Dysmenorrhea??

[Cudz]

When I was a teenager I used to suffer with incredibly bad periods where on the first day of my period every month without fail I would get severe stomach cramps, vomit for approx 4-5 hours, have diarrhea and pass out at least once or twice from the pain and utter exhaustion. Once those 4-5 hours had passed i was utterly exhausted but all pain, nausea and diarreah disappeared until the following month when day one came.again. As you can imagine this really affected my quality of life and I'd have to miss a day of college/uni each month and one time when it happened while I was at college i got taken into the medical room after passing out from the pain and throwing up in class and i got accused of being on drugs as I looked so poorly and out of it!!! I saw the doctors a few times back then who just shrugged it off as painful periods, offered me different versions of the pill which made no difference and told me my only solution was to get pregnant as it would stop for 9 months (seriously!). Awful as it was I just built it into my life and blocked a day out each month to be ill (absolutely pathetic i just accepted this i know!) and luckily when starting work I had an understanding female boss. After having my ds although my periods were still painful and heavy they were nowhere near as awful as I'd experienced before. However my ds is now 10 and today the agonising pain, vomiting, diarreah and passing out returned worse than ever before when starting my period. I've been in such a state I must have thrown up 30 times. My son found me passed out on the bathroom floor. It's been horrific. My partner was ready to call an ambulance at one point as he said my eyes were rolling back and i couldnt talk to him and he'd never seen anything like it. Luckily I work from home so was in my.own surroundings when it happened but I can't go through this again and I'm going to contact my gp tomorrow. I'm hitting the peri menopause age group so I'm thinking it may be that and after googling I've come across dysmenorrhea and I'm pretty certain that's what I have. In my life I've never met anyone who goes through what I do when starting their period so I'm reaching out to see if there is anyone else like me out there and what treatment if any you've had to help? Now I'm older I'll obviously be more assertive with my gp to get help as I cannot face going through this again next month. I'm literally already petrified of it happening again and I have a full month ahead yet!

Yes when I was young. Ask for mefenamic acid, effective painkiller but prescription only. It's disgraceful that women are still suffering this, pure bloody sexism. Have you tried any of the hormonal contraceptives that can stop periods? You can take many back to back to prevent bleeding. Again, not mentioned to women.

There may be more permanent surgical solutions too.

@Summerhillsquare thanks for replying and your suggestions. I've read about the acid you mention after my googling session tonight so that will definately be on my list to discuss with gp. I haven't taken the pill since before my ds was born so well over 10 years now however back then they did try me on a number of different pills and none made any difference and I still went through the same agony every month and most times my period came regardless of me being on them (the gp's just put it down to me having "strong hormones" apparently that over rode the pill!) X

When I was young I had that. I assumed it was normal because in those days nobody talked about it. One older lady I mentioned it to acted really startled when I said it but never said that’s not normal. I wish she had now.

You could be describing me before having children and it was dysmenorrhoea. The labour type pain lasted 4 hours. I only fainted once though and vomited occasionally. I had a procedure at 19 to dilate the cervix and scrape the womb and from then on I suffered little or no pain. The Doctors had to consider it carefully as there is a very slight chance it can lead to miscarriage if over stretched but I was told it was rare. I only wish I'd had it done at age 13. On the plus side labour pain was no surprise 🤦‍♀️

I found the implant and injection stopped bleeds altogether and mostly dealt with my PMS too, but these are accidental by products of the drugs,not actual treatments.

Be prepared to be very persistent! You will be fobbed off.

Sympathies, OP. I had this before children as a younger woman, in my late teens and early 20s, and it was awful. The only saving grace is that my periods were very erratic so I would sometimes go a few months without one. It started to lessen in my early 30s and then for some reason having my first DC totally stopped the pain and also made my periods regular again.

Definitely push for help, you shouldn't have to suffer like this. If either of my DDs suffer the same I'm going to make sure they get the help they need and don't just put up with it like I did as it was awful and I got taken to hospital once after collapsing from the pain and banging my head.

It just makes me so angry looking back at my younger self that I just accepted that a day of my life each month I would be laying in bed doubled up in agony throwing up and messing myself and not one gp I saw really ever helped me. There's no way I am prepared to accept it again now and anyway I can't because I have a job to hold down and a son to support and I don't ever want him to find me passed out on the bathroom floor again as it's really shaken him finding me in such a state today poor thing. I will not be fobbed off this time but its just so sad that we have to fight so hard. If a man had been through what I have today they'd have been in an ambulance and in a hospital bed right now! X

Dysmenorrhea is the name of the symptom, not a diagnosis - it sounds very much like what you have is endometriosis.

We both take
Mefenamic acid - for the pain
Tranexamic acid - to reduce heavy bleeding

phone the GP surgery and ask to book in with a sympathetic GP about period pain who will take it serious - we got lucky we asked the receptionist this and she said Dr … and we saw her (daughter and I) and she is also part time gynaecologist at the hospital and that’s her speciality started on the two above drugs immediately and they have changed our lives.

Also worth discussing your iron levels etc

@Clefable yep mine went after having my ds but today it all came flooding back worse than ever which 10 years after giving birth and hitting those early 40s makes me think its to do with peri menopause putting my hormones out of whack again. I honestly can't go through this again 😥

Dysmenorrhoea is usually something that childbirth helps hence the D&C helping me before first child. I'd be insisting on investigations and asking if they would recommend a D&C if there is a possibility the cervix has tightened. I was diagnosed with a pinhead cervix. I believe this was my problem.

Thought this too OP, it definitely needs investigated.

Dysmenorrhoea does mean painful periods but that was still treated like a diagnoses in my younger days when they couldn't find a reason. I still believe mine was excessive contractions due to pinhead cervix, another known reason for dysmenorrhoea. 🤷‍♀️

'Diagnosis'

Thanks @skyblue really useful. I know from having my smears the nurses always struggle due to me having a tilted cervix so maybe this could be related somehow

I've got that too 🤦‍♀️

They called it retroverted cervix & uterus.

Hope it all goes well with Doctor. I feel your pain. You will definitely get help, try not to worry 👍

Well I've submitted my econsult to the gp this morning with all of my symptoms (we can't ring ours anymore it all has to be done online) and the automated response says I will be contacted by end of day Thursday so fingers crossed this is the start of getting some help before next month's day of hell!

🤞🙏

Got a text from the doctors surgery this afternoon just saying a prescription has been sent to your nominated pharmacy. Didn't even say what the medication was. I went to the pharmacy and its for mefenamic acid. Good in one way but I'm just so annoyed that they haven't even spoken to me over the phone about my symptoms they've just read my econsult and prescribed without any consultation ffs!

Cudz

You need a gynae referral, not just tablets. From what you've written as well I also thought of endometriosis being a possible cause for all this.

Dysmenorrhea” is the medical term for painful menstrual periods. It is certainly in your interest to find out what the cause is.

If finances permit I would phone your local private hospital and arrange to see a gynae for an initial consultation. NHS wait lists are miles long for gynaecology currently hence this suggestion.

Thanks @AttilaTheMeerkat I'm not surprised they've just fobbed me off with tablets it's just typical of my gp surgery. Unfortunately there's no way I could afford private so I will have to do another econsult to try and get the gp to actually see me this time to discuss a referral.

Sorry to revive this thread but I'm just about to start my period anytime now (I can feel all of the twinges and bloating starting). As I got prescribed mefenamic acid without even seeing a GP I don't really know how I should take these? Do I just use them like painkillers so just pop one when the pain starts or do I need to start taking them before I start my period? Any advice would be very welcome x

I had Dysmenohria and Menhorraga from when Instarted my period your with sounds like mine..pills thrown at me and told oh well your unlucky. Nothing worked. Even now at 36 they said they can give mw the pill instead of imvetigating what's going on.

Omg I was goving this when I was a teenager 20 years ago I used it for 2 years did jack all so they stopped at. I asked about it recently and they said to me they no longer prescribe it!!!!!

@MixedCouple they absolutely do as I have it. Unless it's one of those postcode lottery nhs medications where they only prescribe it in areas? Honestly anything to do with women's issues and I feel like gp's really just don't care at all and are happy to fob us off!