May 28, 2023 is the world menstrual hygiene dayaiming at break the silence, widely disseminate much-needed information to girls and women about menstrual hygiene, and question more widely the plight of women and menstruation-related issues around the world..
For more rules content, you can check out the “Rules” category on Madmoizelle. You can also consult the website of the French Development Agency, which provides key data on menstrual hygiene and its importance for the empowerment of women around the world.
Since my period, a good ten years, I’ve been in pain.
I’ve often been told it was normal, but today I know it’s not normal to cry, curled up under the duvet, waiting for it to pass.
Furthermore, my periods were (very) heavy, as well as irregularwhich may last a fortnight, may not take place for two or three months.
The diagnosis of my adenomyosis
To compensate for these heavy and irregular periods, I took the pill quickly.
It was then quite a crusade to find the right dosage for me, as I took five or six different ones before settling on a semi-continuous pill (periods only every three months) that didn’t make me sick. .
Two years later, I notice red leaks in the middle of the pad, but I don’t worry about that anymore. A few days later, I was martyred first…just bled to death.
Then I make an appointment directly with a new gynecologist. This will prescribe me an ultrasound, which will reveal that my pains have an origin: I suffer from adenomyosis, an endometriosis located in the uterine cavity.
“Adenomyosis is usually defined as being from endometriosis internal to the uterus.
It is in fact an anomaly in the junction area between the endometrium (mucosa that lines the uterus) and the myometrium (muscle of the uterine wall) which will allow the endometrial cells to infiltrate the myometrium.
It can be superficial (thickening of the area up to 12 mm) or deep (painful). It is a benign and frequent pathology. She could be:
- Diffuse: There are numerous foci scattered throughout the myometrium
- focal: one or a few focal points located on the myometrium
- external: when deep pelvic endometriosis infiltrates the myometrium
There is a correlation between pelvic endometriosis and adenomyosis. But there are no generalities: a woman can have adenomyosis without having endometriosis. And viceversa.
Adenomyosis affects 11 to 13% of the female population. In 25% of cases, the affected women are aged between 36 and 40 years. In 6-20% of cases, adenomyosis and endometriosis are associated. »
To read complete information on adenomyosis, visit the EndoFrance website.
It had been almost a year, ten years after my first period, and naming the cause of so many ailments was such a relief.
My period, my adenomyosis and me: the beginning of the ordeal
The doctor then takes the time to explain to me what’s going on, and since there’s no cure, he simply suggests that I stop having my darling period.
Indeed, no rules, no pain. The hormonal IUD seems to be quite appropriate and I accept this option with open arms (and legs).
The (painful) pose is followed by a transition period during which my body gradually accepts this foreign body, then, after about ten days, I can finally go about my business, my mind free from any bewilderment.
I should have taken advantage of those three short weeks of joy, of peace.
It’s mid-November, I’m at a forum to meet companies to find an internship. I’m in Paris, far from home. It’s on the return train that I feel it.
Something’s wrong.
Arriving home at the end of the day, I find myself face to face with a bloody gift of my uterus. Don’t panic, it can happen, it will end.
On the contrary.
I make an appointment with the gynecologist, who tells me that it takes three months for everything to stabilize well with the IUD. So I wait. And every morning I see the blood is still flowing.
Forced to wear a towel, because my cup could suck my IUD, which I DON’T want.
Following the census of several cases of IUD expulsion with the use of the menstrual cupSophie Riche has written an article on this topic, with the support of Dr Martin Winckler.
It’s available right here: Menstrual cup and IUD: the impossible pair?
I tell myself that tomorrow it will be over, that this is the last pack of towels I’ll buy.
Sure, I thought about getting a washable towel, softer for my body, but I was convinced these damn periods would be over soon, so what’s the point?
I want to clarify that these were not real rules, rather an abundant one spottinga “normal” blood flow but without any pain.
7 months of continuous periods
More than three months have passed since the installation, new appointment.
The doctor offers me two alternatives: either we leave the IUD, we wait another three months, we give it a chance, and it is very likely that it will stop.
Or take it off and try something else.
I decide to continue, to give a chance to this contraception that seemed so perfect to me. The weeks go by, like my flow.
No real pain, often psychological (I see I’m losing blood so I must be sick) but not very intense.
The most tiring are false hopes: when ten hours without a trace leave you hoping that it is the end of the tunnel, and when, just as you are about to abandon your briefcase, a small stain spoils everything.
We are seven months from the installation of the miracle IUD, six months of continuous periods, without interruption. I have an appointment in a month, I’ll cancel it, it’s decided.
And everything is confirmed by when, during a very pleasant aperitif, I sneak off to the bathrooms and then I notice an aberrant quantity of blood, bright red, and I almost pass out (yet I haven’t seen blood for six months).
A friend who accompanied me helps me to come to my senses, and after a few minutes we return to the evening: a refusal that prevents me from living!
EndoFrance highlights three main symptoms:
- THE menorrhagia : very heavy and long periods (more than 7 days with significant blood loss). They meet in 50% of cases of adenomyosis.
- THE dysmenorrhea : pain related to periods. They affect 30% of women with adenomyosis.
- THE metrorrhagia : bleeding outside the menstrual period. They meet in 20% of cases of adenomyosis
Note that adenomyosis has no symptoms 2 times out of 3.
The sight of such a stream leads shortly afterwards to rather violent pains, which I think are psychosomatic, but, apart from that, nothing insurmountable if I have a good towel, Super Night Plus Plus, huh.
It is therefore well decided that I go to my appointment, ready to end this toxic relationship with my IUD. The doctor then suggests that I switch to a classic pill, one of those often prescribed, but to take it all the time.
I start taking the same evening, and three days later, I finally walk free, my vulva in contact with the cotton of my panties, ready to conquer the world!
i live again, after seven months of constant irritation (mentally and physically, towels suck), tired and desperate.
Lessons after 7 months of menstruation
As of this writing today, I have been on the pill for seven weeks. But it’s time to take up my burden…
I haven’t had any leaks in my underpants for two weeks, and I rearm up with the same hope:
” It won’t last. »
I was vigilant: no delays, no forgetfulness, I just have bad luck, you have to believe it.
Being abroad until the end of August, I still leave these few weeks for my uterus to calm down, after which I leave again on a trip to my favorite specialist!
Periods are boring, but having them for a very (REALLY) long time has made me realize a lot of downsides.
It’s way too expensive : a pack once a month is a lot, when you triple or quadruple, it’s awful.
It itches : I had the opportunity to try different brands of towels. Well, I haven’t found anything comfortable in the long run!
Again, if I’d known it was going to last this long, I would have quickly invested in cloth napkins (with the benefit of solving point number one).
Masturbation is messy: not having had a partner in the last year, I couldn’t help but have fully satisfying sexuality… as long as I think of all the damage blood can do!
It’s very tiringbecause seeing every day that you lose blood doesn’t help you to be positive and to take life from the positive side every morning.
Thank you to all the amazing people who have surrounded me and supported me during these long months!
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
