Chronic illness baddies know the drill: one good day doesn’t guarantee the next. Sometimes, a good week is followed by two rough ones. It’s a game of living day-to-day, discovering, responding to, and managing all kinds of symptoms that can arise.

But living with chronic illness as a period-haver is a different story. Our monthly menstrual cycles can bring a host of symptom flare-ups, from mood swings to extreme fatigue, shifts in appetite, impossible-to-manage pain, migraines, and more. Living day-to-day also means living month-to-month with a sometimes predictable cycle of period symptoms mixing with chronic illness symptoms, often leaving us without reprieve.

Being well-versed in (1) Having periods and (2) Chronic Illness, I’ve put together a little how-to list for surviving that time of the month when survival is front-and-center all month long anyway.

Essential Comfort Items for Managing Period Pain 

Keep your trusty heat pad, an ice pack for migraine-heavy days, Cramp Cream for when the pain gets intense, a weighted blanket, all-comfortable period underwear, and of course Netflix close by (but sans chill, because nothing is chill about chronic illness). Whatever brings you comfort on difficult ‘big symptom days’, keep it close when your menstrual cycle is near. Literally, put them on your nightstand. Like any good millennial, Friends is on my monthly rotation, perfect for when I have to spend a few days in bed.

For me, the first two days of my period are the worst. I know this is a time when I have to clear my calendar and ride the wave (no pun intended). While my period doesn’t always leave me bedridden, finding comfort in the months when it does is essential for survival.

Why a Support System is Key 

Chronic illness can throw your life into a tailspin. The more I adapt to living an unpredictable life with chronic illness, the easier it gets to manage. Whether it’s something you’ve been born with (like me) or an illness you contracted (hey, also like me!), there are going to be good days and bad days.

Once I learned I had Lyme disease (the most fashionable vector-borne disease to get, apparently), I searched far and wide for a support group of people who would get it. After months of scouring Reddit boards and Facebook groups, I found a Lyme support group with people my age looking to make the best of a challenging situation (shout out to Lymitless!).

On good and bad days, I find myself messaging the group in our GroupMe chat, answering questions from newcomers about living with chronic illness and, well, surviving it. The period-havers of the group frequently discuss the lifestyle changes that come with menstruation, and I’m beyond grateful for a support network that helps me feel less alone with symptoms month-round.

Prioritize Relaxation During Your Period and Chronic Illness Flare-Ups

This is always a tough one. Whether it’s pressing work deadlines, family commitments, or just the internalized pressure to stay productive, giving my body and brain the rest they need is an ongoing practice.

Like a muscle that needs flexing, I have had to learn how to relax. Especially with chronic illness (I write this to you from my bed, following an iced coffee after an afternoon nap). But it is a practice that you can learn. In fact, you might just have to. I spent many years pushing myself beyond my limit and physical capacity because I was taught that this was what I had to do. It was important for me to show up to work despite debilitating period cramps, ovarian cysts, or illness flare-ups (endometriosis peeps – wya?). I had to take meetings even on my worst days because, well, I didn’t know when a not-worst day was going to come up.

Being at this point in my illness and period-having journey, I have become more practiced in the art of relaxing. But it is, still, a practice. This brings me to my next very important point…

Know that this too shall pass

Remember, you have survived this before. You got through it last time. In fact, you have probably been through worse.

Like those difficult times—the flare-ups, the bad periods, the hospital visits, the gaslighting doctors, the family who doesn’t believe us, the friends who are mad we canceled plans, the moments of life missed out on—this too, shall pass. It all passes. And so will this.

Once I learned I had Lyme disease (the most fashionable vector-borne disease to get, apparently), I searched far and wide for a support group for people who would get it. It was only after months of scouring Reddit boards and Facebook groups that I found a Lyme support group that had people my age who were all looking to make the best of a challenging situation (shout out to Lymitless!).

On good days and bad, I find myself messaging the group in our GroupMe chat, answering questions from newcomers about living with chronic illness and, well, surviving it. The period-havers of the group frequently discuss the lifestyle changes that come with menstruation, and I’m beyond grateful for a support network that helps me feel less alone with symptoms month-round.

Amy Saunders is an SEO strategist and queer writer of poetry, prose, essays and branded content. Her work has been published in Chatelaine, VICE, TeenVogue, SheDoesTheCity and with brands such as DivaCup. She lives in the unceded and ancestral territory of Kjipuktuk with her husband and daughter.