WHISPERS FROM
THE WILD

‘I’m 29 and up until January 2024 I had a terrible relationship with my menstrual cycle. I hated it to my core. I got my first period when I was 11 years old and I was the first in my class. This automatically singled me out and I quickly became the centre of attention due to being different. No kid likes to be different and bullied for it so I instantly hated my period due to this. At this time I had very little education around periods, I remember one class at primary which was essentially a powerpoint presentation that the teacher flew through as quickly as possible. On the home front I was given a sex ed book and a brief conversation with my mum covering the basics but I remember being incredibly shy and not wanting to talk about it with anyone, not even my mum because it was something I had already created a negative relationship with. I vividly remember being told “women have periods so they can have babies” and that was the gist of the education I received. The concept of cycle tracking had never once been mentioned so I buried my head in the sand and dreaded my bleed from the moment it started to the moment it returned. 

At the age of 17 I was given two options, the pill or the implant. I was told the pros and cons of both at my appointment and I was left to decide. I was terrified at the prospect of having to be responsible enough to remember to take the pill every day so I jumped at what I considered the carefree option, the implant. 

For the first 3 years on the implant I never noticed any particular changes to my menstrual cycle, but why would I? I ignored and blocked it out as much as possible and knew nothing about what was normal for me. I enjoyed my carefree existence so naturally after the 3 years were up I just replaced it and carried on. However it was at this time I started to notice things, which was only because my period completely stopped. I’d been informed that this was a possible side effect of the implant and from day one I was secretly hoping I’d be one of the “lucky ones”. I went 6 months without a bleed and I was over the moon. I felt free from the thing I hated.  Needless to say great things don’t last forever and my period returned with a vengeance on month seven. I was gutted. My bleeds came back unpredictable, ridiculously heavy, crampy and painful. It was like my body was trying to force me to listen and honestly I still didn’t because I didn’t know how. 

When the date for removal of the second implant came round I was 23 and I’d had nearly 2 and a half years of terrible periods. I went to my appointment and explained to the nurses my experience and was palmed off with "that’s just normal, you must have that type of cycle. It's nothing to do with the implant". I of course believed them (why wouldn’t I) and decided to get it replaced again. 

Things progressively got worse and over this next 3 year period I bled most days. It was like a cycle in reverse. I'd bleed for 20+ days and have 2-3 days off and then bleed for another 20+ days. It affected and ruled my whole life. I suffered from anxiety, I’d feel incredibly tired all of the time, I would go through spells of depression and my emotions were all over the place. I would be bloated and in pain constantly, and often leaked through my underwear and clothes as my flow was so heavy. I was miserable. My partner was the only one who knew what I was going through, and it was putting our relationship under intense strain. It was on having a conversation with him that I finally plucked up the courage to go to the doctors. Due to the fact that I had been on the implant for over 6 years it was never considered to be the issue. I had examinations, scans, and tests with nothing of note showing up. I persisted for 5 years getting bounced around from doctor to waiting list.  I was sent home again and again with no hope that my issues would be fixed. There was no sign of what was causing my issues and it seemed like I was bamboozling even the doctors. At one point I was put on the pill as well as the implant to see if that would even me out, it helped slightly with some symptoms but didn't cure me. I lost all hope that I would ever solve my nearly constant bleeding. 

I turned 28 and that year I was introduced to Laura. This was during the time I was on the implant and the pill. She became the woman I never knew I needed! She was so open about menstrual health, I was taken aback. I had never met anyone so enthusiastic and genuinely knowledgeable about menstrual cycles and it is so obvious how much she cares and wants to share her knowledge to help other people who menstruate. Even from a few short conversations with her, where I didn’t even disclose any of my personal circumstances, I was learning things I had never heard before. Words and terms like cycle tracking, follicular phase, luteal phase had never come into my vocabulary. I’d go away from speaking with her and google what she had talked about to learn more. It wasn’t long before I opened up completely about what I had been going through, she made me feel so comfortable and unjudged, I’ve never found anyone so easy to talk to. She taught me how to track my cycle and suggested I keep records so I knew what my “normal” was and I learned about the different phases of a cycle. She recommended books and podcasts based around the topic of menstrual cycle awareness and checked in with me each time I saw her. Laura taught me the importance of knowing my own body. I became hooked on learning everything cycle related, and went through a whole journey of self discovery which was mind blowing to me since I had lived my life up to this point with blinkers on trying to ignore what I was experiencing and how it was making me feel. 

I did eventually get a referral to a specialist doctor, and after my first appointment that doctor quickly started suspecting I had endometriosis. Due to this suspicion she suggested I come off both the implant and the pill to get my body back to a natural state and from there they would be able to carry out further investigations. After 10 years of being on the implant I was terrified to have my "security blanket" taken away from me. I did not want to get pregnant and I didnt know there was a natural approach to contraception. However I was also super curious now that I had learned about the world of cycle tracking to see if it did make any difference and to also know what my body naturally wanted to do. So I did it! Goodbye implant and pill. Laura was so supportive during this time, she was my go to person if I had any cycle related questions. This was a  year ago and I’ve never looked back. I have become hooked on tracking everything, my temperature, my days, pain and symptoms, emotions, sleep, skin … the list can go on but I’ll save you the nitty details. I’m learning something new about myself each cycle. 

Unbelievably, four months after coming off the contraceptives I was cured! Turns out everything I was experiencing were severe side effects of the implant and the pill. Literally all my symptoms vanished, I now have a 27 day cycle and of that I only bleed 4 days! I experience cramps the day before I bleed but other than that no pain. It's incredible and I feel like shouting about it from the rooftops! Hence, sharing my whole story. 

I now love my cycle and I feel so in tune with my body. I now know and sense when my bleed is due based on how I feel within myself and what food I’m craving, I now know what day of my cycle I ovulate, meaning I can use this and my gained knowledge from Laura as a natural contraceptive and I know that when I’m feeling self critical, anxious and antisocial it is because I’m in my luteal phase and not that there is something seriously wrong and that the feelings will pass. 

Honestly Laura and my new found knowledge of cycle tracking and general menstrual cycle awareness have changed my life, I cannot recommend a session with Laura enough!’