How can a 29-year-old man get monthly periods?

Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho Sunday shared the mindboggling story of Noel, a 29-year-old man from Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro who gets a monthly period.

Sharing his story on KMJS, Noel said it all started when he was 12 years old. “Masakit ang puson, isang patak lang,” Noel said, adding it lasted seven days.

After one month, it happened again and again and again.

It would often last five to seven days with Noel enduring typical inconveniences that menstruating women often experience: He easily gets black and blue, mood swings, a painful abdomen.

He hid it from his family and friends, finding a solution in buying sanitary napkins and diapers himself.

After high school, Noel went to work as a service crew in Batangas, where he was found out. His boss remained considerate and kind, but after enduring a particularly heavy flow, Noel decided to go home to his family and admit his secret.

“Hiya, takot, naiisip kong magkapamatay minsan,” Noel admitted. So embarrassed to go to work, Noel only stayed home, further diminishing his self-confidence.

He went to a doctor to consult but they only laughed at him, he said, so he gathered enough courage and asked help from the Kapuso program.

He underwent an ultrasound, where Noel learned two things: First that there is such a thing as male menstruations. “Dahil nagkasakit sa atay, or mga obese, tumataas ang estrogen nila,” said Dr. Noel Raymundo, an OB gynecologist and endocrinologist.

Second, that he is an intersex.

“Meron siyang endometrial cavity. Duon nanggagaling yung regla buwan-buwan,” Raymundo said.

“Confirmed sa ultra sound na may matres siya. It’s a rare case. May ovary siya na pambabae and testes na panlalaki.”

According to Raymundo, Noel can choose not to remove his endometrial cavity but because he has no need for it, removing it might be the better option.

"Mas maaapektuhan siya [kung hindi tatanggalin] psychologically kasi ang problemang pandurugo, ang kinakahiya niya." — LA, GMA News