How many of you call in sick to work or don't go to school when you get your period? I sometimes do, and it makes me feel like a chump.In fact, I'm sitting on my couch right now, heating pad in hand, pain meds in reach. But part of me definitely feels like I'm contributing to the "women earn less than men because they don't work one week out of the month" thing -- know what I mean?
But when you're sick -- whether it's the flu or you feel like your uterus is in a boxing match with your ovaries -- you're sick.
This being a women's Web site and all, it's easy enough for me to say "I'm PMS-ing. I'm in pain. I'm throwing up. I'm working from home today." But what do you do if you have a male boss, or don't work somewhere that's as understanding?
Commiserate in the comments. (And if you have a good trick for getting rid of cramps from grandma or something, I'm all ears.)
Erin Scottberg is community editor at Lemondrop.
Comments:
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Friday 10 July
By Tanya
No. I don't care if your boss is male or female. You call and say "I'm going to be out sick today. If you need me, my home number is ..... I may check email later if I'm feeling better. Thanks."
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Friday 10 July
By chris
Sure hope this doesn't come up in your annual review, slacker.
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Monday 13 July
By Rain
just hope you never get married unfeeling chump!
Monday 13 July
By Jay
just hope you never get married to a woman you unfeeling chump!
Friday 10 July
By NeNe
Your sick hours/days are YOUR sick hours/days and should be private. Luckily, as crappy as my periods were, it didn't keep me from going to work. Some women aren't as fortunate. But I've had morning sickness now for a month, and I've had to come in late a couple times. (Not to mention I'm totally useless when I DO get to work.) Ugh, that is NOBODY's business. But I hate when you show up and people are like, "Aw, are you feeling better? How are you feeling?" LEAVE me alone! Maybe I'm just extra hormonal right now, but men have NO IDEA how lucky they are and how easy life is for them. Jerks.
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Friday 10 July
By Emily
I asked myself the same question a few days ago. I tried everything I could find online to get rid of the cramps before morning. I don't know what exactly it was, but I tried whiskey mixed with tea, heating pad and fetal position, two large glasses of pineapple juice. Somehow I woke up the next morning feeling better. Oh, and it helps if you have a compassionate and understanding (and willing-to-do-favors) husband or roommate to get you whatever you need.
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Friday 10 July
By TC
As a married male, my answer to this is, "yes, take the sick day". I've seen what my wife goes through and to me, if anyone is going through pain for whatever reason, it counts as a sick day. Unless there is a can't-be-missed meeting or a major, major deadline, you are better off being home than filling up a chair in the office getting nothing done.
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Monday 27 July
By navymom365
TC great answer, your wife is a very lucky woman, i think every man should experience a period and all that goes with it,cramps, swelling,etc before opening there cold heated mouths.
Friday 10 July
By Beth
If you have killer cramps, I'm a new convert to the natural remedy - Red Raspberry! You can get supplements at Whole Foods or Vitamin Cottage, and you start taking them a day before you think your period is going to start. Then you take 2 or 3 of them 2 or 3 times / day during your period. I didn't think that vitamins would do crap, but these babies have totally done the trick for me! :)
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Saturday 11 July
By l.ruett
I don't think it matters if you call in sick. I think it matters what you do when you're at work.
* Call in sick when you're sick.
* Work when you're supposed to work.
* Stop focusing on the guilt.
General ennui about gender issues and menstrual cycles? That's so 1986. Let's all act like adults, take care of ourselves when we're not feeling well, and act with credibility and integrity in the workforce.
*
PS - I fully recommend the Mirena IUD or a strong birth control pill for women who suffer from cramps. The world doesn't need any more children and you don't need to suffer.
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Sunday 12 July
By booka62
You can only have a Mirena IUD inserted if you've given birth, vaginally.
Monday 10 August
By hollywood
In response to Booka62, you do not HAVE to have given birth. I'm 23, had one put in 2 years ago and have never been pregnant or given birth. Same with my sister. It just depends on your pain tolerance. The reason they make that general statement is because your uterus would have stretched out after a baby.
Monday 10 August
By Lora
Wow...that's pretty cold...the world doesn't need any more children? I hope you REALLY didn't mean that...
Tuesday 14 July
By Laura
It is your own personal time to do with what you like. I agree if there is a huge presentation or meeting, you should go to work regardless. However bad cramps are a legitimate reason to call in sick and not acknowledging that women have an issue on occasion is what men depend on to make us feel less worthy then our male counterparts. When issues like these are brought out of the closet and fully recognized maybe the medical profession will sit up and take notice and figure out how to help women properly.
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Sunday 19 July
By GJ
Yes take a sick day. BUT don't ignore the problem of incapacitating cramps. I'm in my 50's now. I always had bad cramps the first day or 2. I survived on a ton of Motrin if I had to go to work. I was on my feet 8 hours. In the booklets I was given as a kid the phrase, "If it's normal for you. Don't worry about it." I didn't realize until I was in my late 40's that some things I thought of as "NORMAL" for me, weren't normal. If your cramps are bad enough you are hugging the heating pad for dear life or you are taking a pain killer every hour for 6 or more hours. (My work shift was 8 hours. Then I could go home to my hearting pad.) Insist your doctor look more closely at your problems. I never had children. I never thought of having an ultra sound done of my uterus. My first GYN had retired when I was in my early 30‘s. Fast forward to my mid 50’s. After a couple of years of having to be retested because of “abnormal” PAP test from my GP (The retests came back normal.) I asked to be referred to a GYN. That led to an Ultra sound , a DNC and eventually a Hysterectomy. My periods had stopped I never had any “symptoms“. Most women have heavy bleeding (changing a pad every hour.) and pain. ( Those were present when I was younger.) If I had waited much longer I would have been dealing with cancer. Fortunately it was caught before I had to have any cancer treatments.
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Thursday 23 July
By Chrissy
If your periods are so bad, you should really see a doctor if you haven't already. It could mean there is something serious causing the pain, like endomitriosis. If it's nothing serious, there's a loooooooooong (seriously long) list of prescriptions that you can try to make your monthly more livable. Think of it this way... If you call off as regularly as once a month, you could find yourself jobless, without insurence, and left with no way to pay for any kind of doctor visits. Get to the bottom of it, or suck it up, toots! That's my best advice!
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Sunday 26 July
By Stacey & Bobby
I believe that every employee should be granted personal days off with the option of being paid by working from home (if possible) or have the option to take Paid Time Off no questions asked. It saves the company money; works just as well for professionals that mainly communicate by fax, phone, and computer, saves the company money, and helps the environment, and is fair to everyone.
I do believe that periods are legit if the woman says that it is. We do not know what each individual is experiencing. It’s up to her to decide.
There are many women that lose their jobs due to being out from extreme periods/strong meds and it’s a shame.
I do not have the “correct” answer but I think it is an excellent question and makes for an excellent debate.
Stacey
eCouplesMediation@live.com
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Sunday 09 August
By Madnary
I have had horrible cramps for 3-4 days every period ever since I started... One month I decided that taking all of the Tylenol and Motrin couldn't be good for me, so I started researching alternate methods. I've found that taking vitamin supplements can really help. Try taking extra calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D. ANY amount of extra will help, but of course read the labels to see the recommended dosage. Also, fish oil and vitamin E are very helpful. My last few periods have been much easier and I only take OTC meds twice a day on average... I used to set my cell phone alarm and take something every few hours - it was that bad. Oh, and check out accupressure ; It's also proven to be helpful. Good luck!
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Monday 10 August
By LimoBarbie
I used to have this problem every month. It got better with age even though I never had children. Even though it got bearable, there were days when I could barely get out of bed--I used to time my BC pills so I would get it on the weekends so I wouldn't miss work! The happiest day of my life was when, after 37 years of every 26 days, it finally ended in April of 2006! YAYY!!!!!
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Monday 10 August
By VBer
im 14
ive had mine for like, four years......
everry time, the pain, cramps & headaches, its sooooo bad
ii can hardly move
my parents always downplay it,
cuz "im a teen, just getting used to it"
i take tylenol and advil left & rightt
i take off skool, at least once during "that time"
but wen i do go, im miserable and in pain, and total PMSing
ik im "just a kid"
but,
i think u shuldnt hav to go
bcuz its the worst kind of pain
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