Have you ever had period so bad you considered going to A&E?

[Basilneedswaterandsun]

Today, for 6 hours I was on my hands and knees, crying out and wretching with pain it was that bad. I’ve taken feminax plus (naproxen) and paracetamol - did not touch the fucking sides. Luckily I’m at home.

It’s easing off now but at one point I thought I can’t cope with this level of pain (10/10) for much longer and thought how bad would it look if I presented to A&E with period pain, given that despite the agony it’s not going to kill me. Realistically though I couldn’t even go downstairs let alone get to A&E. Also I would feel ashamed about wasting services so would never actually do it. But the thought did cross my mind.

Have you ever had period pain this bad? Have you ever thought this?

I get period pain badly every month but not this bad. Gonna have to take myself to the GP to look at options.

Take two ibuprofen immediately. Two hours later, 2x paracetamol, the ibuprofen two hours after, and so on.

Use a hot water bottle. Hot baths. Rock back and forth, and round and round, while standing.

This has helped me in the past. X

Depending on the cause, ibuprofen isn't recommended as it can make things worse. It was the first thing the gynae said to me to stop taking them. It's on all my discharge papers to not take them.

I spent some time a few years ago going to A&E for a few days in a row, I was in so much pain I couldn't remain conscious, when I was awake I was screaming and sobbing and the bleeding was horrendous. I was so unwell, my mental health was in tatters, it was over a sat/sun/bank holiday mon so no GP available, the dr in a&e was a disgrace, she sneered at me repeatedly and told me it's just my periods and it would pass.
I went back every time I couldn't cope with the pain and in the end they gave me a whole load of Oramorph to take home, no follow up or anything.
It turns out I had ovarian cysts that were bursting and endometriosis.
The lovely women's nurse at the gp surgery in the end sorted me out, I came very close to losing everything, zonked out on my sofa full of morphine, no one checked on me in days, if it hadn't been for a friend walking her dog passed my front room window and saw me, I hate the think what would have happened.

Yes, I have had this. Thankfully not every month. I rang my GP who had a doctor call me back within an hour who wrote me a prescription for tranexamic acid which she sent straight round to the pharmacy. So I only had to pop to the pharmacy to pick it up which I guess is a lot less effort than waiting in a&e for hours with that sort of pain. The tranexamic acid sorted me out pretty quickly too.

I have since found out I have PCOS and endometriosis so as PP's have suggested it's definitely worth getting double checked for underlying issues because it's really not normal to feel like that.

And yes, having had a child I can also confirm it is a worse pain than labour!

You need to be taking either Naproxen or Ibuprofen 48 hours before your period is due to start if you can. I suffered from endometriosis & my periods were crippling, I used to have to curl up in bed with painkillers & a hot water bottle, I pushed the amount of painkillers I took to the limit, 2400mg of ibuprofen with codeine, 8 x 30/500mg co-codamol & 8 30mg dihydracodeine on my worst days, I was off my face & doped up to the eyeballs, i was in no fit state to work & still in pain for at least 2 days a month. The pain dragged me to the floor, I fainted several times & spent many hours curled up on the bathroom floor because every period also brought horrific stomach cramps & diarrhoea. After my diagnosis of endometriosis my doctor prescribed Norethisterone to stop my periods, the pain reduced but didn't completely go away, I felt permanently bruised & heavy, as though I had a bowling ball in my pelvis, I had backache, the backs & insides of my thighs ached & felt permanently sore. Having a hysterectomy was the best decision I had ever made, within 24 hours of having the op, I felt like a new woman, the heaviness & pain had gone away, I was still sore but compared to the painful periods, it was nothing.

Yes I have I woke up in the middle of the night and my legs were buckling from the pain, I fell over in the bathroom.

It really is no exaggeration to say that the pain can be unbearable. It's fucking dreadful and makes you feel absolutely awful.

I hope you get something which helps you OP, I take co-codamol with ibuprofen, one of each every two hours and this seems to take the edge off.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply. I’m feeling totally wiped out but, thank heavens, no longer in pain.
I shall be calling the GP tomorrow to make an appt.

Glad to hear the pain has eased. Good luck with your GP.

I had really bad period pain and was literally screaming with pain. I then passed some clots and did go to A&E. Turned out I had some large polyps in my womb and when I had my period my womb was trying to expel them by literally contracting and giving me labour pains. I had them removed by a painless op and now I get a bit of discomfort when my period is due - but that is all.

I would definitely go to the GP and tell them how bad it is and ask to get checked out.

X

To the lady that had a baby in a taxi- I'd been in labour all day but had no idea as it was nowhere near as bad as a period . My waters broke when it finally twigged and ds was born 2 hours later !

Basil

I would think that endometriosis is the root cause here of your very painful periods. Any pain that is cyclical in nature and or gets worse up to and including menses should be investigated properly by a gynae to see if endo is present. It can also take a highly skilled gynae to spot endo during a lap operation as it does not always present typically. It can therefore get missed. "Mild" disease can give the most amount of pain, more chronic endo can cause less pain overall.

If you do not already do this I would suggest you also keep a daily pain and symptom diary as this would give the gynae clues.

My labour pains were not as severe as my period pains due to endometriosis. They were swift to start, extremely painful and completely unpredictable in nature.

If men only knew............

I adore my many DDs, but a part of me was sad that I knew they might have all this rubbish to go through.