My monthly "ow"

[cindybubbles]

Have you or a loved one of yours ever experienced so much menstrual pain that regular painkillers don't cut it? I sure have. It's not so bad that I have to go to the ER, although I've heard of one such person who did.

Every month, I need to take Midol to manage my pain, and even then, sometimes, it's not enough. It's so bad that I've stopped calling my period a "period" or even "menses". I've resorted to calling it this:

OWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!eleventy!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! (Ok, it's not THAT bad; I'm exaggerating here, but I do call it my "ow").

I am a virgin, so I'm wondering if that's the reason. I would also like to know if you or your loved one have/had any "ow".

So, what are your stories?

[AnaKhouri]

I used to get terrible cramps. I remember once in college it was so bad I took 5 Aleve pills at once (2 is the maximum recommended). At that point I didn't care if I died.

I don't know if being a virgin has anything to do with it, but going on birth control (before I had sex) helped me immensely. Instead of roaring, debilitating pain it was just uncomfortable. I've had a baby since then and the pain levels haven't really changed.

I always said if I'd know how much better my cramps would be, I'd have gone on the pill way before I did. I know other people haven't had such a good experience, but I sure did.

My mom on the other hand had endemetriosis and was in terrible pain almost every day, even when she wasn't menstruating. She finally had a hysterectomy in her early 20's (it's why I am adopted) and she said she felt so much better she couldn't believe it.

[Mishi]

Mine was really bad, 7 days of pain and bleeding, but it's much better now that I've had kids. My best friend had similar problems and went on the Pill to help, which it did, quite well. I had a really bad time when I was 13 - heavy bleeding + large clots for 3 weeks on, 1 week off - which stopped after one cycle's worth of the Pill (in an attempt to knock it back into normal). My mother didn't see fit to take me to the doctor for it until I'd been dealing with it for 2 months, and then they took another month to organise testing/ultrasounds and medication. I was told then that I'd be infertile by 25, but I've recently had thorough work-ups to figure out why I have new abdominal pains + a change in my cycle, and discovered that everything is wonderfully healthy.

[fma_fanatic]

I did when I went through puberty. It was bad enough that I would miss at least 1-2 days of school a month from the age of 10 to the age of 18. After that I went on the pill and it helped, but it would still happen every 3-4 months.

I'm just going to say, it doesn't matter if you're a virgin or not, menstrual cramps can hurt like hell. I still get them and there are times when they hurt so bad I fell like I'm going to be sick and have been sick because of them.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

It has nothing to do with being a virgin. Being a virgin just means that your hymen is intact.

Some ladies (like myself) just have really, really bad menstrual cramps. Mine were so bad that I'd go half blind, and pretty much be temporarily paralyzed. Nausea and vertigo were also huge issues.

Talk to your doctor, and ask about going on the birth control after explaining what your symptoms are. After I got on mine (even while still being a virgin for a good number of years after) I barely feel any discomfort anymore.

[sevendaysky]

I have really bad periods myself. Heavy, intense cramping that is only minimally knocked down with iburoprufen to "ugh, that's really uncomfortable" from white-knuckle grabbing the edge of furniture to catch your breath. Along with that comes heavy bleeding over 8 or 9 days (with about 20 days in between) and mood shifts into severe irritation and/or depression at times. I tried a number of medications over the years, and have now finally settled on Amethyst for the time being. It's not perfect- I've had multiple incidents of cramping and spotting over the last 3 months I've been on it - but not a single full day of Ye Olde Hell.

I'm 29, self-avowed NOT INTERESTED in having children EVER, and yet I can't get anyone to just yank the stupid thing out. I have zero use for it and would like to stop flooding my body with hormones just to have a functional life.

[Lyse]

Yep - count me in on the ones that regularly missed school and on one occasion has to have a door removed because I couldn't get off the floor. And there was no pattern to the cycle - 24 days one time, 40 days between periods another. Most of the women on my mom's side had the same issues, but all if them reported that the cramps were almost nonexistent after kids.

I started on the pill as a teen, and stayed in it all through my twenties. I stopped it when I was 30, to see what the cramps were like at that point. Seven years later, my period is still almost clockwork at 28-29 days and the worst cramps are barely a twinge in comparison, even though I haven't ever been pregnant :-)

[Teskeria]

When I was active duty, I was prescribed Norgestic Forte (first word may be mispelled), a muscle relaxer for my period. It did help. Notice I said help, as in it didn't relieve the pain, but it did dull it to a managable level. After I had kids, I still had severe cramps. Haven't really had any bad ones since they did a same day thing (burn the inside of the uterus to destroy growths) about 18 months or so ago. Now I have short mild periods, instead of 7-9 days with lots of pain.

The only time my periods were ever on a schedule was 1 year when I took the pill. Otherwise it averaged 35-45 days and no way to know when it would start until the pain hit.

[Der Cute]

I think when I was younger (mid teens to 20s) the pain was very very bad. In my first few years of the stuff, it was curl up, ibuprofen, don't move. Now, it's ok, take 1 ibuprofen, all good.

Go to the doc, explain, and see what is possible for you. IMO when it's 'losing days of work/school, pain enough to grind teeth, popping pills for hours' that's definitely worth a visit.

[Moogles]

At my worst, I had 10 days of "OMGYOUCANTMOVEANDHAVETOSTAYCURLEDINTHEFETALPOSITI ON"
It was so bad I had an order on file at the pharmacy for Atasol 30s WHENEVER I needed them. Like, I was popping 2 every 4 hours and it still didn't help. I had special heating pads that attached to my undies in the front AND back.

The worst part? My cycle was every 28 days. Exactly 28 days.

Eventually me and the DR agreed to try me on Alesse (I have issues with hormonal BC), knowing there was a decent chance I'd end up in the hospital if I had a reaction. We weren't expecting my periods to instantly become 3 days of barely-there spotting.

Since I had my daughter the severity seems to be cyclical. I'll have 2-3 periods of no cramps, barely any bleeding followed by one that knocks me out for 2 days with 7-9 days of bleeding.

[Marmalady]

Mine weren't too bad at first, but by the time I was 15 I'd spend the first two days feeling as if my stomach was trying to burrow out of me... I've known times when I would be physically sick, though often it would just be retching as I'd have not had anything to eat (because of feeling so wretched). I remember lying in bed, a hot water bottle held against my abdomen, and my mother saying "I don't know what else to suggest" to which I replied "How about a hysterectomy?" Because right then I could have done the op myself, just to be rid of the whole business.

Going on the pill helped dramatically, regulated the cycle and although I still got cramps they were nothing like as bad - I could still function. Nowadays I still get a bit of cramping, but little enough that a couple of paracetamol will do the trick. But I've noticed that since having my son, the actual period has changed from 6 - 7 days of 'light-moderate-light' it's now 3 - 4 days of 'moderate-heavy- heavy-light'

[cindybubbles]

Wow. Compared to you, the pain of my "ow" usually lasts 2-4 days (light/moderate-heavy-heavy-light/moderate), but it's so intense that I'm now typing this with two heated bean bags strapped to my tummy and back, and that's AFTER taking Midol. Since I have anemia, my "ow" drains me dramatically.

My mother is now going to book an appointment with my doctor for this and for my physical. She's also going to ask about The Pill.

[Bright_Star]

Midol helps keep the "cramps from hell" from being too nasty to endure.

[BeeMused]

When I still had my monthly "ow" I took ibuprofen and started to move, mostly on my stationary bike. That helped me against the cramps. Staying in bed or sitting around made things worse. During that time I felt like I was running with my hand break still on. I remember one time where I tried to walk fast and just couldn't.

The pill didn't do anything for me, but then I had my endometrium removed completely, no more bleeding, no more tampons + pad, changing almost hourly... I had a cyst at one of my ovaries too, since they had to poke around in my tummy anyway I had my tubes tied as well.
Eversince... no more cramping... That was 8 years ago, I should have done that earlier.

[AccountingDrone]

I once read a description in a shared world book of short stories that described it perfectly.

The demigod Tempus reached up the butt of a slave, grabbed a handful of guts, and pulled them out. I would modify that to slowly and twisting while pulling.

I adore my hysterectomy. It sucks I had to wait until I was almost 50 for it.