Menstruation
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Does anyone else wonder why so many women seem to have such bad cycles? I mean, that can't be normal. Seems like a more recent development.
Most months I have cramping that I can either deal with or I'll sip on raspberry leaf tea (as another poster mentioned, or another tea called Moon Cycle that has raspberry leaf and some other stuff) throughout the day to help. There are some months I'll have one day of very intense cramping that can make me very nauseous, and I can guarantee you I'm only doing what I have to do that day and then laying in bed with a heating pad. Luckily, it's usually just the one day some months.
Using a menstrual cup and cloth pads has helped decrease my cramping from what it used to be like. I also think that what I'm eating has an effect on how bad that month's cramps are. I really need to start looking closely at that. I still do some exercise, unless it's one of those bad days. It just might be less intense than I would ordinarily do, but it does help me feel better. The week before my cycle, however, I'm so exhausted that I have to be careful about my exercise or I can injure myself. There have been times the week before that I don't lift because I'm so tired there is no way I'm going to lift heavy objects that would cause major injury if I dropped them. Basically, I still exercise just at a less intense level, with the exception of the occasional really bad day. I don't feel guilty about having an occasional "lazy" day.
For about 30 years, my cycles were no big deal. But in 2011 or 2012, my biggest fibroid got bigger and my bleeding increasingly heavy.
I'm curious as to why some women have cramps and some don't. I too think diet could play a role.0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Does anyone else wonder why so many women seem to have such bad cycles? I mean, that can't be normal. Seems like a more recent development.
Most months I have cramping that I can either deal with or I'll sip on raspberry leaf tea (as another poster mentioned, or another tea called Moon Cycle that has raspberry leaf and some other stuff) throughout the day to help. There are some months I'll have one day of very intense cramping that can make me very nauseous, and I can guarantee you I'm only doing what I have to do that day and then laying in bed with a heating pad. Luckily, it's usually just the one day some months.
Using a menstrual cup and cloth pads has helped decrease my cramping from what it used to be like. I also think that what I'm eating has an effect on how bad that month's cramps are. I really need to start looking closely at that. I still do some exercise, unless it's one of those bad days. It just might be less intense than I would ordinarily do, but it does help me feel better. The week before my cycle, however, I'm so exhausted that I have to be careful about my exercise or I can injure myself. There have been times the week before that I don't lift because I'm so tired there is no way I'm going to lift heavy objects that would cause major injury if I dropped them. Basically, I still exercise just at a less intense level, with the exception of the occasional really bad day. I don't feel guilty about having an occasional "lazy" day.
For about 30 years, my cycles were no big deal. But in 2011 or 2012, my biggest fibroid got bigger and my bleeding increasingly heavy.
Again, I'm talking more from a population level over time. It's just interesting to me, and something we may never really know given that it's not something that would have been documented throughout history, lol.0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Does anyone else wonder why so many women seem to have such bad cycles? I mean, that can't be normal. Seems like a more recent development.
Most months I have cramping that I can either deal with or I'll sip on raspberry leaf tea (as another poster mentioned, or another tea called Moon Cycle that has raspberry leaf and some other stuff) throughout the day to help. There are some months I'll have one day of very intense cramping that can make me very nauseous, and I can guarantee you I'm only doing what I have to do that day and then laying in bed with a heating pad. Luckily, it's usually just the one day some months.
Using a menstrual cup and cloth pads has helped decrease my cramping from what it used to be like. I also think that what I'm eating has an effect on how bad that month's cramps are. I really need to start looking closely at that. I still do some exercise, unless it's one of those bad days. It just might be less intense than I would ordinarily do, but it does help me feel better. The week before my cycle, however, I'm so exhausted that I have to be careful about my exercise or I can injure myself. There have been times the week before that I don't lift because I'm so
tired there is no way I'm going to lift heavy objects that would cause major injury if I dropped them. Basically, I still exercise just at a less intense level, with the exception of the occasional really bad day. I don't feel guilty about having an occasional "lazy" day.
For about 30 years, my cycles were no big deal. But in 2011 or 2012, my biggest fibroid got bigger and my bleeding increasingly heavy.
I'm curious as to why some women have cramps and some don't. I too think diet could play a role.
I do think diet can play a role for some. Unfortunately, there seem to be sooo many things that can impact cycles that there's not just one answer. Exercise! Take (Midol, ibuprofen, etc.)! Take magnesium! There's not one answer that will help us all. I mean, why does using a menstrual cup or cloth pads help some women? Why does exercise help some, but not others? We just have to try it all and see what works.
So, OP, try the suggestions and see what works? . . .0 -
I use to have extremely painful periods until I changed my diet. I would eat out pretty much everyday when I was working and eat junk food. Hopefully you aren't doing that seeing that you are on MFP. Now they aren't painful. I just get extremely sleepy the day before and the day of I start my period. I still run, but if I have those days where I really don't want to run I lift weights.0
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I always thought that was why women were referred to as the "weaker sex". Victorians referred to faint women having "vapors" politely (this later was used to describe any woman thinking for herself, such as suffragettes). We already know medieval ladies were kept secluded with other women, indoors, during that time. I believe the Greeks referred to intense periods as "female hysteria" although that could have referred to a few things. BC Jewish cultures removed women entirely from the household due to "impurities" but they were forbidden from dealing with household objects or the family's food.
I'm not just talking about the past 100 years. Just in human history in general. Were they always like that, but women were "allowed" (or forced) to separate (not the best word, but I'm tired over here) themselves during that time? Or have they become worse? I dunno.
In short, I think some women have been fine during TOM but others have suffered from intense menstrual pain from the beginning of time and it affected how men see All women if they knew even a few who suffered extremely.0 -
chandanista wrote: »
I always thought that was why women were referred to as the "weaker sex". Victorians referred to faint women having "vapors" politely (this later was used to describe any woman thinking for herself, such as suffragettes). We already know medieval ladies were kept secluded with other women, indoors, during that time. I believe the Greeks referred to intense periods as "female hysteria" although that could have referred to a few things. BC Jewish cultures removed women entirely from the household due to "impurities" but they were forbidden from dealing with household objects or the family's food.
I'm not just talking about the past 100 years. Just in human history in general. Were they always like that, but women were "allowed" (or forced) to separate (not the best word, but I'm tired over here) themselves during that time? Or have they become worse? I dunno.
In short, I think some women have been fine during TOM but others have suffered from intense menstrual pain from the beginning of time and it affected how men see All women if they knew even a few who suffered extremely.
That only describes what society made women do, not what the women were experiencing physically. Maybe some of it came about because of painful cycles, but some of it came about due to cultural conceptions of women being unclean (or variation thereof) during that time. We can't really know what the women themselves were experiencing physically.0 -
Painful menstruation (dysmenorrhea) has a variety of causes, none of which can really be attributed to anything "modern". From fibroid growth, endometriosis, STDs, ovarian cysts, hormonal imbalances, to adenomyosis, there's not any good scientific reason to believe modern times have caused this problem.
This would best be addressed by an anthropologist who specializes in medical disorders, but as studies of mummies and other preserved bodies have revealed to us, very few things we thought were "diseases of the modern era" actually are. Heart disease, cancer etc. have been documented throughout history. I am absolutely positive I recall discussion of proper treatment for dysmenorrhea recommended by Hippocrates when I took a medical history class (graduate) some years ago, and every indigenous/traditional medicine has treatments for it as well. This indicates a worldwide incidence of painful menstruation going back into all of history.
This is one of those points wherein its quite accurate to point out that history has largely been written by men, about men, and for men.0 -
I have to say after reading some of the above posts I'm feeling incredibly fortunate! Before I started on birth control about a year ago, I would get really bad cramps on the first day of my period, but typically a Midol or Advil would do the trick in about an hour or two, and I would just carry on as normal.
Now on BC, I don't get cramps at all, so they don't affect me much other than having 1 or 2 days where I feel hungrier than usual/crave chocolate haha. Sometimes I can really go over on those days but it doesn't tend to affect my progress much other than some water weight retention.0 -
It depends on the month for me. Some months are really easy going and I don't get cramps or they're light-medium strength so I can muscle through it, and normally it helps. Sometimes they're so severe that they wake me up out of my sleep and doing anything is a chore, so exercise is not on my list of priorities. I have never let it stop me from going to my private pole lesson, no matter how severe. I just let my trainer know and she goes easier on me.
I've recently switched to a menstrual cup, and I've heard that that can help alleviate cramps overtime, so fingers crossed that it does the trick.
Yoga can be helpful though. Maybe give that a try. Also, try using a heating pad about 20-30 minutes before you workout because I've found that heat is a real Godsend when it comes to cramps.0 -
'Exercise relieves cramps because it helps release beta-endorphins, which are internal opioids -- your own “human morphine,” according to Kelly’s doctor, Gustavo Rossi, MD, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington. “It produces analgesia [pain relief] and helps to burn the prostaglandins -- chemicals released during menstruation that cause muscle contractions -- much faster.”
The best form of exercise for relieving menstrual pain, experts agree, is aerobic exercise -- something that gets your heart rate up, such as brisk walking, biking, swimming, or, in these cooler months, ice-skating.'
While I can't credit the source or verify the information I can say by experience that I always feel relief from cramping after going for a good run.0 -
Unless it's so bad I literally cannot function (it's happened) I try to work out anyway. My problem is that I just get super hungry!0
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Has anyone been diagnosed with PMDD? My mother just informed me she was on Prozac for most of her 30s because of it when I explained some intense stuff I've noticed about myself.0
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My period pain is sooo amazingly bad. I take Rx painkillers that are much stronger than ibuprofen, although I didn't get those until I got an awful chronic pain back problem. Who knows how I'd handle it without them? I used to 'borrow' pills for 3 days from folks I knew, but now that's obviously frowned upon
(I'd asked the gyno and he said take an Advil!)
I have multiple cysts at all times and bad endometriosis, so it's pretty rough! I swear it feels like an alien creature is trying to scratch its way out of my uterus and bladder for several days. With mean, pointy claws and maybe even teeth, lol. I'm completely serious! When I see alien movies I always think they should scratch around for a few days first inside and show that agony
That pain knocks me right out from being able to walk, etc, but I also get (hormonal) heart palpitations during my period and feel like I have a fever or the flu or something. I have to take Rx iron because my hemoglobin gets too low, too, yeah. My hair started falling out before we figured that one out.
Periods can totally suck! I was relatively fine as a teen, btw, and didn't see what the big fuss was about (ibuprofen worked). Oops. Karma? lol. I shouldn't have been so quick to think I knew what was going on in other girls' bellies, because it can be a world of difference.
No, I don't workout when it's bad, and you don't want to be near me if you tell me to suck it up. It hurts like when I woke up during joint surgery, so that is quite a deal of pain. I totally believe the childbirth comparisons I've heard froma few mothers; I've never been pregnant myself but the pain is so intense that I could see it!
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Does anyone else wonder why so many women seem to have such bad cycles? I mean, that can't be normal. Seems like a more recent development.
Most months I have cramping that I can either deal with or I'll sip on raspberry leaf tea (as another poster mentioned, or another tea called Moon Cycle that has raspberry leaf and some other stuff) throughout the day to help. There are some months I'll have one day of very intense cramping that can make me very nauseous, and I can guarantee you I'm only doing what I have to do that day and then laying in bed with a heating pad. Luckily, it's usually just the one day some months.
Using a menstrual cup and cloth pads has helped decrease my cramping from what it used to be like. I also think that what I'm eating has an effect on how bad that month's cramps are. I really need to start looking closely at that. I still do some exercise, unless it's one of those bad days. It just might be less intense than I would ordinarily do, but it does help me feel better. The week before my cycle, however, I'm so exhausted that I have to be careful about my exercise or I can injure myself. There have been times the week before that I don't lift because I'm so tired there is no way I'm going to lift heavy objects that would cause major injury if I dropped them. Basically, I still exercise just at a less intense level, with the exception of the occasional really bad day. I don't feel guilty about having an occasional "lazy" day.
@veganbaum - I see others online say the menstrual cup decreased cramping for them. Any thoughts on why? I'm baffled as to the mechanism of tampons causing cramping or the cup relieving them. Unless maybe some women have a reaction to scented tampons and pads? I hate artificial fragrance so have never used them.
I use a cup when my flow is not Niagara Falls. At that point I switch to the OB Ultra. I just love the cup and have been using one since 2000 or so.
http://gladrags.com/product/238/The-Moon-Cup.html
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arditarose wrote: »_runnerbean_ wrote: »
I'm a pharmacist.shadowfax_c11 wrote: »800 mg of ibuprofen every 4 hours around the clock for 24 hours generally does the trick for me.
Just for the record- that dose of ibuprofen is way higher than the recommended dose for adults (normally 400mg three times a day). Don't take that dose without a doctors prescription (and even then I would question it).
How much is that? I have to take 4 ibuprofen for it to do anything for my cramps.
The poster she quoted was taking 800 mg of ibuprofen every 4 hours. Regular OTC ibuprofen is 200 mg. I'm careful to not exceed the recommended dosage from the bottles due to the reports of what can happen when one exceeds the recommended dosage of Tylenol (which I realize is a different medication, but still.)
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/505/use-only-as-directed
Host Ira Glass tells the story of Sarah Erush, a pharmacist at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She was contacted by the Food and Drug Administration and encouraged to examine cases of acetaminophen overdose at her hospital. Erush was surprised by how little over the recommended dose of the drug resulted in liver damage and, for three patients, death.0 -
I would take some Motrin, life doesn't stop because our period shows up. That's what I have to tell my 10 year old and I live by that rule. Over time exercise will help so periods are not so heavy. Cramping may or may not improve but take a Motrin 20 min or more before a workout. Stay close to a restroom in case you have to get there quick. I know how those days are.0
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Chrissy292018 wrote: »I would take some Motrin, life doesn't stop because our period shows up. That's what I have to tell my 10 year old and I live by that rule. Over time exercise will help so periods are not so heavy. Cramping may or may not improve but take a Motrin 20 min or more before a workout. Stay close to a restroom in case you have to get there quick. I know how those days are.
Your 10 year old has her period? How early are kids getting it these days?!
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I thought the same thing! I have a ten year old and if she had her period now I'd cry. Hoping I have a few years before that happens.0
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kshama2001 wrote: »Does anyone else wonder why so many women seem to have such bad cycles? I mean, that can't be normal. Seems like a more recent development.
Most months I have cramping that I can either deal with or I'll sip on raspberry leaf tea (as another poster mentioned, or another tea called Moon Cycle that has raspberry leaf and some other stuff) throughout the day to help. There are some months I'll have one day of very intense cramping that can make me very nauseous, and I can guarantee you I'm only doing what I have to do that day and then laying in bed with a heating pad. Luckily, it's usually just the one day some months.
Using a menstrual cup and cloth pads has helped decrease my cramping from what it used to be like. I also think that what I'm eating has an effect on how bad that month's cramps are. I really need to start looking closely at that. I still do some exercise, unless it's one of those bad days. It just might be less intense than I would ordinarily do, but it does help me feel better. The week before my cycle, however, I'm so exhausted that I have to be careful about my exercise or I can injure myself. There have been times the week before that I don't lift because I'm so tired there is no way I'm going to lift heavy objects that would cause major injury if I dropped them. Basically, I still exercise just at a less intense level, with the exception of the occasional really bad day. I don't feel guilty about having an occasional "lazy" day.
@veganbaum - I see others online say the menstrual cup decreased cramping for them. Any thoughts on why? I'm baffled as to the mechanism of tampons causing cramping or the cup relieving them. Unless maybe some women have a reaction to scented tampons and pads? I hate artificial fragrance so have never used them.
I use a cup when my flow is not Niagara Falls. At that point I switch to the OB Ultra. I just love the cup and have been using one since 2000 or so.
http://gladrags.com/product/238/The-Moon-Cup.html
It may have something to do with how the material for the tampons is processed. I just read something online about tampons containing a carcinogenic b/c of Monsanto. If you google "tampons and monsanto" different articles come up. I'm not sure how accurate this info is. It's not the reason why I switched to a menstrual cup. I switched b/c tampons are so freaking expensive.0 -
It may have something to do with how the material for the tampons is processed. I just read something online about tampons containing a carcinogenic b/c of Monsanto. If you google "tampons and monsanto" different articles come up. I'm not sure how accurate this info is. It's not the reason why I switched to a menstrual cup. I switched b/c tampons are so freaking expensive.
Glyphosphate is not in the cotton fibers. That's not how it works.
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