, sometimes they're ok. Sometimes my tongue swells for the first couple days. I noticed that the sides of my tongue were getting shredded on my molars and I couldn't figure out why until I remembered something about people having their tongues swell in early pregnancy.
Also, the meat cravings are dangerous. I either need a burger or a steak a couple days before I start.
Since vaccinating, my period pain has increased exponentially, too. Apparently, there are studies that say it's supposed to go back to normal, but so far it's snowballing worse and worse ever month. Used to be I'd have one day a month when I'd feel crappy and then I'd get on with my life. Now it's more like a week (a couple days before starting a couple days after) where I'm barely making it through plus one day of being immobile on the couch under a dog and whatever cats are feeling snuggly. Would I take back getting vaccinated? Absolutely not!
Final score:
0points
#48
My first one. Because not one person in my family, or one educator, ever taught me what to expect. I woke up one day absolutely terrified. And skipped off to my aunts apartment because she was the only family member who had internet at the time. Of course I knew nothing about how the internet worked being that it was late 90s and just being introduced into my school at 12 years old. I was on summer vacation otherwise I would have gone there. I had no idea my aunt would go through the history and rat me out to my mother. Who THEN decided to have the talk with me about what to expect. I was angry and scared at the time and didn't handle it well.
Hey parents? I don't care how uncomfortable the subject is, because I guarantee it doesn't cone close anywhere close to the terror a pre-teen goes through when she gets her first one and has no idea what is going on. It's a fact of life, not talking about it doesn't mean it won't happen. Suck it up, talk to your kids. Because like I said, a surprise like that is traumatic.
Final score:
0points
#49
About the same as everyone else.
There was a babysitter for my sister and I because our parents didn't want to be bothered. I had been super nervous beforehand. I went upstairs to use the bathroom and found blood in my underwear. I called my parents. My mom suggested spotting. My dad thought that I may have wiped with toilet paper too hard. No, dear parents, I have my period.
Yeah, It's hell.
Final score:
0points
#50
1 star review, would give 0 if I could. Always hated it and I had it mild. I am non binary, every period was a reminder that physically I'm female. When I heard an IUD turns it off I couldn't get one fast enough. Keep getting it replaced and haven't had a period in a very long time. Also prevents the crazy hormone fluctuations, so I know my mood swings are due to circumstances not hormones.
Final score:
0points
#51
Horrified that humans have to leak every month. Most other animals don't, they absorb it. Went on Depo Provera and stayed on it for 38 years, missed menopause, been and gone without symptoms by the time I went off it. Best invention since fire. Yet so many woman would say to me oh but it's not natural. Yet whine every month about their natural bad experience. Well whatever floats your boat
Final score:
0points
#52
why? I'm not embarrassed about my cycle, but that's a private matter.
Final score:
-3points
What do you think ?
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