My Journey to Better Female Health – Part One

I’ve always thought I was in pretty good health. But over the years, I let myself go and last year I decided to go on a journey to better female health. With weight gain and plumbing issues, it’s time to figure out how to fix everything.

My Story

I’ve always had body issues. Since I was a kid I remember having big boobs and a big butt. I developed really early so the hence the large breasts, but I was born with the big butt and nothing I did could get rid of the shape. Too bad I didn’t know Kim K. when I was younger. Perhaps I would not have spent so much time trying to hide it.  Nevertheless, I’ll address those areas later.

Female Plumbing

My bigger problems were my weight and my plumbing. For as long as I could remember, I have been a little overweight. But my female issues have been a bone of contention since I first “became a woman”. That happened when I was about nine. Nothing was right from the very beginning. Long, uncomfortable and often heavy periods, I endured them for two years until things got out of control. 

The summer of my eleventh birthday, I started a cycle that did not stop. It went on…and on…and on…for three solid months. I missed out on all the summer fun because I was couldn’t really go anywhere without having an accident. When I told my mom she said, “let’s wait another month.” Summer came and went, school started and one day while getting ready for school, I put on another pad and got ready for school. 

I decided to go to the bathroom one more time, and what I found was so disturbing, I had to tell my mom. I had completely filled the pad in less than 30 minutes. There was no way I could go to school.  She had to call the doctor now. There was no more waiting. My body failed me.

Time for Surgery

Before I knew it, I was at the doctor’s office, getting my first female exam. If there was any question that my childhood was over, this was it. I don’t remember much except that I was about to have surgery because there was no wait to shut off the flow without it. Sitting in the waiting room, devastated and in tears, I was about to go to the hospital and have surgery to stop the bleeding. I am only 11 years old…OMG…what is wrong with this picture?!!

Needless to say I was completely freaked out. Climbing into the hospital bed, there was no turning back.   Later that night left to face the night alone with little comfort or sleep, I remember asking the nurse if it was natural to be so nervous. I don’t remember what she said, but suffice it to say, the nervousness never left. Feeling so alone and afraid that night left an indelible impression on me and one that still stands to this day. I am afraid and don’t like hospitals. It’s so ironic because I actually work at a hospital these days.

The next morning came, my mom showed up and off I went to the OR. Since it was so long ago, my memories have faded. When the procedure ended, I remember being awake and  back in my room only to find out that the doctor had removed enough blood for a 30 year old woman. Holy crap! I went on birth control after that and thought I could go on with my life.

Different Kind of Life

It wasn’t that simple. I was different. I felt it,  but more importantly, my classmates looked at me differently.  Everyone must have thought I was pregnant. The truth of the matter is  I was not pregnant. I almost bled to death. Try dealing with that at the age of eleven, and not being able to tell anyone. I was never the same again. I withdrew into myself, and had few friends, and began a different kind of life. 

The good news is that my periods were like clockwork. You could set your watch to them. Take the BC on the 15th day of the cycle for 10 days meant I could plan my activities around my monthly visit. Overall, I thought I was cured, but time would tell. 

More to come…

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