to want understanding when it comes to period pain

[rotool]

My DH doesn't believe in period pain,every now and again I get a really bad one and I still do everything but would like to take things a little slower.
If he has 'man flu' or a hangover I help him with work and look after kids and him etc, I am a bit upset, I guess 'cos it hurts so bloody much.

He doesn't believe in it?

Squeeze his teticles a little, tell him it's the closest thing he could have to uterine cramps.

Get him to google it. The twunt.

I have spent the day curled up in pain and close to tears with period pain.

Send him round to mine - I'll sort him out. I get an upset stomach and vomiting. Every 25 days like bloody clockwork

Well you can certainly have my sympathy, as long as I can have a little back!

I suffer really badly too. I'm on now and to be honest it is making my life a misery. I can honestly say I found a 24 hour labour not a lot worse than bad period pains.

I don't think dh truely understands but he is sympathetic and tries to take the weight off me if I'm really bad.

It really gets you down doesn't it?

Take to your bed with a good book, bar of chocolate, cup of tea (or something stronger!) and leave him to it. You're far too nice nursing his hangovers, I usually accidentally let the kids pester mine when he is suffering Men just don't get it, do they?
I sometimes suffer not only with period pain, but also a migraine on the first day so I feel your pain. For a number of periods after I had DS each one felt like a mini labour. Hope you feel better soon.

Do strong painkillers help at all? I used to try and manage with just paracetamol and nurofen but then got a prescription for tramadol [mild opiate] from GP and this really did the trick. However can make you a little woozy but was quite enjoyable really...

You poor thing, I do sympathise. Period pain is the pits!

I get a headache the day before too, we have horses and chickens so everything I do is physical and we have two DS'S under 6 who are very lively.
Just once I wish he would let me sit down ...
I hate moaning about it because I know it is oonly period pain and there are alot worse things i could have.

I am on strong pain killers for bad back, co-codamol 30/500 but they don't really touch it (am having MRI scan on the 21st for that)
nothing really seems to help although a cuppa and hot water bottle are a comfort.

Having personally spent about 33 years suffering quite badly I'd blooming well give your DH a talking to if you sent him round here.
I am now menopausal and have not had anything for about 7-8 months BUT the periods I had in the few months prior to them stopping were awful - protracted (e.g. 3 weeks), very painful, very heavy etc.
I attended GP's surgery and got short hormone prescription to "sort it out" and they just stopped. Bliss!!!
But I now have the odd flush, burning feet etc. However, I'll take all that gladly - no more horrible periods.

I have tons of sympathy for you. For years I had many one "good" week a month. Finally had a hysterectomy, and only wish I had it 10 years earlier! It changed my life for the better.
Your husband needs to be educated on this subject. Perhaps print the following out for him to read?
Dysmenorrhea You may have Endometriosis, fibroids or cysts, to name a few causes of severe pain. I am sorry you suffer, and hope there is something that can help you.

I just looked up your pain medication (am not in UK, we call it Tylenol here). You would probably get better pain relief from an anti-inflammatory,like ibuprofen, which you can take with your current medication. www.midol.com/liquid_gels.html

Thankyou for kind thoughts and helpful tips

also some folk swear by using Mooncups - for some reason PP is lessened for them

Start a thread asking for experiences?

I will certainly give you some sympathy and understanding!

It's horrid and i hate the feeling of bloating, cramping and just how generally yucky i feel. Thank goodness since having children i haven't suffered the way i did when i was younger - i started my periods when i was 11 and used to have tummy pain, back pain, pain in my thighs, sickness, diarrhea for at least the first 2 days of every period. It was actually almost the same as being in labour for me and my mum used to be incredibly unsympathetic as it was 'just period pain'. It bluddy wasn't - it was horrendous.

Cup of tea and hot water bottle for you. x

"Just once I wish he would let me sit down ..."

Sorry I had to comment on this- why does your DH need to let you sit down? If you are ill (and bad PP certainly counts) then just tell him that you are going to lie down and he is in charge of the kids etc until you feel a bit better.

Hi I really sympathise as I suffered a great deal myself, I'm now convinced I had endemetriosis although on the 2 occasions when I was scheduled to see a gynaecologist/ have a laparoscopy, I managed to conceive! (we were ttc).

Funnily enough, I have 2 children now and absolutely no bother at all, maybe the odd cramp but nothing like I used to get. A friend also had endemetriosis and had her baby through 4 IVF cycles (she was married to a GP so I assume she had access to plenty of info re painkillers etc, also had a laparoscopy. She uised to take valium to relax her muscles, the pain was so bad. She doesn't have any bother now and actually managed to have a baby naturally which was a lovely surprise as they weren't ttc, didn't think any point and she was also over 40.)

My GP was sympathetic and gave me co-dydramol 30/500 (a step up from co-codamol 30/500)and also ponstan forte (mefenamic acid 500mg). I also bought a TENS machine which helped.

The problem was you can't take those painkillers on an empty stomach so I sometimes found myself having tea and toast at 3am! I'd also have to have hot baths during the night sometimes and hot water bottles were a Godsend.

I'd be crying sometimes with the pain which would go on for a week after my period had actually finished. strangely, I didn't have mych flow (sorry, tmi) whereas I do now, but no pain!

The co-dydramol would make me feel quite spacey which was great at times but not so great at work (am a teacher and would sometimes have to go outside the classroom door to cry with the pain, but i was never off.)They also made me incredibly thirsty and dehydrated and the effects on my degestive system were not pleasant!!

I still take them for facial pain (I clench my teeth at night) but sadly, they don't give me that wee glow any more as I've been on them for so long!

My DH was great although I'd have to warn him that I wasn't being moody, I was just in a lot of pain and it made very me irritable and he should try to stay out of my way. I don't think he really understood this though and was convinced that I had mood swings!

I honestly didn't but it's hard to feel cheerful when you are in terrible pain.

I don't know how i'd cope if I still had that pain now with 2 DS.

Eventually, I kept a diary for a few months, noting every symptom and what medication I'd taken. I typed it all up and showed my GP.

He was appalled and referred me to a gynaecologist straight away so it might be worth doing that.

Good luck and sending you some gentle hugs.

sorry for typos, should be "much flow" and digestive system"! And I always tell my pupils to check their work, hope there aren't any more, my 2yo is trying to pull me away now!!

pozzled, I know it's hard to understand but my DH is a workaholic and expects everyone else to be, he would never take charge of the kids, not even if my leg was hanging off!! Feel a bit better tonight, must be all the hugs from you guys, thanks lots

I've found mefenamic acid quite good for the pain (coupled with my usual painkillers - dihydrocodeine - they don't work well on their own for period pain for some reason).

I also have a TENS machine and hot pack, and they help quite a bit. Hubby is good, because I used to faint before I had DD, so he just sends me to bed for the day.

your DH is being a twat over this.

when i get period pains, i have the low grumbling stomach, an aching back and a shooting pain/numbness (yes, both at the same time) down my left leg.
and headaches too.
thankfully the pains only last for 2 days, but if my DH acted any less than dotingly sympathetic, he's also be on the receiving end of my foul and erupting temper.

sounds like you can't really take much if you're already doing cocodamol for your back though.

i would sit down any way, and tell him to fuck off and stand in a bucket of manure.
and take a flask of hot drink with you too (but not tea, because that always worsens my symptoms)

I had very bad period pains in my teens/early 20's, I remember as a teenager thinking it wouldn't be so bad if I died before my next period so I wouldn't have to go through the pain again, I would be absolutely dreading it all month. At home I'd just curl up on the bed and refuse to move. If I had to go to school, it was a real nightmare as I'd be in so much pain I'd vomit and get dizzy/faint and had to be sent home a few times.

Despite this my dad was one of the men who doesn't believe in period pains, or thinks it's all psychological , it was awful to be in so much pain and have no one believe me or have any sympathy.

They're not so bad now I'm a bit older and on the pill, though I still very often run the pill packs together to avoid having periods because I panic at the thought of having one in case the pain gets bad again.

DP is always kind and sympathetic when I'm sick or upset or in pain - I couldn't be with anyone who wasn't.

Naproxen is a good painkiller, it's similar to ibuprofen but stronger. I take that with tranexamic acid for painful/v.heavy periods. It doesn't get rid of all the pain but takes the worst of the cramping away.

nicklebabe, you made me laugh and then I laughed even more when DH asked what I was laughing about.... into my 3rd day and pains dulling a bit now and not so heavy, thanks all for tips, am going to see doc' on Friday to see if I can get something to help for next month as I am dreading it already.

pleasure, m'dom

I had a bit of a scare this month, though, because I fell down the stairs and hurt my bum 2 days before my period started, and i was in a lot of pain so got some cocodamol in.
i was taking them at 4-hourly intervals, like it says, but 2 at a time (it says 1-2!)
anyway, part way through the next day, i felt so ill, sick and headachy.
i realised that i couldn't remember how many sets of 2 i'd taken in the last 24, and the packet says max 8 tablets.
i couldn't remember if i'd taken 8 or 10 (or more) because i'd taken some in the early morning cos i couldn't sleep...

i had to go cold-turkey, in case i'd overdosed.
i felt so rotten for about 4 days, because i had my period and these symptoms. it was the worst period i'd ever had.
:(

Hey rotool, glad you are feeling a bit better. What is your DH doing while you are writhing around with these pains? They can be awful, I know, another one here who gets upset guts and vomiting at least one day a month.

You need to be able to rest with a hot water bottle/tea, and be looked after. How old are the DCs? If they're 3 plus surely they should be able to get on with something within sight of you, while you rest? Don't they understand that mummy is ill?

AS for your DH, it's not a matter of whether he believes in it - it's real. Maybe you could cease to believe in hangovers? What would happen if you just sent the kids to him and went and locked yourself in the bathroom for a hot bath?