Anything else I can try? Period pain

[IrishCream123]

I feel like I’m in labour (definitely not). 1st day of my period and I’m in so much pain. I’ve taken paracetamol, Buscopan I can’t take ibuprofen because I take Etodolac for Arthritis. I’m 43 and I’m pretty sure I’m Perimenopausal. (24-25 day cycle) what else can I try other the eating my own body weigh in chocolate? 😂

Have you a hot water bottle? Wishing you better.

Eat the chocolate.

Heat pad
Hot water bottle
Tens machine (£25 Amazon, maybe come tomorrow)
Multiple orgasms (seriously)

I’ll dig the hot water bottle out and give that a try. Thanks.

Some gentle exercise like a walk always helps

I used to take feminax which you can get over the counter in the pharmacy,
Not sure if the ingredients tho.
It no longer works for me now! The only thing that takes the edge off is diazepam as it’s a muscle relaxant!

Lots of water. I find it's worse when dehydrated.

Hot bath
Chocolate
Hot water bottle
Peppermint tea
Star flower oil
Netflix
Duvet

Walk
Gentle yoga
Tiger balm

Contraceptive pill. I get just about enough of a pang to know I’m coming on and that’s it.

You have my sympathy I have suffered for many years. Hot water bottle, buscopan, paracetamol....the only thing that does actually work though is ibuprofen (the box?says 400mg, my gp says I can take 600mg as long as I only take it when needed) have you got co-codamol (don’t take at the same time as paracetamol though).

Co-codamol (bought over the counter at any pharmacy) is far superior to paracetamol for me

Not much help for today but if this continues, I would recommend mefanemic acid from gp. Has changed my periods completely from two days of agony to very little pain. In mean time, I would recommend ibuprofen, paracetamol, Bath and then hot water bottle

Are you clenching your pelvic area? I used to do this as it feels wrong to let the waves of pain come, but trying to resist them makes it so much worse! If you force yourself not to react to the cramp, your body will often relax and they won’t be as bad. Often you don’t even realise you’re doing it. If you have any sleepy tea or herbal sleeping tablets that might calm your body down. In the same vein, I know this might be infuriating advice, but if you can immerse yourself in a gripping film or something, you might find the pain gets a lot better - this sometimes worked for me even when the pain was vv bad, possibly because a) you stop being hyperaware of your body and stressing as a result and b) again, you stop tensing up.

I also used to swear by very hot towels on pelvis. In any case make sure you’re not cold anywhere so that your muscles don’t contract.

Much sympathy and hope it passes soon!

If you're not driving, Sherry, brandy or something similar (seriously!)

Exercise! As much as I can never be arsed it actually does help.
Feminax either has ibuprofen in or Feminax ultra has naproxen so you'd have to check with the pharmacist.

When I was younger I had horrific periods and was prescribed mefenamic acid from the GP which helped with the pain.

I recently began taking star flower oil (1000mg) and Menocool both from Holland & Barret due to having some peri symptoms (I'm not according to bloods/hormone tests) anyway I went from having periods every 22/23 days before taking them to 28 days as they pretty much were before. Cramps are less too so might be worth a go.

Sometimes when it's really bad, I stand/sit in the shower just literally letting hot water wash over the bottom of my tummy. For ages!

Another vote for getting a prescription for Mefanemic Acid if you can - it's completely changed my life during my period.

Voltarol gel applied over pelvic area/lower back if required. I can’t take NSAIDs orally but can use the gel to supplement paracetamol

Don't bother with Feminax any more - it used to have a muscle relaxant along with paracetamol but they removed the relaxant years ago so it's just branded painkillers now.
Nurofen Plus is my go-to as it's Ibuprofen & Codeine. Co-Codamel is paracetamol & codeine, or you can buy codeine on its own too.

Honestly? Codeine, scalding hot bath, hot water bottle.
Stage 3 Endo here and horrific labour type periods and those are the only things that take the edge off.

Westlab do some bath salts with CBD in them and although they don't help with the pain, they do help relax me a bit.

Acupuncture and doing yoga regularly has helped me a bit. Mefanamic acid is good, but makes me a bit spacey and lightheaded. Warm bath and light exercise. And take it easy on yourself. It's horrible to have extremely painful periods

Thank you all for your help... I’ve had a few glasses of wine which has helped me relax so not so crampy. I don’t like codeine as it spaces me out. I can’t take any other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory because of the arthritis medication. I’ve tried Mefanemic Acid before (heavy as well as painful) and they did nothing for me. Dr tried to fob me of with the Mirena coil. Which I really didn’t want. I’m just hoping this is the beginning of the end of my periods.

Solpadeine Max really help when mine are particularly bad. Also the stick on heat patches or a hot water bottle. Hope it eases for you soon!

Endo sufferer here. Get yourself a TENs machine. Just a £20 one from the chemist will do but there are lots of options if you want to get fancy.

I know you don’t want the Mirena but I would thoroughly recommend it. I went from horrific periods with excruciating levels of pain and significant blood loss (confirmed by my use of a moon cup), to no periods at all after a few months. My only alternative was a hysterectomy which I really didn’t want. You might find it much better and worth a go.