Menstrual Struggles: Testimonials
Collecting testimonials about menstrual struggles was not difficult at all! Every woman knows this experience and everyone has a story to tell. The menstrual period can lead us into embarrassing but also dangerous situations. Coline and Jill agreed to share their stories and told us about their misadventures.
Coline can only change her sanitary protection at noon
Coline is a primary school teacher in a small village. She is responsible for her CE2 students from 8:45 a.m. to 12 p.m., then from 1:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. She supervises recess and therefore cannot go to the restroom even for 5 minutes. If an incident happens at that time, she is at great risk…
“About a year ago, I had a copper IUD inserted. During the following 6 months, in addition to uterine pain, my periods became very heavy, especially at the beginning of the cycle. At that time, I only wore disposable sanitary pads. I don’t like using internal menstrual products like tampons and menstrual cups.
One day, late in the morning, I was sitting on the desk of an absent child at the back of the classroom to supervise my students doing an exercise. It was the first day of my period. The flow was so heavy that the blood overflowed from the pad and soaked through my jeans, forming a small puddle on the desk. I wasn’t yet using menstrual panties for heavy flow. I didn’t realize it right away. When leaving the classroom, a few students passed by that desk and quickly noticed the blood…
They shouted: “Teacher! There’s blood! Someone is bleeding!” All the students gathered around the desk. I approached, very surprised. It took me a few seconds to understand. I turned pale… How could I explain? I played it cool: “Oh yes, there’s blood. Is everyone okay? No one got hurt? No? Go eat, I’ll clean up.” Fortunately, they didn’t ask any more questions. After that day, I looked for other solutions to protect my clothes… and the furniture.”
Jill forgot something…
Jill uses only tampons for protection during her periods. She is a nurse at a hospital, a job that causes a lot of stress and fatigue. Very attentive to her patients’ well-being, she sometimes forgets to take care of herself. A few minutes of distraction almost led her to disaster.
“My menstrual cycle is quite regular and I immediately knew something was wrong when my bleeding continued beyond 5 days. I waited one week, then two before seeing a doctor. I know it’s not very smart but what can you do… Shoemakers’ children always go barefoot! I am the living proof; I don’t take proper care of my own health.
My gynecologist examined me and diagnosed that a “small” oversight on my part was the cause of my bleeding. I had simply forgotten to remove one of my tampons, which had stayed inside my vagina for more than two weeks. This news literally disgusted me! But the worst part is that I could have suffered from toxic shock syndrome. The walls of my vagina were extremely irritated and blood had been stagnating there for far too long.”
By Emilie
