Girls, how do you cope? (time of the month)

tea_lover

gabycat wrote: »

Does anyone suffer with lower back pain , instead of stomach cramp . I have started today and as usual it my back that is in agony not my stomach.

Yup. I've got endometriosis and the back pain is often worse for me, I've passed out from it before now.

ETA: and for the people questioning morphine for period pain I've had it plenty of times, and tramadol, ocycontin, etc. Some people seem to find it hard to understand that it isn't just a bit of cramping for all of us.

ineed

gabycat wrote: »

Does anyone suffer with lower back pain , instead of stomach cramp . I have started today and as usual it my back that is in agony not my stomach.

I do get some moderate lower back ache rather than pain, it's a dull ache. A hot water bottle placed there fixes it for me but that's not much help this weather, you'd make yourself ill over heating. Maybe try some pain killers or gentle rubbing in a circular motion in that area. Sometimes that helps me.

jellyhead

delain wrote: »

I've had tranexamic acid from my GP, they just stop my period. OP I don't know if anyone's said but that's a hell of a painkiller list... Tramadol isn't something the NHS gives out willy nilly :eek:

I assume that many of those pills in the list (and I don't even know what all of them are) were prescribed for something else.

I know you are not meant to, but I've pinched my husband's medication for back pain occasionally, under his supervision. I mentioned it to the GP and she said she could prescribe the same medication for period pains, so she did. It's called naproxen and it relaxes muscles. It makes me sleepy and makes me vomit, so I can only take it after my husband gets home from work, if I've got my work done. It probably wouldn't suit anyone who has to go to work at st times. I work from home so I have flexibility.

Tranexamic acid didn't stop my periods, but it reduced the flooding. I had to take it because I was working at the time, and couldn't deal with the flooding in the workplace. I also couldn't get my child to school and back without flooding.

The problem with periods is that most women don't have much trouble so they don't really understand the view of those who faint and vomit from the pain, and who can't manage a half hour without flooding. I always thought my periods were troublesome but before my 30's I really didn't know what period problems were!

Mirena was my saviour, but while I was trying for a baby I just had to lump it.

A hot water bottle works really well for me, and those thermal sticky pads are good for when you have to leave the house and can't strap a hot water bottle to you A cheaper alternative would be those wheat bags, I've seen a kind of belt that keeps the wheat bags around your waist - not very elegant, but would work on the school run, etc. but perhaps not over a work uniform The sticky pads are thin, and you put them on the outside of clothing, so I wear big knickers, and put them on the front and back of my knickers. They stay warm for about 8 hours.

If you're trying for a baby it might be worth getting endometriosis investigated. I tried for ages, then got pregnant immediately after a laparoscopy where they got rid of some of it.

gabycat

I take painkillers, they help, but I'm left with the dull pulling/ throbbing pain.

ladyelegance77

Hope you're feeling better today!!! I had really bad periods in my teens up till my late 20's, and I still have the odd bad ones still, especially if I've had alot of stress(which I'm working on cutting down) and usually I do what other people have said, ibuprofen(I'm slightly allergic to paracetemol) and cuddle a hot water bottle.

p00hsticks

RazWaz wrote: »

I meant to say wishing for a hot water bottle. My OH said he would borrow one from his mother and bring it around after work. Sorry for the confusion, the painkillers make me a bit fuzzy sometimes.

Like you, I don't have a water bottle, but I find that those wheat 'sausage' shaped pillows that you put in the microwave for a minute to warm through are very effective - I got two for £5 from my local branch of Works.

I do sympathise - I'm currently at the age where I'm going through the menopause but had awful periods in my early teens, and went through a succession of increasingly strong pain killers from my doctor. However, at the worst months I would be throwing up pretty much constantly for the first 24 hours or so, and unable to keep tablets down.

I eventually got it sorted when I reached 16 and the doctor prescribed the pill

AbbieCadabra

another vote for a menstrual cup here, currently using femmecup & me luna from femininewear (owner of the site is lovely & very helpful if you've got any queries on sizing/fit etc.).

only started using one 3 months ago but noticed a real decrease in pain/cramps straight away. just mild pain for a day at most with a cup. without, i could easily be in near agony for 2 days & painkillers barely touched it.

the difference in pain has really been brought home to me today as i've started, but can't use a cup this month as i had a gynae procedure last week & anything internal is a no-no for 4 weeks. i can feel the pain building already, how quickly did i forget how bad it used to be!

tea_lover

I'm really intrigued about the difference in pain levels with using a cup. I'd previously thought it was just a personal preference thing but am really interested to see they can make a difference to pain too. Definitely something to look into. How do they do that??

valk_scot

tea_lover wrote: »

I'm really intrigued about the difference in pain levels with using a cup. I'd previously thought it was just a personal preference thing but am really interested to see they can make a difference to pain too. Definitely something to look into. How do they do that??

I would think it's the same effect as when you use pads rather than tampons. The flow doesn't make a lump of cotton wool swell up inside you, it can drain away from the cervix naturally and thus encourages a faster flow and slightly shorter periods. There were some studies done quite a few years ago about this which were regarded as a bit fuddy duddy and part of the "tampons are not natural especially for young gals" mentality so I for one rather ignored them, only to find out many years later that using exclusively pads shortened my periods by a day.

I also used to use my contraceptive diaphragm as an early sort of mooncup, many of us did back in the old days when the diaphragm was still popular for contraception and this was in fact one thing which led to the development of the mooncup, I belive, because using a diaphragm (with suitable hygienic precautions, of course) also helped shorten your period as opposed to using tampons. And of course it was a lot less messy if you had sex during your period, which is something you can't quite do with a mooncup!

themull1

Sorry if its too much info, but i expel part of my uterus lining every three months or so when i'm on my period, its exactly like going into labour, then a ball of skin drops out - not pleasant, i also have agonising pain when i'm on and i need a poo, its absolute agony, and sometimes bad pain in my left ovary - but everything goes away between periods, so it can't be that serious - just painful!!