To ask what your go to period pain cures are?

[ASauvingnonADay]

I'm curled up in agony. Need to leave the house soon. Have tried ibuprofen and a hot bath, which eased it a little but it's creeping back up! Wondering if there are any magic cures that I am not yet aware of!

My mooncup has totally transformed my periods. I get a bit of cramp in advance, now, but the throbbing abdominal / pubic zone pain doesn't happen anymore.

Hot water bottle and painkillers. I used to take co-codamol if it was really bad, it took the edge off but didn't completely cure it. There is another OTC painkiller that works ok - again takes the edge off - ibuprofen lysine. It's usually sold as a specific pain killes for period pains or migraines.

I now have prescription only painkillers from Dr (metafamic acid and tranexamic acid) and it's made life so much better - but I did have other issues with clots, very short cycles and very long periods so that is why the dr prescribed them. Not sure if they give it out just for period pain.

Orgasm. The contractions of orgasm apparently help. I find it helpful.

But I don't experience severe pain. I think for that maybe codeine and hot water bottle.

Old formulation feminax worked a treat - but they changed the forumulation a decade ago to co-codamol (but charging a lot more).

The old formulation was paracetamol, codeine, caffeine and hyoscine hydrobromide (which is separately used for travel sickness but seems to be the magic ingredient for cramps).

So I recommend solpadeine (paracetamol, codeine, caffeine) and a single hyoscine hydrobromide table.

(and you can alternate with ibuprofen)

The Mirena coil.

Yoga is wonderful for pain and there are youtube videos designed specifically for period pain. Yoga with Adriene has a lovely gentlevone. Heat (packs/hot water bottles). Codeine helps me, particularly at night when pain stops me from sleeping, plus big doses of magnesium, either a mag spray directly on to abdomen and back or soaking in a bath with epsom salts, or both!

yes to the 'old fashioned feminax ' !
The doctor has given me mefanamic acid now which has some degree of success ,but i do have endometriosis . Please get checked out OP and like others have said don't take no for an answer , i basically got different versions of ' you're a woman grin and bear it ' for 15 years before i got taken seriously.

Yoga , walking , hot water bottle help . the only painkiller that has truly taken away the pain is tramadol - but that is a bit extreme !

PS i am also on the Pill its an unusual one 'triadene' but without it I would be in agony every day of the month

Co-codamol usually takes enough of the edge for me, I have awful pain the first day or two.

Orgasms! Also hot whiskey. Valium if you can get it is a major help (is also a muscle relaxant).
Epsom salt baths as a preventative, not much use in the throes.

Strong cocodamol off the doctor for mine. Hot bath, orgasm but can be messy and DP giving me a brisk back rub. Does anyone know if it's true that periods are meant to be worse after sterilisation?

I come from a family of women where having bad period pain is very much the norm. None of us have endometriosis or etc. I went on the pill to cure it when I was in my early 20s, nothing else worked.

Much better after having kids. Ibuprofen does the trick usually. Mind you, I'm going through menopause now so this will all be a distant memory soon, yay.

Cannabis

According to Queen Victoria
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/1632726.stm

The menopause fixed it for me.
However Mefenamic acid/Ponstan is very good too.

To the couple of people who said this isn't normal, oh yes it is. However until the advent of contraception most women would have been pregnant within a year or two of starting their periods whereas now you get people like me, 40 years of bleeding but never had kids.

A couple of Solpadeine Max knocks it right on the head for me.

If you usually have painful periods then start taking NSAID like ibuprofen before your period starts it reduces the prostaglandin build up.
YY to Buscopan, it does make a difference
I struggle with stronger NSAID like Naproxen as it can be hard on the stomach so need omeprazole with it.
If you are taking codeine based medications watch out for constipation.

It is worth speaking to the GP if the pain means you can't function. I have endometriosis and my life was greatly improved by the mini pill (Cerazette) and now the Mirena coil.

Thank you Elfride
I didn't know that. Thought it was fine after 4 hours after the ibuprofen has worn off but it's 8-12 hours.
Cheers for the heads up!

I suffer with bad period pain too and I have just ordered a little tens machine type thing which is supposed to be a miracle cure for period pain - called livia.

I have yet to see if it works because it hasn't arrived yet! will update if it does work

I second the suggestion for borage oil taken through the month. Helped with my terrible mood swings too.

SabineUndine I'm sure you didn't mean it to be but your comment suggesting it is normal is a very dangerous one.

Women absolutely shouldn't be in extreme pain during their periods. If they are it is usually an indicator of something else: cysts, fibroid, endometriosis, twisted ovary, etc.

The attitude of "you're a woman, it's normal, just get on with it" is what causes so many women to suffer unnecessarily.

I cannot imagine being able to masturbate or orgasm when in the throes of period pain, however effective it is supposed to be. No thanks.

Shame. You're missing out.

Soluble codein is my preferred choice but my pains and clots have reduced since switching to cloth pads.

Naproxen. Life saver

Feminax. I dismissed it for years as overpriced and no different from mixing ibuprofen and paracetamol (GP advice) but it's the only pain killer which works for me.

There is an extra strong version available too but you have to discuss it with the pharmacist first.

The stick on heat packs are fantastic (you'll find them next to the pain killers) and I wear one on my lower back and one on my abdomen.

Hope you're feeling better soon.