Periods

[FloralBunting]

It's the middle of the night, and I cannot sleep because the cramps from my period are so intensely painful it is taking my breath away. I've come on FWR because it helps to distract me. I've taken painkillers. Twice today I have flooded and I suspect the intensity tonight means another heavy gush is incoming. It's also quite a warm night, and my temperature always goes up a bit when I'm on which is making the discomfort worse. The pain is coming in waves, much like early labour, from the small of my back, deep into my abdomen and radiating down my thighs. Every few minutes I am gasping when it gets a bit too much.

Of all the things about being a woman that are difficult, periods are one of the suckiest.

That sucks. I had quite bad periods when I was younger, I am so happy I grew out of that, though they've become quite heavy of late.

I guess you've looked into the medical side of things?

Yes - I'm perimenopausal, so there's a lot of that change crap going on. The bastard thing also comes when it feels like and im late this time round, and for some reason it's always worse if it's a longer cycle.

I suffered , but not as bad as that, latterly and was offered endometrial ablation. It was done as a day patient- in and out in a matter of hours. Instant cure. I never had another period. I must have gone through the menopause but didn't notice it.

YY periods are shit whichever way you look at them.

Hope you feel better soon.

I may ask about that when I next see the GP Lass, thanks.

You have my sympathy, I've spent many nights unable to sleep because of period pain. I have a couple of related conditions and a full period pain arsenal including opiates but the only thing that gave any relief was a warm bath. Thank God for the endless top ups provided by a combi boiler. I'm peri too and really hoping it's all over. Hope it eases up soon and you manage to get some sleep.

I discovered, on holiday, that being in the pool, where the water covered my stomach, was an instant relief. The pain disappeared. And reappeared the instant I got out.

So a full bath, if possible, might well work the same way.

Other than that, paracodal followed eventually by childbirth did the trick.

Feeling for you floral.

For me one of the worst things is the lack of sleep on the first day/night before. I wake up dozens of times, have horrible dreams and feel exhausted before I'm even out of bed, and then have a day of cramps etc.

Hence why I'm up at a ridiculous time on Saturday feeling like shit. I wish we could spontaneously change sex sometimes!

Oh floral, I'm sorry.

That sounds horrific. I second a bath and I even wonder if a tens machine might help? And cocodamol.

For a completely unrelated reason I was reading about vitamin a in developing countries via the WHO (supplementation for breastfeeding mothers, infant outcome etc, I'm breastfeeding and it was one if those late night bfing oooh this is interesting things) and I stumbled across research on how good vitamin a status can help heavy periods. Obviously vit a supplementation is one of those things you need to be careful of but it did make me wonder if it could be something to look into, mine were horrendous after my first child. Prior to that barely noticeable. Dreading their return.

But yes all the above is why when I read some of the self conceited tra feeling like a woman, wanting to be a woman in the context of all the shit that women around the globe have to cope with, I am so fucked off and have zero fucks to give about 'feels.' So offensive.

Datun was it warm or cold water that helped?

According to Caroline Criado-Perez, Viagra is amazing for period pains but medical researchers weren't interested as men's erections took priority

Sympathy.

I used to get floored by my cramps. Keeled over in pain.

It's not so bad these days, 30 years on, but I remember it well.

It sucks.

Have you ever had a coil like mirena? That can be used to reduce pain and bleeding and can be very effective
I feel like I have a bowling ball in my stomach today, waiting for my period to start

Interesting about Viagra for period pain. Women are dismissed and their pain overlooked or labelled as pyschological. But a man's hard on is such a pressing matter.

*NeurotrashWarrior

Datun was it warm or cold water that helped?

Warm-ish. I didn't try cold.

sympathy to all period sufferers. Mine were awful when I was teens/early 20s, I'd often have to be off school, sometimes the pain would make me vomit.

Going on the pill seemed to alleviate them, luckily for me.

I went through this agony for years. Turned out was undiagnosed endometriosis. This was only discovered when I couldn't stand it any longer and went privately to a woman gynaecologist in my 40s. Previous GPs hadn't even investigated. I was just a moaning woman who should take a paracetamol and STFU.

I bought some tablets over the counter from a dodgy pharmacist in Thailand. God knows what was in them, but they sure took care of the pain and made you feel GREAT! Go directly to jail.

My sympathies, having suffered for years from appalling period pain (it was a Mirena coil when I was 42 that finally ended the cramps and reduced the Niagara-like bleeding), including pain severe enough to keep me awake crying with the pain at nights.

My periods ended with a sudden 'That's it, no more' when I was 52 -none of the flooding, etc that I know many other women suffer in the run-up to it.

I know your pain. I've had laparoscopic surgery twice, had the injections to induce a chemical menopause (in my mid 20s), had two children... Now having some success with the mirena and mini pill. Did make my mental health take a dive initially due to all the hormones swirling but thankfully settled.

Being a woman is just so wonderful sometimes. /s

floral
I went through early menopause so now I recreate my periods with HRT but I remember well the hideousness of intense period pain. I never had especially heavy periods, but they were frequent, 21-23 day cycles.
I recently skipped a month of progesterone, making the subsequent period much heavier. My gosh, I have a better understanding now of how crap heavy periods are.
Hope you feel better soon.

Mirena coil sorted this out for me. Past all this thankfully now.

Couple of painkillers and a hot water bottle at the small of your back (I know you said it's warm this always helped me!)

The viagra thing is appalling. Fucking typical.

Does the Mirena help with the effects of the up and down hormones over the whole cycle? I was also suffering around ovulation.

In peri meno , with a longer cycle, the uterine lining builds up and up, and then when you do bleed there is too much blood to pass easily through the cervix. It backs up, giving labour like pain, and clotting.
I had a few like this, they were horrendous. As painful as early labour and flooding through a towel in under a minute. Actually called NHS direct at one point.
After years of very easy periods it was a shock, and gave me great sympathy for women who have flooding and extreme pain every month.