Purgatory
24-Jun-04
This post contains girl-oriented TMI.
Yes, it’s about my period.
*watches the boys flee the room*
No, seriously, you guys really want to leave. The girls might not even want to stay– to be honest, this one’s mostly so I have a record of it, in case I need to know when my period suddenly shifted and getting bizarre.
This week has been period purgatory, in the “purgative” sense of the word. I’ve been a PMS wrecking ball, hitting nearly every symptom you can think of.
A typical period for me (when I’m on the pill, as I have been for about 7 years now) consists of:
Sensitivity in one spot on my face as I get a pimple that doesn’t even form a whitehead. Usually 1. Yes, 1 pimple. I get one pimple a month.
A day or two of pre-spotting the week before the period is supposed to start.
A day or two of cramps, generally at the very beginning of the period.
A day or two or 3 of diarrhea or loose stool, hand-in-hand with the cramps.
Heavy bleeding for a day and a night, followed by 4 days of light bleeding. By “light” I mean, if pantyliners actually covered enough square inches to be useful, I’d use just them.
Some snack/sugar/salt cravings.
Maybe, possibly a headache or backache.
Last month was an almost nothing period. I had one cramp, a pimple that didn’t even hurt, and very light, easy bleeding. I attributed this to the exercise program and was grateful.
This month’s period has kicked me back, and hard:
A pimple on my lower back that was ENORMOUS. Like, after it popped, it bubbled up like a huge welt. UG. LEE. I think it was one of the biggest zits I’ve ever had, and I used to get some doozies in high school.
No pre-spotting. A relief, to be honest. But odd.
We’re heading into day 4 of cramps, though. Not the kind I used to get, before the Pill, but persistent little cramps in my abdomen that remind me that I’m “purging.”
Day 3 of loose stools, having to relieve my bowels every fricking time I go to the restroom.
An emotional wreck– last week I woke up crying, and on Sunday I was so depressed, I didn’t make it out of the house. I *never* get depressed like that.
A normal amount of “flow,” lasting 3 days now.
A migraine on Tuesday (yoga helped– thank goodness bikram yoga is period-safe!)
A backache, but that’s been going on for a while, and may have nothing to do with the period.
Horny. But again, could be from reading a romance novel, not the period (though reading the romance novel might be related to the period, in the sense that my mood dictates my choice of reading material).
Writing A LOT. I’ve been writing more this week, but that was planned. Still, there’s a certain amount of purgative sensation in throwing a story into a rough draft.
Oh, and I had a cinnamon roll this morning for breakfast. I don’t think I could have actually eaten anything else, the sugar craving was so strong and insistent. Plus, all week I’ve been wanting dessert and such after dinner. Not that that’s all that new or even related to my period. But still. My willpower is much reduced at this time of the month.
In case you’re wondering, a typical period when I’m not on the pill:
Cramps so bad I can’t actually move when they’re happening, and end up sick, sometimes to nausea, for a day and a half. I stoically put up with this through high school, but realize now that I should have gone to a doctor and gotten the Serious Drugs, because I was incapacitated.
Bad diarrhea to go with those cramps.
The cramps hurt all the way down to below my knees.
Very heavy bleeding.
Can’t remember if headaches were a part of it; they were a part of everything at that point.
Sleeplessness, usually caused by the cramps.
Acne; usually more than 1 or 2 pimples. Still, my skin isn’t evil.
The last time I went off the pill, I ended up with spotting before my period anyway, so that symptom doesn’t even go away.
The whole thing lasts 5 days or so, stops for a day, then resumes for another day and a half once I’ve let my guard down.
OK. You can come back now. It’s safe.