I’m a woman with a uterus and I always had fairly irregular periods as a teenager but put it down mostly to disorder eating habits and being slightly underweight for the most part. As did my doctor. I’ve been a steady weight for a good year and a half now and I’ve had periods that are more consistent (as in, every month) than they’ve ever been.

Ever since I started getting it every now and again I’d have one where my cramps were absolutely horrific. Like, writhing on the floor sobbing I was in such excruciating pain. OTC meds aren’t even worth the trouble of taking cause it does nothing. Now that I’ve had it monthly for a while it’s become more frequent, and severe with nausea and sometimes vomiting and back pain etc. Still not every time, but more frequently than before. Sometimes I spot in between and sometimes it’ll be three days or 9. But given that what I have to compare it to is ‘not getting it at all’ the fact that I get something once a month feels like it’s way better and I’m way healthier than when I was getting it 3 times (if that) a year.

When it happens, I’m immobile. Forget moving to do more than go to the toilet let alone get to a doctor. But then every other time that I might think about making an appointment I’m like ‘oh no I’m fine! she’ll be right!’ BOOM next month it happens again.