Enlightening

Having not had to suffer through menstruation for six months, going through it now has made me aware of certain truths:

• My mood tanked within 48 hours of starting the placebo pills. I went from reasonably even-keeled and pleasant to the classic stereotype of a hormonally-rattled woman: weepy, irritable, sensitive, and somewhat despondent.


• The pain chewing up my gut and lower back is almost unbearable. This has caused a flare-up of every issue I have in the abdominal region, including IBS, muscle spasms, and interstitial cystitis.

Try as I might, I can't find any medical justification for stopping menstrual suppression four times a year. What is this accomplishing except for causing me misery? What biological benefit is supposed to come from these four periods a year? What could be so medically necessary about those four periods that it warrants a week or more of grinding pain and mood disruption on a quarterly basis?

I plan to find out what happens when suppression is truly continuous. This afternoon I am finally going to pick up some free Pills that the nurse practitioner procured for me. She got the medication to save me money, but she has really done me a much bigger favor. I still plan to buy my regular supply as prescribed, but with the extra packs, I can go for an entire year without having to endure the side-effects of a period.

I hate having a uterus. I would get the whole system yanked if I could.