If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.
Options
Nightmare periods
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
.
0
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Comments
You can get some painkillers on prescription that work a lot better than ibuprofen does.
Not much help, I was going to suggest the hot bath, but u already know that one!
I know the feeling of being on a period and just wanting to curl up and shut the world out. But there is help out there. This Q&A from the askTheSite archive has lots of useful links. Hope it helps
The Period Professionals
And this...
Factsheet
Although it often feels like the last thing you want to do, exercise has always been the best thing for me (other than meds) to help ease the discomfort.
Exercise is really good for period pain I found, and by the same token getting out in the fresh air. Obviously you have to have your moments curled up on the sofa with your hot water bottle too. When mine were really bad I used to use heat pads, too, and I eventually bought a pretty expensive one (just before I got pregnant, boo) that velcros around your back and stomach. Very slimline so you could wear it under your clothes without looking suspicious :razz:
Doctors again (and AGAIN and AGAIN until they do something) if none of this is working for you.
You might get that again, but there are a lot of options available to the doctor if you hassle them enough to take you seriously. As others have said it could be a symptom of a larger problem - but don't worry about that at the moment as some women do genuinely just have more painful periods. Getting a GP is the definite next step, and then seeing what they say.
I found heat pads really worked for me, but obviously different bodies, different level of effectiveness. If you've spotted some cheapo ones then it'd definitely be worth giving them a go as you might find they work for you too - at least to an extent. If you find a hot water bottle/hot bath goes some way to easing things then obviously exposure to heat is effective for you and I don't see why heat pads wouldn't have a good chance of helping. It's worth trying everything, anyway - as long as it's not going to bankrupt you - as pp is godawful.
Feel better
Plus, they may help take your mind off it slightly.. in the sense that you're not carrying around a big hot water bottle and being constantly reminded of it. You put the heat pad on and then it works for eight hours and you hardly realise it's there
Feminax is expensive isn't it? What is actually in it?
I'm off chocolate for Lent, sadly, so have been pigging out on kids sweeties instead.
I bought the heat pads, cramps haven't kicked in yet but probably will later tonight. So I'll test them out then.
Also, you can probably get prescribed some stronger pain killers. I had to get prescribed anti-emetics when i was a little younger, so that i could keep down food and pain killers.
I was diagnosed with Endometriosis when I was 14, and other gynae problems since then and really know how you feel.
I thought my periods were pretty much normal before things got really bad and I ended up having major surgery to remove an endometriotic cyst and lost one of my ovaries (I don't want to scare you, this isn't the only reason you can get bad periods).
I used to get really bad PMS; would have to have a couple of days with my feet up cos I'd be throwing up, dizzy, felt faint, got constipation & diarrhoea; achey back and legs... you name it basically.
I've been tri-cycling the pill for a couple of years now... Out of choice I wouldn't be on it at all cos I don't really like it, but it's the better of two evils... I don't have periods every month and it keeps them calmer when they come on.
As for other things that help with the pain... Volterol is good. I sometimes have co-codamol, but I don't really like it cos it makes me sleepy for a good 24 hours and sometimes gives me an upset tummy... I think it can make you constipated too. But volterol is an anti-inflamatory so I reckon it works better... Or there's loads of other pain-killer options that you could talk to your doctor about.
Generally I'm in too much pain and don't have 100% usage of my legs when I'm on my period so exercise during is out for me, but I definatly find excersing on a regular basis around your period can help... Yoga is good cos and I even managed that when I was on once; it really helped relax everything and ease the pain.
Then there are lavander wheat-bags, hot & cold packs (some people find alternating the temps can be more affective than just using heat), TENS machines, lady-care magnets and so on.