coriander in pho

Yeah, I know the title (and the topic) can be off-putting for some folks. That said, I honestly feel that we have been neglecting the topic of women’s health for far too long, up to a point that I would say we deliberately not talking about it, hm? It’s always “taboo” or “unladylike” or “uncouth” or “rude” for some of you lot whenever we are talking about women’s reproductive system, as if some of you were born from your mom’s nostrils.

Anyway.

I’m 40 years old, and as you readers here know, I had a period of pregnancy back in July-August. This is despite the fact I already had a contraceptive device in place. Not only just a “contraceptive” device. It was an IUD (intrauterine device), which said that the possibility of pregnancy is lower than 1%. That said, July-August happened, and things happened. After all was said and done, I went back again to my obgyn last week for a follow-up and another round of IUD insertion. Yes, I’m still choosing IUD as the chosen contraceptive method.

What made it different was/is, I opted for a hormonal IUD. This is a really new information for me as I always thought all IUDs are the same and made from copper. Hormonal IUD, however, do not. Just like any IUDs, a hormonal IUD is T-shaped, but it also releases a hormone called progestin. The hormone will help thicken the mucus on the cervix to stop sperm from meeting the egg, thin the lining of the uterus, and partly stop the egg from being released a.k.a. ovulation.

But why a hormonal IUD, though, if a regular cooper-based IUD can just do the same job?

Heavy flow menstruation/period.

The cause of the whole July-August-thingy was the IUD that I had at that time moved its position, thanks but no thanks to my heavy flow period. When a women is having a period, it’s not always a quiet flow of blood with 80-90% of water. Think… A waterfall. Along with the water, a waterfall also brings stones, branches, salmon, and all the forest’s debris you can think of. That’s a menstruation. And in some cases and individuals, the menstruation can be really heavy with a lot of uterus lining and blood clot.

(At this point, I’m itching to ask if you, readers, are already feeling squeamish with the talk of blood and menstruation, because if you are, then good. We need to talk more about this, and this is the point of this blog post. Yes, we women are bloodied creatures. We see blood more often than you think, so those media portrayals of women fainting at the sight of blood? Not actually happen.)

Such debris is a common sight, but in some cases, it can cause the IUD to move its position because of how heavy the flow is. Imagine having to face such a flow every month for 5 days for years. You’re welcome.

And that’s what happened. In my case, due to the heavy flow that I have, the IUD moved, which made the whole contraception concept rendered almost useless, and the chance of pregnancy just went up from under 1% to, say, perhaps 5% or more.

Hence, the hormonal IUD. When the doctor mentioned it to me, I was surprised because that was the first time I had heard about it. At first, she asked me my menstruation pattern, so when I told her I usually use a jumbo-sized 42.5 cm (it’s 16.7 inch for you Fahrenheit-users) that I change every 4 hours during my period, she put down her pen and said, “… that’s… not normal.”

“Eh? I thought it’s normal?? That’s how it was since my high school years???”

“That’s not normal, at least from my observation here. I imagine you always feel really tired and anemic during your period?”

“Y…es? But isn’t that supposed to be expected?”

“Tiredness during period is expected because our body is bleeding. But if it’s up to a point of extreme fatigue, pain, and anemia, that’s affecting your quality of life and well-being. It might have been considered normal back then, but now, with the supplements and treatments that we have, it is avoidable and treatable.

Heavy flow affects your lifestyle. How many times have you gotten woken up in the middle of the night, panicking if the blood leaked out of your pads, no matter how thick you are wearing your pads? How many times have you had to ask your husband if your pants are “safe” when you are out in public? How many times has your vacation been ruined by it? Not forget to mention the money; spending a lot of money to buy the big-sized menstrual pads, and perhaps, adult diapers because those pads no longer cut it.”

(She hits the bullseye in this. Yes, I even consider wearing adult diapers because of how heavy my flow is.)

I admit, I was upset. Not at the doctor, mind you. I was, and still am, upset at how we, the public, are not talking about this enough. For some reason, we tell our girls and women to “suck it up”. “That’s the risk of being a woman”, “that’s how it goes”, “women are indeed a fussy creature.”

Lemme just–

Just because the women before us did not have a comfortable moment during their period, it does not mean we, the women of today, have to be cruel to other younger women out there.

After the IUD procedure, the doctor also prescribed me a supplement. The name is tranexamic acid. Hormonal IUD usually needs 3-4 months for the body to adapt and have the period flow less heavy than before, so during the first 3-4 months, I need to take tranexamic acid when I’m having my period to help the flow lessen. Am I mad about it? Heck yeah. Again, this is the first time I found out about it.

Yesterday was my first time taking tranexamic acid, and let me tell you, those menstrual pad/tampon ads, showing girls with cooling breeze blowing their perfect blowout hair? Them smiling while jumping, running, and WEARING WHITE PANTS? Yes. That. That’s me. No panicking while feeling Niagara Falls gushing between my legs whenever I’m standing up, no crossing my legs when sneezing and coughing, no curling up on the bed and hissing whenever my husband breathes a little bit louder than usual.

That said, I am also glad. I’m glad I know about it now, so I can have a chat with my daughter, or any woman out there whenever they ask about taking care of themselves during menstruation. Everyone deserves a good rest and comfort (as comfortable as it could be) during their period. Menstruation is uncomfortable, but it doesn’t mean your quality of life should be affected badly to the point you can’t function at all.

In case you are a person with a period cycle and you are here because your Google Search shows you this post as you wondered if there is anything you can do about your heavy flow period, you can check with your doctor or obgyn and see if you can have the supplement (tranexamic acid) or hormonal IUD (if needed).