Gabi Pereyra, 37, she/her, has experience with painful periods and endometriosis symptoms, a disorder that is a common health problem in women. It gets its name from the word endometrium, the tissue that normally lines the uterus or womb. Endometriosis happens when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of your uterus and on other areas in your body where it doesn't belong.
SOME OF THE SYMPTOMS OF ENDOMETRIOSIS INCLUDEPainful periods (dysmenorrhea). Pelvic pain and cramping may begin before and extend several days into a menstrual period. You may also have lower back and abdominal pain.
Pain with intercourse. Pain during or after sex is common with endometriosis.
Pain with bowel movements or urination. You're most likely to experience these symptoms during a menstrual period.
Excessive bleeding. You may experience occasional heavy menstrual periods or bleeding between periods (intermenstrual bleeding).
Infertility. Sometimes, endometriosis is first diagnosed in those seeking treatment for infertility.
Other signs and symptoms. You may experience fatigue, diarrhea, constipation, bloating or nausea, especially during menstrual periods.
Shot by Jess Farran
Gabi was 11 years old when she had her first period. "It was very traumatic. It was painful, and I didn't know it was happening the first time that I had my period. It was a type of pain that I didn't experience before, so I hid it. I knew it was my period, but I didn't feel comfortable enough to tell the world that it happened.”
When asked how long she hid her period, she explained, "At least two periods more." And once she realized it was staying for good, told her father.
"It was very funny. I was like, dad I'm having my first period, and the first thing he did was go to the supermarket and bought every type of pad and said use whatever you feel comfortable with."
"To me, feeling pretty didn't come. I grew up in a culture where the moment you have your first period, you stop growing in height. And I was like shit, you lost the train."
She's 5', and says this with the biggest smile.
"Then there's the myth of if you're fat, the moment you get your first period, you will be forever fat, and you won't be pretty. These are the types of things that were coming from the femme figures in my life back then. I was 11 year old, and didn't have the mental capacity to figure out what was true or not. That's why I didn't tell the women in my circle, because then I would be judged, I wouldn't be tall, I'll be fat, and I won't be a woman."
On Gabi’s first experience with her healthcare practitioner:
"What's happening to you is because you need to lose weight. If you lose weight, you won't feel pain… It's related to how men look at you. He told me, as a patient, I don't want to fuck you because you're fat."
Because of her trauma, she didn't go to any other OB/GYN's for 6-7 years.
‘Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice’ Food symbolism art by Teresa Johnson
