To ask for period pain travel advice?

[TakenForSlanted]

Posted here for traffic.

Every few months or so, I have the worst period pain imaginable. Think doubled over on the floor crying like a baby levels of pain, which tends to last for two days in my experience.

Today is one of these days. I'm currently pretty okay thanks to a high dose prescription painkillers. But I've one pill left and the night ahead of me.

What worried me more is that I'm meant to be on a 7am flight for work tomorrow morning. I've not managed to pack my bag or book my cab yet, as the painkillers I'm on make me so drowsy and tired. I've no chance to get my prescription refilled before flying and I'm absolutely dreading tomorrow - both because I'll be in excruciating pain and because I'm really afraid of vomiting in a crucial meeting.

Calling in sick is sadly absolutely not an option. Too much at stake.

Anyone out there with any experience and, more importantly, emergency survival tips?

[TakenForSlanted]

... Sorry for the typos. See above: medicated and in pain.

[Livid21]

Use those stick-on heat pads you can buy in the chemist for back pain etc.

Word of caution: don't stick them directly to your skin despite the instructions saying not to, and sit in the same position in a meeting for three hours solid. You WILL get a belly burn...

[Loopytiles]

Sounds awful.

Lower level painkillers bought at airport?

[UniversalTruth]

Is the vomiting from the pain? What is the pain killer you are prescribed - maybe we can advise the closest thing you can buy.

[Jezzifishie]

I second the heat pads, it won't necessarily take away the pain but I find them down soothing and they calm me down a bit!

[TakenForSlanted]

I'm currently considering overdosing on Ibuprofen (I've lots of it at home for my less horrible months) overnight and saving the last prescription pill for the crucial moment.

Does anybody have any idea how dangerous it would be to take two or three 400mg ones now and again in the morning and then follow up with an opioid some time later in the day?

Can't take paracetamol, sadly, as it makes me projectile vomit.

[TakenForSlanted]

And, yes, I think the vomiting is from the pain. Doesn't relieve it, though.

Prescription is basically for an opioid - no way I can buy these OTC (and rightly so). I don't even take them during my better months for fear of becoming addicted.

[thekingfisher]

Can you not do one of those private online gp services and get prescription for a 24 hour pharmacy?

[roundligament]

No dont over dose on ibuprofen it's so dangerous
Can you take paracetamol at all?

Try naproxen from the chemist tomorrow at airport and some anti sickness medication and some Buscopan too
You have my sympathy it's awful

[Pandasarecute]

You can take 600mg ibuprofen, but eat plenty first! As others have said heat may help. I hope it subsides soon, you have my sympathy 💐

[JellycatElfie]

Hot water bottle wherever possible. When not possible a stick on heat pad. I use them directly on my skin.
Loose clothing
Gentle belly massages with a lavender cream if you can get one maybe from the airport?
Paracetamol 1000mg followed by 400mg ibuprofen right before your meeting.
You need to keep on top of the pain relief without making yourself sick
Can you try feminax and antisickness?

[BooksAreMyOnlyFriends]

I get this too. TMI ... but I have a very strong coffee first thing which has a laxative effect. A good clear out helps me with the pain and often gets clots shifting. Sorry!

Wishing you all the best. Get yourself a nice treat for the end of the meeting

[beansonbread]

I had to fly to New York with a horrendous endometriosis flare up so I feel your pain. I got through it with stick on heat patches - I had them on my tummy, pelvis and back! I also took a large scarf that I could either use as a blanket to try and sleep the pain away but it was often rolled up into cushion that I put under my seat belt and used the tension from the belt to put pressure on my abdomen. Avoid any foods/drinks that are going to blot you as that will only make the pain worse. Wear your comfiest clothes possible - don't worry about what you look like, your comfort is most important. Dose up on paracetamols and ibuprofens in alternative doses (say paras at 8, ibupro at 10, paras at 12 and so on) and distract yourself with films, music, books or whatever takes your fancy. Good luck! Hope you feel better soon!!

[Fluffyears]

Oh god i’ve been there. Throwing up means you don’t absorb the painkillers as well as normal. Don’t stick the heat pads on your skin, I did this and got a massive blister that pulling thenoad off ripped the skin off of. That was 18 months ago and I have a scar. I had to get antibiotics as it was a ‘chemical burn’

Make sure you eat something if you are taking ibuprofen or naproxen, feminax ultra contains naproxen. i’ve found buscpoan really helps due to the muscle relaxant but you will be sick taking NSAIDs on an empty stomach. Take the painkillers tell thenpeople at the meeting that you feeling a bit off-colour so they understand you are not at your best.

[TakenForSlanted]

I'm liking the Paracetamol and Ibuprofen and coffee and heatpad combination. (And, yes, I get the bowel pressure issue, too, not TMI at all but very helpful - I'd never thought of that.) Still sounds like utter agony but hopefully survivable and functioning levels of agony. I'll only need to be standing up and presenting for some 15 minutes if things go to plan. And then let myself be grilled by the prospective client. But so will my colleagues.

I think I may have to take my male colleague aside, explain the situation and ask him to jump in if he spots me struggling. Luckily for me, Mrs Colleague is a midwife, so he should have workable levels of sensitivity to female anatomy issues, I should hope.

[Glitterblue]

Definitely buscopan, and if you have any peppermint tea in the house I found that soothed it a little bit last month when absolutely nothing else was touching it, not even my prescription cocodamol.

[bbcessex]

You poor poor thing. What bad timing 😓😓

Does codeine work for you? You can buy that from airport pharmacy.

Heat pad / hot water bottle for hotel? Or microwave heat pack (the one with dried beans in?)

You could google ibuprofen amounts - you can defo take a fairly high dose (I did for neuralgia).

Hope you get through it ok

[TakenForSlanted]

Yes, my timing is just impeccable, isn't it?

On balance, at least as a woman I don't get the man flu - which, despite the name, is is universally acknowledged to have nothing in common with the Common Cold and is, in fact, almost always fatal. Looking at you, J., G. and H.

[Cremeeggsareforever]

Feel your pain, as I've had to travel several times during endometriosis flare ups.
Codeine and naproxen - NOT tramadol as that is class c unless you have a prescription with you when travelling so not worth the risk at customs. (Yes, this is prescribed by my GP but I don't hang on to the prescriptions after). Obviously if normal pain killers do the job don't take stronger stuff. Unfortunately paracetamol doesn't do a thing for me.

Heat patches.

Lots of rest before travelling.

That's kind of all I can suggest. But if your period pain is so bad that you are on the floor crying, it might be worth googling endo symptoms and seeing if any ring true. For me it was just horrendous pain at the time of the month to the point I knew something was wrong. Contrary to popular belief, 'normal' periods aren't meant to put you on the floor or cause a need to call in sick.

[TakenForSlanted]

Hmmm, yes, I've heard endometriosis is excruciating. Sorry you're dealing with that.

I've in fact been screened for it and that's apparently not what's wrong with me. I was really hoping it was because a diagnosis would have at least been a step forward.

Horrendous period pains run in the family, I'm afraid. One of my worst memories of being really afraid as a child is my mum lying on the bathroom floor unable to move and me, aged about four at the time, thinking she was dying and screaming in absolute panic. In hindsight, I must have made the situation a thousand times worse for her.

[JasperKarat]

Naproxen works for me, I found out by accident it also works for period cramps, I have pcos and get them badly. I take naproxen occasionally for an intermittent back injury. I discovered the OTC pharmacy only version of feminax when I'd run out and my back seized when I was away for work. The very lovely female pharmacist listened to me say I'm usually prescribed 250mg naproxen and then said loudly, 'you've got really bad period cramps too, ok' then handed me some feminax from behind the counter with a slight smile. When I looked at the active ingredient naproxen! But she couldn't give me the unbranded usual tablet I have without a prescription. Next time I got bad period pain I took my naproxen and or worked a treat. I second the heat pad too.

[Princessmushroom]

I’ve found that an orgasm helps to dislodge the clots. I mean I’m not sure if that’s what you want to be doing before your flight or meeting but if you are having clots it might help?

[pinegreen]

Definitely get some feminax ultra from the airport chemist tomorrow. It’s quite strong, stronger than ibruprofen, and should get you through. Ibruprofen does nothing for my period pain, but two naproxen (Feminax Ultra) as soon as I start bleeding helps tremendously.

[TakenForSlanted]

Thanks all. I had NO IDEA about the feminax active ingredient situation. That sounds promising.

On the upside: I've somehow managed to order my cab. And, yes, I'm taking a cab to the airport. Seems proportionate and entirely reasonable under the circumstances.

[Cremeeggsareforever]

Oh gosh! So sorry to hear that. How did they screen you? They can only do it for certain via laparoscopy, so if you suspect anything then never give up. I had to see four doctors before I got referred properly!

Safe travels xx