Womanly "time of the month" pains.

honestly, it depends on the woman. some chicks have no pain (lucky bastards -___-) some have excruciating pain, like i do (for now). but yes, they can be that bad. before i was put on bc to regulate shit every month was the same, disorientation, hot flashes, nausea, can't find a position that doesn't hurt, everything swollen from the waist down and throbbing. you name it i probably felt it. it's still pretty bad even on pills, but it's a lot better than it used to be

 

I had a friend, bless her, who never had an easy "time of the month".
She was always in the most hideous pains. It was so bad, that she had to be medicated around that time to deal with it.
She'd still function, work and such, but she couldn't do much more than that.
I was living with her for a time and, well, you could always tell when she was "on" because the bathroom was ALWAYS occupied - as she would draw a hot soapy bath and stay in for hours, every so often topping up the water with hot water. That seemed to help her.

 

This might be a little too personal, but it really differs from woman to woman. I get everything - stomach aches, bloating, back and head aches :dry: Sometimes I get stomach aches so bad it feels like somebody punched me in the stomach so I take pain killers sometimes. Some ladies don't really have it that bad but some do.

So trust me on this, they can be.

 

Yeah like everyone said it differs depending on who you are. I had a friend in high school who had such bad pain she'd miss several days of school around her time of the month, bedridden and on heavy pain meds.

 

Anytime there's this level of pain, it's time to see the doctor.

Menstrual cramps are no fun. Within reason, there are medications that can help control both the cramps and the general inflammation that can sometimes accompany menstruation.

However, unusual levels of pain can also be a symptom of other conditions such as endometriosis, so it's something that your friend should discuss with her gynecologist.

 

this^

i had to see a gynecologist. and guess what. i have two uteruseseses....uteri....UNGODLY WOMANLY THINGS THAT WERE PUT INTO MY BODY AGAINST MY WILL AT CONCEPTION! D< (sorry....i'm apparently abnormally hyper for some reason at 12:40 in the morning )

now that that is out of my system....yes, with pain as severe as hers she *should* probably make an appointment to see a gyn. it could be something like endometriosis, or it could be as simple as having cysts on her ovaries that just need to be drained. but getting on the pill not only helps you know when you're getting you're womanly thing (if you're irregular) but also lessens the pain by a nice amount. I can function perfectly fine for the most part...pop 1-2 tylenol if it gets too bad, and get back on my way. makes life so much nicer, including for those who have to deal with you

 

Especially if it is different from her usual pain, or if she's never talked about it with her doctor before, she should definitely see a doctor. (It's possible this is a known issue, in which case she's presumably getting what help she can from her doctor already. If the pain meds are a prescription written for the purpose, that's probably the case.)

If she's having trouble remembering if she took her pain meds, she should portion them in doses and have them separated by when she should take them. They make plastic dosage organizer things for that purpose.

 

It definitely is possible to have that much pain depending on the woman. Not all women have pain but there are some that have very intense pain that prevents them from participating in everyday activities. One friend can't go to class or work when she is on hers. I feel like crap like 1 and a half weeks of the month because of mine and I have really bad pain for a while but not as intense as some others. It can suck bad for some people like your friend.

I think it's a good idea to suggest that she goes to a GYN. You could ask if she's been to a doctor when she talks about it next time so it won't be as awkward. She definitely shouldn't have to deal with this every month. She could talk to them about her pain and see what's up. BC and other avenues might be of help to her.

 

I also get severe pain in my thighs/stomach area and I'm considering going to the ob gyn to see if there's anything I can do for it. It's unpleasant and if I'm not home when it starts it usually gets to the point where I end up hurling because of the pain. Not fun. Tylenol/Midol doesn't do anything to relieve it, but I've found a hot water bottle on the area that's hurting helps 100%. So you could always tell your friend to try that, but a doctor's appt might be better - just to check there's no cysts or serious medical problems causing the pain.

 

i had awful pain ever since i can remember and omg it was the worst.
i used to be bent over in pain, couldnt walk much for the pain, my lower stomach was the size of a house and i was so ill. felt sick and everything. (luckily never was sick).

turns out it was a symptom of my low thyroid until i got put on my meds and the pain is SOOO much better. yeah it can be bad

 

Well I've never had pains quite as bad as your friend described it, but yes, periods can be extremely painful. Sometimes, I can have a cycle that's almost pain free with some minor discomfort...other times, my cycle makes me want to tear out my uterus haha. It's like the worst stomach ache you'll ever feel and it's dull and constant. When I'm in pain, I can't even stand up straight and sitting down, no position feels comfortable. I then have to lie down on my back and flip and flop around like a fish until I find a position that's relatively less painful to be in. Sometimes lying face down with your stomach against the mattress helps. Other times, I lie flat on my back and put a heat pack on my stomach. Those help a lot. You can always recommend that to your friend. It's those microwavable heating packs that feel like they're filled with rice inside...just tell her to heat one up and put it over her stomach while lying down. That usually helps me...plus some pain killers.

 

as others have said, it varies widely from woman to woman. i have virtually no pain - when i do have cramps, it really is only annoying enough to complain about and not really painful. my sister, on the other hand, had such debilitating cramps that she was prescribed birth control pills at 12 or 13 years old to help control it

 

Yeah, well for me at least they're pretty fucking bad. After the PMS...I get headaches (as bad as migraines), awful weakness and overall lethargia, cramps (obviously), swelling, vomiting, and of course the bitchiness and mood swings. I'm a monster for a solid week. Yes, it's that bad.

 

Usually for me I only suffer really bad on the very first day. I get severely tired, bloated, nauseous sometimes, and usually lay in bed with cramps. Though other times it can be fine. I think it really depends on the person because I know a friend who has really bad cramps through the entire week, another friend who doesn't feel anything at all.

 

After reading this, I am sooooo glad I'm a guy. My chronic stomach pains now seem trivial compared to woman's monthly cycle pains.

 

Shes not exaggerating.

I have an extremely high pain threshold (Ive separated a shoulder and kept putting weight on the arm, chipped a kneecap and kept running on the knee until I felt blood coming down my leg and then had to stop) and my cramps are TERRIBLE. I try to have nothing scheduled on the first day, I lie on the couch, pop dangerous amounts of advil and do a lot of deep breathing.

I know girls who have thrown up and/or fainted from cramps and one girl who had to get sent to the ER because her cramps made her have labour-like contractions.

 

Like some others have said it varies a lot depending on the woman. For me personally my symptoms were so bad that I would miss school because I couldn't move even with pain killers. Luckily birth control pills have reduced my cramps to practically nothing.