And That’s On Period
Yes, we’re talking about it.
With March being Women’s History Month, it made sense to have an open conversation about a topic many of us go without discussing; our periods. As a person of size, I‘ve had heavy periods since the age of 12. With most of my periods lasting six to seven days, it‘s typically the most painful and uncomfortable week of the month. I keep the Advil closer than a set of Siamese twins. If I even miss the five minute subsequent dose window, I‘m almost guaranteed to have 25-45 minutes of immeasurable pain. This has become my way of life.
Heavy menstrual bleeding affects up to one in three women at some point in their reproductive lives and, although common and debilitating, its causes are poorly defined. According to a study published in the Journal of Endocrinology. Studies indicate that obesity results in a more pro-inflammatory local endometrial environment at menstruation, which may delay endometrial repair and increase menstrual blood loss. (endochrinoloy.org)
Surprisingly, that‘s not what bothers me. What bothers me the most is going to sleep. If you‘ve ever peed the bed in your adolescent years, you know the feeling I‘m talking about. Praying that nothing happens and if it does, hopefully you‘re the only one who notices. I‘ve spent years messing up mattresses, sleeping on towels and using both tampons and maxi pads at the same time because there isn‘t anything on the market I have found that gets me through a full night‘s sleep. I‘ve ruined sheets and obliterated mattresses. I grew embarrassed to change the sheets in front of my insignificant other. The stains were so bad I would always ask him to turn around or leave the room to get the fitted sheet on the bed knowing I‘m only 5‘4 and would struggle getting across the king sized bed.
However, this was my life until... early 2021, I purchased my dream mattress and was hell-bent on protecting it by any means necessary. After blowing my budget on the mattress, I didn‘t have any room left for those pricey mattress pads. So what did you girl do? I took to Amazon of course! I read the reviews in detail, scoured though hundreds of them looking at pictures and checking for purchase verification. That‘s when I stumbled upon LINENSPA Liquid proof Quilted Mattress Pad. With 112K reviews and an overall 4.5 star rating, I swiftly hit “Buy Now.“
Mattress vs. Period : Time to test it out!
I wake up, I‘m moist and it isn‘t sweat. I already know what happened before I looked down and it‘s messy. I say a little prayer before I pull back the sheets hoping my dream mattress isn‘t ruined. Flat sheet soaked, fitted sheet soaked, mattress pad soaked. I peel back the mattress pad and SCORE! My dream mattress looks like it did when I went to sleep; brand spanking new. In that very moment I do a little happy dance before the cleanup begins. Mattress pad “1”, period “0.”
Although, heavy periods come with it‘s challenges. It‘s my hope that more studies are completed in an effort to learn about its causes. In my opinion, a blanketed “your periods are heavy because you‘re obese“ is not a satisfactory response and even less of a solution. At my highest, I weight of in at 307 to my lowest 238 lbs. On both sides of the scale, my periods were heavy and lasted six to seven days. It is also my hope that more comfortable products are placed on the market to help with leakage.
Do you suffer from heavy periods? If yes, what solutions have you found to support you with getting through them. Feel free to let us know in the comments.
Endocrinology.org. “Obesity Is Linked to Heavy Periods and Impaired Womb Repair.” Obesity Is Linked to Heavy Periods and Impaired Womb Repair | Society for Endocrinology, 9 Apr. 2021, https://www.endocrinology.org/press/press-releases/obesity-is-linked-to-heavy-periods-and-impaired-womb-repair/.
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