If you suffer from BAD period pains please come and talk to me about how you manage them...if this is period pain that is.

[panicpants]

Ok quick history...have always had painful periods but over the last year my periods have become unbearable (bleeding not a problem). The pains have become worse and worse, and no matter how many times I go to the gp, NOTHING they give me effects or even numbs the pain slightly. Have tried methanemicacid (sp), the usual pain killers and some really heavy duty ones which nearly knock me out..but nothing works.

The pain has shifted...so that instead of having pain lower down in my tummy, I have a constant soreness all over (which is fine, can cope with that) and then waves of pain high up in my tummy and to the right under my ribs...it's this pain which is unbearable.

It starts a few days before my period, and lasts for about a week.

However, since June I have also had 4 boughts of sickness/tummy bug with this exact same pain. Once it coincided with my period, but not the other times.

The last time I was sick (we are talking days of throwing up every 20 mins complete with the pain) I was admitted to hospital where they suspected gull stones or something similiar..but no diagnosis.

I have a gp appt this week..and really don't want to be fobbed off with 'It's just painful periods' again.

Any ideas? Advice?

TIA

[mummatoone]

I always used tampons but will try towels next month.

Ca I ask everyone about weight loss - My problems only came on when I started dieted - joined WW in April and ahve lost 1 and half stones in a few months

[rookiemater]

Ok panicpans, whoops pants.

Hello Attila too ( Attila was one of the ones who convinced me to insist on the gynae referral in the first place)

Unfortunately yes, having pain outside your periods is consistent with Endo, or certainly with how I experience it.
However it might be something else it is so difficult to say.

What sort of level of pain is it ? Is it as bad as during the period, same sort of place ? Also does anything cause it to flare up, might be worth doing a food diary to see if anything you eat seems to make it worse. As I posted before I'm making a concerted effort to avoid alcohol, caffeine and wheat around the time of my period to see if that eases symptoms.

[panicpants]

I did only click on post once, honestly!!

[panicpants]

pains not pans

[panicpants]

pains not pans

[panicpants]

pains not pans

[panicpants]

pains not pans

[panicpants]

Vigilanteawarenessraiser - thanks for all that...have only just come onto mumsnet just now, didn't get a chance yesterday.
Well I'll give it ago and see what happens.
I'm STILL having pans despite my period fnishing last weekend..is that consistant with endo??

[Vigilanteawarenessraiser]

forgot to say, hi Attila [vigilante jumps up and down and waves], just spotted you over on Mummatoone's thread, but I think everyone's over here now so I'm posting here instead.

Sorry, hijack over.

[Vigilanteawarenessraiser]

Hi, back again

I've taken some but not all of these.

1. Prochlorperazine buccal tablets for the sickness and nausea - i don't know these.

1. Diclofenac suppositories (yuck) which is an anti inflammatory pain killer - haven't taken them, but if that's what they are, I think they're similar to mefenamic acid, which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory.

Let me know if they're good. Lots of people say suppositories are better, as they work more quickly.

1. Ranitidine tablets - for controlling acid - is this like pariet/lanzoprazole/omeprazole?

1. Colpermin peppermint oil - which is for IBS spasms. - yep, had it. Didn't find it helped me much, but i never had real irritable bowel, only very problematic endo.

1. Tranexamic acid - which I think is a bit like mefanemic acid but stronger. - actually a bit different, it is to stop you bleeding so heavily but isn't a painkiller AFAIK. I had it when I was a kid. TheOnlyDailyMale just said it's best when combined with mef. acid - wish my doctor had known that. Maybe that's what yours is trying with the diclofenac?

I used to get some months when the pain was less bad, if that's what you mean by alternating? Or do you mean alternating sides? But honestly, it's such a weird illness, it's amazing how strange and diverse the symptoms can be, and they really won't know until they do a laparoscopy.

I'm yet another person in whom repeat scans showed nothing, and it took 13 years to diagnose me, although I had it severely. Mummatoone, I think you're really lucky to have such a good GP, but unfortunately that's less common than you might think.

I'm also another person who had been helped by switching to [whispers] washable sanitary pads which are gorgeous and soft and comfy and I just love them to bits. Some have flowers and some have stripes and spots and polka dots and if I don't stop rhapsodising about them I will double the length of this post. Apparently the problem with tampons is that they're full of chemicals to make them super absorbent, but they work too well and suck up more than they should. The chemicals are also toxic and are potentially harmful to health.

Newsflash! there is a very interesting article here on a new, non-invasive diagnostic method that looks very promising and is being developed in Austraila and Jordan. It was badly reported in the Telegraph.

[rookiemater]

I'm afraid I don't know much about those, think I have had tranexamic acid but none of the rest. It does seem as if she is viewing it more as an IBS thing rather than period related, but I'm not in the medical profession so perhaps they all will help.

I don't know what to say other than give it a whirl and at least you have an open door to go back after the next period if they don't get any better.

Do let us know how you get on (don't envy you on the suppositaries though, have always managed to avoid them even when living in Belgium where they seem to be obsessed with them)

[panicpants]

Well I have been..and think I was blindsidded by the amount of drugs that I have come away with, that I think I may have been fobbed off but didn't realise it until after I had left the drs!!

Ok I have got:

1. Prochlorperazine buccal tablets for the sickness and nausea.

1. Diclofenac suppositories (yuck) which is an anti inflammatory pain killer

1. Ranitidine tablets - for controlling acid

1. Colpermin peppermint oil - which is for IBS spasms.

1. Tranexamic acid - which I think is a bit like mefanemic acid but stronger.

I think the idea is the dr is treating it as the on set of my period is causing a lot of stomach problems (as my pains are so high up). So she is going to try these and I have to go back after my next period.

I am a bit dedazzled by all the drugs andhope I can remember how/when to take them all..and if it does improve how will I know which one (or 2) are being effective?

Anyone else take any of the above??

[bruffin]

I went for about 2 years with fairly awful period pains. They used to build up each month and then a pretty horrific one, where I would get a high temperature as well. Next month it would be a lot less painful and then would build up again over the next 3 or 4 months. This actually coincided with changing to a mooncup but I think it was a coincidence.

I was given menafenic acid which helped a bit and duphaston which just made me feel terrible for 10 days instead of the 3 days of my period, so I stopped taking it.

I had a scan and they found small endometrial cysts on my ovaries, but the gynecologist I saw said they had nothing to do with it and that I was perimenopausal and was only interested in giving me a mirena coil, which I didn't want.

I am pretty sure that each month the cyst were building and finally bursting or something like that.
Thankfully just as suddenly as it all started it seemed to stop and i now just get very heavy periods for a few days and this year I am only getting one every two months. I am 46.

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

Hi panicpants,

re your comment:-

"I was going to ask about the scan...I've had a few over the last 6 months or so due to ttc and it has never been mentioned. If I had endometriosis wouldn't it have already been picked up?"

No, not necessarily. Endometriosis was only discovered in my uterine cavity when the surgeon operated on my ovaries due to another subfertility problem (and I started having period problems at 14 upon the start of menstruation. All that I now know was due to endometriosis!). Up till that time no-one had ever mentioned endo to me either as a possible cause for all the pain I suffered up to and during my (infrequent) periods. And I had had more internal scans than I care to mention as part of the subfertility investigations.

[rookiemater]

I don't use tampons any more. I have some very worthy books about endo and they recommend that you try to avoid lots of things such as chemicals in cleaning materials, pretty much everything I enjoy eating or drinking and not keen on tampons, can't remember why.

Can't quite bring myself to buy a mooncup though, I suspect it will be like the Ergo where everyone raves about how marvellous it was and I never figure out how the damn thing works

[panicpants]

I hadn't heard that before. But I must admit when I am really bad I can't face using tampons and have used pads. But only in the house though. Do you know why tampons make you heavier?

[morningpaper]

They can make your periods heavier and more painful

Pads or mooncups much better if you have painful periods IMO

[panicpants]

Avoid tampons? really? Why?

[morningpaper]

POOR YOU

It all sounds horrendous, I have no suggestions other than keeping banging on at your GP until you are referred to a specialist

And avoid tampons

[mummatoone]

yes youre right Rookie makes sense.

[panicpants]

I was going to ask about the scan...I've had a few over the last 6 months or so due to ttc and it has never been mentioned. If I had endometriosis wouldn't it have already been picked up?

[rookiemater]

Mummatoone it may be worth going for the scan anyway. Although it may not show up endo, if its something else such as fibroids then that might show up.

I didn't mean to give the impression it wasn't worth going for the scan, it has the advantage over the lap of being non invasive and not surgery. So if thats being offered first with the lap dependant on the results of the scan then that makes sense.

[mummatoone]

thanks Rookie gosh dont apologise for talking about your problems I think its brilliant to hear how others get through this awful, awful condition.

Im so surprised at other posts that GP's feel unsympathetic and it takes so long to get referrals - my GP at the very first appointment mentioned referal and the 2nd time I went did the letter and sent it there and then....do GP's honestly think we just go in for a moan and groan and enjoy endless internals by every tom, dick and harry?!

Im still very unsure if this is what have as like Ive said before its comes usually 1st full day of period bleed then goes the next day. Anyway will hopefully soon know, if they say they will go for the scan Im going to refuse as endo doesnt show up so whats the point?

[blinks]

took me 11 years of horrendous crippling pain to be diagnosed with endometriosis.

not one GP was helpful.

[TheOnlyDailyMaleForMeisDH]

Nefamic acid should be combined with Transxemic acid for best effect for bad period pain. Also if you are through with having children, ask for a laporoscopy and request laser treatment at the same time for any endo patches.

Pain which stops you functioning does require a referral as others have said. Perhaps the answer is to stop your periods entirely (minipill or coil will probably do this) for a period of at least six months?