“Mr Hall, I was surfing the crimson wave. I had to haul ass to the ladies” – Clueless (1995)
It’s that time of the month for me, and I’m on my third day. That means I’m now feeling my worst and am probably wishing for death.
I’m blessed to not have severe PMS prior to and during my period. I remembered back in school, I had a classmate who had such severe cramps and had to go to the sick bay at least once a month. Once she even fainted during a music performance from the pain. It was really bad. Another friend used to have such terrible cramps; it was about 20 years later when she found out that she had endometriosis.
As for me, I do get the cramps, but not to such an extend. What I do get is that immense feeling of crappiness, tender breasts, headaches, fatigue and my b***h mode is on high alert. My husband knows what to do during that time of the month. Lots of tea without me asking for one, stay the hell away from me when I’m in my terrible mood, and give me a cuddle when I’m feeling particularly weepy.
Sigh. Women. Can’t live without us, can’t live with us, especially when dreaded Aunt Flo is in town.
As time goes by, I learn how to deal with my period and all its awful symptoms. It doesn’t eliminate them but at least they’ve become more bearable.
Tampons = Best. Invention. Ever
If you’ve been using tampons all your life, this may not be such a big deal to you, but it is to me. I’ve been using sanitary pads for so many years, till about 3 years ago when I decided to give tampons a go. My mother wasn’t keen on me trying them when I was still in school. Silly me never questioned why, plus I had no idea how it would go in :P.
If I had used it back then, life would have been much easier. You wouldn’t believe it, seeing my sedentary lifestyle now, but I ran a lot back in the day and when I had my period, I had to run with a thick pad. It was awful. Every little sneeze and here comes the “gush”. Now, with tampons, I can walk, run, go about my life without any problems. No accidental “gushes”. So much more comfortable. Damn, I could write a thesis on tampons; I’m that excited about them.
Reduce coffee intake
I noticed that I get a lot crabbier after coffee when I’m having my period. Tim can vouch for that. Plus, I get very “heaty” (it’s a Chinese thing, which I have no idea how to explain). So it’s best that I reduce or eliminate my coffee intake until it’s over.
Increase green tea consumption
I’m not a fan of black teas, so green teas work very well for me. It’s my comfort drink. A nice hot cup of tea (I favour Pukka’s Chamomile and Vanilla) and all’s almost right with the world again.
Use a hot water bottle
An essential during that time of the month. Along with a cup of tea, a hot water bottle helps to soothe the cramps. I also like the hot water bottle to warm the bed. When you’ve been out and about all day, especially when you’re having your period, a warm bed is fantastic for your back.
Wear ratty flannel pajamas
I especially like wearing my ratty flannel PJs during that time of the month. They’re loose and comfortable, exactly what I need. It’s also an unspoken statement for the husband – “Shop Closed. Bugger Off“.
Those are some of the things I use when I get my period. My cramps are usually not so bad that I need to have ibuprofen constantly to fight the pain. It’s just an all-round feeling of fatigue and shit, and I don’t need actual medication for that (although the husband would beg to differ).
Over to you. What’s your time-of-the-month ritual like? How do you stave off the shittiness? 🙂
I swear I thought I was the only person who had that “gush” when sneezing. I yoyo between tampons and pads, I feel like tampons make my cramps worse. It’s probably all in my head! ha ha. Feeling your pain at the moment though. On my 4th packet of MilkyBar Buttons.
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Chelsea: Oh you are most definitely not the only one with the “gush”. It’s so annoying, especially when you’re on the run and don’t know if the accidental gush will cause the pad to leak and stain the bottom 🙁
Oh dear, I hope it isn’t the tampons that make your cramps worse. If they are, then it’s best to stop using them (or use less frequent). It’s my life saver.
Milkybar buttons!! Yummmmmmm…
Mask. iPad. Nurofens. Hot chocolate. Thrashy tv – in no particular order. Oh yea, cannons 😛
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LeGeeque: Funny thing though, I can’t use the iPad too long when it’s that time of the month. Headache central. Trashy TV makes headache worse 😛
I remember how long it took to convince you about the cannons until you mentioned the “hallelujah” moment *cue angels singing*. Thankfully my cramps aren’t too bad (unless I’ve had too much pineapple without thinking) so I’m quite lucky, though I can’t say the same for the people around me when I’m PMSing! 😛
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Beetrice: Hahaha I know! What the heck took me so long?! Unfortunately, the first time I had it on, it wasn’t deep enough. I remembered letting you know that it’s painful and you mentioned it has to go deeper. I was like, whaaaaaaatt? 😛
whoa getting into TMI territory here! but yeah, had to go *ahem* deeper… 😛
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I tried using tampons once years back, ended up throw it away coz I don’t feel comfortable inserting anything into my body *ahemmm*… Do u think tampons are suitable for a person with blood pcs in their period ? I hate the “gush” as normally it meant blood pcs coming out, need to hold my butt and press the pad and rush to toilet.. ==”’
Bugs: Hahahahaha love your comment, Bugs! I completely know what you mean. Those are blood clots. I have them too; I’m sure every other woman has it too. The problem with pads for me is that I can feel the clots, but with tampons, absolutely no problem at all. Usually the clots come during the heaviest time of your period, so if you use super tampons then, it should, erm, hold it in. Don’t use the mini ones during your heavy flow days though, because the clots can slip down >.<
Hmmm… gonna give tampons another try this round and see if I like it like u do.. ^_^
I love this post.
My family has a history of horrific periods, and I had 5 years of painful, long, HEAVY, irregular periods before I got old enough to ask my GP to prescribe me the pill, and now we are hunky dory. I have one day where I WILL cry, guaranteed, and I bloat up a bit, but that’s it.
Completely pissed off that my mother didn’t just put me straight on the pill at 13. Hell, it’s what I’d do with any daughter of mine.
Also – have never been able to use tampons. Neverr. I retry every 2nd year of so – nope, too uncomfortable. I think I’m, ahem, shallower than most. (TMI TMI TMI)
Suzanne: That’s fantastic, how the pill helps you. Unfortunately, mine is the other way round. My mood swings are out the roof, boobs hurt like a tonne of bricks are on them and bloat like a balloon. I had to secretly go on the Pill then, because if my mum found out, she’d think it was because of the OTHER thing (well, it was, but STILL :P).
If the Pill helps, I’ll definitely put my daughter on it (if I have one). Back in the day of our parents, they’ll think it’s because of sex but they do not think it could help relieve PMS. Now that we know, yeah, definitely putting any daughter of mine on it.
Hahahaha TMI doesn’t bother me 😛 I thought I was, erm, shallow down there too because it hurt. Then I found out it was because it wasn’t deep enough. After getting it right, don’t even feel a thing anymore. It’s like the heavens just sang a glorious Hallelujah 😛
Totally agree with this, all of your ideas are excellent except I can’t function without coffee! Chris is still learning the ‘tea without asking’ bit, taking too long if you ask me. Naprogesic is my other one true love, I am a lucky severe pain receiver and have passed out due to the pain before 🙁 It sucks!
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Emma: Oh dear. I’m always worried for women who get really severe period pains (passing out = severe), and always recommend them see a doctor about it. Goodness knows what’s going on down there >.< Haha good time to train your man to bring you tea without asking. Such a good trait to have 😛
I started using tampons when I was in secondary school. It was very useful especially when it came to swimming, and I swam a LOT! But in the past few years, especially after I had kids, I switched 100% to cloth pads. I was apprehensive and icky at first, but the strange thing is that I felt healthier, less cramps and of course the sacrifice was those few days when I had to steer clear of swimming. But it’s definitely something I don’t regret 🙂
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Giddy Tigress: Ahh I remember buying a couple of cloth pads from your recommendation! But, er, to be honest, I still haven’t used them yet. I guess it’s mainly because I’m too lazy to wash them after use 😛
Oh you did? 🙂
Well, you should try them – I was lazy and iffy about washing them at first too, but it just feels good to use them now. 🙂 There will be a “learning curve” period though. 🙂
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Just wondering, with such frequent washing, does the cotton pill with bits of lint? Kinda like ratty ol’ undies? 😛
Some brands do, I believe. But so far the ones that I have – especially the velour ones still look brand new, believe it or not!
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hehe…me too…I don’t have really bas PMS but now a days I am getting weak 🙁 have never tried tampons but I think I shall feel weird using them…I mean as I understand they have to be inserted (sorry donno how to explain) *sheepish*. I use sanitary napkins but yes they are bothersome!!!
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Swati: Haha it took me many years before I even dared to, erm, stick it in. Hahahaha!
As for the getting weak bit, I think I know what you mean. I used to feel like that too. Have you tried evening primrose oil? It helped me, perhaps it can help you too 🙂
you took them as tablets???
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Swati: Yeah, evening primrose oil comes in gel capsules. They’re useful for relieving PMS 🙂
yup, I did buy those tablets for mixing them with hair oil 😀 will try them out during
PMS this time 🙂
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Whenever I have my period I usually just sulk around and whine about it to anyone who will listen! And eat lots of chocolate and take heaps of neurofen.
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Kimberley: My chocolate supply always increases manyfold during that time of the month. The husband knows better than to even steal a choc or two, or woe betide him with my crazy mood swings 😛
PS: I whine and sulk too! Unfortunately no one wants to listen 😛
Hot water bottle, tampons and green tea = life-savers! I don’t get tooo bad other than that, I try to keep to my usual workout routine because I definitely feel better and less crampy the day after running. And hugs, hugs help too 🙂
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Sabine: Oh hugs sure helped heaps. Lots of cuddles and all that 😀