Ya girl is 30 years old and has still not found a mundane/magical cure for horrendous period cramps.
If you have any, share them for the good of suffering uteruskind!
Thanks in advance!
Just as a heads up, if you’re 30 and still having severe, debilitating cramps with your period, you really should go see your gyno. That can be a sign of some pretty serious shit, including endometriosis.
I usually find Aleve (naproxen) to be the drug of choice for my menstrual pain (both cramping and headaches). Red raspberry leaf tea is also supposed to be good for cramps. I haven’t tried it specifically, but I think I got some relief from a related species, wineberry.
But seriously, severe pain and cramping from your period isn’t supposed to continue into adulthood. If it does, it’s usually an indication that something is wrong–ie, your body is growing endometrium in places that are not the inside of the uterus–and you really should talk to your gynecologist!
I just want to add that maybe you have seen your doctor and still not gotten far. I’ve found birth control helps me, but that’s not for everyone. I’ve also heard a TENS unit can help. You don’t need to get one that’s “for your period” like Livia (i.e. subject to the pink tax). You can find them fairly easily on Amazon. I think @thebibliosphere has used them for other types of pain and can maybe make a recommendation about ones that work well but aren’t overly expensive?
Mines is this one: https://www.amazon.com/TENS-7000-Digital-Unit-accessories/dp/B00NCRE4GO/ref=sr_1_4_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1532063467&sr=1-4&keywords=tens+unit
Under $30 on amazon (I know we’re trying to avoid them rn but it’s an easy link to find) and it does the exact same job as those “period pain” ones which cost upwards of $100. It’s just not cute and shaped like a flower. I tend to leave my running on low to medium for the 20 minute duration cycle and it can help substantially with period pains. I’d either strap it to my front of back, depending on where the worst pain was.
Also if you can take it, the raspberry leaf tea (emphasis on the leaf it’s not just raspberry flavored tea) is a good starting point for helping the contractions moving along and maybe a little less painfully. The TENS unit is just handy to have though, I use it for so much pain relief. (Just make sure you read the instructions and follow the safety guidelines)
Seconding the raspberry leaf tea–that stuff was an absolute life saver when I had periods. If you drink 2ish cups a day starting a few days before your cycle and continuing until the worst of the cramping stops it works wonders. And if you’re like me and never know when your cycle is coming, it still helps a lot just drinking it when you’re having a lot of pain. Just holding something warm in your hands and getting it in your belly can help (and heating pads don’t do anything for me, but the warm tea is great).
And of course seconding the gyno suggestion. I’m currently on doctor number 4 who still won’t listen to me about the debilitating pain and keeps cycling me through various hormonal treatments (wheeeee side effects everywhere) instead of just TAKING THE DAMN ORGAN OUT but definitely say something and keep self advocating!
konekorambles 