Painful/Severe Cramps - Light bleeding

I have just had the worst, most painful period of my life!  I'm 39 and have noticed that my periods seem to be changing - the physical symptoms I experience have gotten worse.  I was having severe cramping in my lower abdominal area and it was radiating down my legs.  The strange thing was that I was not bleeding very heavy at all - actually much lighter than normal.  Any idea why this could be?  I'm still bleeding a little and having some cramping (even at the end of my period).  My doctor had me take a home pregnancy test to make sure I wasn't having a miscarriage - it came back negative. I can't get in to see her until next month.... should I be concerned about this??

[Elaine Brown, MD]

Hi!
It isn't terribly uncommon for periods to get worse as we age.  But your symptoms make me wonder about endometriosis.  Another possibility that comes to mind is cervical stenosis--this is narrowing of the opening of the cervix that prevents the menstrual blood from flowing out or slows it down, and can cause horrible cramping.  Usually there would be some reason for cervical stenosis to occur, such as a history of cervical biopsies, or a procedure like a D&C.  I don't know if you would have had any of these types of procedures that would put you at risk.
It doesn't sound like something that needs to be evaluated sooner than 4-6 weeks.
If you do have another period before you can get in to see your MD, try taking Aleve or Motrin.  Maybe your MD could call you in a perpscription for something in the mean time.
Hope this helps!
Dr B