That dreaded time of the month

Post Reply New Topic

How do you deal with it? Birth control, midol, tons and tons of chocolate?

Anything that hasn't been put into common practice that works for you?

Please, share!

Umm...tampons? But seriously,I barely even notice it. Never had cramps or anything which is actually kind of a bad thing since I never KNOW before hand.

Urgh - just spent 3 days in bed in agony, missing important classes thanks to this..

Birth control pills, tranexamic acid, synflex, nurofen, non-scratchy pads (yuck so many are plasticky and scratchy), lots of water, no caffeine, limited sugar, comfort food (bacon and egg pies this time), iron tablets, hot water bottles, herbal sleeping tablets and a big pile of old fav books and a box of cereal by my bed.

I get so weak and dizzy that I can't stand up well, so I need to gather my supplies early and pile them by my bed. I wish I could take a bath, but we don't have one.

I use ibprofen tablets which are effective. i eat chocolates and read books and cuddle up with a heat pack sometimes.

heat packs are good, they have wheat or lavander inside and you microwave them for a couple of minutes and cuddle up with them. good for reliving cramps until the medicine kicks in. (takes a while for me)

Good question I'm going through the same thing right now and mine always hurt.

I actually skip my periods 3 at a time. My doctor said I can keep taking the pills and when I get to the end of the third pack, have the period and buy 3 more packs.

Freedom is all I can say, while I still get some cravings and mood swings, the pain and bleeding are gone!

Ask your doctor first before trying this. My doctor said it's ok for me, but it may not be ok for some other people.

Back when I had money and could afford it, I found that when I was on a stone age diet (no grains, dairy, or other agricultural foods) my period was much lighter and completely pain free. I miss those days.

Other people have found switching to a macrobiotic diet (no processed foods) helps.

Uh, parhaps this is a display of my ignorance, but how would birth control pills work?

Was on "the pill" for most of my 20's, so escaped symptom severity, but since I went off the pill about 5 years ago I've been like "OMG, how do people stand this agony ?". Advil (ibuprofin) & pressure-provided by my laying down on corners of upholstered furniture (arms of chairs or edge of bed/mattress), or by having my bf squish me (by pressing on areas of me that hurt with his body weight). For the time I'm getting the pressure, the pain eases, at least for maybe half an hour.

Just had it over the weekend & every time I hate it, in so many ways-I'm still not "used to it", even after 22 years of getting this every month. Gives me big dose of body shame, disgust, embarrassment-all the stuff (hangups, issues) that I'm constantly trying to recover from & get over. Sigh. Plus I get all "out of sorts" in mood, and I tend to be susceptible to depression anyway-so I loathe how my mindset gets really gloomy, sad & mad.

Well, how do I say it ? (as this isn't the "adult" section in which one can mention certain drugs, but one wouldn't likely post about a sensitive subject, such as one's period, in that section). Pot. Wish it were okay for me to go on about how it helps, yet know I "shouldn't" even mention it in first place (for legal reasons). It does cheer me up & lessens perception of pain-and I prefer it, hands down, over alcohol. My stomach/digestion gets all messed up/disordered when I have my period-smoking doesn't bother my innards-but drinking does (any time of month).

I found since I cut the junk food from my diet it's gotten far easier to deal with - relatively painless and steady, I used to skip a few days in the middle of it - so I just eat lots of whole foods, nothing refined or processed or artificial.

If I do get a bad month, I use a homeopathic spray to calm the cramps, and if that doesn't work fast enough ibuprofen. Wheat bags are good, and just lying down and drinking water and trying to sleep. I also found that since a friend introduced me to this website www.mooncup.com about six months ago and I started using one I've been far more regular than I was, strangely enough!

I just keep praying that somehow I will wake up in the morning and it will all be over.

Birth control pills were originally developed to control menstrual pain, as an alternative to morphine (long before ibuprofen). The infertility was a side effect. I guess the hormones are medicinal.

Cramp bark. You can buy an extract in herbal and some health food stores.

Codeine. 'Nuff said.

Marijuana has a long history of use for cramp relief, but of course I can't recommend that as it's illegal.

Too bad that stuff's illegal. Not saying drugs are good but the ones listed above couldn't be that different than strong alcohol.

I used to drink to get rid of that pain.

Deffinatly ask your doctor. I took two packs at a time to avoid a period over a convention, and I'm getting seriously bad pre-period cramps at the moment (although that's partly from being out in the rain yesterday). >< Also, I still get pains even though I'm on the Pill, so be aware it doesn't wipe them out completely.

I always used to rely on a wheat pack, but my boyfriend hates it, so I can't use it while he's around. And lots of chocolate, even though that's probably not the best action. Warm drinks too.

They keep the hormone levels stable (or more stable than without them). Less hormone fluctuation means less uterus lining made, and so there's less to lose, and less of the hormone (progesterone I think) which causes the contractions which are the painful part.

Some period pain is caused by uterus-lining-producing tissue being outside the uterus - endometriosis - birth control pills have some, but a lesser effect on this.