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5070096 tn?1363135597

strange and painful period cramps

Ive had my period since 6th grade. i am now 16, in 10th grade. About a year after my first period i started to feel extreme pains on my 1-3rd day of my period along with very heavy bleeding (having to switch my super plus tampon every 3 or 4 hours. HAVE to wear a pad at all times with tampons also)
The pain i feel to this day is at first the regular crampy feeling, but then at random it will start to feel like a shocking sudden pain thats no longer a crampy feeling, its as if someone has stabbed me in the lower abdomen. When these occur i cant move or barely talk. I always end up moaning and crying loudly to try and help, because i cant really do much of anything else during these moments. These usually will happen 10 to 12 times a day.
Ive always just gotten over the pain as when i was younger i was afraid to go to the doctor and find out what really is wrong and in 8th grade i admitted to my aunt (legal guardian) that i was in extreme pain but she allways told me to suck it up and stop over reacting and wouldn't listen to me every time i said something. So i stopped trying to say anything.

Now today i started my period at school and i was fine for most of the day with regular cramps. In my last bell i began to feel extremely hot to the touch and felt over heated. The sharp shocking pains started but this time i felt very very nauseous. I felt shakey and weak like flu symptoms but a lot worse than i have experienced. After school i got home and went to the bathroom and pooped. It helped the pain go away slightly but i still felt like i was on the verge of vomiting. I took some advil and layed down. I finally fell asleep and when i woke up the feeling was gone and it is now back to my regular crampy feeling.

I only told my aunt i felt a little sick, i didnt tell her any details though.
I am really worried. I do not want this to become a new thing for my body. I cant handle it anymore.
Im also afraid if i go to the doctor, they woulnt be able to actually help and tell me im fine like a lot of girls have delt with.

What could this possibly be? Do i need to worry about something being wrong with me? What can i do to prevent this?
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Avatar universal
The bad cramps could be because you started having ovulatory periods.  According to a GP I know, the first couple years of periods tend to be cramp-less because you aren't actually ovulating (this is not a 100% thing, but it can happen).  I didn't get any cramps for the first couple years either.

Your symptoms are bad enough that you should see a doctor about it.  People with really heavy periods can get anemic, as Aquarielle said.  Part of the pain could be gut cramps.  My intestines often get disturbed for my period, and I can end up with gas and diarrhea.  And gas pain can feel like getting stabbed in the gut.  Especially since you mentioned nausea and having to poop, I suspect this is part of the problem.  I used to take 800 mg of ibuprofen to deal with my cramps, because without pain killers I wanted to curl up and disappear.  

Birth control pills might be the way to go for you.  They can seriously lower cramp pain and the amount of bleeding.  I went from 7 days and awful cramps to 5 days and cramps that I can deal with without medication.  It's fantastic for me, but you need to see a doctor to get it.  There are teen clinics in most places that will be free or have a sliding scale (places like Planned Parenthood).  You don't need an adult with you to go to one.  And unless birth control pills are contraindicated for you, teen clinics are usually happy to give them to you for free.  Then, even if they aren't believing you about the cramps, you'll still have something that should help fix them.

You might have a stomach bug right now that's causing the flu-like symptoms, but you should still see a doctor about everything else.
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Avatar universal
I forgot to add that the main reason I suggested talking to your school nurse is that she may be able to talk with your aunt to explain that you do need to see a doctor.
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Avatar universal
    I had worse period problems than most girls when I started my period just before age 12. I'm an adult now, but still have problems-- they aren't quite as bad as yours, but I have some idea of how bad that must be. I remember nearly falling of a chair in a 7th grade class because of the dizziness!

    It's Very frustrating when doctors don't take menstrual problems seriously. More of them are, these days, but it can be a challenge. I do think that you should see a doctor. You could start by talking with your school nurse; I suggest that because girls probably do come to lie down in her office with pain, and she may know if any see a good doctor. I don't know if there are doctors in your area who can help without a guardian's permission since you are 16, but your school nurse may know of a place if your aunt won't help you.

    I don't think anyone can figure out what it is online but I will say, since you've had problems right from your first period, I think it's most likely that your hormone levels are off. If that's what it is, a doctor would probably recommend birth control pills or another type of birth control method (which basically regulate hormones, not just prevent pregnancy, and it's a normal prescription to treat heavy periods cause by hormone levels. If it's anything else, it's very unlikely to be serious, so try not to worry about that. It's still important to see a doctor, though, because heavy blood loss can cause anemia-- I have severe anemia and a doctor only Recently figured that out. If you have that, you'd probably just get iron supplements and possibly a recommendation to eat more iron-rich foods.

     They may also prescribe a muscle relaxant, which can decrease cramping. The sharp pains are quite possibly very bad cramps. Cramps happen when the uterus contracts in order to push the blood out into the vaginal canal. The uterus has a whole muscle layer in order to do that. More bleeding usually means more pain. I get those sharp pains and can't walk during them. When those cramps are very bad, I sometimes get hot, sweaty, and nauseous-- and sometimes vomit. It's because of the blood in your veins-- not the menstrual blood-- rushing to your pelvis during the uterine contraction.

     Dizziness is caused by the blood rushing down from the head. What I do when I have dizziness or nausea is sit and hang my head down between my knees so some of the blood goes back to my head. If you can reach back, running the part of your back behind the uterus can help lessen the cramping. If someone else, like a friend who it's appropriate to have touch you, ask them to do that, a very hard back rub on just that area.

      People probably tell you, oh just use a heating pad, and that won't fix it but can help. At drug stores, there are little heat patches with adhesive to stick inside your pants or underwear to target the uterus area specifically. I didn't think they'd help at all but they work very well for me! Those alone aren't enough to stop the pain, but they really do help.

     If you get to see a doctor, there are some things which will make them more likely to take you seriously. Try not to be emotional, like crying, ot saying you're scared or worried. Be very matter-of-fact and describe the symptoms as simply as you can, such as, "In the past X amount of time, my menstrual cycle has changed. Before, I had problems like X,Y,Z. Now I have new problems A and B. I use X number of menstrual pads and tampons during (list the days of your period, so the doctor knows when it's heaviest). It helps when I ____, but ____ makes it worse, and ____ has no effect." Just very simple like that. I swear, if one more doctor ever says to me, Well blood in the toilet can be one drop but look like a lot more, I might lose it lol. Always talk about the blood on your pad or tampons, and especially if it ever soaks through to your clothes or onto your sheets at night. If you get clots, tell the doctor about them; how often, how many. Those can cause bad pain, too, as they go through the cervix. If they're big, the cervix has to dilate a little to let them through. I once described a very bad incident to my mother, and she said it sounded just like the back labor she had when I was being born!! That is some bad pain.

     I had Many gynecologists who didn't take me seriously, but there are good doctors out there. The major gynecological problem I have now (unrelated to the usual menstrual pains; it's a problem that can happen to older women) wasn't diagnosed until I'd had it for five years and been told by about SIX gynecologists that my hormones were just a little high. Well, They had to ear their words when a Urologist sent me to the gynecologist because He knew something was truly wrong! The gynecologist spent about 5 minutes telling me it was nothing, urologists don't know what they're talking about, etc, Before even examining me. When she did, she said... you need an MRI. And that showed my condition, plain as day, that caused the symptoms I'd been talking about for 5 years. It was hard to keep asking for help, but I did eventually get it. And now the gynecologist must feel like a moron and I bet she won't ever treat me like that again!

     I really hope something can be done soon to help you feel better! Keep in mind, too, that there can be months of bad periods and then they'll go back to "normal." That's still not good for you or for me, but you may not be doomed to these very bad ones forever, ok?


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