Tweet
Yeah, this is possibly a little TMI, particularly for the gents.
I have had menstrual problems for years. I know I have PCOS, but I don't think that's actually what caused the problems, as the impression I got was that if I'm ovulating then it won't cause cramps. So I've been on and off birth control pills for years - when I got tired of missing half-days of school because I threw up from cramps I go back on. When I got tired of missing half-days of school because I was up all night throwing up from the pills I go off. Getting married introduced a new twist into this, so I started charting my cycles.
This time around, because of the charting, I knew when I had ovulated (like I said, the PCOS doesn't seem to be a big problem), so I knew when to go vegan and off caffeine, sugar, fats, etc. I had no cramps this time. Not even the "wow, this is easy to deal with" that I got on the pill. And, I knew exactly when I was going to start. If you have regular cycles you have no idea how big a deal this is for me. It wasn't my old "well it won't be any earlier than this day, and it's likely to be some time this week". It wasn't the "it'll be today if not tomorrow" from the pills. It was "oh, it's today".
Whoever decided that charting cycles was strictly for family planning was clearly never a 14-year-old girl. I learned to deal with the uncertainty, but even now it's nice. When I was in high school this sort of knowledge would have been golden! I swear, any girls I have are getting given thermometers when they reach menarche. (My husband either agrees or knows to smile and nod).
I have had menstrual problems for years. I know I have PCOS, but I don't think that's actually what caused the problems, as the impression I got was that if I'm ovulating then it won't cause cramps. So I've been on and off birth control pills for years - when I got tired of missing half-days of school because I threw up from cramps I go back on. When I got tired of missing half-days of school because I was up all night throwing up from the pills I go off. Getting married introduced a new twist into this, so I started charting my cycles.
This time around, because of the charting, I knew when I had ovulated (like I said, the PCOS doesn't seem to be a big problem), so I knew when to go vegan and off caffeine, sugar, fats, etc. I had no cramps this time. Not even the "wow, this is easy to deal with" that I got on the pill. And, I knew exactly when I was going to start. If you have regular cycles you have no idea how big a deal this is for me. It wasn't my old "well it won't be any earlier than this day, and it's likely to be some time this week". It wasn't the "it'll be today if not tomorrow" from the pills. It was "oh, it's today".
Whoever decided that charting cycles was strictly for family planning was clearly never a 14-year-old girl. I learned to deal with the uncertainty, but even now it's nice. When I was in high school this sort of knowledge would have been golden! I swear, any girls I have are getting given thermometers when they reach menarche. (My husband either agrees or knows to smile and nod).
Comment