Going home for cramps. Really?

[BunnyBunnyBSNRN]

Yesterday I had a student come in c/o SA with nausea and "vomiting" (sorry, sister, if you tell me you threw up in the bathroom without a credible witness it doesn't count!). After asking several questions I figured out that she was having cramps and felt like caca. This is not something I send home for! If I have to be here when I'm bleeding like a stuck pig and having cramps so bad that I'm vomiting, then so do you! In a much kinder way I told the student this. She agreed it was fair and went back to class, (I thought). What she did was went either to the office to use the phone or to use her cell, and called mom. Mom came to pick her up. This morning, mom brought OTC med (per district policy, I can give this with mom's permission for menstrual cramps) and said, "she gets so bad she throws up, that's why I picked her up". Really?! I wish I could go home for 1-2 days a month when I have cramps!

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

yesterday i had a student come in c/o sa with nausea and "vomiting" (sorry, sister, if you tell me you threw up in the bathroom without a credible witness it doesn't count!). after asking several questions i figured out that she was having cramps and felt like caca. this is not something i send home for! if i have to be here when i'm bleeding like a stuck pig and having cramps so bad that i'm vomiting, then so do you! in a much kinder way i told the student this. she agreed it was fair and went back to class, (i thought). what she did was went either to the office to use the phone or to use her cell, and called mom. mom came to pick her up. this morning, mom brought otc med (per district policy, i can give this with mom's permission for menstrual cramps) and said, "she gets so bad she throws up, that's why i picked her up". really?! i wish i could go home for 1-2 days a month when i have cramps!

there are cramps and then there are cramps. i've had both. when i was a teenager, they would be so bad sometimes that i'd pass out from the pain, and the bleeding could be so bad i'd wear both a pad and a tampon and saturate both in an hour or less. i also had endometriosis, and some of the tissue was on my bowel. so i had abdominal cramps of the other kind and diarrhea as well. imagine trying to sit through class (or work) under those conditions!

i've often found people who pooh-poohed my cramps, but usually they were people who had never experienced it themselves. i'm guessing you're one of those who have had cramps, but not cramps.

[XB9S, BSN, MSN, EdD, RN, APN]

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