Every woman has a story or two about a menstrual accident. Leaking through white shorts – mortifying. Asking a male teacher for an emergency pass to the restroom – humiliating. A little white string hanging out the crotch of your swimsuit – really, really embarrassing. But hearing about these stories is helpful because you can prepare and hopefully avoid having your own accident story. Cramps are another thing. Knowing that someone else had cramps so bad she sweated through her shirt in chemistry class (that was me) or had to lie down while her date, her friend’s date and her friend sat in the living room (me again) can’t help you prepare. Either you’re going to be someone who gets unbearably painful cramps or you’re not.
Here’s the something good about cramps: they are practice for childbirth – the best experience a woman can have. When I had cramps as a teen I learned to focus and breathe and relax, much like what is taught in natural childbirth classes. Eventually my doctor prescribed a painkiller that kicked in pretty fast, but I still had several cramps to bear through and that practice had a wonderful benefit. Several years later I had both my daughters naturally with absolutely no drugs and, I swear, no pain. There was not a single contraction that was stronger than my worst menstrual cramp.
One last thing – my oldest daughter and her friends had a way to warn each other if that little white string was visible when they swam in our pool. Somebody would just say “Algae in the water” and the girl would be warned and the boys would never know what the giggling was all about.