I don't want to have my period anymore!

[cindybubbles]

This is what I just said to my mother tonight. Although the Pill helps take care of any breakthrough bleeding between periods, it's the pain during the period, the kind that I call my "ow", that's really bad.

So bad, that if I didn't have such an aversion to surgery, I'd go for a hysterectomy right NOW. So bad that I once had to lie down on my bed to say my prayers. So bad that I had to miss a friend's birthday party and spend some of the day lying down.

So far, taking a combination of ibuprofen and tums helps, though, but the sharp pain is not known for making me think rationally.

Right now, I don't feel any pain, but I'm hoping it will go away soon. I can't wait to go back on the Pill (right now I'm on the sugar pills).

What about you? Are your "ows" as bad as mine, or better, or worse?

[Shyla]

I go back and forth. Some worse than others. I'm on the pill which helps some. It takes some experimentation to get the version of the pill that truly helps you. Do you have any other condition like endometriosis?

[AnaKhouri]

I was period free for some time because I was pregnant and breastfeeding, but I wouldn't recommend that as a solution to your problem.

I am actually still nursing but beginning to wean and it's been kind of wacky this time, I had one in May, cramps but no bleeding in June, and this month cramps and minimal bleeding. Last time, with #1 Son, I kept taking the minipill even after I stopped breastfeeding and ended up having 3 periods in 6 weeks. This time I know the minipill has to go as soon as #2 Son is weaned, and I have to go back to my regular pills. I was surprised how bad the cramps were, my regular pill must really keep them under control.

[Aragarthiel]

My body was weird about it before Little Ara was born. I'd miss every third period just 'cause, so I didn't know I was pregnant until I missed two in a row. After having her, I had an IUD that was nothing but trouble and I bled for two months (right after having bled for two months because I had her, so that's four months straight!). Eventually my body rejected the IUD, and I got put on a pill that took my periods from 7 days to 5 so now I only have ONE day during a period when I need both overnight pads and tampons to make it through (instead of five days like it had been). My cramps seem to have gotten less painful but now they give me diarrhea, which isn't fun. All things considered though, the pill I'm on has been great to me. I agree with the above statement that you should keep trying until you find something that works for you, it's totally worth it!

[KellyHabersham]

I've never had cramps during a period, guess I should consider myself lucky after reading what you guys go through with that.

[TawnyMyst]

I tend to spend the first couple days taking naproxen at a fairly heavy dose, cleared by my doctor, and curled around a heating pad - which does wonders for the cramps. I try not to move too much as that sends off a fresh round of cramps, bleed thru a super plus tampon and overnight pad in an hour to two hours. The next 4-5 days are light bleeding off the type - am I still on it or not?

[Kittish]

I have seriously bad cramps every two to three periods. Spend the day in bed curled around something warm and crying bad. Even when they're not 'bad' I usually spend at least one day randomly being almost knocked down by the occasional cramp. I also have had unpleasant reactions to various sorts of chemical birth control. Severe weight gain is the least of them.

So far I've found ONE solution to cramps that cuts them down to something tolerable and leaves me able to function. Ibuprofen, naproxen, acetaminophen, aspirin... none of them do diddly squat for my cramps, even in dangerously high doses. Prescription muscle relaxers work, but they also knock me out. I have prescription diclofenac potassium (another NSAID) for cluster headaches, and while it works great for those, it just barely touches menstrual cramps.

The one solution I've found? Marijuana. It helps cut the pain down to something manageable, then makes it possible for me to ignore even that and get on with my day. I'm a little more klutzy and easily distracted, but compared to the cramps that's sunshine and rainbows. Thank goodness I live in a state where it's legal for medical use.

[jedimaster91]

I tend to spend the first couple days taking naproxen at a fairly heavy dose, cleared by my doctor, and curled around a heating pad - which does wonders for the cramps. I try not to move too much as that sends off a fresh round of cramps, bleed thru a super plus tampon and overnight pad in an hour to two hours. The next 4-5 days are light bleeding off the type - am I still on it or not?

That's usually how mine go too. I find a hot shower or bath works wonders as well. Naproxen is a glorious thing and works far better for me than ibuprofen ever did.

[BlaqueKatt]

I have fibroids, and was turned down for a clinical trial to get rid of them because "they're probably too large by now"(diagnosed over 5 years ago and they were over 5cm). it's awful, I had to switch to a menstrual cup because disposables weren't cutting it(and the cup barely does, it holds 1.5 oz and needs changing every hour). I really can't wait for menopause.
as far as pain relief, 4 ibuprofen, 2 naproxen taken together(dr. approved for the first day only) taken 2x a day.

[cindybubbles]

I go back and forth. Some worse than others. I'm on the pill which helps some. It takes some experimentation to get the version of the pill that truly helps you. Do you have any other condition like endometriosis?

I have fibroids inside the muscles of the uterine wall.

[cindybubbles]

I take 1 ibuprofen with each meal and 2 more at night (each with a pudding cup). I also take Tylenol and Tums, so that helps.

It's the clots that make my cramps really bad. I've thought about marijuana and other prescription painkillers like morphine, but I'm afraid that I will become addicted to them.

[EvilEmpryss]

I had fibroids and at least one day a month I was useless from the pain. I ran through everything from medications to the cauterization of the lining of my uterus to no avail. Since I have two healthy kids and a stable marriage, when I was offered the hysterectomy by my doc I jumped at it. It has been the best thing I have ever done for my health and I have never regretted it. They did the whole procedure vaginally, so no belly scars. The worst part of the recovery was going to the bathroom the first few days after: no pushing!

Realize that your situation may differ in may aspects (kids, other health issues, marital relationship, etc.), but if you've done everything else, you might want to look into it. I still have my ovaries so I still have the hormones so no early menopause.

Definitely look into the cauterization deal first, though. It might work on your fibroids without the more extreme hysterectomy surgery. I believe the cauterization does mean you're sterile after that, so make sure you understand all the details from your doc before you go in for it.

[morgana]

Yes, endometrial ablation will sterilize you. But if you seriously never want the period again, EA will do it.

Yeah, I understand wanting to never do 'that' again. Boy, do I.

I have had cramps so bad my companions could see the muscles of my belly moving. I have passed clots larger than my thumb. I have had vomiting and clots and diarrhea at the same time. I have soaked a super-plus tampon in 34 minutes.

Before chemical birth control and ibuprofen, the only thing that helped was heat. I have literally burnt myself with a heating pad to get relief from the cramps. Oddly enough, if I could get the cat to lie on my belly, that was THE BEST EVAR. (Heat, pressure, purring . . . Oh, bliss.)

I was the youngest person in my small hometown ever to go on the pill (at that time); I had just turned 13 and my mother was PISSED at my doctor. I stayed on the pill even after my first husband had a vasectomy, because it meant I could function.

And the capper, of course, was that my mother, who had never had a cramp in her life that didn't involve a baby coming out, did not believe me that I was in that much pain.

Menopause was a blessing.

[cindybubbles]

Update: I'm feeling much better now.

It's the clots that are bad. The worst part is that they, and the flow that goes with them, used to be able to get out onto a pad on their own; now I have to sit on the toilet and pee them out.

My flow is not as much as some of the other posters here in this thread. It doesn't even make it to the pad most of the times; it just stays there until I have to use the washroom. I still use pads, though, since I don't want to take any chances.

[MoonCat]

My youngest sister used to get cramps so bad that she'd end up in bed for half a day; IIRC she even got nausea. It helped to tie a scarf snugly around her abdomen to keep some pressure on it.

I used to find that walking helped; for some people, it works to ease the cramps.

Re: the cat....Somewhere I read that cats purr at the same frequency that is used for therapeutic soundwaves (which is used to aid healing).