Sometimes I think about the fact that from age 13 to around 20 (not-at-all coincidentally this was the year I went on the pill) I would semi-regularly have period pain that was so extreme that it caused my legs to cramp up, gave me hot and cold flushes and made me vomit, and never once did I consider this to be abnormal, nor was I taken to the doctors to see if I could be put on stronger painkillers/investigate if it was something serious. I would literally fear the arrival of my period if I knew it was approaching, because I had to learn controlled breathing and to sleep through the pain and I literally had contraction-like waves of pain that would spread across my stomach, stop for a few minutes, build up and then crescendo again.

And then I get very angry at the patriarchy and how women are expected to just deal with this once a month. Mine are nothing like they used to be (I don’t think I’ve been physically sick from one in 2 years, though I came very close to it last year) and thankfully that means I didn’t have any more serious uterine conditions alongside extreme pain, but why the fuck are we expected to just go to school or go to work whilst experiencing that? Even when mine are mild it’s still usually enough for me not to be able to comfortably go to work because they make me feel weak and still hurt, just at a more normal level. Unless you’re one of the rare people who genuinely just get a mild ache, there is no reason you should be expected to power through period pain. It’s insane.