Nightmare periods

[katchika]

For almost 15 years I have put up with awful periods. When I was at school I usually had to miss a day every month, or else I was sent to the sick room.

I throw up, get cramps, can't sleep, get constant pain in my stomach and all down my legs and generally feel awful.

When I was on the pill it was a lot better but I've been off it for a while and don't really want to go back on it.

I take ibuprofen, which helps but not for long, I have hot baths, but I can't sit in a hot bath when I am at work. My emotions are all over the place, I usually end up crying, and I can't stand having anyone near me. I've just come on today and am supposed to be going to my boyfriend's tonight but don't really like the idea of him hugging me, making me feel hot and uncomfortable.

Does anyone have any ideas of how to cure/treat this sort of nightmare periods? Or do I just have to put up with till I'm 50?

[Scary Monster]

Have you ever spoken to your doctor about it?

You can get some painkillers on prescription that work a lot better than ibuprofen does.

[katralla]

Lots of women see their doc about period pain so if they really are really bad I expect you'd have to stress how bad to not get fobbed off with 'paracetamol and ibuprofen' advice. There might be something else going on too, like PCOS or something. Are you on the pill? Maybe different pills would help?

Not much help, I was going to suggest the hot bath, but u already know that one!

[**helen**]

Hey Katchika,
I know the feeling of being on a period and just wanting to curl up and shut the world out. But there is help out there. This Q&A from the askTheSite archive has lots of useful links. Hope it helps :)

The Period Professionals (http://www.thesite.org/healthandwellbeing/askthesiteqandas/generalhealthqandas/theperiodprofessionals)

And this...

Factsheet (http://www.thesite.org/healthandwellbeing/generalhealth/womenshealth/premenstrualsyndrome)

Although it often feels like the last thing you want to do, exercise has always been the best thing for me (other than meds) to help ease the discomfort.

[lipsy]

I think if you really suffer with period pains you should go see your doctor because it can be a sign of endometriosis. I'm not saying you have by the way! Just a possibility because my sister suffers really badly although she has never been diagnosed with having it. She is on the injection now and it has helped so so much.

[_guest]

The Period Professionals! :lol:

Exercise is really good for period pain I found, and by the same token getting out in the fresh air. Obviously you have to have your moments curled up on the sofa with your hot water bottle too. When mine were really bad I used to use heat pads, too, and I eventually bought a pretty expensive one (just before I got pregnant, boo) that velcros around your back and stomach. Very slimline so you could wear it under your clothes without looking suspicious :razz:

Doctors again (and AGAIN and AGAIN until they do something) if none of this is working for you.

[katchika]

Are the heat pads any good? I have seen some on sale for 99p in Boots. I'm gonna take my pink fluffy hot water bottle to my bloke's tonight and if he says anything nasty he's gonna get an earful.

Going to gym tonight, hopefully we'll be doing something relaxing and stretching like pilates rather than over energetic sprinting.

I don't have a doctor here, am having troubles getting one. But will really try now. When I was younger I was prescribed something for periods, I don't know what they were called but they were quite big, diamond shaped pills which worked fairly well.

[_guest]

It was probably mefenamic acid. It's prescribed quite regularly in large pill form for abnormally painful periods and/or heavy bleeding, especially for younger girls and women who aren't keen to go on the pill to ease things.

You might get that again, but there are a lot of options available to the doctor if you hassle them enough to take you seriously. As others have said it could be a symptom of a larger problem - but don't worry about that at the moment as some women do genuinely just have more painful periods. Getting a GP is the definite next step, and then seeing what they say.

I found heat pads really worked for me, but obviously different bodies, different level of effectiveness. If you've spotted some cheapo ones then it'd definitely be worth giving them a go as you might find they work for you too - at least to an extent. If you find a hot water bottle/hot bath goes some way to easing things then obviously exposure to heat is effective for you and I don't see why heat pads wouldn't have a good chance of helping. It's worth trying everything, anyway - as long as it's not going to bankrupt you - as pp is godawful.

Feel better :)

[Crystal Tipps]

Yup, heat pads work :)

Plus, they may help take your mind off it slightly.. in the sense that you're not carrying around a big hot water bottle and being constantly reminded of it. You put the heat pad on and then it works for eight hours and you hardly realise it's there :)

[Girl_gunner]

Feminax is the god send for horrible periods. Mine are really bad as well. Pilates is good. As is lots of chocolate.

[katchika]

Feminax is the god send for horrible periods. Mine are really bad as well. Pilates is good. As is lots of chocolate.

Feminax is expensive isn't it? What is actually in it?

I'm off chocolate for Lent, sadly, so have been pigging out on kids sweeties instead. :(

I bought the heat pads, cramps haven't kicked in yet but probably will later tonight. So I'll test them out then.

[jane_lane]

Feminax contains paracetamol and codeine. It used to contain caffiene and an anti spasmodic agent but no longer does. If you go into boots or any pharmacy and ask for paracetamol and codeine tablets or co-codamol they contain exactly the same ingrediants in the same dosages but cost a lot less.

[Blah]

I'd see a doctor to be honest. There could be an underlying illness. I was diagnosed with an illness 5 years ago, after 5 years of complaining to bad doctors, so get yourself to a good one. If they dont listen, move along to the next.

Also, you can probably get prescribed some stronger pain killers. I had to get prescribed anti-emetics when i was a little younger, so that i could keep down food and pain killers.

[Ballerina]

my mum had exactly the same thing, and it turned out to be a tilted womb. I'd get that checked out, having pains so bad that you're throwing up and not being able to work is not normal.

[Lu_C]

I'd just like to back up what everyone's been saying about getting to the docs about this; you shouldn't be suffering silently because there are lots of options to help with bad periods.

I was diagnosed with Endometriosis when I was 14, and other gynae problems since then and really know how you feel.
I thought my periods were pretty much normal before things got really bad and I ended up having major surgery to remove an endometriotic cyst and lost one of my ovaries (I don't want to scare you, this isn't the only reason you can get bad periods).
I used to get really bad PMS; would have to have a couple of days with my feet up cos I'd be throwing up, dizzy, felt faint, got constipation & diarrhoea; achey back and legs... you name it basically. :(

I've been tri-cycling the pill for a couple of years now... Out of choice I wouldn't be on it at all cos I don't really like it, but it's the better of two evils... I don't have periods every month and it keeps them calmer when they come on.

As for other things that help with the pain... Volterol is good. I sometimes have co-codamol, but I don't really like it cos it makes me sleepy for a good 24 hours and sometimes gives me an upset tummy... I think it can make you constipated too. But volterol is an anti-inflamatory so I reckon it works better... Or there's loads of other pain-killer options that you could talk to your doctor about.

Generally I'm in too much pain and don't have 100% usage of my legs when I'm on my period so exercise during is out for me, but I definatly find excersing on a regular basis around your period can help... Yoga is good cos and I even managed that when I was on once; it really helped relax everything and ease the pain.
Then there are lavander wheat-bags, hot & cold packs (some people find alternating the temps can be more affective than just using heat), TENS machines, lady-care magnets and so on. :)

[bluewisdom]

Mefenamic acid is my saviour every month :yes:

[katchika]

Right, I tried the heat pads on Friday night/Saturday. They were rubbish. Didn't stick at all, kept falling off, and didn't seem to do anything. Think I'll stick to a hot water bottle in bed with me.

Going to the doctors this week hopefully so will see what they say. I had never thought about the bad periods possibly being something more serious so will ask.