Painful periods.....whats the strongest over the counter meds i can take ??

[nutcackle]

Have suffered with painful periods since they started. Regularly blacked out, vomitted etc etc.

Now i don't blackout or be sick but i get horrific pains for usually about 4 days and feel like i've done several rounds in a boxing ring.

Even sitting still hurts. My stomach feels so sore.

Have been taking paracetamol but they don't really touch it. What can i take instead ??

They sell and ibuprofen with codien which is excellent

Right ok thankyou, will get some in the morning.

Hot water bottle or those Gel pads you put in the microwave are very good.
Try taking Evening Primrose aswell, they take a couple of months to kick in, but are quite effective.When your period is due you may be able to double the intake.

Also read that "black Cohosh" helps regulate general & emotional disruption.
"chamomile" eases painful breasts.
"Dandelion" corrects fluid retention which causes menstrual discomfort.

Sorry to hear you are suffering. have you never mentioned this to your Dr? Endometriosis can be a cause of painful periods, aswell you can experience pain during sex too.

If really bad you could in a day take paracetamol every four hours and also nurofen every four hours but in between the paracetamol, so you are taking pain killers every 2 hours IYSWIM... if i have explained that craply i mean 8am paracetamol, 10am nurofen (or ibroprofen), then at 12 paracetamol, 2pm nurofen (or ibroprofen....etc just make sure you don't go over daily dose....and ensure the nurofen/ibroprofen have no added paracetomol of course!

have you been to the doctors?
it may be some problem that they can treat...

I used to take something called Ponstan when I was younger. Not sure if it's still about though. Was excellent.

I used to take something called Ponstan (I think). My periods were exactly as you described. Fortunately childbirth stopped all of that. Now I feel a dull pain for about a day. Heaven!

OMG, Mars - talk about similar posts!

snap dinny!

we must have been typing in unison - parallel universes, hey???

codine is all that really works for me

I used to take Ponstan too - and found it made me really bloated, which wasn't the effect I wanted when my tummy was so sore.

I have endometriosis though - and the only thing that touched the pain for me was co-dydramol, for which I think you need a prescription. Largely I found it relaxed me enough for me to just go to sleep, which helped the pain (as I was...er...asleep!).

Surgery was the only thing that really worked for me.

Have you been investigated for something like endometriosis, NC? And why only over the counter meds?

Yeah i get really bloated so if the Ponstan does that for me then it won't be any good but will give it a try.

I have often wondered wether it needs investigating but then thought i'd probably get fobbed off.

I have a funny shaped womb (bicornuate uterus) and wondered if that was anything to do with it too.

Also wondered about endometriosis too but isn't it hard to get pregnant if you have that ? I get pregnant very easily.

Will try all the things suggested (well not all at once), thanks

Oh my g.p is crap thats why i said over the counter meds, but i suppose i should really go about it.

Had to breath deeply for 10 minutes this morning to stop me throwing up i was in that much pain and am so tired cos i was awake with it all night.

No, endometriosis doesn't always cause problems with fertility.

Have a look at the National Endometriosis Society's website for more info

If you're in this much pain every month, it's definitely worth investigating

Is there another one you can see?

Cheers for the link

It's been that long since i went to the docs i'll have to ring up and see who else there is.

I was told that I had endometriosis. The only thing that my gp told me was that it might get better, or worse if I had a baby.

I was 16... such a wise GP eh?

No I didn't go and get pregnant... that happened 9 years later!

I hope one of the meds works for you nutty and that you don't have to have an op!

I used to take paracetamol and codeine bp from Boots. Was prescribed Ponstan forte for a while but it made me really lightheaded although definitely worked on the pain.

Blimey I have loads of the symptoms. I also get quite bad pains during ovulation too which is a symptom and old blood at the end of periods.

Message withdrawn

That link is amazing, i have nearly every symptom going.

Some of the treatments sound a bit scary though.

Can i not just get pregnant again instead ?

Yep, NSAIDs are meant to be better because they're anti-inflammatories and are thought to ease the inflammation that causes the pain. But IME they just irritate my stomach, which makes it more sore in the very area that I don't want sore to feature, shall we say

NC, definitely go and get a referral to a gynaecologist from your GP. Don't fanny about (pardon the pun) with trying different painkillers, etc. Just go and get seen.

If you search hunkermunker and endometriosis on here, there are various threads on here that I've posted on before.

Oh, and ML? I was told that about having a baby too. Completely misses the point that for some women with endometriosis, conceiving is the very thing they want and the very thing that's impossible because of it!

Oh, and it doesn't always work either. I only had four periods between them coming back and conceiving again, but they were definitely getting worse again