Cramps and backache...

[oFia]

What do you do to cope with the "side effects" of your period?

I had to go off birth control pills about a year ago because it magically started jacking with my blood pressure. (I don't smoke.) At this point I'm not sure I ever want to go back on the pill.

Problem is when I originally went on the pill years ago it was to help with the fatigue, cramps and muscle/back aches I was getting. (Fatigue bad enough to have 1 class and then go home and go to bed instead of going to work.)

I'm sitting in class wishing I could go home cause I feel like I've been hit by a truck. I took midol - which works about 75% of the time. Today it's not helping at all. (Luckly I have no headache - yet.)

So, I'm looking for suggestions, PLEASE! Go ahead and include any herbal remedies as well. Thank you ahead of time.

[amandachenee]

Primrose Oil Capsules help a bit. It's more of an herbal Midol, if you will.

[oFia]

As in Evening Primrose Oil? Is it something to take every day or just during my period?

[Sultana]

Good luck with that. I asked the hubby to get snipped so I could go off bc permanently...and my cycle was so bad that after two years of struggling every month I just got back on it (the Ring, btw. It's just fine for me). I tried Evening Primrose Oil (which I still take, it's supposed to be great for your skin) during those years and it didn't do a thing for me.

Midol was hit and miss for me too. Nothing that I could depend on.

Sorry, hope your experience is better.

[lurkette]

I use the Traditional Medicinals "Women's Moon" tea...love the stuff! I also found that being on very low doses of Paxil cut the cramping tremendously, but I wouldn't recommend it as a first line of defense!

Black Cohosh is another good herbal remedy that reduces inflammation and controls your hormones: http://nccam.nih.gov/health/blackcohosh/

Also, don't forget to breathe! I started taking yoga classes and being mindful of my breath, and one thing I noticed is that I tend to breathe shallowly with pain. Breathing deeply helps move the pain on through.

[Atropos4]

I know with me midol and advil do nothing. I have to take something very strong to kill the pain. The pain is not normal menstral pain however. Endometriosis causes mine. The only thing besides prescription drugs is a heating pad. My heating pad is my life saver. Some women have luck with those thermacare heat wraps, that stick right to you under your clothes. You might try that and see if it helps.
Ohh and alot of normal menstral cramps is caused by mild constipation. One of the indgrediants in midol is specifically for that. So if midol doesn't help, try the heating pad and a laxative.

[oFia]

Thank you for the input. I had researched black cohosh before but was unsure about it since I'd never heard much from people about it. I've heard of primrose oil being good for other things - so I know it's useful. Didn't find the tea mentioned but did find "PMS Tea" - looks like it mostly takes care of bloating. Which is still helpful.

So, I have some new things to check out - see what helps, what doesn't. If nothing else I may have found something to take for my skin problems that is better than biotin. (I know I'm feeling a lot better now than when I posted earlier today....and the bf being home is only part of that.)

And I'm going to break down and spend the money to buy a heating pad too.

[zkara]

This is a little bit of an asian remedy that I used to follow religiously when I was younger and had bad cramps during my periods. It has now been 11 years since I do that, however, I still just automatically stay away from watermelon and too much soda during my periods.

The Chinese always advise against 'cold' foods for girls with period cramps.
Normally the 'cold' foods are not really anything cold in temperature, it is basically the kind of food that lower the metabolic temperature of the body. It makes sense when you think of heating pads that are used to help with cramps, same thing with foods, not ingesting warm food, but creating a warming effect from certain food that generates an internal heat.

So a week before I get my period and the week of, I would stay away from soda, icecream, watermelon (this is a killer), tofu, iced tea. Those were the main things I would stay away from. I do not know what is consisted in your diet, but I think we can google up 'chinese cold foods' and find out what to avoid. Since being good about staying away from anything that's 'cold', I stopped getting cramps. I just maintain the consciousness of not taking too much cold food before my period and I have had no problem since. Occasionally, when I do get cramps, I just pop an Advil and 20 minutes later, I'm back to my hyper and dandy self.

On the other hand, warming up your system is good for you. My mom used to make me ginger chicken soup. Ginger is one of the 'warm' foods, used to cure colds/flus/back pain. That always helps when I used to get really bad cramps.
PM me if you need a recipe. I'd be happy to share.

Hope that helps. A lot of my girlfriends here say I'm superstitious and naive, believing all the old chinese remedy, but I am normally the chipper one when 'the woman' arrives, and they are there at their desks doubled up or cluthing their backs, groaning in pain. Silly girls.

[oFia]

Chinese cold foods. Interesting. I love message boards, I always end up learning new things - when I ask.

I know the primrose oil helped A LOT! Trying out the black cohosh to see help that helps (I've used it in the past too).

[snowy]

Wow, this thread is full of helpful advice. My periods have been getting worse and worse for some unexplainable reason, to the point they're starting a week early despite being on Ortho-Cyclen. They've also become incredibly heavy and crampy, like they haven't been since I went on birth control in the first place. I feel like the BC isn't helping at all, simply because my period seems to be immune to the effect of the hormones, and starts a week early anyways.

I'm going to take some of these tips and hope that they help.

[shoegirl]

Originally Posted by onesnowyowl

to the point they're starting a week early despite being on Ortho-Cyclen.

That doesn't seem right, does it? I've started a couple days early (I'm on Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo) before, but never a whole week. Any chance you've spoken to your doctor about why this might be happening?

[jessicaabruno]

Really don't have that much to add, but suggest that learn and research more of alternatives then the pill as well.

Thank you.

[Adri]

I swear by those Thermacare heat pads. They last for 8 hours (sometimes longer) and so I'll wear it on the front for a little while, then switch it to my lower back for a couple of hours, etc. I think I'm singlehandedly keeping them in business at this point, I buy so many!

My doctor prescribed a drug called Relafen to me, which as I understand is a mild anti-inflammatory medication often given to arthritis sufferers. You can also use ibuprofen; I am sensitive to ibu. so she gave me a scrip. She gave me a really awesome explanation of how to take it and why, actually.

She said that the reason women feel bloated, crampy, constipated, etc while on their periods is that the abdominal tissue is inflamed (think: swollen) in order to expel the ... you know, period juice. I can't think of the word right now.

Anyway, the inflammation starts a few days before your period, so by the time your period actually starts (and you start feeling the pain), you're already so inflamed that one dose of Midol or Advil isn't going to cut it.

So she has me take one Relafen each in the morning and at night, starting 3 days before I expect my period to start, all the way until 3 days after it's over. Basically, you're never taking enough medication to feel "weird", but you're taking just enough to keep the inflammation from ever bothering you.

It really does work. I was always one of those curled-up-in-fetal-position-sobbing chicks until I started using the relafen. The other really important thing to do is to drink about twice as much water as you normally would to avoid water retention/bloating.

[snowy]

Originally Posted by Adri

I swear by those Thermacare heat pads. They last for 8 hours (sometimes longer) and so I'll wear it on the front for a little while, then switch it to my lower back for a couple of hours, etc. I think I'm singlehandedly keeping them in business at this point, I buy so many!

My doctor prescribed a drug called Relafen to me, which as I understand is a mild anti-inflammatory medication often given to arthritis sufferers. You can also use ibuprofen; I am sensitive to ibu. so she gave me a scrip. She gave me a really awesome explanation of how to take it and why, actually.

She said that the reason women feel bloated, crampy, constipated, etc while on their periods is that the abdominal tissue is inflamed (think: swollen) in order to expel the ... you know, period juice. I can't think of the word right now.

Anyway, the inflammation starts a few days before your period, so by the time your period actually starts (and you start feeling the pain), you're already so inflamed that one dose of Midol or Advil isn't going to cut it.

So she has me take one Relafen each in the morning and at night, starting 3 days before I expect my period to start, all the way until 3 days after it's over. Basically, you're never taking enough medication to feel "weird", but you're taking just enough to keep the inflammation from ever bothering you.

It really does work. I was always one of those curled-up-in-fetal-position-sobbing chicks until I started using the relafen. The other really important thing to do is to drink about twice as much water as you normally would to avoid water retention/bloating.

I was on higher doses of naproxen for a long time as a teenager in an attempt to find a medical treatment for my heavy, painful periods, but it didn't work. I had to take it every day in order to keep the inflammation down, and it still didn't help. By the way, I'm not talking about the Aleve you buy in the store--that's naproxen sodium in smaller doses. I also tried Feldene (an NSAID related to ibuprofen) and that worked, but the cost of prescription medicines is such that I try to avoid them when possible.

My main problem now is that even some OTC medicines will irritate my stomach and make me vomit, which is even more likely when on my period (I vomit on my period due to the pain...hadn't done it in years but it happened yesterday...yikes). Midol is actually the gentlelest on my stomach and the most likely to help relieve some of the congestion down there via the diuretics in it. It might not be the best to help with the pain, but it does help.

I'm just trying hard to remember all of the remedies I figured out for myself before I went on birth control, because my periods back then were horrible--I missed school just about every month due to cramps, or had to leave school due to cramps/vomiting. Ugh. This sucks.

[ItWasMe]

Advil Liqui-Gels plus very strong coffee do it for me. Although, the coffee makes it worse for some people. Sorry I don't have better tricks up my sleeve, but I don't need them. Guess I'm lucky.

[Demeter]

My biggest problem is being woken up in the middle of the night, a few days before my period, feeling like someone has kicked me in the back. The pain goes right through from front to back.
Advil works wonders when I finally resign myself to the fact I have to get up and take something to sleep.
Does anyone else have trouble like this, and what helps?

[Eowyn_Vala]

Great thread. I'm definately going to look into the suggestions here.

I recently stopped taking my BC as well and it's been bad. I have Poly Cyctic Ovarian Syndrome which means my periods are really wonky. It got a lot worse after all the weight I gained. I've been trying to lose it but motivation is hard to come by, not to mention that my body is working against me in losing it. Another part of the PCOS.

I've always had terrible cramps, curled into a ball, even missing school and work. Once I started skipping for a few months and then having really bad ones, I finally went on the pill per doctors orders. It helped regulate my periods and semi-helped with the cramps, that mainly depended on how bad they were going to be in the first place. Well even on BC the last several months my periods have been all over the place, and no I'm not pregnant. I actually stopped taking my BC since I was at the end of my prescription. I need to get in to my doctor for my yearly exam but money is extremely tight. I'm thinking of asking for something different.

But in the mean time all of the tips seem worth trying. I love the heatpads, and also the caffiene on some days. I can't really think of any other suggestions, I just try to survive those days.

Great thread. I'm definately going to look into the suggestions here.

I recently stopped taking my BC as well and it's been bad. I have Poly Cyctic Ovarian Syndrome which means my periods are really wonky. It got a lot worse after all the weight I gained. I've been trying to lose it but motivation is hard to come by, not to mention that my body is working against me in losing it. Another part of the PCOS.

I've always had terrible cramps, curled into a ball, even missing school and work. Once I started skipping for a few months and then having really bad ones, I finally went on the pill per doctors orders. It helped regulate my periods and semi-helped with the cramps, that mainly depended on how bad they were going to be in the first place. Well even on BC the last several months my periods have been all over the place, and no I'm not pregnant. I actually stopped taking my BC since I was at the end of my prescription. I need to get in to my doctor for my yearly exam but money is extremely tight. I'm thinking of asking for something different.

But in the mean time all of the tips seem worth trying. I love the heatpads, and also the caffiene on some days. I can't really think of any other suggestions, I just try to survive those days.

[Midnight]

MMmmm... I'm feeling rather lucky to be me at the moment.

I had insanely irregular and heavy (almost to the point of hemoraging ) periods until after I had my daughter (the irregular periods were one of the reasons that I ended up getting pregnant actually) After she was born, they have been regular to the point of hour of the day, and far far lighter than they were before having her. But this bloating and cramping and backache you all talk about I've never dealt with.

My sister on the other hand had the irregularity and heavy flow, but with every nasty symptom you all talk about. I actually rang her ( much to her dismay ) after reading this earlier this evening, to ask her how she copes because I remember her missing a LOT of school after she started having periods because of all of it.

She said to tell you all that yoga helped (as someone mentioned trying) and along the same vein as the "hot and cold foods" mentioned in one post - she says she seems to have far less problems when she schedules eating the spiciest mexican food she can get her hands on in the two or three days before her period. I have NO CLUE if that would help at all - but I felt so bad for not having this problem that I wanted to try and help.
Best wishes to those of you suffering here.