Hey Lady Pandas, Share Your Experiences With Periods (Closed)

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

Blood, pain, crying, screaming, chocolate, repeat.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

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.

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."

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.

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🙃

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.

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)

Not a lady but, 7 days, minor cramps first two days, heavy flow.

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.

The hardest thing I have learned in the almost 30 years of this is that irregular can be normal

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.

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.