Utterly wretched period pain - what can I ask for?

[SunsetGirl]

Laid up in bed once again with the most utterly wretched, debilitating period pain. Hot water bottle taking the edge off and praying that the ibuprofen kicks in soon - sometimes it just fails to work though.

It's gotten much worse in the last year, I'm going to go to the GP, what can I ask to try?

+I can't use transexamic acid due to family blood clot history
+ditto the combined pill
+Mini pill makes me bleed constantly
+Ditto the mirena coil, plus the last one I had slipped and got embedded on the way out.
+Tried mefenamic acid once, it worked but made me very spacey - I wouldn't feel safe to drive
+Can't use a TENS device as I have ectopic beats

I take the max on-the-box dose of ibuprofen, but it takes an hour to kick in and the effects only last for 3-4 hours so I'm stuck when I can't have any more.

I'm sick of losing three or four days of my life out of every 26. Help!

I sympathise with your pain levels. I'd ask your GP to refer you to a relevant gynaecology specialist. There are a few different medications or combinations that might help, but it sounds like you really need to speak to someone who specialises in this area.

Can you try just running contraceptive pill packets together without taking a break?

I'd probably go for a combination of things:

1. Paracetamol - yes it's not great but it has a half life longer than the drug itself so if you take it religiously every 6 hours the effect builds up.

1. Co-codamol isn't ideal but it is effective - obviously remember you need to not take it at the same time as Paracetamol but you could switch a dose out at night. Solpadeine MAX is the highest strength OTC option you can get.

1. I am always really surprised how effective a hot water bottle is - I often forget about it and then use one and it is surprisingly decent.

It might be contraindicated if you aren't allowed buscopan but you could check if you can take Colofac (generic is Mebeverine) which is another antispasmodic.

I think there's also a drug you can take for 6-9 months which has a significant impact on endo and I think can be used as a fairly effective differential diagnosis tool - I'll wrack my brains and try and remember it.

Edited to add: I think it's norethisterone, which is progesterone based as far as I can remember.

I used to go to my surgery & get some sort of hormone injection - I used to get cold sweats, nausea diarrhoea, and of course, extreme contractions of pain - convulsions - to the point of being bed-ridden every now & again.

Start taking pain relief before the pain starts as soon as you notice blood. I echo taking paracetamol and ibuprofen every 2 hours. I throw up and have almost blacked out with the pain in the past so feel your pain. The above helps take the edge off only if I start pain relief before pain starts.

I wish! I used to, before I learned just how many people on my mum's side had blod clot issues.

I used to have horrendous periods. You have my sympathy. I don't have the medical answer you're looking for (you can't use the Mirena coil), but it's so miserable I want to try to help.
So, my very obvious coping tips, just in case they help while you're finding a better answer.
I used the max (slightly more than the max) dose of ibuprofen too and I found ibuprofen gel helpful.
I found for just getting started pain, if I didn't have to go anywhere, a glass of wine could help.
For full-blown bad as it gets pain stay hydrated, small sips of water, especially if you're tossing, turning, sweating and vomiting.
The key, key, thing for me was to find a way to relax because being tense made it worse. So, how do you relax?
How about: blanket, TV (nothing that requires too much concentration), warm drink (not caffeine)?Day off work if needed and possible. Don't beat yourself up about it. You're going to a doctor. Hopefully you'll find a better answer. Xx

Mine completely disappeared when I went on a low carb diet.

I used to have horrendous periods and the only thing that helped was vigorous physical activity on the days running up to my period. I would then barely notice my period.
I got pregnant and after giving birth had to have a D&C. Since then my periods have been about a quarter the flow and pain free. A friend started having erratic bleeding and her private gynaecologist recommended a D&C and again it sorted everything out.
Go back to the gp, ask to be referred and try not to let them fob you off. I suspect if men had periods treatment would be more common.