Weight loss w/ dysmenorrhea (ladies..)
 

So my period pains, on a scale of 1-10, is 10000. I'm not talking about needing 3 advils and heating pads for cramps and tummy aches or whatever, I mean it gets real bad, to the point where I'm lying in fetal position, shaking and breaking a sweat (baaad), and on the verge of throwing up. It is excruciating pain, and on top of that, the cravings are horrendous. And this pain is usually a day before and the day of, and the day after (with various degrees of pain, the day before/after a little better than the day of but still in so much pain)

When it rains, it pours.

Does anyone else have bad period pains? I dont know how I can stay on track if for 3/4 days a month I eat every horrendous thing in site and cant even work it off! Standing up is a challenge.

YES. I know that pain - I've struggled with it for years. People who have only ever had regular old cramps cannot understand just how bad and debilitating it can be to have that kind of pain every month, and how much it interrupts your life. Forget exercise; I can't get out of bed/the bathtub when mine are like that. I can't even think straight until the 1200 mg of Advil kicks in and mutes things enough for me to be semi-functional.

I found out last summer that the severity of my cramps is caused by endometriosis, and that I've likely had it since my early teens. If you've never discussed endometriosis with your doctor or OB/GYN I would STRONGLY encourage you to do so, especially if you have any of the other symptoms associated with the condition (you can find lots of lists of symptoms online). Endometriosis can't be definitively diagnosed by anything other than an actual, internal look at your reproductive organs (usually done by laparoscopy); but if you're not willing to go that far or your insurance won't cover the procedure, you should still get on hormonal birth control if you/your doctor suspect you have it. The bcp will definitely help with controlling the pain, but more importantly it will help to prevent the condition from getting worse over time. I'm not sure how old you are or if you are interested in having children at some point in the future, but endometriosis impacts fertility - which is a huge reason (beyond the pain) to get it diagnosed and managed if that's a concern for you. Anyway, if you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

I would definitely recommend consulting your doctor. While it may be 'nothing' (you know, other than excruciating pain every month) it may be something that can be helped. My doc told me mine was just the way I am, but recommended starting 800mg of advil 4 -5 times a day the two days before the cramping usually starts, just to get ahead of things. This actually helped quite a bit, meaning I could hobble around without wanting to pass out :) I hope you find some relief!

I know this is a bit of an older thread but I second what chickadee wrote (I could have written that myself!). I used to take shots of rum to numb my pain. I feel you girl. I was "diagnosed" by just telling my gyno my symptoms and he prescribed me a hormonal birth control that has made me feel amazing! When I get periods now (only 4 times a year! BLISS!) I pop ibuprofen like Smarties and they are waaaaaaaay less intense.

Good luck to you.

Bumping this thread again! YES. My doctor put me on the pill when I was 13 for this very reason. I stopped taking it in my 20s for some unknown reason, and now I'm 31 I can't get put back on it until I lose another 25lbs or so. It is such a pain in the ***. My blood sugar gets all out of whack, and I was taken to hospital once with concussion after I passed out from the pain. Ever since then I've been afraid to go out for 4 days out of the month! Depo was meant to improve it, but I basically just had no period for 6 weeks, then it returned for 9 straight months. ****.

I can't wait to get shot of the next 25lbs for this exact reason (plus I'm I'm a relationship now, so I want to be on the pill anyway). When I was taking it, life was just about bearable. I have no idea why I ever stopped taking it. Oh, and another thing I was prescribed as a painkiller was mefenamic acid. I don't know if that's just the UK name, but it might be worth finding out about. It certainly helped me.

I experienced the same thing, I kept showing up at the clinic to get prescription pain pills cause I couldn't go to work it was so bad. The doctor's tried a bunch of stuff. Finally, when my periods reached 63 days long I had a hysterectomy. They kept trying to control it with birth control pills, or hormone based treatments, but nothing worked. I was on Depo once, and I bled the entire 3 months I was on it. I put on about 40 lbs in the several years before I got a doctor to take me serious.
Mine was caused by adenomyosis (rather than the lining of uterus growing outside of uterus like in endimetriosis, the lining burrows it's way into the muscle of the uterus).
Treatments are different for everyone of course, progesterone made me worse but makes most women's symptoms decrease. Hang in there, and talk to your doc.