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

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I've been on the pill for 2 years now, and it has literaly worked wonders for me. It doesn't work straight away, but each period will gradually become less painful, less heavier, and less irregular, and it will work quicker if you're young. I was 18 when I first went on the pill, so it kicked in that much quicker.

But before I went on the pill, I got terrible period pains. I did go on special tablets when I was 16, and they stopped period pains - but they were too big to swallow, so I used to crunch them - which made me gag because they tasted awful. And they were difficult to break in half because they made a mess, so I gave up the ghost. But they did help the pains. So after that I had to take nurofen, which is easier to crunch because it doesn't have such a horrible taste.

But I had to be sent home from school with period pains, because they made me feel really sick. And one time when I was at college, I sat on a chair in the main entrance bit, waiting for my dad to come and pick me up, and I felt so ill with a period pain that I suddenly lost my senses. My mouth dried up because I was concentrating on not throwing up, my nose suddenly became blocked, I went all mumb and was satuated with cold sweat, all I could see was stars, and my ears even went rather deaf, so all the noises around were distant and muffled. I was even sitting under a loud bell (which is my worst fear) but I wouldn't have cared if it got set off because I was too ill - and usually I would jump out my skin.

When my dad came, I had to get up really slowly, and I was shaking and shaking, and it looked like I had a flu. When I got home my clothes were drenched so I had to change into dry clothes and lay in bed with a hot water bottle. My mum came in from work and found me shaking in bed - but then, all of a sudden, my period pain went. I was dying to go to the toilet, and I was starving hungry. And I felt as good as what I was before I got the period pain. That was what affect it had on me. So it wasn't a virus - although it felt like it.

So after that my mum took me to the doctors who said that if my periods are affecting my life like that then I would have to go on the pill.

Funny thing though - I used to suffer from this on my 6th or 7th day of my period, when it was almost finished. I got general pains on my 1st and 2nd day, then none on my 4th and 5th day, then the worst came when it was practically finished.

I must say, the pill has worked wonders for me, and has caused no side effects.

Take magnesium tablets They work pretty well for me anyway, so I just thought I'd share the tip.

I did get mine to go away for a while by staying super lean, but the f*****s came back. Seriously I'm lean to the point of having visible abdominals, and I still hemorrhage. Yeek. And my disgusting breasts won't reduce at all.

I refuse to take the pill though. I don't want a s**t ton of extra estrogen making my muscles weaker (yes, it does this. http://www.wpxi.com/news/19325704/detail.html)

About a week before my period I get horrible cramps coupled with "digestive issues". I agree with mechanicalgirl's magnesium suggestion, and also adding Calcium (citrate is best) with added vitamin D. That (plus curling up in a fetal position in bed and crying) seems to ease the pain a bit but not completely. I don't suggest taking birth control unless you really need it, but I take Yaz and it does help with PMS/PMDD. It also regulates your cycle to the point where you can figure out the exact days you will be feeling the sh*ttiest, and can plan accordingly

don't forget ibuprophen/advil, either. That stuff is a life saver.

I don't think you're alone in this.

The only good thing (for an Aspie) is how regular it is. *sigh* Day four, curl up in bed with a heating pad some time in the afternoon. Think of nothing but the pain. IIRC, today is day three. Oh, goody, I just can't wait.

Heat helps, ginger helps, magnesium helps. Cayenne pepper helps if your pain is worse than the cayenne, but you have to judge that wisely lest you find your stomach totally painless and your mouth burning worse. (Incidentally, this is a wonderful excuse for some ice cream.) Don't get dehydrated, don't eat too much dairy. (I do both of those, though.)

Last month was worse than usual, though. They just. Would. Not. Go. AWAY. I don't normally have to scream.

But then, I'm a teenager, and nulliparous. (No wonder girls married young in the days before Milk of Magnesia.)

But crying is the worst thing you can do. It only makes it worse. Getting active seems to make it better, but then it gets even worse when you sit back down. Shifting position and putting pressure on my stomach seems to help for a few seconds, but not for very long. (And not last month. Worst cramps EVER.)

Generally, day three is mildly crampy for me. Today I've mostly relaxed (except the obligatory socialization when I went out to lunch), and it hasn't been bad at all.

When it's really desperately too much, I take Aleve, but I have this thing about pain meds of any sort, so mostly I ignore it. (The Aleve is actually more for my family's comfort than mine. It makes them feel better if they see me take a pill. Doesn't make me feel all that great, though. I mean, it is effective; I just don't like using it.)

I managed to not have a period again this month. Wheeeeee!!

I would really like to have hyper-androgenism.

You are not doing anything negative to your body. I had a good friend who was a nurse; she's the one who shared this trick with me. As a medical professional, she knew it was safe -- she'd been doing it for something like 15 years or more! Unfortuately, it does not work for every woman. I tried it, and all that happened is I would miss a month and then have a 30-day period. I had the same problem with Depo-Provera, which is supposed to make you miss your period. I didn't; I had one every month that lasted for 13 days. I've given up on BC that makes me skip a period! And I have to admit, I'm pretty jealous of the women for whom these methods work!

I have had terrible pain all my life. I have polycystic ovaries (though not PCOS) and crazy endometriosis. (In 2000, I had to have emergency abdominal surgery for a cyst the size of a grapefruit that grew inside my right ovary and caused it to expolode, and the gynecological surgeon who performed the operation said I had the worst case of endo he'd seen in 35 years of practice. Yay.) I used to get pain so bad I could not walk, pain so bad it made my vomit all day. Going on hormonal BC for the first time helped a lot. I still had bad pain, but I could usually walk and my periods were shorter so fewer days of dealing with the pain. Now I am on the NuvaRing and it's freaking WONDERFUL. I ovulate much less, so way fewer ovulation cramps. And the mentstrual cramps are GONE. Once in a while I need to take a couple Advil, but never 6 like I used to -- now, two get rid of the pain where as 6 used to barely take the edge off! I am never, ever switching birth control methods again! (Well, at least not while I'm pre-menopausal.) Seriously, OP, I recommend trying the NuvaRing if your current medication plan becomes a problem.

My mother, grandmother, aunt, and I have all this problem. Mine last 3 days, but the pain can start anywhere 2-4 days before the period. I have found that tiger balm to be helpful by applying it to your lower back AND belly, where the pain persists. Unfortunately, it only lasts 20 mins to an hour of pain relief... at least for me. And some people don't like the smell. But I LOVE THE SMELL OF MENTHOL!

YAY for endocrine imbalances...My periods are gone again.

Wheeeeee!!

No, alot of women in my family do also.

I really put this off because I didn't have insurance and hate MDs but I finally went for the severe pain that has gotten worse since last summer. I was really hoping that she would give me some painkillers (enough for one to two days a month). My therapist even thought she might, but she's incredibly naive about like everything.

Of course, she didn't, she just put me on birth control. I hate birth control. The last time I was taking it (a few years back) it did nothing for my slightly above average pain & above average moods that I'd always had. This isn't going to do anything. Plus every pill is a reminder that no one will have sex with me. I suck at flirting. Even a few years back when I was in highly social situations on a daily basis I always felt like I had to "trick" people to sleep with me because that's all flirting is. You have to lie about wanting it. If you actually seem interested then they are not.

This kind of pain that no one cares about is why people end up buying drugs off the street. Since I suck at people I guess I'll finally have to buy drugs online which I'd always been afraid to do. I know that there are addicts out there but it's ridiculous that I have to suffer more when I know that having just 4 pills a month for my two worst days would be such a big help. I do everything else but it's not enough (heating pad, ice & other stuff I can't even remember of right now). NSAIDs do nothing for me (her stupid suggestion) & I told her that I've already taken them for over the last decade because of my arthritis (another thing docs don't give a s**t about, even though I can often barely move on my bad days), so they barely even do anything for that anymore.

I sincerely hate being born a woman for this and the sexist stuff that's thrown on me when I go places alone. I know they say life's not fair but if men had to put up with half of this junk it would be a lot easier (& covered by health plans) to get a hysterectomy or at least a small amount of real pain killers OTC. But instead let's just focus on their penises. Here's your penis pills.

And I never & have never even wanted to have kids! So this suffering is for naught.

I am in the my late 20s now. Although I've had PMDD problems and general body pain (it feels like the flu) as well as a worsening of my daily problems (knees hurt more, worse headaches) since my late teens I was finally coming to terms with that but this now feels like something ripping me apart from the inside. I also have the nausea. The pain though is so intense that my dad wanted to take me to the ER during a recent one. Next time I'll just let him. Maybe they'll give me something for the pain.

She also said my uterus was tilted but didn't make much of it. Isn't that like a big deal for other women who want children? I don't want any but I didn't mention that in the visit.

I really needed to vent.

You might consider asking for a hormonal IUD. It hurts to put it in, but it effectively stopped my periods for 5 years. Bliss!

I used to get severe period pain, and my periods were extremely heavy and long-lasting. I went on the pill, and it worked! I only skipped my period a couple of times, but when I had them, they were much lighter and the pain was gone. I stayed on the pill for 2-3 years, then went off it. For the next couple of years, my periods were relatively light and mostly pain-free. Now I'm on Implanon, and it's completely stopped my periods. I haven't had one in nearly 11 months. But that only happens in about 10% of cases, so I'm just lucky. Although I did actually go on Implanon for birth control, not to try to stop my periods.

I can't imagine what you're all going through, because I never felt any pain or discomfort.

first of all, you should see a doctor becasue maybe something's wrong.
second, take multiple vitamins, but ask your doctor first which ones to take. it's important to take the right ones and i dont know if you can trust the ones in the nature shops. cut down on sweet and salty foods a few days before your periods and drink galons of orange juice from oranges you squeeze yourself.
try hypnosis, or self hypnosis.
learn to loosen your stomach muscles. do it when you're not in pain and practice ten minutes a day at least. then you'll get the hang of it.
a hot bottle could help, maybe, worth a try.
i used to have pains like a knife slicing through my stomach and the pain didnt stop or get better for one lousy second, and i was in hell for six and a half first hours. the pain would start mild and get horrible within minutes. it would stay unbearable beyond words and i'd throw up with horrible nausea every three minutes or so for hours, then the pain would disappear without weakening first, from horrible pain to no pain at all in the blink of an eye.
it gets so much better as you get older, now my pain is rather mild and just slightly annoying.

I suffered pain like that every month, from my first first period at 12, until I got pregnant at 32 (with the help of IVF). I was eventually diagnosed with endometriosis, which explained the pain and reduced fertility. I tried every kind of painkiller, the only one that helped at all was ibuprofen. Even then, I could be doubled in two and white as a sheet. I'd recommend anyone suffering like this to seek medical help. Endometriosis is a very likely cause (it's thought 10% of women have it), but it's also underdiagnosed. There are also infections that can cause severe pain and they definitely need to be treated and some other causes.