Abnormally Painful Menstrual Cramps

[Sarita23]

A question for the ladies (or anyone else who can help ^^). Due to Celiac's, I had my period rather late (16), and since then, I've experienced a lot of pain that naturally comes with menstruation. However, upon talking with friends, I've yet to find anyone who has pain on the level I do. While my period lasts seven to eight days, theirs is much less. I bleed very little, generally, but the first two days of menstruation always include:

- nausea
- vomiting (inability to eat or drink)
- dizziness
- intense pain and aching in limbs
- can't walk or exercise

Basically, I lie inert for 2 days, using a heat pack to keep the pain down. I know the pain is normal, but... aren't there pills for it? Ibuprofen? Is it normal to vomit and be too weak to walk?

Help is appreciated.

[Sarita23]

Yes, I have heard that they ease up as you grow older. Your reply is beyond helpful. Have a great day!

[Sarita23]

thank you for the advice!

[Ricobord]

I have two close relatives who had very similar stories. Both of them had endometriosis. I developed disabling and "severe PMS" (as my doctor called it) a few times in my life, but I do not have endometriosis.  A low dose estrogen pill was really helpful for me.  I hope you find relief soon!  

[lovelee925]

Hello-
I'm not sure how old you are but I'm 27 and have had/have the same types of cramps that you do. I believe the medical term for it is dysmenorrhea.  As for it being normal...ehh lol, I guess it's "normal" as in it happens to many women and isn't usually life threatening in any way. However, my personal opinion is that normal isn't always good, and this is one of those cases. Ibuprofen does usually tend to help with these severe cramps, and keep using the heating pads like you have been. If ibuprofen alone doesn't work (it didn't for me) then your doctor will sometimes prescribe a prescription strength painkiller. Also, if you have a primary care doctor or better yet a gynecologist, discuss this issue with them. Sometimes gynecologists will put people on low-dose birth control to alleviate severe dysmenorrhea. I didn't try that myself, but I heard it works well for a lot of women.

When I was 16, my cramps were exactly the same as yours. I would miss 2 days of school each month without fail because I had vomiting because of the pain. I remember one time I actually blacked out and my brother found me collapsed on our stairs. When I turned about 21, they started to lessen up a little bit. Now at 27, they're still painful, but I'm able to control the pain with regular ibuprofen which I wasn't able to do when I was younger. So, hopefully your cramps will lessen at some point as well. But yeah, you should probably discuss this with your primary and/or gynecologist and see what they have to say about it. Hopefully, they'll give you some sound advice and some meds to ease the pain. Hang in there! I know just how excruciating those kind of cramps can be. My mom had the same kind of cramps and she said they didn't feel much different from the pain she felt while giving birth O_o Again, talk to your doctors and I hope you can feel better soon!