Ladies only! Working out with painful periods

Wine, Netflix, burrito.. in that order for me. When I have really bad cramps I don't go to the gym. I make sure I go back right when they are dull or gone. You can try a heat wrap walgreens.com/store/c/thermacare-heatwraps/ID=prod6003654-product

You might try taking a low dose aspirin a day when you start cramping, especially if you pass a lot of clots. Sometimes this will help. I also find that there are some months that tampons make the cramps ALOT worse and I have to resort to pads. My uterus tips on it own, sometimes from month to month, sometimes in the course of one cycle so my pain alternates between my lower back and pelvic area... what exercise I can tolerate depends on where I am hurting, and also changes how well I respond to Tylenol and Motrin for pain relief. Evening Primrose Oil capsules help a lot, as do Black Cohosh (though this will makes cramps worse for a day or so but shorten your cycle by several days- or does for me anyhow.)

tomatoey wrote: »

amyrebeccah wrote: »

tomatoey wrote: »

** although, taking 200 mg ibuprofen (not aspirin, not acetaminophen - ibuprofen, like advil) every 4 hours for 2-3 days before your period starts can help reduce pain bc it decreases prostaglandin activity. if you track your period with an app, you can work out the timing.

this helps things hurt less for me than when i forget to do that, and am woken up in the middle of the night by surprise uterus violence. not enough less to try to work out.

I had been doing that, and it does help, but you risk overusing the advil and taxing your kidneys and stomach lining. My GI made me go off it entirely. :-(

True - for stomach, taking it with food helps. Kidneys, I don't know

Anecdotally - lots of women I've talked to have experienced a reduction in pain after childbirth. It's an extreme measure, admittedly.

Opposite here. I get awful ovulation pain AND period pain post pregnancies.

I can definitely relate.

When I was 17 I was diagnosed with endometriosis. What I'm reading here I think some of you all should have that possibility looked into for yourselves. Period cramps are normal, but period cramps that make working, exercising, going to school, doing normal activities impossible, etc, are not.

Prior to being diagnosed with endo, my periods were awful. Midol did not work. Motrin was the only thing that helped, and even then only if I took 400 mg before the cramps started. If the cramps had already started it was too late. Taking a med that didn't work (like Midol), or getting the Motrin onboard too late often resulted in me moaning on the couch with a heating pad or doubled over in the bath room. If it got really bad I'd usually start vomiting and start feeling like I was going to pass out. I believe I came close, but I never actually passed out. Any kind of exercising at a gym would have been impossible. If the cramps were low grade, I could often go for a leisurely walk with fairly good results of staving off more severe pain until the meds kicked in all the way.

I was diagnosed via exploratory surgery for severe abdominal pain, which turned out to be a softball-sized ovarian cyst. I lost my ovary and tube on that side with the cyst. The cyst was caused by the endometriosis. Once I was diagnosed I was put on the pill (actually several as it turns out I'm allergic to estrogen). Herein all my weight problems started and over a period of 10 years of being on the pill I'd about doubled my body weight from my pre birth control days. Exercise wise, besides things being harder to do because I was now fat, it was better period pain wise, because how my GYN had me taking the pill, I didn't have periods anymore. No more pain every month.

Ten years after being diagnosed with endometriosis and put on the pill I had some medical testing done for a completely unrelated matter. A mass was discovered on my liver. Several CT scans later, I was diagnosed with a hepatic adenoma - a benign live tumor usually caused by long term use of birth control. As this particular tumor has the sinister characteristic of potentially turning cancerous and/or growing and hemmoraging, especially with hormone use, I was taken off the pill and once again went untreated for my endometriosis. (I get my liver tumor checked regularly now - and as of my last CT it was shrinking).

The pain is different now than it used to be. There are months/cycles, where I never have to touch a Motrin and the pain of cramping is fairly dull. Its there, but its "normal" - I can continue with activities in my life. There's other times where taking 800 mg of Motrin doesn't touch the pain and I'm doubled over somewhere moaning and willing the pain to go away. Through a year of trial and error I've found that eating dairy products and non-organic meats, especially near the time of my cycle greatly increases the amount of pain I'm in during my cycle. A lightbulb came on when I realized that most meats/cheeses have been raised with added hormones, which was aggravating the endometriosis and probably wasn't the best for my liver tumor either. I now try to eat only organic meat when possible and keep dairy down to a 1 oz serving a day to help with pain management. There's been a few times where I've skipped going to the gym because I was in too much pain, but most of the time I'm able to go.

My advise for the gym with painful periods; if it hurts that much, don't go. Go another day, or do some cardio at home once you start to feel better. If you still have a few hours to go before gym time, try an NSAID and maybe a heating pad. And please, menstrual cramps that cause vomiting, passing out, or disabling pain that stops you from doing normal daily activities, are not normal. See you doctor.

Ashtoretet wrote: »

aledba wrote: »

IronBatMaiden wrote: »

The premenstrual cramps last for about a week, but 2-3 days before and the first day are usually horrible!! I feel like I 'm getting stabbed in my vag! I took one rest night last night but I might be up for it again tonight since the pain has lessened (the flow, not so much).

Wow! That sounds like torture. Is it possible that you may have endometriosis?

This doesn't even sound like endometriosis..menstrual cramps are your uterus contracting, endometriosis is still in the uterus and just causes lower abdominal pain. Pain in that area sounds like a UTI or an STD.

Endometriosis is when endometrial tissue grows in places other than the uterus. I have endo and it causes a shooting pain down there, too.

I started running because my period was very heavy, painful, uncomfortable, and draining. I run in the morning (2.5 miles) and have no discomfort and minimal bleeding for the whole day. I don't have to take ibuprofen anymore.

IronBatMaiden wrote: »

bringon30 wrote: »

Ashtoretet wrote: »

aledba wrote: »

IronBatMaiden wrote: »

The premenstrual cramps last for about a week, but 2-3 days before and the first day are usually horrible!! I feel like I 'm getting stabbed in my vag! I took one rest night last night but I might be up for it again tonight since the pain has lessened (the flow, not so much).

Wow! That sounds like torture. Is it possible that you may have endometriosis?

This doesn't even sound like endometriosis..menstrual cramps are your uterus contracting, endometriosis is still in the uterus and just causes lower abdominal pain. Pain in that area sounds like a UTI or an STD.

Endometriosis is when endometrial tissue grows in places other than the uterus. I have endo and it causes a shooting pain down there, too.

Really? So endo could be causing the shooting vaginal pain?

Yes, it can. I also have lower back pain that goes down to my thighs. Do a little online research, and if your symptoms match, mention it to your doc! Admittedly, there's no cure for endo and the most the doc can probably do is help with pain management. (Unless you find an excision specialist, but that's a whole other thread.) But it's better than nothing.