all 50 comments

[–]Life_Fantastic 18 points19 points ago

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It honestly depends on what side effects your period has and how serious they are. This is different from woman to woman and often from month to month for the same woman. It can range from horrible stomach cramps that make you want to curl up in bed to an increased appetite and less energy in the day to having no discernible effects at all.

[–][deleted] ago

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[–]Life_Fantastic 2 points3 points ago

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It's understood that TrollX exists for humor (largely as a place of humor that isn't acceptable to the rest of reddit that is majority male and thus does not upvote anything with the word "period" in it). It's not meant to be taken seriously by anyone.

[–]stephanieyo 3 points4 points ago

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Going to second Life_Fantastic. Mine are normally pretty easy, but every once in awhile you'll have one catch you out of the blue. The last shark week I had, I wound up with horrible cramps- so bad that I called out of work the first day- and just laid in bed with my heating pad and slept. Most of the time I stay pretty active during my period- it really doesn't slow me down any, but I am drastically more tired at the end of the day.

[–]Cerealcomma 11 points12 points ago

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I'm a snowboarder, and it doesn't. Just stuff a Divacup up there and get on with my day. Extra long bathroom break every 8 hours.

[–]smartyskirt01 2 points3 points ago

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You can actually leave a Divacup in for longer than 8 hours. There isn't the same risk for TSS as with tampons.

[–]PottsProngs 0 points1 point ago

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Why?

[–]Elkcan 1 point2 points ago

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I'm not sure but I think it's because tampons change the insides of the vagina (drying it out, changing pH, preventing normal cleaning) in ways that cups do not, thereby creating a more hospitable environment than for S. aureus.

[–]smartyskirt01 0 points1 point ago

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This

[–]Cerealcomma 0 points1 point ago

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Yeah, I just like to change it more often because otherwise it's usually pretty bloody.

[–]el_zilcha 11 points12 points ago

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Like Life_Fantastic said it varies both by woman and month to month for some women. My periods are highly variable. Sometimes fatigue will slow me down (it's like moving under water). Sometimes pain will leave me unable to function in even non-athletic ways. Sometimes they effect me very little except that they make me poop. Good grief, there's so much pooping when running and periods are combined.

[–]subwayisaporno 10 points11 points ago

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here's some extreme TMI for you: For some reason I find tampons extremely irritating to wear, especially when I'm active because my body puts out more blood when I'm more "excited" I guess, so I usually wear pads during my period.

I bike a lot and for a long time so I don't like to wear tampons, it gets blooded down and uncomfortable, feels like there's a god damnit log up my vagina.

So I'll wear a pad. Unfortunately, when I bike, the pad rubs against my butt something terrible so my butt, once a mouth, breaks out in these horrible irritation pimples.

Basically: I fucking hate doing the only exercise I enjoy on my period. Fucking period. okay end of grossness, bye.

[–][deleted] ago

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[–]subwayisaporno 6 points7 points ago

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hahaha, ask and ye shall receive!

[–]poesie 10 points11 points ago

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r/askwomen: changing lives and grossing guys out since its inception...

[–]smartyskirt01 0 points1 point ago

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Have you ever tried a menstrual cup? I've known a lot of women who vastly prefer them over tampons for a similar reason.

[–]rem-dot 0 points1 point ago

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it gets blooded down and uncomfortable, feels like there's a god damnit log up my vagina.

... This statement makes me think you're not putting tampons all the way in your cooch in accordance with their design. Are you quite sure that you're putting them in correctly?

[–]marleyrae 8 points9 points ago

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Unless it's a reeeeeeally bad one (which does happen from time to time), I usually just haul ass extra hard.

[–][deleted] ago

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[–]spiralcutham -5 points-4 points ago

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I know you mean well, but I personally don't need encouragement by someone who will never menstruate.

[–]The_Holy_Handgrenade 2 points3 points ago

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I have the strangest image in my head right now.

[–][deleted] ago

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[–]TheChickWithTheDrums 6 points7 points ago

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Well, I'm in my school's marching band, and we wear white uniforms. So the most I worry about is bleeding through. I just stick a tampon in and hope for the best, because I've never really gotten cramps knock on wood, mostly just headaches.

[–]xenaworrierprincess 1 point2 points ago

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I hate white uniform pants. I was lucky not to have them in high school, but now I have them in college. I worry about bleeding through the entire time I'm wearing them if I just started. Sucksss.

[–]TheRainbowConnection 7 points8 points ago

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The biggest issue for me is that my fuller uterus presses on my bladder so I have to pee a lot. When I'm on my period I have to use the bathroom at least once mid-workout.

[–]jalean11 6 points7 points ago

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Pre-birth control: Big problem. Cramps distracted me from my performance, I'd get "fake cramps" two weeks before my period during long runs, worried about bleeding through, etc etc. It was seven days long and heavy, not ideal for any of my sports. Post-birth control (and Diva Cup): I may as well have stopped having a period.

[–]alter-native 0 points1 point ago

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Those 'fake cramps' were probably from ovulation, I used to get them before I started BC, though I still have a shitty time when it does roll around <=[

[–]drumsandbass 2 points3 points ago

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Mostly just discomfort like you ate too much or if on the first day then it can feel like a fever, but like always in sports you just put forth your best effort. Different for each woman though.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points ago

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I feel I have to drink a bit more water than usual, and I tend to be a bit more tired and lethargic which is annoying. I'd abhor an important meet/game during this time but there's never much I could do about it. Retaining water sometimes showed in the weight chart we kept for wrestling but I was only on JV so there was a lot of rounding up or down.

[–]kittenswagga 4 points5 points ago

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Honestly thanks to modern day medicine my time has never been a problem.

[–]antidense 3 points4 points ago

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Interestingly enough, women in tribal societies like the Dogon don't have that problem either: they're usually either pregnant or in lactational amenorrhea. (This is probably close to what our ancestors did).

[–]SwarlezBarkley 13 points14 points ago

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Male here... did anyone else read this and think, "the fuck does the BEST WEEK ON TV have to do with female athletic performance..." I can't be the only one.

[–]ch4rbok 1 point2 points ago

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Right!?

[–]squinkie 3 points4 points ago

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I'm a martial artist, and it's never affected me at all. I put a tampon in, and that's pretty much it.

[–]ch4rbok 3 points4 points ago

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TIL "shark week" is another term for when a woman is on her period. Damn I was confused.

[–][deleted] -1 points0 points ago

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Same here. Why can't people just call it period? Dumb.

[–]fisheye32 1 point2 points ago

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One day of my period is horrible. Otherwise, I've recently learned to run through the other days. Having a menstrual cup helps a whole lot. Also, motrin.

[–]logmaster430 1 point2 points ago

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What about swimming? I've swam for my whole life and girls rarely skipped a day. Ever. What goes on down there so that it doesn't look like a legit shark week in a pool and so that the whole pool doesn't get sucked up your hooha?

[–]Elkcan 1 point2 points ago

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Tampons and menstrual cups hold everything inside. Also, this might be wrong, but my mom always told me that my flow would stop when I got in water.

Also, not sure why anything would get sucked up your hooha - it's not like a vaccum :) But even if it was there's not nearly enough space in there for a whole pool!

[–]alter-native 1 point2 points ago

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We were told in our 'talks' at around 13/14 that it would stop in water, and then at 16 we got an external nurse to come in who pretty much said "That's bullshit." It just dilutes it so it's harder to see, but it doesn't stop. So glad I never took the chance!

[–]logmaster430 0 points1 point ago

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Ah ok. So it just stays inside.

I didn't mean hoohas would suck it up, more the tampon.

[–]el_zilcha 0 points1 point ago

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The flow doesn't stop.

Tampons are made to absorb. Maybe I'm doing it wrong (I rarely used them) but if I went swimming with one in I'd always have some water in it when I retrieved it. Cups do a much better job at keeping the beach out and the blood in.

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[–]logmaster430 1 point2 points ago

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I thought the technical terminology was appropriate.

[–]scarlettblythe 1 point2 points ago

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I have endometriosis, which is basically a fancy way of saying that my uterus gets very very angry at me during my period.

When I was dancing 20+ hours a week (more when preparing for auditions or performances), I was essentially screwed for one week a month. I spent a couple of days in bed (still do), and the rest of the time just took everything very, very slowly, with lots of painkillers, lots of water, keeping warm (super important) and lots of gentle stretching. I worked on adage (basically slow, sustained movements) rather than allegro (quick movements, think jumping and fast turns), and tried not to do anything which would strain my core.

Most women don't have to go through that. It's not comfortable, but since the invention of tampons, if you're not in pain, you can do pretty much anything you want while on your period.

[–]13eautiiful 1 point2 points ago

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I'm a gymnast and luckily, I have almost no side affects from my Niagara Falls week. So it barely/doesn't affect my ability.

[–]TOO_MUCH_SKOOMA 1 point2 points ago

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I always take a day off the first day because I get physically sick, but the rest of the week I run to relieve the cramps because I can't get enough of that running high.

[–]fiskek2 1 point2 points ago

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I"m a runner and did XC and track in high school, and for me, going for a run even though I had the worst cramps imaginable, somehow made my body feel better. It only worked for long runs though, sprinting workouts just killed me.

[–]cecikierk 1 point2 points ago

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I used to be a gymnast. It gets really weird doing anything involving splits. Blood dripping down your inner thigh is also a concern. Lots of my teammates are so thin that they don't have periods, but fortunately the coaches are more or less understanding if you are suffering from cramps. Let's just say I'm glad our uniform leotard is dark purple velvet.

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[–]cecikierk 2 points3 points ago

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[–]alter-native 1 point2 points ago

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Basically, if you don't have a high enough percentage of body fat, the body realises you wouldn't be able to sustain a baby if you got pregnant, so it removes the chance of you getting pregnant until you gain some more weight.

[–]raisinnn 0 points1 point ago

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I played volleyball and it did effect my performance in that I I got tired faster and I felt weaker. I felt like I was going at 60% instead of 100 at least the first two days of it. I actually avoid working out when I'm on my period because I get it worse than most people.

[–]alter-native 0 points1 point ago

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Not an athelete but I do work out. For the first 3 days I can't actually walk properly, and that's on birth control to make it better. All I can do is take ridiculous amounts of painkillers, use a lot of energy heating my hot cushion, curl on the sofa/bed and cry. In fact, yesterday I tried to get back to the gym before I had fully finished and nearly collapsed, even though it was nowhere near my normal intensity. I envy women who don't get the awful side effects <=[

[–]rem-dot 0 points1 point ago

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Rock climber here. I barely menstruate anymore, so I'd say the impact is almost nothing. Mirena IUD FTW.