Period pain is crippling me

Either a castor oil pack (sell on amazon. Wrap and castor oil sold separately and wild yam cream from little barn health. Read the reviews.

https://littlebarnhealth.co.uk/products/wild-yam-comfort-cream

https://amzn.eu/d/896dX6V

https://amzn.eu/d/dUi4xVG

Apologies, I meant I had a Laparoscopy not Endoscopy

Some things don't show up on scans - I have Endometriosis and it took me 21ish years to be diagnosed and the only way it was found was via Endoscopy. No scans, swabs, blood tests found it. Keep pushing with GP. Periods shouldn't hurt that bad despite the fact that a lot of us clearly suffer. Keep fighting! I was prescribed quite a high dose of codeine but it'd make going to the loo difficult which brings it's own pain and problems. Harass the GP

Buscopan and naproxen is my drug cocktail of choice.take two naproxen ( powerful anti inflammatory) with paracetamol as soon as period pain start then one every 12 hours thereafter. They sell it over counter at boots for period pain or doctor can prescribe. I take ozemaprole to protect stomach when taking naproxen.

But for adenomyosis a trnasvaginal and pelvic ultrasound almost always diagnose. It's much simpler for adenomyosis to see. Also an MRI will definitely also pick up on it. Whereas for endometriosis it depends - sometimes an MRI can detect it but often not and then diagnostic laparoscopy is needed. For adenomyosis the main treatment is Mirena coil, NSAIDs and painkillers (opiods mainly). You can also have a hysterectomy to cure adenomyosis but obviously a massive decision. That's as per the NICE guidelines

It can but not for everyone.

Read up on adenomyosis and endo, I have both and the best pain relief for me was wheat bags extreme heat across my stomach , I did end up with burns at the peak of pain. Also started taking codeine and on a few occasions I needed morphine prior to surgery.

if it’s alway this bad that’s not normal levels and needs some investigation, ovarian cysts etc can all cause high levels or pain.

you’ll need a laparoscopic procedure to detect endometriosis but never let the NHS near with ablation surgery.

fingers crossed it’s eased off for you, but vomiting from period pain isn’t to be ignored or normalised.

Sorry, I meanslt adenomyosis, not endo. Mine was diagnosed through a scan.

They can, but they're not a guarantee. If someone has suspected endo and their ultrasound is clear, they should be referred for a laparoscopy.

Short term: buscopan, hot water bottle. I used to use this tiny tens machine which is designed for period pain. It sort of worked, some of the time (sorry)

Longer term: would you consider a Mirena coil? It has completely sorted out my horrific heavy flooding cramps painful periods. I barely bleed at all now.
I had it fitted a year ago, honestly life changing (the fitting was not nice, and the first 6-8 weeks I felt a bit off as I got used to the tiny amount of progesterone it releases , but in spite of that… I love it ).

A vaginal ultrasound can detect thickness of the uterus. That's how mine was first diagnosed.

Sounds like adenomyosis. Push for full bloods (which will check infection markers) and scan to check thickness of the uterus and whether you have any polyps. Also cocodemol took the edge off for me.

Ask for a Gynae consultant referral. Pain like this isn’t ‘normal’ even if it is your normal.

Ademyois and endometriosis unlikely to show on ultrasound.

Tranexamic acid from the doctor will do the job.

also if you can’t stomach paracetamol try taking calpol as you’ll be able to swallow

I have stage 4 endo
gynaecologist said I’m ‘riddled’ and it showed up on an MRI

Found the other good videos for advocating for your self it’s from Robyn holdaway of TikTok
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNduvtrjq/
and https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNduvsyDn/

@Froggy623 If you have issues with vomiting also ask GP for antiemetics (stop nauesa and vomiting) they're many different ones which people find helpful. Depending on which scans you've had, transvaginal ultrasound and pelvic ones alo with MRIs can definitely diagnose adenomyosis. It is more about the muscular tissues so can see signs much easier than endo.

I don't believe you can diagnose endometriosis with a scan. I had many for various things and it wasn't diagnosed until I had a laparoscopy by which time I had developed adhesions. Adenomyosis quite often accompanies endometriosis and that's a whole different type of agony. The pain was unbearable, you have my sympathy.

In terms of analgesia I found naproxen worked the best for me. I have heard that mefanamic acid is also effective. Usually you need a prescription for these drugs but you can buy Naproxen 250mg tablets from the pharmacy at Boots, it's called period pain reliever.

https://www.boots.com/boots-period-pain-reliever-250mg-naproxen-9-gastro-resistant-tablets-10307099

Warm baths and hot water bottles helped too. I tried a Tens machine but it wasn't terribly effective for me.

I hope you feel better soon. I remember many nights where I felt paralysed by the pain and nausea and others where I spent it lying in the bath feeling so exhausted but unable to get out because of the pain. The menopause gave me my life back. Go to the doctor and make a fuss, it's not OK for women to have to live with such debilitating pain.

Go to your GP and ask for traxenamic acid and naproxen. I suffered with my periods of years - I now have a diagnosis of PCOS and that combination has been such a game-changer for me.

My daughter was prescribed this when her periods started and were awful. They helped for about 3 months and then didn’t help. Her periods started at 16 and by 17 she on the endometriosis pathway and periods have been stopped.

can you stop your periods? (Daily pill or other methods). The mind boggles that in 2025 women need to have periods just to show them they aren’t pregnant.

Does your dr believe you or is he just bobbing you off because he has had 30mins training max on female “problems”? This TikTok gives great advice for advocating for yourself in a non confrontational manner - https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNdutDhGe/. There is another one by someone else but I can’t find it because I follow far too many people on TikTok. Mefenamic acid (ponstan forte) used to help me when I was in my teens.

Adenomyosis can be really difficult to diagnose by ultra sound, so worth asking about that again if it wasn't specifically discussed.

Obviously this is just a sticking plaster for dealing with any underlying issues, but I have antisickness tablets prescribed for horrible morning sickness-like symptoms I get before my period.

As I said, not a substitute for the actual issue being investigated, but everything is worse when you’re vomiting. Plus it means you’re in the bathroom rather than a comfy bed.

I'm in the same boat today too. I take paracetamol and mefenamic acid (must take with food) around the clock, I don't miss a single dose as otherwise it catches up to me and the pain killers can take 2ish hours to kick in. I have to note down what I've taken and when in my notes app on my phone to keep track. My pain is all in my lower back and hips.

With paracetamol I can only take the plastic-coated capsules as the powdery ones also make me nearly vomit. They're hard to find in shops as most places sell the powdery ones but I've found them in Morrison's or Superdrug.

I'm counting down the years (more like decades for me unfortunately) until the menopause.