I knew the basics before I got it, but I had no clue…
* The blood wouldn’t necessarily be red. When I first got my period, I spent a few min looking at my underwear wondering how I shit myself. I didn’t know the blood could look brown, or be thick.
* That tampons weren’t a good idea yet. I was 10 or 11 when I got my first period and physically smaller than an adult woman. My first attempt at inserting a tampon was very painful and unsuccessful. I wouldn’t use them until I was around 14 or so.
* That when you use pads the blood can get on your bottom and I’d have to occasionally clean off the toilet seat after using it.
* That getting your first period DOES NOT mean you’re fully developed and fully able to bear children. I could have technically gotten pregnant at that age, but I was still a child and pregnancy would have put my life in danger because I was still physically immature.
* That it wouldn’t be regular for another few years.
* That very painful cramping is NOT NORMAL once you reach your 20s and is cause for concern.
* That the blood and tissue you pass can look chunky or stringy and not like blood from a cut.
* That stress can halt your period for months BUT
* That doesn’t mean you can’t get pregnant
Feel free to add your own
*that your cycle isn’t necessarily a defined 28 days and that’s normal and fine
*weight changes and changes in exercise/regular movement (going from a job where you don’t walk as much to one where you do) can also make it off
* there is a chance that you’ll have a little pain when you ovulate (I can normally feel when I do) but if it’s bad FOR THE SAKE OF ALL THINGS HOLY GO GET IT CHECKED.
* That you can ovulate for weeks before your period actually comes.
* That birth control isn’t JUST for birth control and can often times help alleviate the pain in cramps as well as regulate your period.
* That bleeding for three months straight is REALLY not normal BUT
* That you can bleed for much longer than your cycle if you and another close female’s (usually parent, sibling, or friend) all syncs together.
* That your cycles synching REALLY isn’t a myth and is a lot of times can be more a more accurate assumption of when it’ll start than counting your days.
* That literally anything can throw your period off. Literally. Anything.