kind of frighteningly realizing that in about a day of going around tumblr, this post may have gotten nearly as much self reported data on menstrual reactions to covid vaccine as U of I survey cited in the above link. I doubt this addition will reach as many peeople, but I urge you report your reactions to the U of I survey! Or to the cdc’s v-safe app!
but a quick and dirty summary of the tags and comments i’ve been reading ardently??
aside from people being like ‘thnx for the heads up’, the most common category of anecdote i’ve seen is people being like ‘oh THATS why my period was heavy/early/unusally crampy’ upon reflection.
like there seems to be a fair mix of people saying 1) well my bleeding was regular but i had monster cramps 2) i had a huge abnormal gush of bleeding, and 3) my period was normal as i experience them but came early right after i got the covid shot.
the 2nd commonest group of comments is a little scarier bc it’s from people on IUDs or other devices that suppress menstruation saying they hadn’t had periods for extended time (several years i saw mentioned specifically) but experienced spotting, cramps, or a full period when they had not expected it at all.
also a few people who ddid not get the vaccine, but tested positive for covid and report having heavier periods. (at least one person said all of theirs since since getting covid have been heavier than before.)
but i’ve also seen a small portion of responses specifically saying they had unusually light periods during or immediately after their covid vaccine shot.
bc like as a reminder, this is reported to be a side effect, not a guarantee. it certainly affected me, but i’d say my exacerbated menstrual reaction was limited to about 24 hours of very intense bleeding and cramps, before my flow turned back to what i would normally expect.
and i assume there are people who had periods near or around their vaccine who didn’t comment or notice bc nothing changed for them.
so like, please don’t let this deter you from getting a vaccine! the most alarming part for me was being caught completely unawares. but the more people hear about this potential side effect, the more you can be prepared adequately. literally gird your loins, take extra tylenol (which they recommend for the “normal” vaccine side effects anyway), and heating pad it up as much as you are able.
jacobvanloon
dailybridgerton
turnnoffyourmind
