In the women's menstrual cycle: cravings, bloating, acne, mood swings and uncontrollable bleeding are symptoms that are considered especially heinous. In pharmaceutics, there are dedicated scientists who investigate these symptoms and are part of elite squads known as Midol and Kotex. These are their stories.
It starts out with a simple glance at the television and a commercial for a Twix candy bar runs across the screen. Your mouth begins to water at an alarming rate, even going as far as a string of drool dribbling down your chin. As your regular programming returns, you can't even focus on the dramatic scene unfolding before you because all you can think about is how you want that Twix. And maybe some ice cream. Wait, what about pretzels and make a sweet and salty kind of mix? Before you know it, you have created the ultimate junk food grocery list. The only thing stopping you from getting up and going to buy all of it is the dismal number that is your bank account.
The next morning, you wake up and pride yourself in the fact that you resisted the temptations of the night before. You swing yourself out of bed and stride into the bathroom and pass the mirror with a quick glance on your way to start the shower. You walk backwards slowly, stopping in front of the mirror to further investigate what must be just be some dry drool crusted on to your chin. But wait! No! Oh please no! That is not drool, but an angry, white, pus-filled head of a pimple just waiting to burst. Deflated, you drag yourself into the shower and try to scrub away any bit of dirt and grime to make sure no other unwanted acne surfaces in the near future.
You then retreat to the closet to pick out the day's outfit. You pick out a pair of skinny jeans and a cute top to go with it. As you go to pull on your jeans and go through the daily struggle of tugging them up past your calves, thighs and butt, you begin the pull the button through the hole. Today, it won't go. You use all your strength and suck that tummy in, even if it's already flat, and try to button that hole, but it's not going to happen. You flop back on your bed, defeated, before begrudgingly pulling on leggings and a hoodie and go on your merry way. You just wanted to try and look nice for once, prove to people that you do own real pants, but Mother Nature had other plans.
You find yourself growing more and more agitated as the day progresses. First, the kid that never shuts up in your one class, who doesn't normally bother you, made you want to punch yourself (or him) in the face. Then, when you go to grab lunch, they were out of your favorite Gatorade flavor. You were so upset, you almost cried! You try to tell yourself that it's no big deal but there's no stopping the floodgates once they've been opened. As you try to hurry back to your place of residence or workplace, every single man you pass you find extremely attractive. What gives? Then you see a puppy and you start crying again.
That's when it hits you. A dam different from your tear ducts is about to burst. The string of expletives that leave your mouth are of no help and cannot stop what is coming. You are somewhat thankful to know that you aren't some crazy psychopath and that PMS had just come to slap you hard in the face for the month. But you then think about the week long struggle you have ahead of you that is 10x worse and well, that makes you cry all over again.
