Womanhood And The Not-So-Beautiful Bits

Being a woman isn’t always the easiest thing but we embrace all the beautiful and messy bits.

For instance, my idea of a good morning is not waking up to what looks like a murder scene. All this while cramping, hungry, and having had a really hard night.

Last night, in an attempt to get a different type of painkiller for cramps, I ended up with something that triggered an ulcer that had been dormant. Keep in mind I’d specifically told the pharmacist (a fellow woman) that I could no longer use Ponstan Forte (Mefenamic acid) because of ulcers and Buscopan wasn’t strong enough.  So I was there in excruciating pain and had to take other meds to sort that. I couldn’t even eat because nausea got in the way and the empty stomach was making things worse. Needless to say, it was a very long night.

I was trying a newish type of pads. I was among the women boycotting the most popular brand of pads in this country. For years, we’d put up with substandard products that left us itchy and uncomfortable. Until a few months back when the boycott began on Twitter. Another major brand heard us and created a pad for women with heavy flows. That’s what I bought this time.

You can imagine my disappointment when I woke up literally dripping like I’d been stabbed by a dagger. Apparently the pad isn’t good at holding and locking down enough blood.

Waking up to start cleaning up blood everywhere is not fun at all!! I had to clean myself first and ensure I was dry and comfortable. I’d slept on the couch so thankfully the duvet I’d wrapped myself in, soaked up everything. Which meant I didn’t have seat cushions, or worse, an entire mattress and bedding to clean up. But there was still the trail that looked like evidence of someone running away from their murderer, from the couch, all the way to the Loo.

Let’s just say, trying to clean up all that, including the duvet, leaves you feeling like you just want to break down.

I had to do everything in a hurry because I was still cramping and couldn’t take meds on an empty stomach. I also couldn’t leave my tummy empty because of the ulcer. Then had to figure out what on earth to consume that would sneak past the nausea or I wouldn’t throw up immediately after eating. Thankfully, while travelling from home yesterday, my mum had packed for me an entire stash of fresh rosemary. So I mixed that with my tea and managed to drink an entire half a mug (big deal because I couldn’t go past one sip last night).

And this is me at a good month. After everything I’d gone through for years due to fibroids, and having surgery to remove them (an open myomectomy), I was finally at a good place. Yes it took about 6 months after surgery to get to a normal flow (I still can’t believe this is how it feels to have a normal period! Y’all are lucky to have experienced this for years).

I write all this because I’m not the only woman dealing with such. We need our stories to be heard. People need to know the things women deal with every month. There should be no mystery around periods and certainly no period shame!

Let’s normalise such discussions. Most of all, let’s find a way to celebrate this with all the perks and quirks and the messy bits.

I’ve been doing a lot of research on the sacredness of periods and all the good stuff. So I’m still embracing this with joy and plan to keep celebrating this. Hopefully one of these days I’ll share the many lessons I’ve learnt.

For now, I’ll stop here because all I want to do is go curl up and either sleep or embark on a good Netflix and chill session. And I’ll most likely grab the last bar of chocolate I’d stocked because I definitely need to reward myself for surviving last night and this morning.