My Period Vol.001 - My bad period was corrected by the female hormone secretion event

HT 39 years old Murmo Representative First period: 12 years old Current average number of menstrual days: 6 days Current average menstrual cycle: 35 days Current sanitary products used: Menstrual cup, absorbent underwear

-What day is your period?

Originally, I thought it was a sad day, an unwelcome day that I wish would end quickly.


-What image comes to mind when you hear the word "menstruation"?

It's a hassle, I frown


- From here on, I'd like to look back on half of my life, focusing on menstruation. When was your first period? How do you remember it?

I think I got my first period in the winter of my first year of junior high school, when I was about 12 or 13. I didn't talk about it with my friends, but I saw the girls around me using sanitary napkins, and I thought I got my period later than them, so I was relieved that it had finally come.

It took a lot of courage to tell my mother that I had my period. It wasn't an atmosphere in my family where we talked about such things, and I felt it was something embarrassing. What I remember from that time is the opening video of the TV show "SMAP x SMAP" that was on at the time (laughs). I vividly remember what I said to my mother while watching it.

After that, he only came once every two or three months, and at first I was worried that he might be sick, but then someone told me that it's not a problem if he comes irregularly when you're young, so from then on I felt really lucky that he rarely came.
Although my periods were rare, they were concentrated, so the pain was unbearable. The flow was heavy, I often leaked, and the period pain was awful, and I really hated it. I sometimes took over-the-counter painkillers, but it was still painful. The period pain was like my uterus was being squeezed, my pubic bone was being pressed against my waist, and there was a constant parade of pain.

Also, I seem to have sensitive skin in my delicate areas, so not only do the pads get damp, but I also get severe itching and rashes, to the point where I feel like scratching them, especially in the summer.

My period lasted seven days, longer than it does now. The amount of blood was very heavy on the first three days, decreased on the fourth day, increased again on the fifth day, and then decreased again on the sixth and seventh days. I remember wondering why the amount of blood increased on the fifth day.

When I was in middle and high school, I struggled with dealing with my period and leaking at bedtime. It was a time when diapers like today didn't exist, so I placed two nighttime pads vertically, reaching down to my waist. I also placed a folded towel between my underwear and the seat of my pajama pants, and then a bath towel on top of that, completely protected from the elements.
Even so, I still had leaks, and sometimes I slept in a bad position and the towels couldn't cover it up, so the bed sheets got dirty, and I was nervous when I looked at the bed sheets the next morning to see how my day had gone.
Whenever it did get dirty, I would secretly wash it in the bathroom at a time when my family wouldn't notice, and slip it in among the piles of laundry waiting to be washed, hoping that it would get washed without my mother noticing!

There's one other thing I remember about my period in high school.
I went to an all-girls school, and we had a joint training camp for our high school club activities. We all stayed in a large accommodation facility within walking distance of the school, a "training camp"-like facility, and practiced our club activities at school. There were two bathrooms: a large one and a small one. There were no private baths or individual shower rooms. We were assigned to bathe at specific times, and we all bathed together in groups based on that time. However, those who weren't menstruating had to use the large bath, while those who were menstruating used the small bath, which was called the "dark bath." The lighting was dim, and there was not only a washing area but also a bath. I think it was done to hide menstrual blood, but it somehow left a strong impression on me as it had a rather eerie image.


-And then, what about when you became an adult?

Irregular periods continued until my mid-30s, and when I was a university student, I got really sick and my period stopped for six months, so I started going to the gynecologist around that time. I also took the pill. It continued even after I started working, but it was so painful to have to take time off work to go to the gynecologist to get the pill that I couldn't continue.
Even if I made an appointment, I would wait in the waiting room for two hours, and then the consultation would be over in two minutes, and then I'd get my medicine and go back to work, which was exhausting. I thought, "What is this time...?", and in the end, I couldn't keep up with the pills and stopped taking them, and at some point I started to think that it was okay to have irregular periods.


-How did it go from then until now?

My cycle has now stabilized to 35 days. Something happened that triggered it, and I believe it's all thanks to my cat. During the COVID-19 state of emergency, I was teleworking from home when I found a cat about a month old stuck in the drain of my apartment building and rescued it. I took her to the vet, rubbed her shivering body, fed her milk, and cared for her. That night, for the first time in 2-3 months, I got a sudden burst of menstruation, and my cycle has been regular ever since. I don't have children, but I think my pent-up maternal instincts were awakened by my cat, which triggered the secretion of female hormones. (laughs)
Looking back, throughout my life of irregular periods, I've often had sudden periods, such as the day my cat arrived, the day after I met someone I liked, or right after a romantic event. I think my period discomfort may be due to a "event" that triggers the release of female hormones.

There's another thing that has changed about menstruation as a result of COVID-19, and that's the menstrual cup.
I started using it out of curiosity because I couldn't leave the house due to the state of emergency, but it turned out to be a huge event in my menstrual history.
I had never used a tampon before, so it was difficult to insert at first, but once I did, the stuffiness and odor I had been experiencing disappeared, and I didn't have to change them for a long time, so I thought, "This is so convenient!" I also liked going to the local public bath, so being able to go even during my period was a huge comfort. I hadn't even realized that I had been holding back my period, so I realized that I had been holding back all this time.


-How do you feel when you look back on your period?

I thought it was generally tough. I don't have many good memories. But I realized that's why I wanted to create murmo. From now on, I want to create more and more options to reduce the burden of having to endure menstruation, and make life easier for all of us.

"My Period" aims to provide an opportunity to think about and talk about menstruation, an issue that is often hidden, by recording and sharing how people of various generations and backgrounds have dealt with it. It does not endorse any specific products, services, or methods of coping. The content posted is based on each person's personal experience, so if you have any symptoms that concern you, please consult a medical institution.