Woman TMI question

Fran27

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#1
Ok hopefully that will keep the guys out.

I need some advice on how to avoid cramps and heavy periods. It's just really bad. Sometimes one month it's not bad at all and the next one is a horrible nightmare (like, leaking through 2 maxi overnight pads put front to back in 3 hours at night - I use always infinity too...).

I've been having horrible cramps for 1.5 hours too and tylenol isn't working (I have surgery next week so can't take ibuprofen, and it sucks). But even when I take ibuprofen, I need to take 3 for it to work, and sometimes I have to alternate with tylenol... I had a prescription for pain killers instead but they make me so dizzy I stopped using them pretty much right away.

I can't take the bc, I tried the tiniest dose and my hormones got nuts and my cholesterol spiked. Oh and since I did IVF I've had horrible cramps for 2 days when I ovulate too.

It sucks. Any advice would be great.

I have to add, it's been like this forever pretty much, and I had everything checked 5 years ago for IVF and they didn't find anything wrong.
 

Kilter

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#2
Depending on where you are in life...

If you have a baby, sometimes it'll help afterwards. Sometimes.

When you can take ibuprofen, start taking regular doses 4-5 days before your period, so the meds are built up in your system before you need it, and keep taking it throughout.

Diet can make a difference, too much soy or chemicals or not enough....

Exercise is supposed to help too, and stress plays a part.

There is a treatment I read about, where they scar everything in there so nothing bleeds but you're still 'intact' but you can't have kids after.

I used to live on the couch with a heating pad so can relate!
 

RD

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#3
Honestly I don't know what to suggest since you can't do any form of contraceptive. I have pcos and my periods are absolutely unbearable (as in I alternate staying in bed for agonizing cramps or agonizing migraines/nausea)for 2 weeks out of the month without birth control. Some things that helped my cramps were pooping (tmi but... pooping.) and hot baths. Not at the same time, mind you.

I have no idea on flow. I do know that when I used to take aspirin it would increase my flow a lot, but I don't think ibuprofen has the same effect.
 
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#4
Prescription strength ibuprofen is something like 800-1000 mg, just FYI, so you may be able to take a bit more depending on how big you are. I take 4 or 5 at a time routinely. Just FYI from a pain angle.

Look into natural progesterone cream. There's a pair of doctors whose names escape me who wrote a couple of books years ago about pre-menopause and menopause and using natural progesterone cream to help with a variety of symptoms associated with them (and just woman specific problems in general).

You have to take anything they say with a grain of salt, because they have sort of drunk the Kool-Aid about it if you catch my meaning. But having said that, I did use it for some problems with painful ovulations and ovarian pain that I was never able to get a real explanation for through typical medical channels and it worked great, I was really happy with it. He's got just a basic regimen that he recommends that is something like... you use it starting the day or day after you ovulate (known or guesstimated) until you get your period and then stop it until your next ovulation. It's available at health food stores, I used one called Natural Woman :)rolleyes:) that I got at GNC.


ETA: Oh and the usual eat well, exercise regularly, and get enough sleep. Which seems to be a cure for whatever ails anyone, but legitimately IMO.
 

joce

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#5
How many pills did you try? I never heard of the cholesterol side effect so maybe one may raise it and one may not(then again I try to ignore them to not be all paranoid). Really short of the hormones your going to suffer through and I know that pain cuz I used to be right there with you. I would miss some and have some horrible ones. No rhyme or reason to my body lol!

Have you tried one of the moon/diva cups? I've heard people with heavier or gushing flows like them better. I've always meant to but going back on the bc when I got my own insurance ( 3$ vs my moms insurances 150$ or so) I never had to try.

Exercise does help. I've had to move hay on some of those curl up in bed days and it did help a ton. But if that's a day your gonna bleed through after ten minutes and your readjusting a pad it's not gonna work.

They have all kinds of pills with less or more of certain hormones. If its been a while talk with you dr cuz it's no way to live.

Edit- the google says you need a Lower estrogen pill to ensure the cholestrol does not raise. Try a few. Hopefully it's been a while and your dr will have a couple for you to choose from.
 

Mach1girl

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#6
GOOD LUCK! I am the same exact way, maybe even worse. I have Endometriosis tho. You may want to get checked for that.

But other then bc, I know no ways of slowing it down or making it any lighter, and if you find a way please let me know!

I go thru a super tampon and overnight maxi every hour for 3 days. Then I can switch to regular size, but still change every hour for 2 days, then suddenly a light for about a day... sucks. I am 41 and praying for menopause!
 

Beanie

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#7
You may need a different hormone too. I am on depo provera which is just progesterone (or a synthetic progesterone.) Estrogen based birth control did not help me but progesterone based birth control did.

Max dose for Ibuprofen is actually 3200mg per day, so technically you can take four of the regular stuff four times a day. Aleve was actually the only drug I ever found to help my cramps and I HAD to take it really early... or else it was just too late. And the vomiting would start. I still remember one time I woke up at 5am, rolled out of bed, and went straight to the bathroom to throw up, so sometimes there was no catching them early and stopping it. ugh.
I agree about checking about endometriosis, though sometimes it is hard to diagnose unless they actually go in and find endometrial tissues. My doctor has been treating me as though I have endometriosis for about a decade now though, based on all my symptoms.
 

Fran27

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#8
I'm sure I have endometriosis but they didn't find anything when I did all those tests for IVF... so who knows. I was supposed to have an ultrasound last year but my kids emptied my purse and lost the prescription so I never got it done (and they charge $10 if you lose one).

I guess I could try the pill again... I tried 3 but it was 15 years ago so I'm guessing things have probably changed a bit since. I'm a bit nervous about progesterone ones though, when I went through IVF and I had progesterone pills they just knocked me out 20 minutes later.

I don't think I could take hot baths... just taking a shower grosses me out and I lose so many clots that I have to clean the drain after (totally TMI sorry). I know that diet and exercise are supposed to help, but the two times I was actually pretty healthy in my life, it was still awful. My twin sister is thinner than me and eats better overall and has the same problems too.

Oh I tried the diva cup. Was really expecting a lot from it. But I can't place it right. Not sure why. I had to wear one once when I went to the pool, and I just scratched myself raw trying to put it right, and it still wasn't.

I guess I need to take an appointment with my GYN again, lol. Thanks for all the replies.
 

Emily

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#9
Have you tried red raspberry leaf? You can take it in pill form or as a tea, and it has a really long history of relieving cramps and PMS symptoms. It works for me! And it's freaking harmless otherwise so why not. Research and see if it sounds like something you might be interested in.
 

Emily

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#11
Thanks Emily... that's cheap too. I just ordered some on amazon.
It is cheap! And it's full of calcium (which may be part of why it relieves PMS symptoms, people believe). Glad you're giving it a try, it certainly won't hurt. :)
 
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#12
I would try a non-estrogen birth control. They have a progesterone-only pill, or depo-provera, which is a progesterone-only shot that's given every three months.

I would also see if you could get a prescription for a different type of pain meds - people react differently to different ones.

There is a treatment I read about, where they scar everything in there so nothing bleeds but you're still 'intact' but you can't have kids after.
If you're looking for a long term solution to the bleeding, I would look into this. It's called an endometrial ablation. It basically just burns away the endometrial lining - no periods, no babies, but you still have all your hormones, so no early menopause.
 

RedHotDobe

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#13
Pills helped me, so you may want to give them a try again. I rarely ever get cramps now. Before I could take four ibuprofen and be curled up in extreme pain again within a couple hours.
 

Dogdragoness

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#14
the first & second day i am pretty much useless, i feel weak like i have a low red blood cell count or something. the first day my flow is very heavy as in... going thru a super plus tampon every 2 hrs (yes at night too, which sucks because i have to set my alarm every 2 hrs :/) but on the third day its like someone turns the tap from all the way on to just a trickle, i my bleeding only last a day or so more after that & i know that once i have a full day with no 'action' then i know i am done.

the thing i really hate is the bloating (i increase like 2 pants sizes before & the first day of my bleeding) thats what really sucks :(. I also cant take BC because it raises my BP & since i already have a history of that, they wont let me take it due to the risk BC poses to ppl who dont have risk factors for HBP.

I dont know if this is normal, but i have noticed that my cycles btw bleeding have gotten longer as i have gotten older (just turned 30) when i was in my teens & 20's, my average cycle was 21-25 days, then it became 28 days to the day, now it is more like 30-35 days. the duration of the bleeding has also gotten shorter, i used to go 7 days, now i'm lucky if i get to 4 days of bleeding... is this normal? maybe i am getting ready for menopause.... yaaaay! TBH i cant wait to not have to deal with this crap every month anymore, i dont want kids so its not like i have a ticking biological clock or anything (ppl told me i would but i have never felt the 'i want a baby' urge).

sorry for all the TMI LOL
 
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#16
I wish I'd known how effective red wine was years ago.

Also -- don't laugh ;) -- there's an herbal supplement called Natural Curves. It's supposed to be for breast enhancement, which is total bullshit, but if you read the herbs it includes it's pretty much every significant one that supports the female body. Once I started taking them regularly I pretty much blew off ALL the effects of PMS, including cramps that had me curled up in the fetal position . . . when I wasn't puking.

Alleve helped some, better than any of the other OTC pain remedies, although the Pamprin Max made things tolerable. I used to have to take codeine :eek:
 

Fran27

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#19
Oh I need to look into all that stuff. I guess the issue is that I'd really have to use birth control with those permanent solutions anyway... so I guess it seems a bit extreme (not that it doesn't sound great, but I'm not sure I'm ready to say goodbye to our tiny chance of having children naturally yet).
 

Southpaw

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#20
I have suffered through debilitating cramps ever since I first got my period. Pain killers don't touch them, heating pads don't work when the cramps are at their worst. I've fainted because of them, thrown up because of them, missed countless days of school, work, holidays, and other fun activities because of them, because when they hit all I can physically do is lay down curled in a ball.

I can't go on BC either because of a genetic disorder I have which puts me at really great risk of developing a blood clot even in normal circumstances - so I am not supposed to use hormonal BC.

What has worked for me is Evening Primrose Oil and Magnesium supplements. 2 weeks before my period I take 1000mg of the evening primrose every day, and 250mg of magnesium every day. Calcium is supposed to be good too like was already mentioned, and they actually sell calcium/magnesium supplements which is helpful... I'll probably do that next time I need more, instead of just doing the magnesium on its own.

It's an easy thing to do that isn't going to cause any yucky side effects. The worst that happens is apparently too much magnesium will cause some digestive upset. :p But 250mg isn't a lot.
 

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