I was 11 when I got my period. I distinctly remember it because we moved across the country from California to Illinois. My mom had me listen to tapes about adolescence and all the changes that would happen to me. When we stopped for dinner, I went to the bathroom, and low and behold, there it was.
I bled for nine days straight. I remember looking at my mom, asking, “Is it always like this?” I wish I could go back in time, hold that little girl’s face, and tell her, “Long periods would be the best thing compared to what you’ll go through soon.”
I didn’t have cramps for my very first period, but shortly after, they started. I didn’t know then how they would overtake my life in a few years.
Teenage years no teenager should have to live
As I progressed through junior high and high school, the cramping became more and more intense. In a flashback, I was taken to my best friend’s bedroom in California, where we were playing dolls, and she mentioned a word I hadn’t heard before, “endometriosis.” I asked what that was, and she told me it was when the uterine lining, the endometrium, grew outside of the uterus in other places and caused terrible period cramps.
Back in reality in Illinois, I wondered if endometriosis could be the culprit for my cramps now.
I had been taking NSAIDs like ibuprofen to combat my pain, but I wanted to talk to my doctor about endometriosis because I figured there had to be a better solution. My mom made an appointment for me, but the OBGYN brushed off endo and offered birth control for me to try. My mom thought it might be a good idea, so at the ripe age of 13, I was on birth control.
Only it didn’t help.
My cramps still showed up every month. I told my doctor, and she recommended different birth control that kept me on the hormones for three months straight, but every four weeks, like clockwork, my withdrawal period—as I now know it—would break through along with the cramps. I kept asking about endometriosis, but when ultrasounds were ordered and didn’t show anything, my doctors kept telling me it was all in my head.
College in the land of broken dreams
When I was 18, I went back to California for college, but I had a new mindset about my period. I stumbled upon a blog by a woman with endo who made diet and lifestyle changes that helped her, and I decided to do the same thing.
I came off birth control and cut out dairy, gluten, soy, sugar, meat—except for fish, caffeine, and alcohol. Yes, it was rough as a broke college kid in a big city, but I was determined. I turned to natural remedies like raspberry leaf tea, crampbark tea, chamomile tea, and ginger.
It helped a little. I still experienced some intense cramps from time to time, but I refused to take ibuprofen. After eight months of this, with little success, I decided to ditch the highly restrictive diet.
By this time, my symptoms were starting to stack. I started feeling fatigued during my cycles and noticed a bit of bloating. I even had such intense pain in my lower right abdomen one month that my mom told me to go to the ER immediately because she thought it was my appendix.
It turned out to be a cyst on my ovary. Little did I know, this could be a sign of endo. Unfortunately, I would return to the ER several more times before I learned how to handle my ovulation pain due to my cysts.
The roaring twenties that weren’t so thrilling
My twenties were when things really took a turn for the worse. I was post-college and had to work, which proved problematic when I was on my period. If my shifts fell on day one, I would most certainly be calling out or getting my shift covered. If I couldn’t, I tried to power through and was forced to take ibuprofen again because natural remedies weren’t enough.
It was in this phase of my life that I finally opened myself up to the world of medical marijuana. I had been dead against it my whole life because that’s how I was raised, but when people spoke of its anti-pain effects and that THC wasn’t the only option, my interest was piqued. I started finding relief while taking it, but it was only a matter of time before this wasn’t enough.
Advocating for myself with OBGYN’s for an endo diagnosis became so exhausting that I tried to convince myself that maybe I didn’t have it. But the more I talked to endo warriors, the more I grappled with the prospect that I indeed had it.
My symptoms started stacking again—I would later learn this is another sign of endo. I was experiencing period poops now, and the fatigue had escalated to the point where I was sleeping 12-14 hours a day on the first day of my cycle; the cramps started persisting into days two and three, and a new condition made its appearance: PMDD.
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder checked all the boxes for my mental state around my period. I had never heard of it until now, but the more I read about it, the more convinced I was that I had it. I would get wildly depressed the week before my period, question all my life choices, and feel the most profound sense of self-loathing.
Once again, I decided to try birth control to see if it would help. At this point, NSAIDs were no longer an option for me due to gastritis flare-ups. I was on the pill for six months without success, and I gave up. I turned back to my natural remedies and did everything I could to not leave my house for the first one to three days of my cycle. I became a vegetable unable to do anything but watch TV until the pain subsided.
I was in my late twenties now and decided to start looking into what it would entail to have exploratory laparoscopic surgery, but every time I did, I would get scared. I didn’t want this to be my life anymore, but surgery scared me so much.
Finding a natural solution tailored to severe period pain
In 2019, I noticed a lot of companies popping up with products specific for period pain. I was intrigued and started researching each brand. What I noticed was that many of the founders of these brands had mild to moderate PMS or period pain, and when I tried their products, I swear I heard my uterus laugh at their ineffectiveness.
But then I discovered Semaine Health, founded by twin sisters Catherine and Lauren, who had endometriosis. That immediately caught my attention, and I started looking into their product, PMS & Period Support. I recognized many of the ingredients they used from my research during my “natural healing” era. Then I read about their period stories and was convinced I should give this supplement a shot.
What PMS & Period Support is made of, and why you should trust it
This supplement is packed with highly potent ingredients that get to the root cause of PMS and period pain.
- For cramps and bloating: Quercetin, Boswellia, Magnesium, Reservatrol, Curcumin, Silymarin
- For mood and anxiety: Ashwagandha, Green Tea, Vitamin D3
I already mentioned that the company was founded by twin sisters with endo, but one of those twins is married to a scientist with a PhD in Biology. Dr. Matt Crane formulated this supplement based on in-depth research surrounding chronic inflammation and which natural plant-based solutions could help. (Lauren also couldn’t take NSAIDs anymore, so I already felt like I had a kindred spirit in her.)
But wait—there’s more! They also put this supplement through clinical trials to show the world that it wasn’t a fluke that it worked for Lauren and Catherine. This was really important to me because I had spent so much time and money trying to find a solution, and I really needed something I could count on to work. And the results are pretty incredible.
- 88% reported less overall discomfort
- 73% reported fewer mood swings
- 75% reported milder period poops
My experience with Semaine’s PMS & Period Support
When I got it, I was surprised to find that I didn’t need to take it daily but just around my period. I liked that because I was not great at remembering to take supplements every day.
My first month on it wasn’t immediately life-changing, but it was better. Supplements take time to work—I learned this during all my research—and the benefits tend to pile up the longer you take them. I kept up with it for three months and slowly started to notice more benefits, namely that my bloating—or my endo belly, as some would call it—reduced immensely. This was huge for me because I literally couldn’t wear certain clothes on my period because of my bloating.
My moods also got better, and outside of my worst days—where I needed to stack pain relief methods—it worked on its own. During my bad days, I would also utilize a heating pad, Tylenol, raspberry leaf, cramp bark, and ginger teas, and some CBD/THC products. Depending on the month, I only need all those things on days one, two, and maybe day three. I also use PMS & Period Support for ovulation pain, and I don’t need any other methods to handle the discomfort.
Don’t just take my word for it, though.
Try it yourself for 20% off when you use code PMSFREE.
Here I am, five years later, and I still use the PMS & Period Support as my #1 solution for period pain. I do need some extra help the first few days, and I still have to take time to rest and cancel some plans, but I officially have my endo surgery scheduled for just a few months down the road, and I look forward to the day all I need is my Semaine to tackle each day of my period with ease.
I’m fairly convinced they will find endo and that the reason I need so many methods of pain relief is because it’s been growing for decades, but now I have hope that it will be different after they remove it. I have hope that I will finally be able to live the life I should have been living since I was 11.
