Having menses is part of a woman’s life. Everyone remembers their first period, and how scared they were.
To be honest, periods are not fun at all. From the bloating to premenstrual syndrome (PMS), it’s just a whole mess which happens monthly.
We all have that embarrassing story about our periods; here are a few from Malaysian women.
YY – I have PCOS and it’s not cute
I have polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS for short.
I found out during my second year in uni. PCOS is basically a disease involving hormonal imbalance. For me, I discovered I had it when I didn’t have my period for four months.
I started to suspect that something was wrong, but I didn’t do anything about it. It was a relief when it finally came in the end.
But after that, there was a second spell where I didn’t menstruate for 6-9 months.
I decided to go and see a gynaecologist because this was definitely not normal. The gynaecologist told me that I was above the weight threshold for my body to be able to menstruate regularly (because people who are over or underweight might not be able to), but if I gained more weight or get stressed, my body won’t be able to produce healthy eggs.
The bad news is that PCOS makes losing weight difficult as it causes more fat to deposit in the stomach.
At that time, my eggs were there, but they were just too low-quality and small, so my body refused to release them. That was why I was unable to menstruate.
Aside from that, having PCOS increased my insulin resistance, which also increased my risk of developing osteoporosis.
I am lucky that I managed to dodge symptoms like increased hair growth, but it still sucks.
PCOS sufferers tend to get extremely long and heavy periods because it’s been building up. For me however, I don’t really get cramps so it’s still okay.
As long as I’m aware of my ovulation, manage my stress levels, and am aware of my emotional state, then I’m fine. There’s medication available, but I am opting not to take them.
I still suffer from a lot of symptoms, but as far as I know, there’s no real cure for it. All I can do is make sure my menses come regularly, so I don’t get too emotional.
Patricia – I bled all over him during sex
I dated this guy two years ago (now ex).
Since we’re both hormonal adults with needs and desires, we had sex.
I knew my period was coming soon, probably in a few days, so I thought it would be fine and just went along with it.
While we were doing it, I felt a wetness between my legs. There was also this dull pain in my uterus, but I just ignored it since I know I always get that pain whenever it’s near my period. I thought everything’s just fine and dandy.
The lights were off, so I assumed it was my own fluids or sweat. We were so caught up in the moment I paid no attention to it and continued.
When we finished and the lights came on, there was blood everywhere. It got onto the sheets, the blankets, and even on my boyfriend’s shirt as he was wearing it during sex.
I’d never seen so much blood before. We were both horrified and I felt extremely embarrassed.
My first instinct was to leave immediately, but that’d be extremely rude, so I just stayed and cleaned the stained sheet and blanket with him.
He threw away his entire shirt. I don’t think he’d want that around anymore after I got my blood on it.
He didn’t get mad at me and was pretty chill about it, to which I was extremely grateful for.
But ladies, do check your cycle before messing around. Don’t be like me.
Lisa – My mom found me in the toilet unconscious
I have always had extreme period pains. It’s beyond excruciating. Words cannot describe how awful it is.
It’s like having 10 knives stab you in the uterus at the same time, while a shark is biting away at your legs. Leg cramps are also a thing while having your menses.
Ever since I was in middle school, I’d take a day or two off during that time simply because I couldn’t function during those few days. I’d get all pale like a ghost, and have cramps so bad I would throw up and pass out.
Literally. One time, I actually passed out in the toilet.
It was a school day and I woke up to go to school as usual. My mom and maid at that time were already up and downstairs going about their business.
I struggled to walk to the toilet because the cramps were already that severe. I was getting extremely dizzy to the point I could not see anything.
To make it even worse, my cramps sometimes would give me diarrhea. This was one of those times.
I had to relieve myself while blind and in excruciating pain. I slowly felt my way to the toilet and did my thing while seeing stars the whole time. Lucky for me, I could still do my business while not being able to see.
I flushed and washed my hands, and as I was about to open the door, my knees gave out and I fell on the toilet floor.
The floor was wet and it was super gross.
I guess my mother heard the noises so she rushed upstairs with my maid behind her. I did not lock the door so she opened it and found me there.
She quickly helped me up and walked me to my bedroom.
My bad luck didn’t end here.
She let go of me for a bit to grab a towel for me to dry myself, and my legs once again decided to just fail me. I hit my head on the glass door of my bookshelf.
I was extremely lucky the glass didn’t shatter because if it did, I’m sure I’d be disfigured.
But I did cut my inner lip pretty bad and it left a huge ulcer. I couldn’t eat or drink properly for weeks.
After they got me to bed, my mom went and got me a hot water bottle.
The scar on my lip isn’t there anymore (thank god), but I’d never forget hitting my face on the shelf and also lying on the wet toilet floor.
Jane – I had to fish out a tampon from inside me
I’ve been using pads my entire life.
I’ve heard about tampons, mostly from western media because people here are not exactly comfortable with the idea of shoving something up their vagina.
I am open to trying new things and of course, I got curious. A box of tampons is not exactly cheap. Definitely more costly than a pack of pads.
I had zero knowledge about tampons and didn’t do any research, so I just got one which said it could hold the most flow.
It was very awkward putting one in. I felt uncomfortable having to literally shove something up there.
I read the leaflet which said that I shouldn’t feel anything so I was a bit worried.
Having a tampon inside me was really something else. I kept thinking about it, wondering whether it would fall out or if the tampon couldn’t hold all of the blood. I’d end up leaking all over the place!
I tried it at home first to see what would happen. I wanted to avoid any unnecessary accidents in public.
The instruction said I needed to change it every three hours or so, and I literally went to check on it at the three-hour mark.
It did leak a bit which was fine. I was having a heavy flow that day so I decided to change it.
I gave it a hard tug and the string broke, leaving the tampon inside me.
I’m guessing the tampon had expanded and was stuck. I was stunned for a bit and then started to panic.
In my mind, I convinced myself that I was gonna get toxic shock syndrome because I read in an article that some girl got that after leaving a tampon inside her.
I definitely do not want to die that way.
I only had one option, which was to dig inside and fish it out.
The entire experience was horrifying and traumatizing. It was a bloody mess – literally.
I’ll skip the gory details but in the end, I did get it out.
You’d think that I would never use a tampon after that. I actually continued using tampons, but only during emergencies.
Of course, my default choice are pads. However, I’d still have a few tampons in my purse just in case I forgot to refill my pads. I’d also offer girls who say they want to try but are too afraid to.
For similar articles, read Discriminated Due to Pregnancy – Am I Not Being Hired Because I Have a Bun in the Oven?, and I Was with My Wife While She Gave Birth, and It Was Surreal – a Husband’s Thoughts.
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