I was 17 when I found out I had Adenomyosis. When my period started at age 12, I would only experience a headache and over time absolutely no pain. I was living the dream.
I had just moved to a new high school around the time of my diagnosis because my mental state was deteriorating due to untreated bipolar II disorder. I was in form four when I threw up for the first time because of painful periods.
As seniors, we always took 9 p.m. coffee to help us study for an extra hour when we retreated to our dormitories. At the time, I had no idea how much sugar and possibly caffeine would impact my periods.
The following day I went to class as usual but around midday, I started experiencing extremely painful cramps accompanied by nausea. I rushed back to the dorms to be closer to the toilet and in no time I threw up. Afterwards, I rushed to my bed to rest but the pain was unrelenting so instead of sleeping I was squirming and crying, begging the pain to stop.
However, I threw up again, felt a little relief before the pain resurfaced with more vigour and cried helplessly on repeat. I managed to walk to the dining hall for lunch but went back to bed soon after. Nowadays I know how much eating regularly aids in nausea management during my menses.
The school nurse wasn’t around during the day as I went through this horrid cycle and when she finally came around in the evening a quick diclofenac jab seemed to do the trick. I was okay for the remainder of that period as I regularly went for painkillers but it wouldn’t be the last time I experienced such excruciating pain while in boarding school.
Fast forward to the final semester of high school, a month or two before sitting for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary School Education (KCSE), the ferocious cramps resurfaced. This time, I felt intense nausea during the 4 pm break when the students rushed to the dorms to shower and unwind.
There I was hovering over the loo throwing up so loudly amidst growing tears. I wouldn’t say I was humiliated but I felt extremely helpless. I decided to get into bed and rest and nothing prepared me for the kind of aggression that would follow.
The matron walked in about an hour later and literally pulled me out of bed and dragged me to the nurse’s office. I tried to explain why I was in bed but my desperate words were drowned out by her bellowing voice as she scolded me.
I remember her laughing with the school nurse at the idea that I was merely pretending to get out of attending evening studies. Sure, you “caught” a sick girl, good for you. I would experience something similar in the future when a nurse asked me whether I was really in as much pain as I shared.
After another round of painkillers, I walked my drowsy self into what seemed like an examination room and sat down for a Biology paper that I managed to pass. It was about seven years before I found herbal medication that has dramatically reduced the gravity of my symptoms while on a period.
This herbal medicine has been my saving grace and it is a product made by an African woman who believes women deserve relief from menstrual pain and fertility issues. We should all believe women in pain and support them.
Originally published in Menstrual Freedom Watchdog by Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights