Getting real about periods with podcast, Period Drama
Introducing Cat Turner, the woman who started a frankly bloody great new podcast called Period Drama, all about periods, breaking taboos about periods and facts you didn’t know about good old Aunt Flow. Also fun fact, I’m on my period as I write this. TMI? Never.
The host of Period Drama, Cat, suffered from excessive bleeding for a number of years - to the point where some periods lasted over six months and she sometimes had to change pads within an hour. She consulted her doctor, but was always told this was normal and that every woman is different. However after years of this excessive blood loss, Cat was rushed into hospital for an emergency iron infusion and was referred to a gynaecologist to try and determine a diagnosis which is still in process today. With that in mind, I’ve posted some serious period stats below for you all to just mull over before reading on.
Most women will lose less than 16 teaspoons of blood (80ml) during their period, with the average being around 6 to 8 teaspoons (ref: NHS)
Heavy menstrual bleeding is defined as losing 80ml or more in each period, having periods that last longer than 7 days, or both (ref: NHS)
54% of people do not know what endometriosis is, despite it affecting 1.5 million women in the UK. It is a painful chronic condition, associated with periods, with no cure. Recent research shows that there is now an average of 7.5 years between women first seeing a doctor about their symptoms and receiving a firm diagnosis. (ref: E ndometriosis UK)
Many women are unaware they have fibroids because they do not have any symptoms. Women who do have symptoms (around 1 in 3) may experience heavy periods and abdominal pain (ref: NHS)
With that in mind, we have a couple of Q&A questions from Cat herself about launching the podcast, its goals and about her choice to use Podiant as the cloud-hosting platform for the podcast.
Why did you launch Period Drama?
I’ve always had very heavy and lengthy periods but around 2017/2018 my problems started to escalate. My periods were lasting 6+ months and I was having to change my tampon and pad combo every hour or so. Somewhat unsurprisingly, in December 2018 after a blood test showed very low iron levels I was sent to the hospital for an iron infusion. It was only at this point I was referred to a gynaecologist and since then I’ve been going through the process of trying to get a diagnosis. It often felt like I was being ignored by doctors and I was given conflicting advice by many of them. I’ve spoken to many women now who feel the same way that I did - like I was screaming into a void asking for help, and no one was listening. By the time we found a medication that worked for me I’d had a period that had lasted an entire year and was struggling with painful cramps and anemia. Through this whole process I was updating my friends on what was going on, giving them my period drama updates.
My period had become such a huge part of my life it was difficult not to discuss it, and the more open I became - telling everyone and anyone about my nightmare vagina - the more open they were. I heard stories I’d never heard before from my friends about their periods. I saw men who initially seemed taken aback by my blunt discussions of periods get used to me discussing them like it was nothing more unusual than discussing the weather. I even ended up having a long conversation with a taxi driver about his wife’s PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, a common gynaecological condition) on the way back from one of my hospital trips.
I heard so many hilarious, embarrassing, and sometimes sad stories that I’d never normally have heard. This - coupled with feeling completely voiceless and helpless in my own medical journey - made me decide I wanted to create a podcast where people could have a voice and share their stories.
What was the goal for the first episode of Period Drama?
For the first episode we wanted to get the podcast out there so that people knew it existed and would get excited for it - we hadn’t recorded any of the others yet so we were looking for anyone who had stories to share and wanted to appear on an episode. We wanted to attract people with a diverse range of experiences with ‘period problems’ like PCOS and endometriosis. We also didn’t just want women talking about periods, but trans masculine people too. Hearing men and non-binary people talking about their periods is just as important and often overlooked when discussing issues like this. With the podcast as a whole we want to normalise talking about periods, but also tell some of the really funny stories that come with them.
Why do you think it is important to talk about periods?
For me personally, I know if I’d started having these conversations sooner I would have gone to my doctor sooner, and hopefully would have avoided a lot of problems I had later. While it might seem obvious that having periods that last 3 months isn’t normal, it wasn’t to me. You just get so used to it. I’d been that way since I started my period and never thought to question it much. It wasn’t until I’d told a friend and they had urged me to go to the doctor that I realised my periods aren’t just irregular, but they’re abnormal and needed medical attention. And there’s a big difference. There are many people who think they know what a normal period looks like but there’s a huge variation and it’s really important to know that, and know what the bounds of normal are so you can get help when you need it.
Ultimately though, periods are a normal part of many people’s lives and whether you’re trying to work out what’s normal or not, it’s important to reduce the stigma around them. We should be able to discuss them freely, whether it’s telling your friends about the gross clot that came out on your tampon, or telling your co-workers you need a day off because of your cramps.
Who were the speakers in the first episode?
The guests in the first episode are actually three friends of mine I knew way before starting the podcast. I met them all separately and when I started talking about my own period issues with them they shared so many of their own funny stories I knew I wanted them all in the first episode. They’d never met until we started recording but everyone hit it off really well. Most of the other guests are people I’ve met through the podcast, asking for volunteers etc, but it eased my nerves having the first episode with three women I knew well.
What was the reaction from the public? How did it make you feel?
So far very positive! A lot of people I’ve spoken to found it really encouraging to see stories like theirs being discussed. I think anyone who has a period knows how messy, painful and irritating they can be. To openly talk about that and hear others talking about it can feel like a weight off your shoulders and it’s something that can connect us. Most of us know that awful feeling of blood dripping out of you, or the insatiable hunger for junk food when your bleeding is at its worst, or the overwhelming emotions just before starting, and we can laugh about these things together.
It’s been really nice for me because I’ve been able to experience so many of these connections personally. Not only with guests on the podcast but those who have shared their stories with me after learning about it. I feel a lot more connected with my uterus and everyone who has one because I know we’ve been through similar things, even if it’s just because we’ve both sat crying on the toilet eating ice cream.
How did you settle on the name Period Drama?
When I was going through the process of trying to get a diagnosis and help for my periods, I’d often go to my friends and ask if I could rant about all the drama and news around my periods - the latest doctor I was seeing or the medication I was trying. Soon they were asking me what was going on with my ‘period drama’ and the name stuck. When I decided to start the podcast it was an obvious choice to me, a funny pun that gets across what the podcast is about - telling stories about all the drama that comes with having a period.
What special requirements did you have in place to record during lockdown?
After the first episode was released we had planned to have a break to record the rest of the season, but because of the lockdown that break was extended as we tried to decide how we should record and what we should do. Since it seems like covid will be with us for a while, we’ve been recording online. We’d created a nice, controlled recording environment in our flat, so having to switch to online was a challenge. We eventually found that our guests were most comfortable just talking to us on a call via Facebook or Zoom, and the most important thing to Period Drama is everyone feels comfortable telling their stories.
What are the future content themes that Period Drama will explore?
We have the first season planned out and are trying to cover as many different experiences as possible. We have episodes which most people who have periods will relate to, like discussions of PMS, vaginal discharge, and tampons vs pads vs menstrual cups. We will also have some episodes about things many might not have experienced. We plan to have episodes on PCOS, endometriosis/adenomyosis, fibroids and other specific issues that affect periods. I hope these episodes will be just as funny as the others but also provide a bit of education about what it’s like living with these conditions.
Why did you choose Podiant?
We’d used some free podcast hosting websites before, but found them to be clunky, and often made our podcast look amateurish. We were first drawn to Podiant because it gives you a slick-looking website right off the bat, without fiddling with coding or anything like that. We also liked how many places we’d be able to send our podcast to (Spotify was a big one we couldn’t get to before) and that we’d be able to see all our listening stats in one easy place.
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This is evidently a podcast for women who have all different types of periods - whether it’s heavy and constant, light and rare, just one day long but accompanied by cramps - literally everything is spoken about. There is a sense of honesty about this podcast though, that by speaking about these topics there is really nothing to feel awkward about when it comes to periods, menstruation and our vaginas. That by breaking the taboo, we can raise awareness of the darker issues associated with Aunt Flow.
You can listen to the podcast via cloud-hosting podcast platform Podiant, and it is available to download for free on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
