You should read what you provide.

[Treasure]

my cramps intensity would vary from month to month - some it was... "oh, right... bleeding" others it was.. "OMG! Why does my uterus hate me!?!? Plz make it stop tying to claw its way out!"

additionally I get my cramps across the small of my back - it also tends to cause my sciatica to flare up... I've had cramps that went down my legs to where I could barely stand.

when my cramps are bad: lying down - no good, standing - no good, sitting - no good, curled up - no good, pressure against - no good, no pressure - no good,
and as far as meds go - if it didn't knock me out and let me sleep through the worst of it - It didn't really do anything for me...

[Andara Bledin]

I'm lucky in that I almost never have really bad cramps. But for the times when I do, I think it's my ovaries going to war with my uterus as their battleground. >_<

Thankfully, a little ibuprofen does wonders. I've also noticed that if I drink a lot more water the week before I feel much less awful.

^-.-^

[CalyCoRose]

Kanalah - my mom was like this when I'd complain about my cramps to her.

Actually, they weren't bad when I was younger. But now that I'm older, they are incredibly bad. And now I get migraines during my monthly. And having a migraine AND cramps at the same time? Just shoot me, please.

My sister doesn't get the cramps, but she does have a heavy flow (just like me). Which is just as much as a pain in the you-know-what.

Oi.

Tell me again why men can't have the babies?

[Aethian]

I had an ex who I could call, he would bring me a teddy to hold and then push some pressure points on my spine. I would be knocked out for at least three hours.

[wheeitsme]

I had a friend who had such bad cramps that they put her on the pill and large amounts of codiene. I knew she wasn't faking, but I had no idea how that must have felt.

Until I had them that bad. I've had them bad twice. I call them "curl up in the fetal position and just let me die" cramps.

Somebody once asked me what they felt like. I told them it was like someone was trying to cut their way out of my abdomen with a broken plastic serrated knife at irregular but very frequent intervals.

NA was an idiot.

[Can I Help Your A$$?]

When I was in school, we were shown old films. In one of them (which I have seen recently), a doctor tells us that girls who complain of menstrual cramps are simply doing it to get attention. It really exists.

Yes, it was 1975. However, I know for a fact that they were making educational films back then that were realistic. We got to watch stuff from the 50's and 60's.

[Mikkel]

Good gods, and I thought I had it bad with my back pains (arthritis). I have tried blacking out when moving wrong, but being in that much pain for days every month . You are heroes all.

[Sparky]

I never had cramps in my life.

What does that have to do with you? Nothing. Unlike your nursing assistant from hell, I realize that not every woman has the same experience. Therefore, what did and did not happen to ME has nothing to do with what does and does not happen to YOU.

Your NA is a stupid cow.

[Ellain]

I hear you. I would be in the fetal position, bawling. I couldn't go to school, and I would occasionally vomit. Luckily, Mom took me to the doc. She wouldn't let him give me birth control (that would change me from a Good Christian Girl into a whore, apparently) so he gave me Vicodin. As soon as I moved out, I got the B/C, and haven't had problems since, thank god.

[BrenDAnn]

My aunt Leisha used to get "curl up into a ball and lay there sobbing all day" cramps. Pretty sure she'd tell your NA where to go and how to get there. As for me, I've never really had cramps, or ay least no major ones, knock on wood. Mine seemed to be lower in my body, instead of directly in the abdomen, but still...ouch.

[morgana]

I once described it to a male friend as follows: "Ever seen someone pull down old wallpaper? On an old wall with the horsehair plaster? Seen how it pulls off part of the wall in strips and strings and you have to drag and twist to get it to come down? That's the inside of your gut."

[LadyAndreca]

Usually I have one bad day of cramps per period, but usually not so bad I can't function. On my worst cramping day ever, my lower back was so weak that I could barely stand upright. I couldn't sit for any length of time. But lying down made the cramps worse. I spent the day in bed with every pillow in the house supporting my back so I could recline at a gentle enough angle to not be in pain.

The pill brings mine down to a level where I can actually debate whether it's bad enough to need Midol. (I still usually decide yes.)

[DeltaSierra]

I feel for you all as I've been there with you - the "uterus turning itself inside out" is a good analogy. I used to describe it as having a uterus full of barbed wire. To top it off I had endometriosis and adhesions. I lived through hell in my childhood/teens and 20's (started my period at 9) was SO thankful when my Dr agreed that a hyster was the best way to go when I was 32 and couldn't take it anymore (I'd bleed 3 weeks, have 1 week off, then repeat,) and I've had ZERO regrets.

[AccountingDrone]

I once described it to a male friend as follows: "Ever seen someone pull down old wallpaper? On an old wall with the horsehair plaster? Seen how it pulls off part of the wall in strips and strings and you have to drag and twist to get it to come down? That's the inside of your gut."

One of the D&D inspired novels in a shared world universe had a really nasty diety that in one story essentially reached up some guys butt and pulled out his intestines. Ever since I read that I thought it had been a great way to describe cramps. Someone reaching up your cootchie, grabbing a handful of womb and twisting while pulling out out of my body. My hysterectomy was the best thing I ever had done. I will put up with the hot flashes and night sweats for hte lack of pain and blood.

[blas]

My mom had horrible periods that would last sometimes more than a week, going through pads and tampons within less than a few hours and cramps that would bring down a grizzly bear. Nanna, her ever so loving neurotic grandmother, thought she was faking and wanted attention, so my mom never got anything checked out, and in her early 30s found out she had endometriosis.

So, as soon as I started getting a period, mom paid real close attention to how mine acted, and as soon as I started showing signs of early endo, the doc put me on depo provera (which isn't the best drug, but thanks to depo, I'll probably never have to worry about endometriosis) and then after I was on that too long, I switched to Lybrel, the no period pill. Now I'm on its generic, Amethyst.

Still get occasional cramps, though.