A woman’s body is incredible and capable of so much — sometimes, you might not even realize what it’s capable of doing until it’s happening to you. Women of the BuzzFeed Community shared some of these things, and I am still surprised by some of them. Here is what they shared:
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
1.“Women should be prepared to experience perimenopause in their early 30s. I went through menopause at 44, and the perimenopause started at 37. I thought I was going wild. No doctor mentioned perimenopause because I was so young and had just had a baby. Going through menopause when you have four young children was tough, and I ended up needing antidepressants to cope. I went the natural route with no hormones.”
2.“I had no idea that you could , I always only hear about it coming out of your butt, and I was confused when it first happened to me. Nobody ever talked about it where I grew up, so I had no idea it was a thing.”
—Anonymous
3.“My friend’s daughter had a like, straight out of a TLC I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant show. She gave birth in her college dorm room and was terrified because she was in nursing school, and she realized how dangerous it was to not have had prenatal care. I think she is convinced that she has hurt her son because she didn’t know she was pregnant — no weight gain, she still had bleeding every month. She is now suffering postpartum depression coupled with guilt and shame. She is currently seeing a therapist.”
4.“I had no idea that you could experience bleeding during pregnancy when you are NOT having a miscarriage. I was 12 weeks along and suddenly felt a huge gush of blood. I instantly assumed I was having a miscarriage — I was certain that I was losing my baby. I rushed to my OB-GYN, and she quickly found a strong heartbeat, assuring me my baby was fine. I had , and while the bleeding slowed down, it persisted for weeks before disappearing. I was put on pelvic rest and vaginally delivered a beautiful 8 lb boy. If you have bleeding during pregnancy, DO NOT PANIC! Just get to your doctor ASAP and follow all their instructions.”
—Julia, 35
5.“Sometimes a hymen doesn’t break or can have only a very small opening(s). I had my period for years with no issue other than I couldn’t use tampons — they wouldn’t go in. After a visit to the gyno, I was informed I would need a for my imperforate hymen. I only had a pin prick-sized opening that allowed for my period to come out but for nothing to enter. It’s rare, but it happens!”
6.“Having been born with a heart murmur passed down from my dad, it sounds like I have two heartbeats, and sometimes it feels like my heart skips a beat. I had a doctor think I’m pregnant and put the stethoscope on my belly.”
7.“I had to try several types of birth control due to PCOS (and the cramps I got were awful), and the first one was great, but I got Nexplon, and it was the worst thing ever. So, when I went back to the first pill, it was a different experience! And then the next pill made it so my migraines got 10x worse, so my doctor had me go on the IUD, and I love it. However, the surprise of not having a period was weird because it took 1 1/2 years to disappear, and I realized a week later that I was on what I like to call a ‘pseudo period’ because the mood swings, migraines, acne, and cravings are still there.”
8.“After I had my first child at age 30, I started developing chest pain and difficulty breathing. It felt like someone punched me in the chest, and if I slept on my back, I felt something was constricting my breathing. After seeing my PCP (primary care physician) twice, he quickly dismissed my concerns that something was seriously wrong by saying, ‘It’s just allergic bronchitis, you’ll live.'”
“Imagine his surprise after a trip to the ER with a heart rate in the 40s, a chest x-ray, and an outpatient CT requested by the ER physician because I told him my PCP didn’t believe me, showed a large tumor that was wrapping around my heart and up toward my shoulder. The weight of it was resting on my lungs, restricting their ability to inflate and pressing against my sternum, causing pain. A surgeon had to split my sternum to remove the large tumor, which thankfully was benign. Don’t ever let a doctor dismiss your concerns! I dropped that PCP. Keep searching for answers and a doctor who will listen.”
Morsa Images / Getty Images
9.“When I was 23, I developed a , which I later found out is fairly common. It’s a cyst that forms on a gland near the vagina opening. Usually, a course of antibiotics clears it up, and it doesn’t come back. Unfortunately, mine burst, as did the abscess attached to it. None of the medical professionals warned me that this could happen or what to expect. It was horrific.”
“I went to A&E and was told I was okay and that the cyst was unlikely to return, but it did. For months, I was being given antibiotics that didn’t help, and I’d cycle through the cyst returning and bursting. Eventually, I had an operation that dealt with the problem. Unfortunately, there are two identical glands and a year after surgery. I found another lump on the other gland. That was almost five years ago. I’m still being given antibiotics that don’t work and being told that the cyst will go away. It’s a painless cyst for most people, but I’m not that lucky. I’m not being listened to by the medical professionals, and it’s honestly exhausting.”
—Anonymous, 29
10.“Despite the fallopian tubes not having to do with periods, after I got mine removed my periods were a lot more intense. I had really bad cramping, vaginal pain, and a lot more blood.”
11.“I’ve had severe menstrual cramps since I first got my period when I was 11. It would leave me bedridden for three days with excruciating pain. I’m 38, and they still can’t diagnose me, and the options they’ve given me just suck. So, for 3 days every month, I am unable to function due to the extreme pain. Having a baby does not make the pain go away. My son is 12.”
“I also found out that at 38, I can get eczema and hypertension. The eczema is only around my eyes, so they get all wrinkly and ugly and itches like a mofo. Hypertension was fun to learn about… not (151/101 scared the shit out of me). I have tried to lower that naturally for two months, but it just won’t cooperate. Now, I have to take a pill every day until it can sort itself out, or I will have to take it for the rest of my life. The doctor says stress can cause it, but I’m too old to start job hunting again. I was jobless for two years and will never go through that again.”
12.“I had no idea lactation could start during pregnancy. At seven months pregnant I went to bed dry and woke up in a literal puddle of breast milk. I found this was fairly common after a frantic call to my mom.”
13.“My period started very early, elementary school early and before my older sisters started theirs. At this age, I had never heard of a ‘period’ and had no inkling of what was happening. I went to the bathroom, and my underwear was full of blood. Frightened, I told my sister I thought I had cancer. Fast forward to middle school, when my period was very late. I told the same sister I thought I was pregnant. She asked me if that was possible. I said, of course, that she knew I was having my period for years already. I had no idea what sex was or how to get pregnant. I thought babies came out of your belly button.”
14.“Apparently, as women become elderly, UTIs may not manifest with traditional symptoms at the outset. Instead of pain or fever, the first of an infection can be mental confusion and/or hallucinations.”
—Anonymous
15.“After having breast cancer treated with surgery and radiation, I met with an oncologist every six months. About 4 years later I asked MD why my breast tissue on the surgical site was turning pink. HUGE Problem folks. I saw it for two years before it was diagnosed. MD didn’t realize it was growing, which was deadlier than the original cancer. It’s a known but very rare side effect of radiation. Still alive in year two after mastectomy. Please find an MD who listens and looks up possible answers.”
—Kellie D., 68
16.“I learned that having super heavy periods is not normal and can lead to debilitating . I found this out in my 30s after going to my doctor’s in tears. It turns out that I was severely anemic, and my symptoms of exhaustion, stress, constantly feeling cold, etc, were all part of it.”
17.“In 2020, I was working two jobs and trying to avoid catching Covid. I had thyroid issues already, and that summer, I started getting so exhausted I’d sleep 10-11 hours a night, I was dizzy if I stood for more than 30 seconds, I kept forgetting things, and I had a lot of old mental health triggers I’d worked on resolving came back. I thought it was just pandemic stress or my usual thyroid issue, but it got so bad I insisted my endocrinologist see me and do a thyroid scan. I was 24 then and had thyroid issues since age 12. She got blood work back and sent me for a full work up including a thyroid ultrasound and testing for my kidneys and liver.”
“She never told me what she was looking for; if I asked, she said she was just running tests. I googled my symptoms myself (including my blood results, high PTH, and high blood calcium) and discovered that I had a benign tumor on at least one parathyroid gland. I’d been seeing thyroid specialists for 12 years at this point, that specific doctor for 5 years, and no one ever mentioned parathyroid glands even existed.
Once I had this figured out, I had to ask her if this was her diagnosis, and she wouldn’t confirm until a CT scan. At that point, I’d been living with exhaustion, frequent dizzy spells, forgetfulness to the point that it severely impacted my work, and near-daily bouts of rage, panic, or anxiety for weeks (the increased calcium in your blood really wreaks havoc on your brain). I had to beg her to refer me to a surgeon for the very simple outpatient procedure to cut the tumor out — she was going to let me keep living like this. This condition normally affects post-menopausal adults, but I was 24 (afab), so this was not a standard case. The surgeon she referred me to was great and resolved it promptly, and I felt immediately better after waking up from surgery.
Until that night, when my feet and fingers started tingling, and the discharge paperwork instructed me that it likely meant a stroke. I called the surgeon in a panic and was informed this is a normal bodily response to a rapid decline in blood calcium, and if I took a handful of Tums, I’d be fine. I’m grateful this entire situation was resolved within about six months, and the only lasting damage is a scar across my neck. Still, it would have all been way, way less stressful if my doctor had been upfront with her suspected diagnosis and taken my well-being and questions seriously and if my surgeon had made sure to inform me of the likely (and temporary) side effects of surgery.”
—Anonymous
18.“Until recently I didn’t know how bacterial vaginosis presented itself in real life even though I knew what it was on paper. I knew that the hallmark symptoms include changes in discharge and a strong odor but you know what else causes changes in discharge: your cycle and aging. You know what also causes changes in odor: medications, diet, and your cycle. I’ve never gone to the doctor suspecting I had one, nor have I been diagnosed with one while getting regular exams, so I just never knew. It’s one of those things that is so vague, subjective, and broad that you either don’t notice it or you confuse it with something else. Because every medical professional says that everyone’s vagina is unique to them, so it’s hard to differentiate what’s normal for your body from what’s abnormal. Saying white discharge is a symptom of BV and a sign of healthy discharge is confusing. ‘Strong odor’ is subjective.”
“Additionally, it’s so easy to develop. The fact that people in 2024 are still making fun of, shaming, and calling people dirty for having it is disgusting. My revelation came after I used heavily perfumed body wash and absent-mindedly got too close to my vaginal opening, not even directly going over it. Even after a shower, the next day I still had this very strong and bad smell that was unusual for me, that’s when it clicked what was going on. It’s so easy to develop and brush off if you aren’t aware, and it’s hard to be aware if you’ve never had it or knew you had it.”
—Anonymous, 29
19.And finally, “. After I had my first baby, my hair just fell out. I’d brush my hair dry before going in the shower — brush full of it — then hands full of it while showering, then more in the brush when styling my hair afterward. It was in almost everything; our vacuum cleaner was working overtime. I had no idea this was a thing, oddly enough, not one of the ‘joys’ of pregnancy that people share about!”
—Amy, 36
If you have your own story, share it with me in the comments below!
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