To ask for tips on coping with period pain?

[shouldnthavesaid]

I should be old hat at this - my periods have seen me in A&E and having emergency hospital admissions before - but today has caught me out. I've a mirena so only bleeding tiny amounts but bloody hell the pain. I keep ending up bent double. I'm working 7pm to 7am tonight :( and don't need this. I've taken paracetamol, ibuprofen but can't have anything else really as they'll knock me flat :/ had a ahower, tried to nap..

What usually helps, any coping strategies (short of asking for a hysterectomy at age 23)?

Being anaemic makes me double up in pain.
I now take magnesium and vitamin b complex.
I also have had moxibustion with lots of accupuncture needles and every kind of otc and prescribed pain relief, including buscopan and NSAIs.

I now do yoga and it seems to ease the pain by relaxing the muscles and helping me expell the blood. I get huge clots.

Have you had blood tests op?

Sorry you are going through this. Any chance you can get a sick note tonight?

If it's landing you in A&E etc I would strongly suspect endo and they SHOULD look into it so go back to your doc and insist. I had a lap & dye to remove mine. The first period after was awful (fainting almost with the pain and crawling around at work!) but it really helped.

There are a lot of things you can do with endo too - look up the book by Carolyn Levett. It's called The Endometriosis Diet.

Dairy, caffeine and wheat (esp wheat) really contribute to the problem. Try limiting or cutting out wheat if you can.

If your periods are regular start taking meds the day before you come on. I take one ibroprofen and one paracetamol together ( you can do this) every four hours. I've tried all the various period painkillers but this combo works for me. Every four hours without fail even if it's alleviated a bit as I found if I went over by even half an hour the pills wouldn't shift it after that.

Do you get pains any other time? I used to get pelvic pains that had me doubled and I needed to wee constantly as well as having a bit of diarrhea. The endo was growing on my bladder and bowel.

Please go back to your doc and get an investigation done for endo. Mine is tons better now.

Agnus castus is also amazing but get it from Amazon, not a shop, as the laws have changed and they don't sell the higher doses now which is what you will need. I think mine is 1000mg. I took it for three months. Bloody marvellous stuff.

But seriously GO to the doc! You can't go on like this!

Dairy, caffeine and wheat (esp wheat) really contribute to the problem. Try limiting or cutting out wheat if you can.

How does this work? I'm not questioning it just wondering if you know more about the mechanism. My periods went from being v. heavy and painful to much lighter and tolerable after I was diagnosed as coeliac and went gluten free. Was amazing the instant difference.

I recommend gynae and another scan. I suffered with submucosal fibroids for years. Was fobbed off until I ended up needing transfusion. All removed-it was life changing. Before that I mainlined cocodamal-the trick was to never let the pain 'surface' if you know what I mean and dose regularly.

I was in so much pain I would spend nights on bathroom floors feeling like someone was scrapping my insides with a fork. You have something going on with that much pain so get another referral to an excellent and sympathetic gynae

Just to add, there was always pain even with co coda am/codeine combos but like previous poster if you aren't there in advance of it with premptive medication then you've had it. The pain never seemed to be brought to a level where you can get off the floor

3 x ibuprofen every four hours, 3 x paracetomal every four hours

Time it so only 2 hour gap between painkillers.

Without this I pass out.

Agree with previous posters - the only thing which helps me is taking ibuprofen and paracetamol on rotation the minute my period starts. If I wait till the pains kick in it's too late. A warm bath sometimes helps too. My GP's advice was that it was part of getting older (am in my 30s!).

No advice to offer re drugs as others have said it all, but if it's not practical to have a hot water bottle at work, try tiger balm rubbed where the pain is. It helps a bit.

Exactly Florence timing is key. I am never anywhere without my painkillers.

I have had very terrible experiences in Cyprus where one cannot buy Ibuprofen over the counter.

DH finally realised why it is very, very important not to humour me when I panic and pat myself down for the painkiller packs.

I find these very helpful in conjunction with painkillers. Much better than a hot water bottle

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Not much help but having kids sorted out my horrendous periods. I would have had them much earlier than 36 if i had know what a difference it made
But seriously you have my sympathy. Hot water bottle, sleep and i used to get mefenemic acid on prescription which was pretty good stuff.

Never been to A&E but regular "doubled over" in pain and panting through it, been told by friends that I actually seem to be in labour. Years of tests, nothing found, tried the Pill in various forms, no use. Visited the GP in desperation recently and he suggesed Tranexamic acid tablets. They are literally a miracle. Cannot believe they either didn't exist or were not suggested before.

I always suffered really bad pains, but found when I went on a low carb diet it was so much less painful. No idea why but it did help.

Exercise does help - but knowing it is no bloody help at all by the time you are groaning and boaking over the sofa. This works for me: the second the first blood hits the loo roll, I stagger out for a long (30 Min) walk before the cramp gets too painful to move. That knocks the edges off.

The other thing that does the trick is, gloriously, sofa pilates. Squeeze your bottom, top, and side abs 10 times each every day. Pelvic floor when you remember.

Both these work, but only as prevention. Mind you, if the monthly pain is really bad, you'll get into it happily.

Tranexemic and mefanemic acid (sp?) work for me mostly, but the thing that has helped most is using a mooncup, oddly enough.

I would go back to the gynaecologist again though. I spent years having agonising pains and passing out, but nobody seemed to take it seriously and wouldn't do anything. They said I was too young and it would change when I had babies. It didn't matter how many times I said I didn't want babies!

Hope you get sorted soon.

Intense direct heat to stomach and back.

Cannabis, (but my experience with PCOS and endometriosis pre skunk days) - absolutely marvellous. No vomiting up of pain killers, bowels buggered up for days etc. But in the end, a hysterectomy graciously permitted after 25 years suffering.

One of those shiatsu massage machines on your lower back. Or, DH ramming his thumbs into my back on either side of my spine low down as hard as he can works. Works the same way as a TENS machine, I think. Blocking the pain signals to your brain.

Massive doses of painkillers on rotation. Hot water bottle.

I was the pain and passing out girl as well. Best ever was when a frail old man on a bus offered me his seat because I looked so awful. I've never forgotten him. I'm glad he wasn't of the 'young people should always stand for older people' school.

Try MN8 magnet that you wear in your knickers. I was very sceptical when my SIL suggested it because I also had the shaking, sweating, puking, fainting type of pain. I only used it for a few months before getting pregnant but it definitely seemed to make a difference. Also acupuncture helped. Good luck!

I had pains of the curl-up-on-the-filthy-stock-room-at-work variety. That day at 18, was the reason I was put on the pill (Microgynon). After a break at about 26 when the pains ramped up again I switched to implants. Mefanamic Acid didn't touch it, but I was very irregular and had no warning until the pain struck. I didn't realise until TTC Ds2, that I get ovulation pains, until then I'd vaguely registered I'd get some warning a couple of weeks or so in advance.

Heat patches / hot water bottles / boiling yourself alive in a bath was best. I've ended up teaching teenagers while hugging a fluffy hot water bottle before!

There are some periods where I'd honestly choose one of my (back to back) labours over reliving it, because the labour was shorter, and I could zone out on gas and air!

Exercise during a period was out of the question. I had cramps in my thighs and could barely move. I always was fairly fit. I'm fitter now, but the majority of the last 5 years have had business suspended due to pregnancy and BFing, so my periods haven't had much chance to brew up to full steam to test that theory.

Poor you, OP - I was going to suggest mirena, as that literally changed my life, but you've already tried that. Has it been in for a while? My first one only lasted about three years before wearing off. Replacing it helped.

It does sound like endo - sadly sometimes you need to battle the NHS to get a fair hearing on treatment. If your GP says that "discomfort is normal" resist the urge to squeeze his testicles (if a he) and ask how much discomfort he would like to be in. I was lucky to find a female GP who took endo seriously. Lasering can help. Try this charity for more help: www.endometriosis-uk.org

The coil can actually make periods heavier and more painful for some women! There was an article on it the other day (sorry idk where). Definitely naproxen, but if it's the same pain/worse since you got the coil maybe think about asking GP to remove. X

How long have you had your Mirena coil in? For me Mirena helped with period pains dramatically but it took at least 6-8 months to make my periods lighter and less painful. After a year I stopped getting them alltogether :) Other than that exercise was surprisingly effective. Pounding away on a treadmill for 3-4 miles would really help for the next 24 hours.

I suffered like this and couldn't hold down painkillers I used to vomit, Dr gave me suppositories and they helped massively as did the pill/ then after my children they didn't get any better & I had an ablation u poor girl I could never face excercise I had to go to bed for a few hours x

Have had the coil eighteen months now. First six were hell, within 3 days A&E were discussing admitting me for morphine. I've even had Dr wanting to dial 999 before as h3 thought I had ruptured cyst or something.

It's horrible. I have a lot of vulval problems - previous surgery, vuvlodynia, vaginismis, eczema and I am just fed up with the whole thing.

Only 5 hours left of work and I can read and reply properly on the bus home. :)

Thanks xx

shouldnthavesaid

I would think that endometriosis is the root cause of all this and your experience is not untypical at all sadly. Its a very much underdiagnosed disease. A & E should have referred you onto a gynae ward before now.

A hyst as well may not be the answer either particularly if endometriosis is on your bowels too (some women with IBS actually have endo instead). You can also get pain post hyst as well, your ovaries would also have to be removed if such an op was to be performed as these feed any endo that is there. So a hyst is not recommended here at all.

I would be asking the GP for a referral to a gynae and do not take no for an answer. I would also suggest you keep a daily pain and symptom diary (note pain on scale from 1-10) and give this to the gynae when you see this person.

If surgery is done, you need a laparoscopy. Gynae fobbed you off last time, you need to see someone who has a specialist interest in endo - ask them!!. No point whatsoever in seeing a bog standard gynae whose knowledge is not up to date. You have been failed to date, do not be fobbed off any more.

www.endo.org.uk is a useful website.