AIBU or have I a seriously low pain threshold?

[DonkeyAtemyHomework]

My period has just started and I have almost fainted with the pain (was sitting down). And I would tell you that it's a hell of lot less pain than I've experienced in my life. So why have I suddenly become a lightweight?

If the pain isn't as bad as pain you've had previously and you didn't faint with that pain, then it could be any number of reasons.
Are you unwell otherwise ? Head cold?
Have you eaten enough today / drank enough?
Are you more tired than usual?
High stress level?
On new medication?
Taken strong ppainkillers?
Any of these, combined with the pain could make u feel faint.

Only one I can answer yes to is highly stressed.
I've taken nurofen, so hopefully I'll be grand.
It's awful the pain women have to go through.

Can you imagine a load of men with pmt and then period pains. They'd murder each other lol.

Sounds worrying tbh, you almost fainted?

Nope. I had a mole cut from my back and as highly dodgy + history of cancer they decided it had to be then, when pregnant. Topical anaesthetic worked but nowhere near for the margins necessary. I bore through gritted teeth.
Period last month resulted in a day off. Madness.

Yes, by almost fainted, I mean where your head goes heavy and you start seeing stars and everything else goes dark. I've fainted a few times in my life, so know that I would have dropped if I wasn't already sitting down. It's a period, hardly life threatening, so I'll just grumble my way through!

The pain is at a 5 out of 10 and I've had 10 out of 10 which is why I don't understand the fainting feeling.

Are you sure it's due to the pain? I've fainted a few times when on the first day or two of my period, I've had cramps but not severe pain like I've had with injuries before. I think it was more to do with blood pressure or possibly fluctuations in blood sugar from not eating properly then stuffing myself than the actual pain.
I ended up in hospital once because I fainted and then hit my head falling off a step. They ran a few tests to try and determine why but all was clear, they just said sometimes the hormones associated with periods can temporarily mess with balance, bp and blood sugar if you're not careful and to go to my GP if it continued. I sometimes go very dizzy and feel nauseous a day or so before my period starts for a few minutes but it passes.

Ye, must be hormones.

any type of new or unusual pelvic pain is probably worth a trip to your GP.
Could possibly be the start of endometriosis.
My advice would to get it checked out, or at least mention it on your next trip to the doctor if it keeps happening.

So why have I suddenly become a lightweight?

I never had period pains until I was 22, then they didn't turn awful until I was 24 or 25. Can suddenly change, ime.

Period pains can be horiffic.

I was talking about this recently with my friend. I am 41 and started my period when I was 10. Every single month I've suffered terribly. I thought it was "normal" and soldiered on as you do.

Mentioning this casually to my doctor and him asking me further questions it seems highly likely I have endometriosis and am
waiting for a scan date.
You will know what your normal is so if this pain is way off the scale then please seek advice. I've suffered for years without knowing that not everyone has this severe pain which takes a few days off my month, every month for over 30 years.

Hope you're ok

You don’t have to ‘grumble through’ anything period related just because it’s a period. Someone posted on here once about extremely heavy bleeding, called an ambulance and was told that had she not called then she would have died. Periods can have complications and just because it’s women’s health that doesn’t mean it’s trivial or unimportant or has to be endured no matter what.

The thing with pain is that it's so subjective. No one can ever know what pain another person is actually in. Something that causes me to hurt a lot might just be a slight annoyance to someone else. One person might be laid up with a cold while others can carry on as normal. You can't tell what another person is feeling, so you can say if they are a lightweight or really hard core.
All you can judge on is what you can personally deal with. If it's causing you to suffer then you need to see a doctor.

When I was at university I fainted a couple of times at the start of my period. Maybe a trip to the GP.

Thank you guys. It's not the pain that's worrying me - for me it's a 5/10;
it's the feeling faint. Maybe unrelated. I'm fine today, so far anyway, touch wood!

I've had this, OP, and it is apparently due to prostoglandins circulating to your head. They usually just affect the uterus and cut off the blood supply - that's what causes the cramps. If they reach the head circualtion, they lessen the blood supply to the brain, and so you feel faint or dizzy.

I first had it on my first period after giving birth, and I couldn't understand it either, as I was in nowhere near as much pain as giving birth, yet I was having to crawl to the cabinet to get painkillers.

It usually passes within a couple of hours - I used to just lie and moan pathetically on the couch (to myself!) for a while :-D