What else helps with period pain?

[Musings225]

Have had paracetamol and ibuprofen every 4 hours. Have exercised. Hot bath. Hot water bottle. What else can I do?? Even had a banana cos they're meant to help.

Walking for several miles a day helped me. Mine were always curled-up-on-the-floor painful. I went on a walking holiday and was really shocked to get my period on the way home as I hadn't had any cramps, and didn't at all, that month.

Wish I'd known about Buscopan, because walking for miles isn't always something you can just fit in to your daily routine.

Had the most dreadful periods- pain and flow about 3 months after I started to have them aged 12.

Had 3-4 days off school with the pains and having to change my night pad every 1.5 hours and 3.5 hours at night. Then it was changing pad 2-3 hours for another 4-5 days. Sometimes I blacked out.

Was on a pill with a week gap and it was more manageable- probably had one time off sick per school year rather than once a month.

Now on the mini pill and had zero periods after the first month.

There’s no way I could get anywhere in life if I spent a week every month in bed in agony.

Unless you want to have a baby, get yourself on some type of contraception!

Another vote for Buscopan.

Another vote for mefanamic acid on prescription, especially if you start taking it a couple of days in advance of your period starting.

Hmm. On holiday staying in a house with my elderly parents just me and them so one option is definitely out!

Have some "special alone time"

It's the ONLY thing that helps me and its very effective

Try magnesium, I've found it really helps to reduce cramps!

Agree with buscopan and a tens machine.

Cramp bark tincture from herbal shop. Amazing stuff.

Feminax always worked for me

Also I used to lay in bed and concentrate on relaxing all the parts of my body, just letting it hurt rather than fight it and that would often stop the pain. Scrunching up my body and tensing was making it much worse.

Come to think of it since having my 3yo daughter I never get bad periods anymore, I'm 33 now

Raspberry leaf tea helped me. I used to buy the dried leaves and steep them in boiling water for 5-10 mins then keep the tea in a thermos and sip it.

Mirena coil - it stopped my periods altogether.

Through the menopause now but my periods used to be excruciatingly painful, I'd feel faint, vomit etc. My GP gave me a painkiller as a teen that stopped the pain but made me feel so weak and ill I couldn't do anything for a couple of days so I gave it up (don't know what was in it, but I fear it might have been codeine and have never taken codeine since).

I suffered really badly until early 20s when I became accidentally pregnant and didn't realise for quite a while (on new pill where absent periods were common). After a late abortion, they were never quite so bad again, but still painful. I learnt that if I took paracetamol BEFORE the pain started or just at the first twinges of pain, I could stop the pain completely or at least keep it at a bearable level. I later came across research that said painkillers are much more effective if taken before the pain starts.

I used to get awful migraines too with visual disturbance as the first sign, and still do once every few years - but if I take painkillers when the visual stuff starts, I never get the pain - can just feel where it would have been.

So - get pregnant or start taking painkillers as soon as you think you might be getting a period.