Name: Tyler Ford

Age: 26

Gender: Agender

Sexuality: Queer, Asexual

Days spent menstruating: 4 plus 2 days of spotting

Pairs of underwear stained: 0

Number of times cried: 0

Food cravings: oolong milk boba tea, Oreos, gummy bears

Hours spent binge-watching TV shows: 5

Soundtrack to my period: A chillhop playlist I made

Day 1

Morning: I wake up disoriented and horrified, on the tail end of a dream that I never want to have, but that nonetheless is recurring: one in which I am giving birth. “What the hell?” I curse toward the ceiling, massaging my eyes in attempt to remove visions of placenta from my mind. I lay still and breathe to reconnect with my body. There’s a dull ache in my lower abdomen. I’ve started my period.

I head to the bathroom to pee, use a tampon, and grab an extra strength Tylenol. While on the toilet, I open the period tracking app on my phone and mark today as the first day of my period (shout out to Spot On for its use of gender neutral language!). When I’m done, I head to the kitchen to take my Tylenol and my SSRI with applesauce, because I have difficulty swallowing pills.

Afternoon: I spend a couple of hours at a friend’s house and stop for boba tea on my way home. I try a popular flavor I’ve never tried before – taro milk tea – and slightly regret not purchasing my favorite oolong milk tea (brown sugar oolong milk tea with lychee jelly). I finish my drink on the subway and re-up on Tylenol once I get home. I spend the rest of the day reading The Hate U Give in bed.

Night: I’ve been introducing my roommates to BBC’s Sherlock, so we squeeze on the pullout couch to watch an episode together. Plenty of Oreos and gummy bears are on the menu. After the episode ends, I take a shower and head to bed to prepare for an early morning.

Number of tampons used: 3, regular

Day 2

Morning: I wake up at dawn for an 8:30 doctor’s appointment. The doctor’s office is over an hour away from my apartment, so getting out of bed is a drag, especially because I can’t rely on coffee to help me wake this morning. Caffeine increases heart rate, and today’s appointment is all about monitoring my heart rate, rhythm, and electrical activity. I don’t want to skew the results.

At the office, they stick electrodes onto my skin and tape over them for good measure. I have to wear this Holter monitor for 24 hours. It’s not comfortable, but I do my best to ignore the ten or so wires attached to my chest. The worst part about this test (other than the annoying, itchy tape pulling at my skin when I move) is that I’m not allowed to shower for 24 hours. I wish I didn’t have my period this week.

I get home at 10:00 and take a 45-minute nap before heading to work.

Afternoon: It’s my first shift at my new part-time bookstore job, and I spend the day stocking shelves and helping to prepare the store for its grand opening. All of the movement involved makes me a bit nervous about the state of my wires, but I don’t think anyone notices me periodically assessing the situation down the front of my shirt. Or perhaps they do, and graciously avoid bringing it up in conversation.

Night: I would love to be able to shower right now. I feel icky from sweating at work, and not being able to get squeaky clean on my period is quite uncomfortable. Taking a bath is also out of the question because of the maneuvering it would take to avoid the actual monitor falling into the water. I make do with baby wipes, a throwaway spray bottle of water, and paper towels. I put on clean black underwear (I almost exclusively wear black underwear while on my period to avoid stains) and head to bed.

Number of tampons used: 4, regular

Day 3

Morning: I wake up at dawn for my 8:30 Holter monitor return appointment. Waking up is even harder today – I’m not used to waking up early multiple days in a row. However, my excitement to get this contraption off of me helps me to power through the commute. My results come back pretty normal, and I receive a diagnosis of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) from the electrophysiologist. I’ve suspected that I may have POTS for about eight months now, and symptoms have been troubling me for at least seven years, so receiving a diagnosis is a relief.

After my appointment, I walk across the street to Maison Kayser and order a coffee and a plié au chocolat at the cashier’s recommendation. It’s exactly what I need right now. I take a few minutes to journal as I eat my breakfast. When I’m done, it’s time for another hour-long subway commute.

Afternoon: As soon as I get home, I jump into the shower. Washing the sticky tape residue off of my chest feels good. Once I’m out, I get into my pajamas and nap for a couple of hours. Being on my period saps my energy and forces me to take more and longer naps than I usually do. I feel drained, yet my body feels heavy. I spend the rest of the day watching The Get Down in bed.

Number of tampons used: 3, regular

Day 4

At this point, my period is winding down. My cycle in general is predictable: light on the first and last day, medium during the middle two days; headaches on days 1 and 2 that either last for 2-3 days or are averted by taking Tylenol early; cramps on day 1. After the pain and exhaustion ends, my period becomes a minor annoyance.

Afternoon: I have my standing 45-minute therapy session, which is one of the best parts of my week. When the session is over, I scramble into the women’s bathroom to change my tampon and hope that no one will make a scene about me being in the “wrong” bathroom. This fear is pretty constant, especially when I’m sporting facial hair like I am today. I make it in and out with no trouble – I have the bathroom to myself – but still don’t feel comfortable until I’m 30 feet away from the door.

At 3:15, I meet with my editor at the Teen Vogue offices to discuss this diary!

Night: I have dinner with my roommates, and we talk about chronic illness while the dog begs for scraps at our feet.

Number of tampons used: 3, regular

Want to keep track of your period? Planned Parenthood’s Spot On App allows you to manage your period including everything from birth control method reminders and recording your symptoms, moods and activities to receiving advice on what to do when you get off track. Try it for yourself and download here: http://p.ppfa.org/2ov0yml