"I have never really struggled with cramps until recently, within the past year," Suzannah told POPSUGAR. They're the kind that, in the first two days, have prevented her from sleeping, but also from getting out of bed. And they're getting progressively worse, she explained. While Suzannah had planned to see her doctor to try to determine an underlying cause, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult to get into an office.
At her job as a concierge at a hotel, where she had to stand at a desk all day, she was out of sick days and would have to go without pay for any additional days she called off. "People with periods are running out of sick days, and it's just one more way that female-identifying people are having a gap in pay," Suzannah said. If she shared what was going on with certain coworkers at the hotel, they were often sympathetic and let her sit down and take a break for a bit, but she didn't feel comfortable sharing anything about her period with her managers.
She's found that being really active, like going running and increasing cardio the week before menstruating, has been one of the only preventative ways to help manage the pain — but still hasn't found an ultimate solution beyond over-the-counter pain pills and hot water bottles.
