Am I the only one that gets really bad period pain?

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I sometimes have them so extreme I vomit and nearly pass out. One time I didn't have any painkillers that worked properly, and I was reduced to sitting in the front seat of my mum's car curled up in a fetal position, spitting obscenities and growling like an animal from the sheer height of the pain.

I have slight ones before a period, then really severe spasm. I get referred pain, too, for some reason. Sometimes right the way up my back to a little over where the kidneys start.

I'm trying to get very lean so I won't ovulate. It isn't hard, I have a really fast metabolism and can't put on much weight. I hardly menstruated at all last year, only started this year because I'd gotten a little heavier.

Ok so was browsing this forum and found this post. As a human sexuality major student / some other stuff I have done research on this. So here we go as best as I can in common terms:

Edit- Forgot to mention you are not alone. Rates from studies say anywhere from 42% to 72% has painful periods!

Primary Dysmenorrhea - painful cramping in women just before or during menstrual flow that have normal anatomy and no pelvic diseases

-VERY common women and especially young women!

Secondary Dysmenorrhea is from pelvic diseases or abnormal anatomy.

Signs & Symptoms
Moderate to severe pelvic pain and lower back pain before or at the onset of menses and lasting 1-3 days. A combination of nausea, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, irritability, vomiting, and weight gain may also be experienced along with the pelvic cramps to lower back aches.

Risk Factors
-SMOKING
-Alcohol
-Poor diet
-Lack of exercise
-Have not given birth yet to a child
-Depression
-Obesity
-Have had a abortion
-BEGIN YOUNG AGE

Note- Some of these are not "fully" proven, but the bold ones are most deff proven!! !


Ok so a lot of the basic information that you don't really care about is above. Your main question is how the hell do I solve this and how do I solve it NOW!

Facts
-A good portion of women treat themselves
-Leading cause of work place absence and school absence in women
- Get a gyno exam for Secondary Dysmenorrhea
-Most treatment is OTC and easy to do/obtain
-There is no "one" way of treating this...Nor one fully effective way
-Maintain a sexual, family,medicines, and menstrual diary for your doctor is VITAL!! ! It helps the doctor narrow in and can save you a lot of $$$$$$$

The two main ways of treating PD is first with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) which are available OTC. When these fail people usually move on to oral contraceptive pills aka birth control. These have a unique advantage in teens due to lowering pregnancy, acne and pain all at once!

But wait...an average 10% of women fail to respond to NSAIDs or OC. So what to do?

Alternative Treatments
-STOP SMOKING!@!@!@!
-Eat healthy
-Exercise more (get creative such as take the stairs)
-Acupuncture has proven effective
-Some herbs
-Get one of those Nova rings or T birth control devices to end all periods up to a year or more. (This has proven effective for severe pain. But note that using the T device can cause you to be infertile for up to 3 months or more after removing the device).

Some articles to read up on:
-Dysmenorrhea by French L (American Family Physician (AM FAM PHYSICIAN), 2005 Jan 15; 71)
-Primary Dysmenorrhea by Andrews S. Coco M.D. ( American Family Physician® Vol. 60/No. 2 (August, 1999))


I cut and pasted portions of my research paper here for you guys and listed 2 of my primary sources.

Remember be proud to do your annual gyno exam! It may be a hassle, but it can save your life!

I used to have very bad period pain but since I started taking vitamin B complex it has gone completely.

I took the B vits as they are supposed to be good for depression and autism, but when I looked up about it again it did say it was good for periods too!

I put my daughter on the B vits aswell and her self harming stopped so I think it is a win-win thing. It wont hurt to try it.

I Am alwasy in total agony when i have a period, it's like having contractions I hate it. I don't have endometriosis but do have PCos and IBS I have noticed something though....I suffer from severe nerve pain, and I'm sure this has something to do with it as I keep being tested for stuff ( abdominal pain, stomach pain, back pain, neck pain, elbow pain) and the docs say there is nothing wrong but i am in agony. I have facial pain around my jaw, when I get trapped nerves I can't even see properly as it's so painful. SO I'm sure this has somthing to do with the fact I get painful periods.

My aunt got me this set of special pads while she was in Japan. They're specifically made for wearing inside of your pants and it heats your pelvic region while you are on your period. It's a freaking godsend!! !

I've been suffering from severe cramps for years. My mom refuses to believe that it is serious though. These heating pads are miracle workers. You might feel some pain but trust me...if you've been suffering cramps the way I have all my life, you will see a HUGE difference!

Too bad I am all out of them. I dont even know if stores in America even sell these kinds of pads. I aint looking forward to my next period without them. Guess I'll have to get on birth control.

Pensieve, if your pain starts beforehand and you can't tell when to take pain relief, start taking it as soon as you think it's starting or at first blood.
Continue taking another dose as the previous one runs out, so you're consistently dulled. Keep ahead of the pain, take the dose on time even if you feel you don't need it that second.
And try putting a hot water bottle on your lower back rather than your belly, because I find that gives more relief. Good luck

Ps. I've posted more info in another thread here called "This is about periods, women only please", so there's more help to be had if you need it.
Also you might want to consider going to a naturopath or going on the pill, because some of the pain might be caused by large blood clots or endometriosis. Sorry if that's TMI Pensieve! But it may help you know what to ask the doctor about.

I had horrible cramps right from when I started at age 12. For years my mother and teachers told me it was 'just something women have to put up with', then at 19 I went to my doctor to get the pill for contraceptive purposes...lo and behold, no more cramps. And they never came back, even when I came off the pill. (I'm 40 now and I get maybe a slight backache on my heaviest days, but nowhere near what it used to be like.) So, the pill can help...but that's no help to those of you who've already tried it and had no joy.

I would say, if you're getting really bad pains, endometriosis is certainly a possibility worth checking into. This applies if you've had the pain from the start, but obviously, if your periods have always been OK and you suddenly start getting severe pain and/or very heavy bleeding, that definitely needs looking into ASAP.

One herbal remedy I sometimes found helpful, although it didn't get rid of the pain completely like the pill did, was raspberry leaf tea. And I'm told yoga is useful, more so than regular exercise (which is often recommended though it used to just make mine worse).

Also...orgasm, DIY or with a partner, very often helps ease the pain. No, seriously! Plus, of course, it's brilliant for getting you off to sleep...

I used to have pretty severe pain; I was fairly consistently incapacitated for a day, and vomited from it once or twice (never smoked, have a decent diet, etc). Ibuprophen helps me quite a bit, thank heavens, but something you might consider is the birth control that keeps you from having periods at all. There is a pill form that does this, but I have a hormonal IUD and have had nothing but occasional light pseudo-periods for four years. It can change your whole life.

For me, the first day is the worst, but it is alleviated by tylenol, although I still get issues in regards to my bowels such has having to go number 2 more, and it being diarrhea.

Cad's right about the soy it helps me a ton.

I have very bad pain, and I went on the pill and it just made them worse. I am about to start taking another brand.
A heating pad works the best for me, any other ideas for helping with the pain?

I've been in agony every month since age 12. Would get ovulation pain during the month, then pain and cramping for days before and during period. Also used to feel *really* run down (bad sore throat, headaches, very tired etc.) for at least a week every month. My god, men don't know they're born!

Anyway, after years of taking the pill on and off and trying different makes, things just kept getting worse. By the time I was at uni, I was vomiting from the pain and fainting. One time I blacked out, hit my head on the sink as I fell, and ended up with concussion the week before my finals. Classic.

Bleeding got worse too, not just heavier (with large clots) but longer ~9 days in every 28 day cycle. And I was regular as clockwork. I read up about endometriosis and went to see my GP. She was worse than useless and just fobbed me off with yet another pill. Three years later, I was rushed into hospital with what turned out to be a massive ruptured endometrioma (like a cyst). It was the same size as a 14-week foetus, and yeh, I was 'showing' - but no-one had noticed despite numerous visits to doctors (by that time I'd been getting severe gastric/bowel problems, lost over 30lbs and had the most excruciating, unrelenting back pain you can imagine).

*Breathe*. Erm, not sure what my point was... Oh yes, endometriosis is a real pain in the £%&$$! If you think you have it, you really should seek help, but be prepared for a battle. Starving yourself to stop your periods or regularly over-dosing on pain meds is really not very wise.

No, you're not the only one, when I get my period, my cramps feel like a boxer is using my uterus as a punching bag.

mine was worse when I was younger, in my early teens. I would be doubled over in pain. It's not as bad now that I'm heavier but it's still no picnic.