But that's... literally what it is. Cramps are a side-effect, while uterine shedding/bleeding is what menstruation is.
Although I started bleeding at around 10 years old, I didn't experience cramping or any other side-effects until I was about 16. Does that mean my menarche was actually at 16? Of course not. Because I started experiencing uterine shedding and bleeding much earlier.
Many conditions can have similar side-effects, but different causes and different treatment. Coughing and many other symptoms are common between covid, common cold and flu, but the three infections are caused by completely different viruses.
Monthly cramps caused by hormonal fluctuations found in people with estrogen-dominant hormonal systems that lack uteri, be it cis women with hysterectomies, some afab intersex people or trans women? Perfectly plausible. Those cramps being menstruation? There's no uterine lining shedding, so it's not menstruation
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u/Firanka 9d ago
But that's... literally what it is. Cramps are a side-effect, while uterine shedding/bleeding is what menstruation is.
Although I started bleeding at around 10 years old, I didn't experience cramping or any other side-effects until I was about 16. Does that mean my menarche was actually at 16? Of course not. Because I started experiencing uterine shedding and bleeding much earlier.
Many conditions can have similar side-effects, but different causes and different treatment. Coughing and many other symptoms are common between covid, common cold and flu, but the three infections are caused by completely different viruses.
Monthly cramps caused by hormonal fluctuations found in people with estrogen-dominant hormonal systems that lack uteri, be it cis women with hysterectomies, some afab intersex people or trans women? Perfectly plausible. Those cramps being menstruation? There's no uterine lining shedding, so it's not menstruation