I’m a female soldier in the United States Army. I have served for 3 years and have had many ups and down when it came to my menstruation cycle (period). As I am sure many females can relate to my experience, I will only speak on my own experience . My period lasts for roughly 5-8 days. On the first and second day of my period is when I experience the most pain. I get headaches , diarrhea, loss of appetite and excruciating cramps. It’s very difficult to stand up or even sit down at times. I often spend most of my time in the bathroom all day, either sitting on or kneeling in front of the toilet. I vomit at times when I try to eat because my stomach is upset from my period. I have always been a person to stay away from pain medication for the safety of my health, but I’m left with no choice when I’m on duty or at work. When I do take the pain killers, it takes a very long time to ease the pain. It also does not last very long which leads me to taking roughly 8x200mg a day. 

Periods are a sensitive topic to talk about especially when you’re a female soldier and have male leaders who cannot understand your pain. (Which is not their faults). I have tried multiple birth controls to stop my periods but it ended with me having irregular and excessive bleeding and an unhealthy vaginal PH. I am petitioning that female soldiers be allowed time off duty to manage the pain at least in the beginning of their periods. It’s hard even getting work done effectively due to the amount of time spent in the bathroom trying to ease our pain.