“Things Teenage Girls Always Wanted to Know About Gynecology”
Episode 3: Painful Periods
When it comes to period pain, some women are very lucky, and some unfortunately aren’t. When I say lucky, I mean some of us girls only ever experience painless and easy periods, while others experience shocking, painful, and long periods every single month. With these painful periods come a lot of worried, sleepless nights filled with excruciating pain and questions about whether the pain is something to be concerned about and if it’s right to contact your OB-GYN about it. Are these symptoms—the blood clots that feel like you’re giving birth to little walnuts, the cramps that send sharp pains up your back and spine, the feeling of your ovaries twisting repeatedly—something to panic about?
This is all a lot to go through for anyone, especially for teenagers, and it’s hard experiencing these pains for the first time. It can bring a lot of fear and stress to a young girl, who has to learn to adapt and handle these pains and look for proper guidance on the right pain medications and menstrual products. I know many young women, like my sister, who go through intense pain during their periods and experience every single painful symptom a girl can feel during menstruation. Without a doubt, girls like her could use help in knowing if the pain they’re experiencing is normal or something more concerning.
Women really need to keep an eye the level of pain they experience during menstruation. I watched my mother go through endometriosis, as well as countless surgeries like a hysterectomy, and I now know that there were early signs we could’ve caught way before her diagnosis that maybe could’ve saved her a few surgeries. Knowing to monitor pain is extremely beneficial, especially when it comes to menstruation and endometriosis. We had considered my Mom’s painful periods as somewhat normal, but, watching her go through all that she did and now knowing the root cause, I feel that my sister could use some professional guidance on whether her pain is concerning or not. It is far better to be knowledgeable about your body as a growing girl, rather than to be blind to the possibility your body could be going through something way more serious.