period pain so severe it makes me physically sick??

[bobbythejobby]

Just curious if anyone else has had period pain so excruciating it has made them physically sick?

I've always, since I started my periods as a teenager, had incredibly severe period pain. Some months it's worse than others but I have pain every month. On a very severe month with the pain, it's typically only when my period first starts that the pain is agonising and then it dies down to a more manageable level for the next few days. Some months though those first one to two hours when my period starts are absolutely agony. On the worst months, I'm literally bed-ridden by it (albeit only for a few hours but it then wipes me out for the rest of the day) - the pain is so overwhelming I go chalk white, even my lips go grey, I can't walk, can barely talk, my legs shake violently which I can't stop, soaked through with sweat. The last few times this has happened I've started being sick too and strangely as soon as I'm sick the pain seems to lessen. I have almost called myself an ambulance on occasion hoping they might give me some decent pain relief but I absolutely detest hospitals, would rather set my face on fire than spend even half a day there and can't bring myself to do it knowing I'll perhaps be opening myself up to ridicule at A&E when they realise it's "just period pain" so I tend to just ride it out (mostly alone as DH is often at work when it happens).

I had these bouts of agonising pain as a teenager almost every month then in my late teens/early 20s when I was on the pill constantly (for the period pain) the pain went away. Now I'm 33 and I came off the pill two years ago so currently not on any contraception and in the last year this severe pain has started again. Every four to five months I have a month like this.

Really what I'm wondering is, is this normal??? I had a laparoscopy a few years ago to see if I had endometriosis which apparently I don't (although honestly, nothing against the surgeon at all, but I'm still not convinced this pain is normal period pain). Could this really just be normal period pain not caused by any underlying condition like endo?? Does anyone else have this kind of period pain?? It's really really shit wondering every month if it's going to be a terrible period and if I'll be reduced to lying in bed, shaking, sweating and puking into a bucket because I can't walk.

No, that isn't normal.

You need to see a specialist and a pain management consultant too. Can you afford to go private?

I would resign myself to the likelihood of a second laparoscopy.

So sorry.

Me. Exactly the same, since I was a teenager , and not even cocodamol was enough to help. Felt a bit better if I actually vomited, but I remember passing out on bathroom floor once, and I remember many times being in bed in absolute agony being sure death wouldn’t be as painful. In school I had to leave class to hang out in the toilets in a state of disorientation in so much pain that I genuinely couldn’t think straight. Have had to leave work because of it. Gave me the shakes, sweats, mumbling, vomiting...awfu. Thankfully the severe pain only lasted the first day of my period.
I’m now 29 and the only thing that has helped is...having a baby. I kid you not. It’s as if having a baby stretched everything so now my periods are a breeze. No underlying issues it’s just my body. My mum was the same. And I can honestly say my period pains pre baby were as painful (if not more so) than the labour I experienced giving birth (no painkillers just gas/air). So the only good thing is that it prepares you for childbirth! So sorry I can’t offer any advice that’s helpful. I tried everything - black cohosh, raspberry leaf tea, ibuprofen, cocodamol, hot water bottle, cutting out dairy, cutting out sugar, being a vegetarian...

I was the same pre-ds. The main pain that made me vomit was (with miscarriage, birth and post-birth bleeding) hindsight clots passing through my cervix.

The GP can help. I was prescribed strong nsaids to start taking 3 days before my period. Especially when I told them appendicitis had been no worse!

And before any other posters suggest I should have gone private or whatever - I promise it’s been investigated throughly and there was no underlying condition. The pill did help for a while but I absolutely hated messing with my body’s natural cycle so I came off it. I also hated the thought of peeing out all the excess artificial hormones and contributing to the problem of artificial hormones in the water.

@MinesAPintOfTea that’s interesting! I’ve never thought of that. I don’t think I experienced pain with passing clots in the weeks after giving birth but that makes a lot of sense as to what’s causing pain for a period pre-baby.

yes I had this as a teenager. It would be awful one month, and then OK the next, and get slightly worse each time (and longer cycles each time) and then about 5 or 6 months later I'd have the incredibly awful one again. The pain would come in waves, every 20-30 min, and i'd go dead white and vomit and feel dizzy/sweaty, then feel vaguely a little better once I had thrown up, for about 20 min, when it would get awful again - like contractions. It would last for 3-4 hours, and then afterwards, I'd be OK - but very shaky and wiped out for the rest of the day.

It was very dramatic, seeing my face that colour, apparently; I remember it happening at school.

It eventually went away in my late 20s. Before then, not a lot helped. I took ibuprofen, paracetamol and mefanemic acid, but then I eventually started a reaction of some sort to the mefenamic acid and had to stop. I had some tablets for migraine as well, as sometimes I thought the dizziness etc might actually be part of a hormonal migraine, so I occasionally took those as well, especially the one that helped with vomiting - Buccastem, which i think you can buy over the counter. I think I had some stronger painkillers at one point as well.

I didn't go to a doctor about it until I was about 23, and then she just said it was my body 'practising for labour', with the contractions and everything, and there was nothing much else that could be done beyond painkillers. I was very shy as a teenager and wouldn't have gone to the doctor about something like that, and my Mum didn't suggest it or take me, so it wasn't until I left home that I finally got the courage to go. I think I was worried I might need to be examined. Nothing else was ever done, and it was 'just' period pain as far as I know, an unusual reaction to the pain/severity or something.

I was very thankful when it resolved as I got older, as I missed lots of important things like exams because of it, or had it happen in embarrassing situations (and it would come on really quite quickly) when I'd have to leave something and run out of the room.

So lots and lots of sympathy from me! I remember just curling up on the floor in public washrooms trying desperately to be able to get better enough to get home or somewhere else to lie down. God it was awful at times. But never regularly enough to know, or predict, or get anything done about it - hopefully GPs now would be better. Hormones settling down certainly seemed to help; I tried the Pill at one point in order to help, but didn't really like it for other reasons.

I had exactly the same before children from being a teen often accompanied by diarrhoea. I saw a few specialists and was eventually diagnosed with endometriosis after a private 2nd laparoscopy.

I found taking 2 nurofen as soon as the first cramp started (randomly in my thighs??) made it more manageable. If I left it even half an hour the pain was unbearable. I always carried a pack with me.

@poster0v9c99f9g9d939d9f9g9h8h I could see me getting to the point of having a second laparoscopy if this gets much worse but I probably couldn't afford to go private.

@blueswede - your pain sounds exactly like mine. I've also had to leave work or phone in sick, I can remember several times getting sent home from school with the pain, I can even remember as a teenager collapsing in the street and people just walking past me staring at me as if I was either drunk or a drug addict. I'm also being prescribed cocodamol but I don't think anything really helps. I'm not keen to go back on contraception either for the same reasons although it's very frustrating that that is all the GP and gynae. will offer me.

@minesapintoftea - what NSAIDs did you get? I've tried naproxen but I think that was over the counter.

I've had quite a few people say to me that after they had a baby their periods got so much better however I don't want children and DH has had the snip (he has children with his ex) so that's definitely not going to happen for me. I've kind of resigned myself now that I'm just going to have to put up with this until I go through the menopause (here's hoping it's an early one!). It's good to know it's not just me who's had this problem.

Me too. I am prescribed tranexamic Acid, which helps with the excessive bleeding. But the pain is immense and caused by clots. Definitely like being in labour (Sickness, pain down the legs etc ) but without the joyous bundle at the end. But I’m sure TA is helping and making them shorter and lighter.

I have endometriosis and suspected adenomyosis. I've had 3 laps with no success. What's working for me right now is the Mirena coil and the mini pill. My consultant calls it "the Mirena and a half". It took a few months for mirena to settle, I almost needed antidepressants to cope but my mood stabilised. About 18 months in and it's bliss. No periods, no PMS, nothing.

(I'm 33 and have two children)

@womanthatfelltoearth I get the pain in my thighs often too, it's like a lead belt right round my pelvis and often the pain radiates down my legs to my knees.

@bimbleberries I've also been told that how white my face goes is rather dramatic lol I've seen it in my bedroom mirror when it happens and it's quite scary seeing your own lips grey. The 'practising for labour' thing kind of scares me too - if that's what my body is doing I wish it would stop as I don't want children. Did you have a baby? Is that when your pain stopped? I'm 33 now and there's no sign of this pain going away for me but I'll keep hoping.

I had this throughout my teenage years up to age 20, I was a student nurse so the doctors would give me dihydrocodeine so I could come to work otherwise I'd have been bedbound for three days every month.
Tests showed nothing.
I had my baby at 21 and never suffered from painful periods again.

GPs will prescribe DF118 for this extreme period pain but DO NOT be tempted to take it outside of extreme pain times as it's very addictive. It worked for me.

@honeysucklejasmine - my GP and all the gynaecologists I've seen are always trying to push the coil on me but I just can't bring myself to do it. I just don't know if I could take it messing with my moods (or my skin as I'm prone to acne anyway) especially when I feel fine the rest of the month. I'm my own worst enemy because I'm so opposed to taking any form of contraception.

I used to have this, as did my mother and grandmother and unfortunately poor DD as well.
Scans etc have never found anything, no polystic ovaries or anything physiological to explain it and after trying everything else the only thing that helped me was the pill

I think you need to have endometriosis investigates again. I had pain and irregular bleeding as a teen. I then went on the pill for years and years. The pill masks endo. When I came off the pill I starting getting pelvic pain at all times of the month. Not severe pain but it was odd / unfamiliar to me so I had it investigated. I was also having trouble conceiving.

Had a lap - surgeon found endo and removed it. Was pregnant within 3 months.

However it was extremely difficult to get my GP to take me seriously. Irregular bleeding was dismissed as “getting older”. Going private was key to getting a diagnosis and I am extremely glad I did as I do think it’s made the difference re getting pregnant.

Even if you don’t want children, you shouldn’t have to live like this.

I had this pre kids too, no idea what it could be as I never went to the doctors either.
Definitely have much nicer periods now, only very occasionally is it agony, though I often have an upset stomach. I’ve never heard of kids making periods easier until this thread - always thought it must be a coincidence!
I think it would definitely be worth a trip to the GP.

Yes, me, exactly. Pill worked as a teenager and then stopped working early 20's (moved country and think the pills changed). GP's wouldn't do anything so went private at 26 (after years of passing out in foreign countries on business trips, having ambulances called by hotels etc etc). Private gynae was amazing, asked if I could have a baby as it would sort it but when I said not at present(!), got me in for surgery (repeated every 5 years) to clear endometriosis (couldnt do anything about adenomyoisis as didnt want hysterectomy then!) and put me on the Mirena coil. Transformed my life, literally.

I had terrible period pain with the pain radiating down my legs when I was younger and would vomit every month. My mother told me that's just how things were and was very unsympathetic. Never went to a doctor about it but avoiding alcohol and eating a healthy diet helped a bit. Evening primrose oil made a bit of a difference but not for very long. As other have said it disappeared completely after I had children. I had no fertility problems (had 3DC in my late 30s/early 40s all conceived first month of trying) so I don't think it was endometriosis or anything like that. It is very bizarre now in my late 40s and everyone around me is talking about the menopause and my periods are the least hassle they've ever been, I sometimes forget it's my period! FWIW Mum said the menopause was not an issue at all for her so hoping it's the same for me.

I think it is really dismissive of doctors to suggest having a baby to cure what can be a really painful disease like endo.

Not everyone wants a baby and having a baby is not proven to cure endo.

@countfosco I went through menopause a couple of years ago with only the very occasional hot flush! Absolutely no other symptomns and consider myself very lucky. Maybe you're right - you only have to suffer at one end!

I think you need another referral to gynae. I had similar issues and developed chronic abdo pain. Had a variety of tests (scans, colonoscopy), nothing showed up. I pushed for a gynae referral and it found Endometriosis (although only a small amount - sometimes the pain isn’t proportional to the amount you have). I suspect I might have adenomyosis too. I’ve tried going on the pill but I hated it - it made me low in mood, greasy hair, spots, no sex drive. I didn’t get on with the Mirena at all! I can’t take anti-inflammatories but if you can you should ask your GP to prescribe stronger ones, you could ask to try menfamic acid which could help too. Don’t be fobbed off by this. It’s not normal to feel like this with periods.

@countfosco womanthatfelltoearth - I've always kind of dreaded the menopause as my periods as so bad. Although as I've gotten into my 30s I have started hoping for an early menopause - this whole problem with my periods feels so utterly pointless to me because I don't want children, there's literally no reason at all for me to have periods. I know there are downsides to an early menopause but honestly, from my own personal point of view, I would be so happy to have an early menopause. My mum was in her late 40s though so probably won't happen.

@faithinfinity - see when you say chronic abdo pain do you mean like pain higher up in your abdomen? I get fairly regular but very mild gallbladder type pain and pain around my belly-button but have never though much of it because it's so minor. I've had a laparoscopy already but they didn't find anything although I've heard endo can be so small it can be missed.

OP, yes I had exactly what you are describing in my late teens. I can remember throwing up many times, the sweats, shaking, collapsing on a bench in the town centre, throwing up in the bushes behind, then a bit of relief and enough energy to drag myself home but being totally wiped out. It is awful. The pill stopped it for 12 years until I came off it to have DC and they have not been as bad as before, but are still horribly painful and draining. A moon cup helped for a few months (I don't know why!) but have just had a pretty painful one which bought back all the horrible memories. I do wonder if I have endometriosis as I have some of the other symptoms and I have heard the same about the pill masking symptoms.
The only thing that works/worked for me was pain killers (nurofen better than paracetamol which did not touch the sides) and lying down, trying to sleep curled up in a ball until the worst passed or I vomited.
I am not medical at all so this is just a total guess but I wonder if you were on the pill when you had your laparoscopy (or only been off it a while) if you do have endometriosis it could maybe not have been visible enough due to the pill reducing your symptoms? AFAIK the pill mimics pregnancy symptoms, which is one of the things that really helps with endometriosis as the tissue doesn't build up as much every month.
Good luck, I hope you get some relief soon.