My period is in the process of starting (hasn’t bled yet) but cramps are KILLING me, I took ibuprofen and drank tea and I’m using a heating pad and nothing is helping. I feel like if I could go home and take a bath and just lie down I’d be doing so much better...

I’m at work right now, and I just started a new role this week. Here’s the deal: my boss lives on the other side of the country, and I have spoken with him exactly once all week. He mostly just leaves me to work with these other two women and deal with the assignments they give me... they also both live out of state, so literally EVERYONE I work with is “virtual” already.

Before starting the role, I had spoken to my boss about working from home sometimes. He told me that “after the first few months” he was fine with me working from home as much as I want as long as I’m being productive. Well....... its only been a week, like I said, but I’m in so much pain and I know he’s a good guy and wouldn’t want me suffering in the office, especially because I know I’d end up being MORE productive the rest of the day if I can take a bath and be comfortable.

So here’s the debate...... do I just leave the office and go home? Honestly, he would probably never even know if I did. I’ll get my work done, I’ll be answering my phone and my emails. But on the off chance that he somehow finds out, I don’t want him to think I am sneaking around and trying to get away with things. Then on the other hand, I could call and ask him if I can leave, but I also don’t want to draw attention to it if he wouldn’t even have known otherwise. I also don’t want to bother him with my menstrual issues lol..... he’s a senior VP at the company and like I said my only interaction with him all week has been a couple emails. Alternately I’m considering just sucking it up and suffering until the end of the day because I can’t make decisions.

Thank you if you took the time to read this 😓 I feel so awful and I’m not thinking clearly and don’t know what to do.