My Period Vol.007 - I'm a person who tries too hard. My heavy period adds to the exhaustion of work and childcare.
EK, 37 years old, Select Shop Owner/Florist, First period: 3rd year of junior high school (14 years old)
Current average period length: Varies (2 days, 5 days, etc.)
Current average menstrual cycle: 28 days Current menstrual products used: Menstrual cup + diaper-type pads
-What day is your period?
The worst day
-What image comes to mind when you hear the word "menstruation"?
headache
- 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 got my first period late, in my third year of junior high school. The reason was that I had been doing ballet for a long time and weighed around 38kg. I had no breasts, a stick-like body, and a child-like build. In addition to ballet, I also went to cram school, so I never had time to relax. When I got home from school, I would go to ballet or cram school, then come home and always fall asleep on the sofa or in the bathroom, so I was really tired. I think that was also a factor in why my period came late.
More than the fact that my first period took so long, I also remember being very embarrassed that my pubic hair was slow to grow. When I went to the bath on a school trip in junior high school, all my friends had hair but I didn't, so I had to hide it so it wouldn't be seen.
In that sense, I was hoping my period would come soon. However, I didn't hide the fact that I hadn't had my first period yet, and when I told my parents that it hadn't come yet, they just said, "It's because you're not growing very well," so I didn't take it too seriously.
-Have you noticed any changes since you became a high school student?
When I was in high school, my period pain was so severe that when my period coincided with a test, I would take the test in the nurse's office. I took over-the-counter painkillers, but it was still painful.
I quit ballet in my first year of high school, and my body changed; my breasts got bigger, I gained weight, and my body became different.
There are two things I remember from this time. One is that my father washed my underwear that was stained with menstrual blood. My menstrual flow increased dramatically after I entered high school, and it was common for it to leak out of my pads. I would put my underwear in a basin of water, and my father noticed and washed it for me, which was embarrassing. (lol) The other is when my menstrual blood got on a chair at the cram school I went to, and I told a teacher about it. I remember being very embarrassed.
-How have you changed since going from university to working?
After that, I went to junior college and got a job at a local bank. I quit after a year and a half and worked at a select shop. During this time, I still had severe period pain and heavy bleeding, but my menstrual cycle was normal.
Then, at the age of 25, I found a connection with an apparel company and moved to Tokyo. I started out working in sales, but even there, I once had menstrual blood leak from a pad. The store where I worked had a rule that you had to wear the store's clothes when working at the counter, and you weren't allowed to take the clothes home with you. One day, I stained the clothes I was wearing at the store with menstrual blood, so I secretly took them home and washed them. Later, a senior colleague got angry at me for it, and although she was also a woman, she didn't really understand, which made me a little sad.
When I was 27, my period pains got so bad that I talked to my manager and took time off work to go to the gynecologist. They found a uterine fibroid there, but it didn't seem to be that big, so they removed it right there. I was relieved when the cytology test results showed it was benign. Removing the fibroid didn't ease my period pain or lighten my menstrual flow, but it did make me feel better. I think it was because I felt like, "My body is fine, there's no problem." After that, I started taking over-the-counter medicine to endure the pain of period pain.
I gave birth to my first child at the age of 31, and I was so happy when I didn't have a period after I got pregnant. My period returned a while after giving birth, and there was no particular difference from before giving birth.
Then, at the age of 33, I gave birth to my second child. Raising two children was difficult, partly because my first child's development was slow, and I was so tired every day. Perhaps because of this, my periods became heavier than before. I was particularly suffering from terrible headaches, and I was once rushed to the hospital by ambulance.
While I was at home with my two children during my period, I suddenly found myself unable to walk or stand. I somehow managed to contact my husband and brother, who rushed over immediately, so I left my children with him and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. I had a headache, so I went to a neurosurgeon for various tests, but they found nothing abnormal and I was able to go home. However, the headache went away after my period ended, so I realized that it was my period after all.
Since then, my husband has become very supportive during my period, helping out by looking after the kids, doing housework, and creating an environment where I can go to bed early.
Since then, I haven't been to a gynecologist. I know I should go, but I'm too scared to go because I'm worried about what I'll do if I get a serious diagnosis.
Physical fatigue is one thing, but I think mental health is also a factor. After giving birth to my second child, I quit my job and started working independently, but I still found myself feeling overwhelmed mentally. My firstborn son's developmental sluggishness may also have been a factor. When I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance, my older child couldn't communicate with me, so he started attacking my younger child, who couldn't even hold his head up, with such force that I thought he might kill him. I was so desperate to stop him, I don't remember anything about it. A friend said to me, "That was tough, wasn't it?" and it reminded me of that time. I realized how stressed I was and how overwhelmed I was.
This lack of composure continues to this day. I had important work yesterday, and although I knew I wasn't feeling too well because I was on my period, I pushed myself to "do my best!" because work and my period are unrelated. After the work was done, I felt exhausted and unwell, and ended up falling asleep in the bath, which I had taken to try to relieve my fatigue. I also often fall asleep on the sofa, and sometimes I'm woken up by a work phone call. Talking about this just now has made me realize how tired I am.
This has been happening for the past two years, and my period has become irregular. I have heavy bleeding for the first two days, and then on the third day I think it's over, but then around the fifth day, the bleeding starts again. My cycle is stable at about 28 days. The amount is still heavy, and my period pain is awful, including headaches. Talking about this has made me realize how serious things are. I really should go to the hospital...
By the way, my son was diagnosed with amblyopia after he started attending special education classes, and his vision improved rapidly after he started wearing glasses.
Once I made up my mind to love my child even if he continued to grow slowly or even if he had a disability, raising him became more enjoyable. Even if I were to be reborn, I would like to be the mother of my two sons.
-Looking back on your period, what do you think?
I feel like I'm trying too hard at everything. It's been like this since I was a child. Today, after talking about it, I realized that maybe I should give my body a little more rest.
"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.
