AIBU to ask what is a normal level of period pain?

[Rhubarbpeony]

I’m trying to get a feel for whether my pain is out of the ordinary or not. Could people let me know how often you experience any of the following:

Diarrhoea

Cramps bad enough to make you vocalise the pain

Cramps bad enough to make you cry

Vomiting

Pain so severe you are unable to concentrate and struggle to keep up a conversation

Pain that makes your legs feel weak / your body wobbly

Cramps that you have to use breathing exercises to control

Pain severe enough for you to miss work or social engagements

Pain that isn’t resolved by over the counter medication

Pain that disrupts your sleep / cramps that awaken you in the night

Cramps that last 2 or more days

If you don’t mind doing so, could you also let me know your rough age (like a decade - I’m in my thirties)

I experience most or all of the above most months, and I have had investigations done (inc a transvaginal ultrasound) which haven’t revealed anything untoward, and I honestly just don’t know if I can carry on experiencing this level of pain every month. Am I just a wuss? Is everyone just dealing with this better than me? I am so miserable about it. I spend easily half the month dreading my period. It’s such a waste of emotion.

OP I used to get all those symptoms. Gosh it's absolutely horrendous.
They stopped in my mid 20s. I've since had children and been on hormonal contraception.

Those pains are NOT normal. You are not a wuss, it literally feels like early/moderate labor pains. I'm not being dramatic, now that I've experienced labor I know this is a fair description

My gp gave me mefanamic acid and this helps so so so much

Freshnewus
I had a long Labour with DS2. I did the first 24 hours without any pain relief as it was less painful than my periods.

I had a lot of these symptoms in my early to mid 20s. Dreadful crippling pain, unable to leave the toilet for hours, forced to miss work etc.

Doctor sent me for blood tests and it turned out to be an underactive thyroid causing the problems for me, once I was properly medicated they got a lot better. Have you had your thyroid tested OP?

I had this and I would also faint. I'm late 30s. Things marginally improved after I had my DS.

There was nothing 'wrong' and I was expected to put up with it.

The way I cope with it is by taking cocodamol constantly for the first 2 days. As soon as I even feel it coming on I start to take it and I find it numbs the pain. Nothing else has worked, not even prescription drugs.

Hi OP. I suffered with the list you posted from the age of 14 when my periods started. People say have investigations/scans etc. I did have tests and everything was normal. Had my kids at 31/33 and then eventually had a coil which has stopped my periods thank God.

The best thing that worked for me was Starflower Oil (1000mg) every day of the month without fail. It didn’t help with the heaviness but reduced the pain HUGELY. Worth a try?

Freshnesus

Actually, I think my teenage and twenties periods were worse than the 24 hours of contractions I had before emergency c.

No , that’s really bad
You need as a minimum some decent painkillers for that x
And then if no one investigates in a timely manner , can you take the pill that’s stops them

That’s a bad bad one for me , not monthly

I have all those symptoms and many more and I'm 30. Had them since I started my periods. It's awful and I dread coming on. I feel like I have about ten 'normal' days every cycle and the rest is full of pms and period pains. Mine got worse after having Dd and cycle got shorter so I now have them every 25 days instead of every 28.

Absolutely not normal but unfortunately something I've been made to feel like I have to just put up with.

I've tried all sorts and so far nothing has worked. I've had scans and blood tests and was told I had uterine fibroids and that's why I have such awful periods. I was just offered the coil for the millionth time, which I refused as I've tried it and it didn't help, and sent on my way.

When I was a teenager I had periods like that once or twice a year, as I got into my 20s and 30s they became more frequent. The worst cramps with wretching and upset tummy would last for a couple of hours but I'd feel wiped out for the rest of the day!
Doctor prescribed mefenamic acid which I started to take every few hours the day before I was due and this resolved the pain issue but if I missed a dose or forgot the tablets I'd be screwed!
I had an external and internal ultrasound to check for issues but there was nothing.. apparently it's "just the way I am"
But it's not acceptable to suffer through these pains, definitely get some pain meds to minimise the impact it has on your life

Mine used to be like this. The plus side is that childbirth was no more painful than a period.

Seriously variable. I have been in the position where I feal sick and faint. (Worse then labour.) AByt normally perfectly fine. Sometimes a stich.

Endometriosis CANNOT be seen on scans. It requires a laparoscopy to diagnose it.

Many women with debilitating endometriosis will have clear scans.

Sympathy to those who go through this every month. It doesn't sound right to me. For most of my period life I had nothing a couple of paracetamol and a hot water bottle couldn't sort and that was on a bad month. I used to get constipated in the run up and then clear out when it started.
I did get ridiculously heavy periods in my 40s which made me severely anaemic but an ablation sorted that out.
I know my dm was baffled by my periods because hers were awful and it was a revelation to her that it could be so easy.

I had the majority of those most months with the odd month that wasn't as painful. I'm 35 and they are getting slightly less horrendous compared to my 20s.
I've just had a baby and am dreading my periods starting again. It will be interesting to see how they change as relatives have had similar to me and said it became less awful after being pregnant. The doctor confirmed it was likely hormonal too.

During pregnancy I found out I have a humongous fibroid - I'm wondering if this is a contributing factor to my period pains. Have you had any scans to check for fibroids, OP?

Never anything like that...
I'm mid thirties now. Before DS, I had cramps on the first day, but one dose of painkillers would sort that out. Since having had DS, I'm not having any period pain.
I get pain in my legs for a bit a few days before but also nothing terrible and not at a level that requires painkillers.

My mum had all of those every month. It used to really get her down but she didn't want to bother the gp about it and see if something could be done.

You've missed flooding of your list.

My periods were like that on and off from 13 until I had a child in my 40s. Now I don't get pain that pain killers don't reach but I still flood.

Incidentally I was told years ago exercise makes periods better. What actually happens if you feel rough before hand you don't exercise on that day or up to a week before. If you don't feel rough you can start exercising e.g. go for a run then part way through start throwing up and can get to the state where you crawl home. Luckily I've only passed out twice but this is when people were with me.

I started having investigations as the GPs were fed up of me coming to them being aneamic but I got pregnant.

That’s like my period. A transvaginal ultrasound showed nothing. A laparoscopy showed severe endometriosis. It’s the only true diagnostic tool.

My other symptoms are very painful sex, brown spotting for several days, heavy bleeding and infertility. It was only because of my infertility they put me forward for the lap.

I’m early 30s and it definitely has gotten worse year by year.

Oh and I posted something similar to you on here before I was diagnosed, people told me it was not normal and that gave me the confidence to push for a laparoscopy (I had to push for it). Also my mum has endo which I didn’t know until I told her about it and the genetic factor plays a part too.

The laparoscopy diagnosed me but I have not been treated. I’ve been told having a baby or going on the pill will help which is great when TTC 3 years with infertility ... I could also have more surgery but they said they could perforate my bowel so I’m not up for that at the moment.

Despite all that I’m at least glad I know what it is.

it is really not nice so hope you get answers soon.

I have experienced all you have described op, from my teens and onwards. Having 3 children and extended breastfeeding meant it was less of an issue in my 30s.

Now I am 45 and currently sat on my sofa with bad cramps and nausea despite having taken codeine over night and a couple of naproxen this morning. Naproxen helps a bit, so does using tampons as I flood and that is when the massive cramps come on. It is not this bad every period, probably 1 in 3.

Had a lot of that.
Going on the pill stopped it all.

I used to have every single one of the symptoms you've listed, plus flooding, every single month, it was physically and emotionally draining. Eventually I was diagnosed with fibroids & endometriosis.

I used to get pain 2-3 days before my period actually started and I used to really struggle with coping. My GP was useless told me to take paracetamol. On a few occasions I went to A&E because I was scared and in agony . They used to give me an injection of strong pain relief and send me on my way, I would literally skip out of A&E. Eventually I was accused of being a drug addict, so they decided to actually do some investigation's and I was admitted. I was given pain relief that wiped me out and I woke up the next day on a mixed gastro ward (that was horrendous). I discharged myself and went home.

On the next visit (yes I went back) I was told I had an STD (I'm still baffled by this because they didn't do an internal examination or take any swabs). I received my usual dose of pain relief and sent home with tablets to treat an STD.

I was upset about being told I had an STD so went to my GP who organised an emergency appt at the GUM clinic for the same day. Surprisingly I didn't have an STD but one of the Dr's suspected I had fibroids. He organised an emergency referral to a gynaecologist at the other local hospital they confirmed the diagnosis of fibroids and eventually endometriosis. Approximately 9 years later I had a hysterectomy.

Prior to diagnosis I made massive lifestyle changes to manage symptoms including exercise 4-5 times per week, eliminated processed foods, wheat based products, red meat, dairy, soya and drank 2-3 litres of water daily. All of these changes significantly alleviated symptoms.

I hope you find a good consultant to help you. A good consultant will preserve your fertility, prescribe meds to alleviate your symptoms and believe your levels of pain. Push your GP to support you to find the best consultant as opposed to the most convenient consultant available because of waiting list times/geographical location.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-nhs-choice-framework/the-nhs-choice-framework-what-choices-are-available-to-me-in-the-nhs

It still astonishes me that I can actually look at a calendar and anticipate to within a couple of days when its going to arrive and continue living fairly normally! It's like witchcraft

Mine were very irregular until I had ds and since then they've been pretty predictable - as you say it was quite a novelty! I'm now 48 though and sometimes they shift, and then regularise themselves again. Not good when you've planned around them and then find you're going to have your flooding day when you are away somewhere as happened to me last month :( But a minor inconvenience compared with the pain some women on here suffer.

My mum had endo and said having a hysterectomy was the best thing she ever did. She was 42 when she had it done though so had completed her family.

It does sounds like it could be endometriosis - or you may want to get your thyroid checked (a simple blood test).

My periods were exactly like yours - so you have my huge sympathies. After years I finally went to see the GP, I had some scans to check for fibroids etc but it was my thyroid that came back as severely underactive. Since starting on tablets it's been so much better. And if it is underactive thyroid, that can impact on ttc as well so definitely worth a trip to the GP to get the ball rolling.

So sorry you're going through this, I remember booking days holiday so I could lie on my bathroom tiles. Really hope you feel better soon.