Ladies only!

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  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
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    When I was a teen, I had NASTY painful cramps, and I discovered that for ME - SALT was the enemy. I had to avoid salt and any high sodium foods around TOM. It made a huge difference for me.

    I figure - we should be careful to not go crazy on salt anyway, it's worth cutting it out at times to see if it helps?

    Good luck - I hope you find the solution that is right for you!
  • farroz
    farroz Posts: 51 Member
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    DEPO, no period, no problem! Best of luck to you!

    I bleed 75% of the time on Depo


    You have been checked for endometriosis right to make sure it isnt that?
  • deeharley
    deeharley Posts: 1,208 Member
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    Sarsaparilla root - take a capsule a day throughout the month, then up the dosage to three or four a day during your period. It is amazing! Even if you forget the capsules throughout the month, it will help if you take it during.
  • pudadough
    pudadough Posts: 1,271 Member
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    No offense to anyone. Taking a pill is not an answer. Why stop something that is naturally meant to happen? You're hurting yourself. Wake up, people!

    I tend to have a painful menstrual cycle. I soak a towel in hot water, apply to where the pain stems from, a few minutes, no pain :)

    No offense, but cramps are not "naturally meant to happen." They usually result from overactive prostaglandins or endometriosis. If you are able to stop your cramps with a hot towel, you have no idea what actual, horrible menstrual cramps feel like.
  • allifantastical
    allifantastical Posts: 946 Member
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    DEPO, no period, no problem! Best of luck to you!

    I was on depo for 3 years before I got the mirena. No one told me there was a weight limit and I had been OVER the limit the whole time.
  • p0kers0ph
    p0kers0ph Posts: 250 Member
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    I had the equivalent of the implant in a pill, cerazette, dunno if it has the same name in the US?
    I had pretty heavy periods before that, and mine actually stopped completely after a while, such a blessing! The pill, implant, can stop them.
    Now I'm on a different pill because after a good few years I was getting breakthrough bleeding.
  • MommaSpunk
    MommaSpunk Posts: 113
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    I had a mierna and it FELL OUT!
  • MommaSpunk
    MommaSpunk Posts: 113
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    It was great the first few months and then I started cramping horribly and it got worse and worst..doc even checked it and at that point it was fine.. then one day... out it came
  • BamsieEkhaya
    BamsieEkhaya Posts: 657 Member
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    No offense to anyone. Taking a pill is not an answer. Why stop something that is naturally meant to happen? You're hurting yourself. Wake up, people!

    I tend to have a painful menstrual cycle. I soak a towel in hot water, apply to where the pain stems from, a few minutes, no pain :)

    this doesn't work for everyone, speaking from experience my cousin struggles to get out of bed and was in serious agony, and for me not nearly as bad as hers, but I'll be popping ibuprofen and paracetamol like there's no tomorrow, I was on the pill for this but I stopped taking it after I left my packet at home during a 3week holiday, will probably be getting back on it again this time !
  • opuntia
    opuntia Posts: 860 Member
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    I get very intense pains and exhaustion for two weeks before my period. I tried the Pill around ten years ago, and it helped, but it had other negative effects, which were even worse than the pains, so I stopped taking it after three months.

    Nowadays, I find what helps is to go for long walks every day, which include some hill walking. I don't know why this works - I first found it helped when I went hiking in Scotland with a friend. Now I just walk to work every day, which includes some hills, and this controls the pain, although doesn't fix it completely. Other types of exercise can make it worse, but somehow walking several miles, including uphill, helps - and if there is no uphill part, it doesn't help. Changing my diet also has helped - a lot of foods made the pains really bad, so I experimented with different food and found that eating very simple natural foods, in very small portions, helped. I have to avoid junk food or the pain gets really bad. I also need a lot of sleep during that time, or I become too exhausted to function. I eat food rich in iron, potassium and sodium, and that helps too.

    The doctor has suggested I try different contraceptive pills, as it's likely a hormone imbalance, or endometriosis, and this can by helped with the Pill, as it alters hormone levels, but I don't want to risk it, as my body is very sensitive to whatever is put into it, and I don't want another adverse reaction. Having said that, having taken the Pill in the past, even though it was only for three months, has actually had longterm positive effects: ever since, my period has been regular, very light, and only lasts three days. Before taking the Pill, it was very irregular, quite heavy, and lasted five days.
  • Dani_wants_to_be_fit
    Dani_wants_to_be_fit Posts: 550 Member
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    No offense to anyone. Taking a pill is not an answer. Why stop something that is naturally meant to happen? You're hurting yourself. Wake up, people!

    I tend to have a painful menstrual cycle. I soak a towel in hot water, apply to where the pain stems from, a few minutes, no pain :)

    I've tried a lot of those type things, warm baths, hot water bottle, gentle exercise and pain killer etc but they haven't worked. My flow is very heavy and I'm bleeding through super tampax within 2-3 hours =/
  • opuntia
    opuntia Posts: 860 Member
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    No offense to anyone. Taking a pill is not an answer. Why stop something that is naturally meant to happen? You're hurting yourself. Wake up, people!

    I tend to have a painful menstrual cycle. I soak a towel in hot water, apply to where the pain stems from, a few minutes, no pain :)

    this doesn't work for everyone, speaking from experience my cousin struggles to get out of bed and was in serious agony, and for me not nearly as bad as hers, but I'll be popping ibuprofen and paracetamol like there's no tomorrow, I was on the pill for this but I stopped taking it after I left my packet at home during a 3week holiday, will probably be getting back on it again this time !

    Yep, that doesn't work for me either. Heat helps a little, but certainly doesn't make the pain disappear! It'd be lovely if it did! While a bit of pain with one's period is natural, some people's periods do not happen in a natural way, because there is something wrong. And so, as with various illnesses people can have, sometimes a pill is the answer.
  • StormyLlewellyn
    StormyLlewellyn Posts: 96
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    Yogi brand teas make a wonderfull natural Moon Cycle tea. It helps to relax your muscles.
    There are a number of yoga poses that can help with immediate pain. Hot moist heat like showers or baths help.
    I have had years of really painfull Moon cycles. I hope these ideas help...

    As far as Birth Control ( I had an implant that made me bleed for almost 8 months strait
    and I gained 40 lbs that felt impossible to take off until after I had it removed. The doctor
    Told me that it would stop when my body got used to it.)

    I have worked with mostly women over the last 20 years. I have heard from so many different women
    that one works for one then the next person said it was horrible. So each womens body is very different.
    The pain pill helps but over time need to be increased to stay effective.
  • pudadough
    pudadough Posts: 1,271 Member
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    No offense to anyone. Taking a pill is not an answer. Why stop something that is naturally meant to happen? You're hurting yourself. Wake up, people!

    I tend to have a painful menstrual cycle. I soak a towel in hot water, apply to where the pain stems from, a few minutes, no pain :)

    I've tried a lot of those type things, warm baths, hot water bottle, gentle exercise and pain killer etc but they haven't worked. My flow is very heavy and I'm bleeding through super tampax within 2-3 hours =/

    I'm wondering if you may have endometriosis. Have you ever been checked out for that? Heavy bleeding is one of the most common symptoms, along with painful periods.
  • opuntia
    opuntia Posts: 860 Member
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    Another thing that heavy periods and pain can be a symptom of is fibroids. You can get tested for this by having a camera put up you. I had this test and I discovered I have a fibroid, but my periods are light, which is apparently unusual when you have fibroids, and my pain is not in the location where the fibroid is, so with me it's probably unrelated to the fibroid.

    The testing for endometriosis involves having general anaesthetic and having a little incision made by your belly button. I am too scared to get this done on myself, which is why I prefer to just find natural ways of easing the pain, but I know someone who's had it done, and she gets her endometriosis zapped by a laser every few years, and it really helps with the pain.
  • haylz247
    haylz247 Posts: 435
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    have you tried cerazette? i loved it. it stopped my periods and i haven't had one for a year. but my skin started to get horrible and the spots would not budge no matter what i used.
    yasmin made me sick (even though i was on it years ago and never had a problem!) so i got given millinette and i felt sick so stopped taking it. i'm not on a pill atm. been off nearly 2 weeks so no idea when i'm going to get a period!

    see your DR though. they shouldn't be so painful you pass out! as for the bleeding, try a mooncup or softcup depending on where you're from. i'm going to try one soon and i have heard good things.
  • SuperSexyDork
    SuperSexyDork Posts: 1,669 Member
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    Before I got pregnant with my daughter I would have horribly heavy flow, cramps that were bad enough for me to miss school/work and terrible migraines. These symptoms were worsened with regular birth control and when I had the depo shot I blend for 8 months almost straight and had horrible mood swings/hormonal issues.

    After I had my daughter I had Mirena implanted. My period was immediately lightened. After 3 months, it stopped. Now (3 years later), I have occasional cramping and spotting but it's not anywhere even close to what it was like before.
  • Ljay30
    Ljay30 Posts: 31 Member
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    Depo provera injection is great! No period at all!
  • Stephanie_skinny
    Stephanie_skinny Posts: 106 Member
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    I think you should go the natural way too!!! I am currently in Medical School, I am taking pharmacology class right now and you would be surprised with the LARGE amounts of side effects it has!!! Be very careful when you make your decision and make sure you know ALL the side effects!!

    Also my roomate, had the same problem you had, heavy cramps to the point she would pass out and super heavy bleeding. She got a pelvic ultrasound and was diagnosed with Endometriosis. She is currently taking medication for it and her pain and heavy bledding have gone away.

    Hope this helps and Good Luck!!! :wink:
  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
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    Thank god that I "grew out" of those cramps. I had "literally cannot physically move from this spot" type cramps. Painkillers did nothing, going on the pill made it "I will have to grimace at work, but I can at least function" But I have screwy hormones and if I was even 30 min late with a pill I'd bleed profusely (note I mean still within the window, but 30 min off the middle of my window). And I have a completely random schedule where I can literally at any moment have my hands in gloves unable to take the pill, so I opted not to take the pill. Plus I can't lose weight on it :(

    But yeah, in the last 5 years or so, my cramps just calmed down and stopped sucking so bad on their own. Sorry!

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