What do you ladies do for horrible Aunt flow visits?

Do you take any type of birth control? I just started taking Loestrin24Fe a few months ago and it's helped a lot.

Willing to try anything?? Try going vegan for a month. According to traditional Chinese medicine all of those symptoms are liver stagnation signs. I used to be doubled over in pain and sick as a dog every cycle (including brutal migraines). Adopted a vegan lifestyle for other reasons and lo and behold.....aunt flo is a breeze now. Not a cramp or headache to be had. Good luck!

I agree that a birth control pill is a good idea to help with the heavy flow and PMS. I take a multivitamin and that seems to help my energy. B12 is a good energy boosting vitamin as well. I also take iron and it helps as well because fatigue is a symptom of anemia.
I'd talk to your doctor and see what they can recommend for you as they know you and your medical history.
Britt

I used to get them bad like that but they have gone much lighter; I don't know if its age (I'm 42), diet and exercise or if my fibroids have shrunk from losing weight as my bladder problems have eased up too (my doctor suspected one was pressing against bladder when I was overweight)

This week I've exercised every day through 'PMT week' and I haven't had the fatigue, the emotional.. finding myself in tears and not knowing why... the cramps have just started to kick in this morning so they just starting for me.. water weight is high but I'm expecting to be back down to 10st 7by Tuesday and hopefully a few more pounds besides! I rest for couple of days once they have started then re-start (exercising) about day 4 when they are much lighter and nearly over.

I drink tons more water, eat better, and workout even harder during those days... I don't want to feel the "effects" of it so instead of being moody, lazy, dont fell I can be productive during those days, I completely break that and get more active etc. Thats how I deal with it.

I take mefenamic acid prescribed by the doctor.

I used to skip school and almost faint, regularly throw up, just from the pain of cramps every month. I didn't want to go on birth control because of the whole gain weight, horrible skin thing. So mefenamic acid was a non-birth control solution that actually works. I never get awful cramps anymore.

They shouldn't ruin your life, see a doctor if it's really bothering you!

I am on Mirena IUD, and I love it. I used to have horrible flow problems, along with terrible mood and all the rest. Now about every six weeks or so I will spot for a day or two and that is it. It's awesome! But I will say that if I weren't finished having children (I have two and we are done) then I probably wouldn't do the Mirena. Also, you do have to go through and initial phase where you are friggin spotting all the time (mine lasted 8 months and there were mood swings) but having come out on the other side, it was totally worth it. It lasts for 5-6 years, so definitely something to consider. Good luck, doll.

<sigh> So lucky. My sister got all that in the family. Maybe I just don't understand because I don't really have the mood swings, & physical discomfort... to me it's just another day, plus tampon. Life doesn't exactly change. Well, my first 2 periods, I did have some serious cramping, but it was nothing a little muscle relaxant & a heating pad didn't cure. Even to this day, I find that the only real affects I have from it are a tendency to weep at sappy moments on TV/movies a few days before I start.

My question is... can't you just take a Mydol & ignore it? Go on with your day? I'd think letting something affect you like this that happens every month would be really hard on you, and those around you. Why let it impact you so much? If the Mydol doesn't work, shouldn't you see a doctor?

I would agree with the posters saying to go on BC. It did WONDERS for me, I used to have severe cramping to the point I'd have to stay home from school, a VERY heavy flow for about 5 days (I'm talking switching tampons every 2-3 hours for the first few days), total of 7-10 days in total. Now, I have maybe one day of cramping and it's not bad at all, and 1 day of heavy flow, 4-5 days in total. I'm currently taking Tricyclen Lo, but talking to your doctor would help you pick one that's best for you, and it's a bit of trial and error.

In regards to this:

My question is... can't you just take a Mydol & ignore it? Go on with your day? I'd think letting something affect you like this that happens every month would be really hard on you, and those around you. Why let it impact you so much? If the Mydol doesn't work, shouldn't you see a doctor?

Mydol personally makes me pretty ill, I'm not sure what it is about it, but I get all kinds of nauseous, it's not very nice.


On a side note, I always found that drinking more water, eating more protein, and going for walks and stretching would help with the cramping. I can never seem to push my workouts like I would normally want to during that week, it's a bummer.

I agree with SooZ1138 that BCP is not the best choice for your health. The only reason I take it is so I don't get pregnant. But if you do want to go on the pill for the same reasons as me, then I recommend taking Safryal. It contains a diuretic progesterone that eleviates bloating, also it contains folate a b-vitamin. The only thing I hate about Safryal is the last week of active pills:

I get sooo tired and hungry! I'm actually about to embark on this horrible week
It actually makes my period seem pleasant because I get my energy back and my carb cravings diminish once I stop taking the active pills.

I know that a lot of people are pushing the birth control idea, but I guess maybe it's the holistic side of me that is screaming "no!!!". I went off birth control because the chances of breast cancer go up pretty substantially, plus, you are putting artificial hormones that your body has a really hard recognizing them and shuts down making it's own. It took my body almost a year to get back on track once I stopping taking BC, and it was not a fun experience at ALL. Study up on the hazards of BC, even my gyno says that BC has the most risk than any other form. For PMS, I would recommend trying a natural progesterone cream for about 3 months. Don't use a lot, but just a little to help ease the symptoms you are talking about. PMS is NOT normal. It is caused by a hormonal balance that is caused by mal-nutrition, a sedentary lifestyle or unfortunately, some people are just genetically predisposed to have it. You can ease symptoms as well by supplementing with calcium (won't have immediate relief, but it started to help me after about 3 months) and I take magnesium when I have cramps. I'm not sure what your diet is like, but try eating more natural, less processed (I have a problem with this myself =\).

Totally agree, birth control is not the answer. There are way too many nasty side effects and risks, I am sure if you do a little research you will find that out for yourself. I would look up natural ways to relieve it, and worst case scenario you try a prescription pill.

I use to have awful periods I could sleep the entire day had cramps from hell I even told to the Dr. about it when I had my yearly check up she said it was normal but I noticed they are much better now I really belive they changed thru just having a better diet and exercise I dont have cramps no were near as bad as use to do and after day 1 feel fine and do my normal workouts but if you dont think your period normal go to your doctor

I find that exercising actually HELPS me!

If you're not on BC then stay that way; BC works very different for people and for me it just ruined me - it maybe temporary but it ruined me. I had the major craps, the lack of energy, lower back pains, headaches, vomiting, etc during my monthly cycle and I started BC and yes it took some of those symptoms away but it brought on new ones like depression, fatigue, and headaches...all month long. During my monthly I actually suffered from headaches 2 days before and all throughout my cycle till like maybe 2 days after finishing and my doctor said it was withdrawal. I decided to get off BC because I didn't like the idea of messing with my hormones but now I suffer from daily headaches, neck/back tension, fatigue, nausea after eating, and I feel like I'm in a fog all day and like I'm going to pass out - I've been off BC for 2 weeks and its an everyday thing and my doctor said I can feel like this from 3mos to a year till my hormones balance out again. So think very carefully before giving in to BC - I regret it; we're all different though.

BUT, before settling for BC I used to lay in bed with a heating pad, take Advil, drink lots of water and get lots of rest; and after a nap I'd feel better and I'd get up and workout as hard and as much as I could. I also took iron supplements which my doctor recommended and it helped out a bit; multivitamins and drinking warm teas. I pretty much just had to get past the lethargic feeling; it was there but I really just pushed myself.

Part of this post my sound absolutely gross but facts are facts!! I can not take birth control and my periods used to be just as bad. I have learned over the years that ADVIL is my best friend. I know it is a blood thinner which breaks up the blood clots that cause cramps. This may make you bleed a little more but it has helped me with all my symptoms except the emotional part. It has also made my periods go from 7-9 days down to 3-5 and become almost predictable. For the back pain I am a firm believer in heating pads and the thermo pads that you can get to wear all day long.