Period pain is crippling me

[Froggy623]

Not an AIBU just in desperate need of help.

My period pain is crippling me, days 1 / 2 I’m taking back to back ibruprofen, at night also taking paracetamol as without I just can’t sleep through.

Tonight the pain woke me up again but I feel so sick I’ve only managed to take ibruprofen, I think the paracetamol will make me sick. I feel like it will catch my throat and I’m currently sat on the bathroom floor in anticipation for vomiting. I’ve also been on the toilet a few times tonight.

I’m in agony and can’t take it anymore. I’ve been to the doctors and had scans all is fine below, I just feel like a massive wuss. Does anyone have any tips to help to put me out of my misery?

I’ve also been up for the past hour with period pain. Can you get in a hot bath now? I’m sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea as sometimes I find lying down can make the pain feel worse.

When ibuprofen and paracetamol don’t help I switch to Co-codamol which I find does help a lot more. If you can’t take this then I’d ask my GP for stronger pain relief.

A GP once said to me to keep your pain relief topped up constantly for the duration of when you normally have pain. She said it is common for women to not take the next dose when due because they are pain-free at that moment, but if the pain starts an hour or so later then it’s harder to get it under control again.

I am awake for the same reason. I find buscopan far more effective than paracetamol (I can't take ibuprofen), but when it's really bad I have to take both of them and add codeine to take the edge off it.

For right now (ie before the world starts waking up), make yourself comfy, pillows under hips/knees etc. I find sofa comfier than bed. Heat pads and hot water bottles. Do you have any pain relief gels /creams vs tablets, or can you sip a lemsip? Orgasm can be a good pain reliever and yoga breathing techniques can also help.

for in more human hours - keep a diary of your pain levels, what you’ve tried, what works / doesn’t. You can ask pharmacist for stronger pain relief or consider TENS.

oh, and I just remembered, one particularly bad month I used my TENS machine too, which again helped a little.

Thanks everyone - solidarity! Going to move to the sofa.
I live with a housemate and really don’t want to wake her. I’ve got some buscopan I might take - thinking it’s coated and small so might not make me sick
I’m in agony 😪

Ask your GP to prescribe you "mefenamic acid", that really really helps

Mefenamic acid is used to relieve mild to moderate pain, including menstrual pain (pain that happens before or during a menstrual period). Mefenamic acid is in a class of medications called NSAIDs. It works by stopping the body's production of a substance that causes pain, fever, and inflammation

I found naproxen the most helpful thing for period pain. Sometimes with paracetamol inbetween doses.

I have endometriosis. This doesn't show up on a scan, you have to have a laproscopy to diagnose/treat.

My doc also prescribed transanemic acid alongside. Obviously subject to medical advice/other medications. I have a lot of complex chronic pain also.

Up at the toilet to change. It's a full operation isn't it. There are two full cakes in the fRidge downstairs and I can't eat either (at a friend's would wait until offered), but i really need to Inhale sweet things while like this, which makes it doubly hard.

Solidarity to you. 💖

Lie with legs open, even like a 🐸 where they spread at the knees and gather at the feet.

Oh interesting thanks @TheHillOfDreams had presumed I’d been checked for that when I had my scans and ultrasound. I will get another doctors appointment and flag again.

what doctors have you seen and what scans have you had. Endometriosis e.g. will rarely show up on ultrasound.

Oh poor you .my DD suffers too.she was told by one GP to take ibuprofen around 3 days before her period was due.this helps a little. Warm bath not too hot as this may make cramps worse.I am post meno now .but found paramol very good .can still take with ibuprofen. No paracetamol though as already in paramol.Stock up on chocolate a few days before as well.god old hot water bottles help.lots of sleeping if possible. Keep painkillers topped up .too.

Another vote for buscopan here.

@Froggy623 Are you symptoms just on your period or elsewhere during the month? (Because if its just on your period, unlikely to be endometriosis). Also what symptoms did you say you had at the doctors?.

If you had a transvaginal and/or pelvic ultrasound normally it can pick up adenomyosis (different condition) but when we're you last scans?
Alos what scans did you have (e.g ultrasound, MRI) - an MRI can sometimes pick up endo?

As PP have said go to GP they are much more likely to prescibe NSAIDs than opioids (as first line treatment, due to possibility for addiction) like mefenamic acid or naproxen. If you have heavy bleeding the mirena coil can be useful or Tranexamic acid for heavy bleeding.

The main symptom is not actually period pain because endo is not a period condition - it's a whole body inflammatory condition where the endometriosis tissue even produces its own oestrogen and the pain is felt throughout the month not just when on your period. Often endometriosis on the ovaries can form cysts containing old blood called endometriomas (also known as chocolate cysts) which can be very painful.
but could also be adenomyosis where the lining of the womb grows into the muscle of it, but unlike endo is localised to the uterus only. Main endo symptoms:
• Irregular or heavy periods
• Pelvic pain
• Pelvic pain on opening bowels (dyschesia) and wider gastrointestinal symptoms (diarrhoea amd constipation)
• Pelvic pain on passing urine (dysuria) and bladder symptoms sometimes
• Referred pain to the tops of the legs or back
• Fatigue

https://www.leedsth.nhs.uk/patients/resources/endometriosis-2/
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/adenomyosis/

You need to go back to the doctors and push for more investigations and answers. Don’t be fronted off as it’s’ normal’. It’s not and you shouldn’t have to put up with it.

have you thought of the pill or mittens at all as an option to help ?

I used to get excruciating pain and heavy bleeding so I had a mirena coul fitted. It's been life changing for me - i don't get periods any more and I can live pain free. It's just been so liberating

Agree to go back to GP and ask for Mefenamic acid. It was prescribed to my DD when she was 14 years old and missing days of school / unable to sleep due to period pain. You can’t take any other painkiller while on it but it has helped her. It was first line of treatment for her - even before any scans.

Read up on endo, see if it fits. The only thing they could see on my ultrasound was the cysts I had on my ovary but laparoscopy confirmed endo 23 years ago. They tend to go down the MRI route now because it is cheaper than the laparoscopy and less invasive as once they perform any surgery you are likely to get adhesions.

However, as I have endo and follow an incredible endo surgeon on social media who is doing surgery every day, he shows MRI films where a patient is told no endo and there is a massive endo cyst clear as day on there.

Period pain at the level you are experiencing it is not normal and not acceptable. That is key to remember. Just because lots of other women cope with their level of pain on their period doesn't make you weaker or mean you have a lower pain threshold. I was told that I was a wuss, by my Mother, my doctors as a teen. Having been in labour and comparing the pain, I know I am absolutely not.

For the pain, plug in heat pad, stays hot and has no weight to it. TENs machine. I have 2, one is rechargeable and I wear it for at least 24 hours straight. The other is a battery back up one in case my rechargeable one dies.

I have prescription pain meds but they are generally reluctant to prescribe them long term as a whole, however I only take them for 2-3 days a month so they are happy to continue prescribing for me. Read up on naproxen etc so you are informed when you go back to the GP.

@TheLivelyViper thank you for pointing out that endo is a whole body condition. A lot of people think it is just painful periods. That endo surgeon I follow classes it as a neuro immunological disorder.

You need to ask your GP to refer you for investigations.

I had horribly painful, lengthy and heavy period since my teens and it turned out that I had endometriosis and adenomyosis.

Don't let medical professionals fob you off. Many are still really dismissive of 'women issues'.

Yes @Froggy623 I agree the pill and or mirena coil can be amazing with heavy bleeding and pain. You might to try different pills first. Yes they treat the real cause as well (mirena will may the uterus lining thinner, less bleeding and less cramps) but with the pill it will treat symptoms. So definitely try that, sometimes the progesterone only pill (mini-pill) can be better for some. Also with mefenamic acid and/or naproxen and tranexamic acid - you need to start taking it days before your period starts so that it can work at best capacity. The same with ibuprofen and/or paracetamol. Start taking it 3/4 days before and it will be much better.

I'm in the same boat today too. I take paracetamol and mefenamic acid (must take with food) around the clock, I don't miss a single dose as otherwise it catches up to me and the pain killers can take 2ish hours to kick in. I have to note down what I've taken and when in my notes app on my phone to keep track. My pain is all in my lower back and hips.

With paracetamol I can only take the plastic-coated capsules as the powdery ones also make me nearly vomit. They're hard to find in shops as most places sell the powdery ones but I've found them in Morrison's or Superdrug.

I'm counting down the years (more like decades for me unfortunately) until the menopause.

Obviously this is just a sticking plaster for dealing with any underlying issues, but I have antisickness tablets prescribed for horrible morning sickness-like symptoms I get before my period.

As I said, not a substitute for the actual issue being investigated, but everything is worse when you’re vomiting. Plus it means you’re in the bathroom rather than a comfy bed.

Adenomyosis can be really difficult to diagnose by ultra sound, so worth asking about that again if it wasn't specifically discussed.

Does your dr believe you or is he just bobbing you off because he has had 30mins training max on female “problems”? This TikTok gives great advice for advocating for yourself in a non confrontational manner - https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNdutDhGe/. There is another one by someone else but I can’t find it because I follow far too many people on TikTok. Mefenamic acid (ponstan forte) used to help me when I was in my teens.

My daughter was prescribed this when her periods started and were awful. They helped for about 3 months and then didn’t help. Her periods started at 16 and by 17 she on the endometriosis pathway and periods have been stopped.

can you stop your periods? (Daily pill or other methods). The mind boggles that in 2025 women need to have periods just to show them they aren’t pregnant.

Go to your GP and ask for traxenamic acid and naproxen. I suffered with my periods of years - I now have a diagnosis of PCOS and that combination has been such a game-changer for me.