Periods

Oh yes, feminax was good, for the brief times when I had period pain.
Floral you can call NHS if the flooding is very bad. They didn’t tell me to go to A&E, but a friend with the same thing happening did go in and was given progesterone to halt the bleeding. I was told to see my GP, who prescribed a drug, but the drug possible side effects listed were lengthy, so I didn’t take it, and actually I didn’t have a repeat that was ever quite as bad. Then I went on HRT which sorted out the bleeding for weeks on end.
I am still trying to get my iron levels back up though, so take iron.

Feminax was my lifesaver. It's not manufactured any more (what they call Feminax now is just very expensive ibuprofen). The original had paracetamol, codeine, caffeine and hyoscine. I used to make myself a facsimile: cocodamol with half a Joy-Rides and a strong cup of tea. This really helped. And had the advantage that I could omit the cup of tea at night and increase the hyoscine (the Joy-Rides). Feminax was wonderful, but I'm ridiculously sensitive to caffeine so it gave me insomnia.

I used to have heavy, painful periods. I'm now on my second Mirena Coil and haven't had period pains for 6 years. It's wonderful. Also no periods.

I'd thoroughly recommend trying one if you can.

At the very least that are an inconvenience at the worse can totally ruin a number of days in a month for many women and girls

And yet we can’t speak about them openly or about all the other symptoms that hormone changes in our body’s create

I sympathise i thankfully rarely suffer with period pains but I do when ovulating and the cycle of hormonal changes is emotionally and physically draining at times

But we best be quiet and only talk in whispers

I had dreadful period pain in my teens but was lucky in that my DF, a GP, took them seriously and arranged for me to be prescribed the pill and mefenamic acid.

Then in my 30s I started getting pain and the most horrendous flooding. DH used to take the piss out of how much furniture I'd ruined. But a Mirena resolved it like magic. My GP told me all the women who worked at the practice had one.

Much sympathy, Floral. I used to think of how my body moved like the tides of the sea and went through its cyclical dance like the moon. I found that comforting.

The final year of periods (I was in peri menopause) I had 16 in total - each lasting longer than a week, mostly heavy flow. Utterly dreadful, painful, debilitating. Like Lass I had an ablation, and never had another period. No idea at what point the menopause actually arrived (I was 49 when I had the ablation and am over 60 now so details a bit hazy). Except for how shit it was before the procedure. Had it under sedation and it was not a big deal, but it was life-changing. Hope something helps - it sounds horrible for you.

Floral hope you're ok.
Bet your really tired by now too.

I think I'm approaching the perimenopause - they're betting heavier with more instances of flooding. Not even my mooncup can cope some months.

I make sure I take paracetamol but also keep fully dosed with ibuprofen. If I keep regular dosing for the worst 2 days the. The cramps are helped.

I also use those handwarmer type pouches (the ones where you tear open the wrapper and give the pouch a shake) that heat up. Home Bargains sell the back pain ones that can stick to the skin and they're perfect for period pains. The constant gentle heat really sorta me out. I've even been known to stick the handwarmer size pouches down the front of my big knickers next to my abdomen. Worth a try

I had terrible migraines in perimenopause but the Merina coil has helped enormously and not had a period since.

my hysterectomy was lifechanging it did take 6 months recovery though but such a short amount of time compared to the benefit.

Floral

I am right there with you - haven't slept since Thursday night/morning at 3am.

I have stage 2/3 endometriosis and not peri or menopausal yet. It's an odd thing, wanting to be a mom and at the same time would love to leave all of the pre/post menses pain behind and be on the other side.

This pain is blinding - I get ocular migraines with psychedelic patterns/colors overlaying most range of sight with spots that are literally blank, not black or white but colorless and shapeless... like my brain is trying but can't complete the picture. I drove about a mile away yesterday (I wanted to make kale chips and egg drop soup for lunch) when I had a break from the vision issues but when I got back in the car I couldn't see well enough to drive. I sat in the parking lot for 2hrs - bled all over the seat and lost consciousness at some point. I came to with my face on the gear shift and had to use my right foot to push the clutch to shift gears and drive with my left eye shut to get home. When I got home I had to crawl up the stairs I then laid on my concrete porch in humid 95° weather until I could pull my body up and into the house.

The ocular migraines are a bitch but nothing compared to my cramps beginning near uterus and tubes radiating outward like a nuclear blast. My pain tolerance is insanely high but between being hypoglycemic (always have been) and anemic (HCP confirmed) due to excessive blood loss and pain that I cannot properly describe (worse than post surgery bilateral TMJ recovery, worse than broken bones, worse than being burned by fire w/ 2nd & 3rd degree burns, and even worse than being burned by boiling water on my pelvis which rolled the skin off of my body like sausage casing) my menses are a road block to peaceful life for a little over 7days every 21days.

I lose consciousness because my body goes into shock - I can't take in enough iron or sugar as I puke and shit everything that goes in out within a few minutes of ingestion.

Floral, I feel your pain sister. I wish that I was the only woman to experience menses this way - it would feel like a lovely sacrifice for my fellow women but as I am not alone it feels pointless and like punishment.

A hot bath (when alert, don't lay in there semi-conscious - I almost drowned in the tub a couple months back so I am now restricted via agreement with DH that I will not take a bath during cramps when I am home alone which is just shit) is helpful. Mark my words a HOT (almost too hot - emulating a full body heating pad) bath and then on to two heating pads (one against back, one on front) plus Soma helps. Narcotics do nothing for this pain so I focus on managing it - the Soma relaxes the muscles and joints which somewhat lessens the uterine contraction pressure. Hot soup warms from the inside so it is a helpful addition to post bath heating pads and Soma.

I also find that regular exercise outside of that 7days helps as stronger muscles in your core etc. seem to get less sore and less likely to be pulled as you drag your pain-riddled body through those 7days.

Floral I so enjoy your posts and your candor - and I am so sorry that you are suffering.

Please do try what I have described for some relief - I hope it works for you, it does just enough for me to keep me sane.

It really sucks sometimes, and you get people pretending to have periods.

I was on the pill for years without any bleeding, then a pill mess up at Christmas 17 and I have had irregular bleeding since. Another mess up bank holiday weekend (DH collected the wrong prescription for me) means I have another cycle today.

Today my tummy hurts, I feel totally sick and too am waiting for the floods to start.

Like a pp I get the night before insomnia.

Sorry for others in the same boat.

I hope you feel better today Floral.

Thankfully I'm a dried up hag now, don't miss javelin arse, palm sized clots and dreadful radiating pains at all. Oh and Period Poos, delightful - NOT. Hurrah for meno.

In peri meno , with a longer cycle, the uterine lining builds up and up, and then when you do bleed there is too much blood to pass easily through the cervix. It backs up, giving labour like pain, and clotting.
I had a few like this, they were horrendous. As painful as early labour and flooding through a towel in under a minute. Actually called NHS direct at one point.
After years of very easy periods it was a shock, and gave me great sympathy for women who have flooding and extreme pain every month.

Does the Mirena help with the effects of the up and down hormones over the whole cycle? I was also suffering around ovulation.

The viagra thing is appalling. Fucking typical.

Mirena coil sorted this out for me. Past all this thankfully now.

Couple of painkillers and a hot water bottle at the small of your back (I know you said it's warm this always helped me!)

floral
I went through early menopause so now I recreate my periods with HRT but I remember well the hideousness of intense period pain. I never had especially heavy periods, but they were frequent, 21-23 day cycles.
I recently skipped a month of progesterone, making the subsequent period much heavier. My gosh, I have a better understanding now of how crap heavy periods are.
Hope you feel better soon.

I know your pain. I've had laparoscopic surgery twice, had the injections to induce a chemical menopause (in my mid 20s), had two children... Now having some success with the mirena and mini pill. Did make my mental health take a dive initially due to all the hormones swirling but thankfully settled.

Being a woman is just so wonderful sometimes. /s

My sympathies, having suffered for years from appalling period pain (it was a Mirena coil when I was 42 that finally ended the cramps and reduced the Niagara-like bleeding), including pain severe enough to keep me awake crying with the pain at nights.

My periods ended with a sudden 'That's it, no more' when I was 52 -none of the flooding, etc that I know many other women suffer in the run-up to it.

I bought some tablets over the counter from a dodgy pharmacist in Thailand. God knows what was in them, but they sure took care of the pain and made you feel GREAT! Go directly to jail.

I went through this agony for years. Turned out was undiagnosed endometriosis. This was only discovered when I couldn't stand it any longer and went privately to a woman gynaecologist in my 40s. Previous GPs hadn't even investigated. I was just a moaning woman who should take a paracetamol and STFU.

sympathy to all period sufferers. Mine were awful when I was teens/early 20s, I'd often have to be off school, sometimes the pain would make me vomit.

Going on the pill seemed to alleviate them, luckily for me.

*NeurotrashWarrior

Datun was it warm or cold water that helped?

Warm-ish. I didn't try cold.