there is no reason to feel like a fake sick person if you're gushing blood and on the verge of passing out

I know, it's very true. I blame a combo of my WASP heritage ("never make a spectacle of yourself") and the sort of annoyingly taboo nature of menstruation, as well as general bad judgement from blood loss. I can look back on this and go, "well of COURSE I was not faking!" but it seems very different when you're scared and shaky and trying not to work yourself up. Anyway, yes, very happy to have gotten the help I did! I had no idea it was the sort of thing they could operate for. The more you know, etc. :D