Leaving for work in 1hr and feeling dreadful - don't want to call in sick.

[khaleesi]

it might sound silly. It's period pains. For some reason no one i know has such crippling period pains. They make me throw up, scream in agony and generally want to die. Have taken the reccomended painkillers ( by gp) - codeine & now i am woozy as well as sick and in pain. I won't call in sick because i did it last month with similar symptoms. I know a lot of women get bad period pains - how do you cope at work? At the moment it's a struggle to walk!

I have similar problems. Mine are very heavy too. Some days I have to sit on a towel inside a plastic bag as when I stand up, it just pours out of me (tmi) No advice but lots of sympathy!

I have a colleague who suffers with the same thing and she takes time off if she needs it, works from home when she can but she describes it exactly as you do. You don't sound in a fit state to work tbh.

Do you need to drive to work? Sounds like you need to call in sick though.

Sympathies

I walk to work. (i'd say thank goodness i don't have to drive but walking won't be too pleasant either) glad to know i'm not on my own. I know i'm in a right state but i work in a shop for a big company and their sickness policy is very strict..

Can you take time off sick but tell them it's something else, so they don't get funny about it? Make up an ear infection or something. Then get back to the doctor's and say you need more help in making this manageable.

It would be too late now but the reason is irrelevant to them. Disciplinary action is after a certain number of shifts missed. I was thinking of getting one of those sports heating pads and just keeping it in my lap ..

It doesn't sound silly - I've had very bad period pains and I know they're no joke! I think you're quite justified in calling in sick. I'm sure you would if you had the equivalent pain/sickness caused by anything other than 'women's issues'.

Mine have been a lot better since being on the Pill - not least because I can skip most of them, and those I do have are manageable with paracetemol/ibuprofen. If you don't want to do that, there are other types of painkiller your GP might be able to prescribe.

You need to get to the GP. There is medication (ie Ponstan) that will help with this. Before kids I was the same and thankfully having had the kids has sorted it. You shouldn't just suffer.

I have had prescribed painkillers but they didn't work. We're going to ttc soon and i've never been on the pill so i didn't think it was the right time to start. On a better note, having had nothing to eat today - i think i might manage some toast! It's a good sign for me, usually getting my appetite back means i'm on the road to recovery! I will make an appoibtment with the gp anyway, maybe he has more suggestions!

Mefenamic acid. Ask to give that a try.

Can you go in but then go home part way through, and have that not counted as a sickness absence? Some places work that way. If so I would try and make it in, stay for a short while then tell them you're feeling sick, think you have food poisoning etc and need to go. Given that you have said you work for a large company I am not feeling as bad over recommending this as I would if you worked for a small family business.

I would try the heating pad, too.

Ponstan is mefenemic acid, or transexamic acid, one or the other.
It's not just a painkiller, it lightens the flow. Doesn't affect ttc either.

mefenemic acid is what i have had prescribed before but for some reason it did not work for me :(

Ponstan did nothing for me when I used to get this - nothing I tried did, until I went on the pill. But after being on the pill for a while, it improved hugely AND when I later came off the pill again, it never came back in the same way (now I occasionally get very mild pains, sometimes I don't need to take anything for them, other times just a paracetamol or two at most). If things are this bad and the GP can't give you anything better, I would seriously consider trying the pill even if it's just temporary and you stop after a while to ttc.

The only thing that helped me at all until then was heat (the hotter, the better). Khaleesi, did you know you can now get stick-on heat pads that you stick directly onto your skin and can wear under clothes? (They are thin, bit like a giant pantyliner!). They are not as good as a mega-hot hot water bottle, but a bit easier to use at work. Most chemists have them.

Saying that if your pains are as bad as that, my first suggestion would be to go back to your GP and keep nagging him/her until they suggest some other things to try and/or carry out some investigations to what is causing this. Not sure but I think things like endometriosis could cause similar symptoms?

Hope you find something that works for you!

I'm wondering about endometriosis too. Has your GP considered that OP? Would be good to get an idea either way as it can impact on ttc.

i am worried about that too but i don't think they considered it, my symptoms start as soon as my period arrives and they completely stop about 12 h later so they must have thought it's only bad period pain. i will have a chat with my GP at my next appointment and tell him about my concerns.. thank you :) i will crawl to work soon. along with my 3 thick jumpers! ( it's sunny outside i am jut so cold!)

I read this article very recently - go and see your GP!

poor you. What sort of job do you have to do? Can you blag your way through,sitting at your desk or is it a visible ' up and about' type job?

TheCowardlyLion - oh dear - i might have that - my mum has it (confirmed by the doctors) and my sis has very similar painful periods.. i will definitely raise the issue with my gp asap.

LordSucre - i will probably ask to be on the sit down tills for the first 2 hours but for the last 2 i will have to do heavy lifting.

thank you everyone for the very useful and informative replies. i will have to go now but this has made me feel so much better, even if just psychologically :)

right, well go in, do your 2 hours on the till, then go to the loo and tell them you have jujst thrown up, and off you go home as you cannot wsork when you have been sick?

well that was horrible! it was so busy, i didn't get to talk to anyone about how i was feeling so i was just left to get on with it. i'm making an appointment tomorrow, i always just shrugged it off but i don't think it's normal to be this ill just because of period.. thank you!

Being on the pill has helped mine, it's not minor - I didn't realise how far through labour I was because I'm used to it being so bad! Don't suffer though, you don't have to.

Hope you get help soon. When I think of the jobs where people call in sick at the drop of a hat I feel angry on your behalf that you felt you had to struggle in feeling so poorly.

I spent years suffering as you do, and having odd days off "sick" every month which never looks good at work! I have passed out from the pain in the past. I also suffered 2 post partum haemhorrages. Then I heard a programme on the radio about bleeding disorders in women. Having been to loads of gynaecologists over the years, none had tested me for the very common Von Willebrands Disorder (???why not??) but my GP arranged a test and I discovered the reason the pain was so bad was simply the amount of blood. I now no longer need to suffer. About 1% of women have VWD but my GP agreed that she had never tested anyone before so must have loads undiagnosed. It is also important to know if you suffer before you have children as you could bleed badly in childbirth but a simple medicine will prevent this.

On the plus side, child birth was a breeze as it felt no worse than a bad period, only more bearable as you get gaps between the waves of pain

But sorry, I see that the clotting acid doesn't work for you, so you should look into the PCOS idea. You need to get this sorted. You cannot go through life with that much pain every month. Good luck with ttc, you will get as year or two off periods that way :-)