Comedian Marjolein Robertson has opened up about a period in her teens left her needing two blood tranfusions (Image: Aemen Sukkar, Jiksaw)Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxMore Newsletters SubscribePlease enter a valid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.More NewslettersWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More infoThank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow me See OurPrivacy Notice See OurPrivacy Notice×Group 28 Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxInvalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.Sign UpNo thanks, closeWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info×Group 28Thank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow MeNo thanks, closeSee our
Privacy NoticeThe night before her higher-English exam, comedian Marjolein Robertson had a period that was like no other. As she changed her tampon and pads every 15 to 30 minutes in order to keep up with the blood loss, it was only when her mum raised her concerns that she realised something wasn’t quite right. “I just had a period like I’d never had before. It was so heavy and so prolonged. I was taught that when you’re on your period you shed the lining and it can be uncomfortable sometimes and that can be heavy so I didn’t think it was anything untoward,” she tells OK!.
Comedian Marjolein Robertson is retelling the experience in her Edinburgh Fringe show, O
(Image: Trudy Stade 2016)
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“The plan was I would do my English exam and then she’d take me straight from school to the doctors for a check-up. But the night before my exam I’d gotten to a point where I was changing my tampon and pad every half an hour and then every 15 minutes.” As Marjolein got ready for bed, a check-in from her mum changed the course of the plan. Before sitting the exam, a visit to the hospital was needed. “I was just about to go to bed when my mum came into my room. I had my pyjamas on and I was laying a towel down as I knew I was going to bleed through when she said, ‘this isn’t right’, so suggested that we go to the hospital as they might’ve had a pill which could slow the bleeding down for the exam,” she recalls. “Being at the hospital was the first time that I’d told a stranger about periods, so when the doctor and nurse asked me what was wrong I burst into tears and said ‘I’ve got a really bad period’.”
Marjolein was changing her tampon and pad every 30 minutes before heading to hospital
(Image: Aemen Sukkar, Jiksaw)
After the doctor took Marjolein’s bloods, it was apparent that everything was OK. When he returned to the room his demeanour immediately changed as he called out to get a room, fluids and blood transfusion ready. However, with her English exam just hours away, Marjolein had other concerns on her mind. “My mum was like, ‘no, no, no, no, she can’t stay overnight. She has an English exam tomorrow.’ The doctor replied, ‘no, she has to stay overnight. If you take her home now, she won’t last through the night’,” she says. “I just burst into tears. I was 16. No one should bleed out from a period and die.” In turn, Marjolein ended up staying in hospital for three days and received two blood transfusions. Despite the incident, she left the hospital without an answer as to what exactly had caused her to lose so much blood. Instead, over the years she tried out many different solutions such as the pill and the coil in order to reduce the bleeding on her period. “When the bleeding did start again it was heavy. I was fainting and I was having to take days off work. I was in agony and I couldn’t sleep at night. I was bleeding through clothes, furniture and car seats. It was awful,” she admits.
Marjolein was told that if she went home she might not make it through the night
(Image: Aemen Sukkar, Jiksaw)
It was only recently that Marjolein received an actual answer – she had adenomyosis, a condition which is where the lining of the womb grows into the muscle in the wall of the womb. 18 years on, the comedian is retelling her story in her new show O, which is currently being performed at the Monkey Barrel for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. “In the previews all different people have come to me afterwards and have told me why they’ve enjoyed it. That’s ranging from women who have had a similar experience to men who have teenage daughters who’ve said that the show has helped them be for them more or has allowed them to understand their partner better,” she says. “A lot of the point in the show is the fact that one of the reasons I became so poorly was because so little was spoken about it. I didn’t know what normal was. I didn’t know what too much was. I was so embarrassed to talk about it.” She adds: “Every show I’m doing has a little corresponding folktale or myth from Shetland. I find this one a really interesting one because it’s all about cycles. It’s about fertility, women and the need for rest. It’s also about that kind of knowledge and old stories that we might not be so aware of today.” Watch Marjolein Robertson’s show O at the Edinburgh Fringe until 25 August at Monkey Barrel, Hive 1. For more information and tickets, click hereStory SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnHealthReal Life
