30 year old NYC resident with Endometriosis

"I have endometriosis and experienced heavy bleeding as a result prior to my hysterectomy. This bleeding was enough to soak through an extra-super or ultra tampon AND a pad within an hour or so.

My bleeding is also irregular.

I was out once with my toddler around 5th Avenue and I had a breakthrough bleed. I had no idea where to go, and was with my son frantically trying to find a bathroom along several stores and restaurants and no one would let me in. I finally found a small coffee shop that took pity on me and I was able to use sanitary napkins, but my clothing was ruined.

I found an Equinox about 15 blocks away from where I ended up and I thankfully have a membership so I was able to (unfortunately) buy new clothes from the lobby store and change clothes in the bathroom, but had I been able to pop in or know of places within those first 20ish mins of frantically asking people if I could use there restrooms I could have 1) saved tons of $$ on new unnecessary clothes and 2) saved my son the trauma of watching his mother go through that and shuffling him around all over the place both of us crying.

If I hadn’t have had a gym membership to be able to change and shower off all the blood, who KNOWS what that would have been like trying to get from uptown on 5th to downtown where I live, blood everywhere."