well, i don't know if anyone can help , but i thought maybe . . . just maybe someone might. i have extreme cramp-age. i never really got cramps. But this year i have had them like crazy and a little of last year. Ive switched birth controls i believe 5 times from all different side effects. and i was wondering do you think I'm getting these thunder cramps from the kind i am on. i cant remember when they started but they are excruciating . i mean bent over like i just got kicked in the gut kinda pain. is there a way to relieve the pain. is it just cause I'm getting older and period cramps worsen, or because Ive gained so much weight in the past two years. . . i just don't know what to do. also my insurance doesn't kick in until October 1st. so i cant do that to find out. any help at all i would appreciate .....thank you!

Honestly I think it's because of the birth controls....I too have tried 5 different kinds and still can't find one that is good for me. When I started ones that weren't good for me my cramps actually got worse. I'm not sure if weight has to do with it at all, but I really don't know. If it is pains in your stomach then I think I know the cure....mine did it to me...the side effect was to cause crazy bad heartburn that hurt so much I was crying and curled up in the floor. I ended up having to take 2 pepcid tablets. I honestly got the grocery store brand and they worked just as well. If that is what it is definately get pepcid or xantac. Tums and rolaids do not help at all! Trust me I nearly turned into a piece of chalk from taking so many. Also, if you just started they are supposed to get better in 3 months but if it doesn't talk to your doctor to switch, but I'm sure you've heard that before. Hope this helps!

I'm not sure what to tell you. I know you said that you do not have insurance but maybe you could just call your doctor and ask them if this could be the cause. If they don't think so you might have to go to the doctor without insurance because there is other things that could be the problem. (For instance I thought I was having back pain for like 3 months because I have cronic back problems and it turns out I had gallstones and ended up having emergancy sugery).

I hope you feel better

I'm sorry you're in so much pain, hon. I've never had really bad cramping with my period, usually just a dull ache. I had been on Depo Provera for a year and a half--so no period for a little over a year (and no cramps). I recently had the Mirena IUD put in and experienced some cramping the first few days, but nothing that was double-over excruciating. If these cramps are severely worse than what you've been accustomed to in the past, I would see your Primary Care or a GYN for a pap/pelvic exam.

If you think it's BC-related, ask your Doc about other (non-pill) options: Nuva Ring or an IUD, for example. IUDs and NuvaRing work locally instead of getting a lot of hormone in your blood stream, so the side effects are supposed to be less pronounced than that of Depo or the pills.

Hope you feel better soon!

I had cramps on different birth controls but now I'm on Nuva Ring and have absolutely zero (yay!). I also don't know if your weight plays a part.

As for what to do about it NOW:
-take something for the pain, even if you think it doesn't ordinarily help it can take the edge off (advil, midol, whatever)
-exercise! I understand that moving at all let alone exercising is the last thing you want to do....but studies show that physical activity relieves cramps! So get out there and go for a walk, a swim, ride a bike, dance around your living room, whatever you can think of!
-after you exercise laying down and putting a hot pack on your lower stomach where you are cramping can soothe it a little bit

I hope you start feeling better soon!!

That could be lots of things. I know that with me, cramps intensify greatly when I gain weight. When my pcos was completely out of control it was just awful. I also know that "excruciating" also applied to a ruptured ovarian cyst when I was 17. They can also mean fibroids or because you keep switching bcp. If it is unbearable for an extended amount of time, if you are throwing up or if you have a fever you need to see someone. Are you in college? Could you possibly go to the health center on campus? I do know that- while probably a really unpleasant idea- county hospitals have urgent care centers that you could go to. They probably also have a "nurse's line" that you could call and speak with a nurse.

If you think it's not too bad to wait until Monday, I would check Planned Parenthood. This is where I had my GYN care pre-insurance and I have recieved excellent care there. They also have really low rates, or use a scale to determine how much you pay according to how much you can afford.

I do hope you feel better soon!

Excuse an "old lady" jumping in on the topic, but I can relate all to well!
I had heavy cramps all through my 20's, 30's and into my 40's. The heavier I was, the worse the cramps were. For me 3 things helped.
Pain reliever - Motrin works best for me.
Warm bath - actually a hot bath - bubbles, music, candles and a glass of wine help too!
Heating pad - nothing fancy, the plain old kind most of us have stuck on a shelf somewhere.
HTH

to add . ive been on bc for about 2 years. i have tried the depo but thats what made me gain 60 pounds in a year plus i was a *****, i mean crazy mood swings. i am really interested in the mirena ,how much is that is it covered. man oh man i dont like this one bit. well im on ortho low so im not sure i heard a lot of dangerous stuff about the nuvaring so that scares me . . . . .thank you ladies . anyone else have insight?????

I second the physical activity. Nothing crazy, but walking always helps me. Heating pads and yoga work as well. I even second the Nuvaring part (I was switched to it about 6 months ago and love it).

Are you sure you don't mean the Ortho Evra patch? That's the one that has caused blood clots and (in rare cases) death. The Nuvaring is a very low dose of hormones.

I tried 6 different bc pills years ago. Cramps were much better on them but each one made me have mood swings 24/7. A month after I would stop taking them, the mood swings would be gone. Finally decided, hormones are not for me. My cramps did get worse when I went of the pill, but nothing that I couldn't handle. But as soon as I started gaining weight fast, the cramps got worse and worse. Just dropping 8 lbs in the past month, my last period had less cramping. So for me, the extra weight does make it worse. I just take advil to get through it.

Extra weight definitely made my period worse, and also much less regular. (No BC). Now that I have lost weight and I am more active, my period is oh-so-regular and not nearly as bad.

The Mirena IUD is a small plastic T that gets inserted into your uterus (two small monofillament strings hang out of the cervex into the top part of the vagina). The Mirena has a very low dose of hormone that works locally in the Uterus for five years before it needs to be removed. Though your GYN will be able to give you all the information. My insurance (I'm under my parents' plan still) covered the procedure AND the IUD (Cash the procedure could have been ~$800 or more)--all I had to do was pay my "specialist" visit fee, for seeing a GYN. So for 5 years of birth control, I paid $50. Not too shabby, if you ask me. I will say that insertion was THE worst pain I've felt in my life and the first few days after, I was crampy and uncomfortable--but since then I've felt fine. I got it done about three weeks ago now

I have always had relatively good luck with the pill. I was on it for 4 years then switched to depo for 2.
I started to get serious cramping about 2 years ago and had a hard time pin pointing the cause. It eventually got to the point where it hurt the most while being sexually active.
I saw my family doctor who referred me to ab OBGYN, after a couple of visits and a minor laproscopic surgery I was diagnosed with Endometriosis, nothing life threatening or anything.
There are many courses of action if this is what is wrong and the solution is very Dependant on person and the severity.
Not saying that this is the issue, but it maybe one of the topics you discuss with your health professional.
Good Luck, and hope you start to feel better

Thanks Ekeller.. i was reading through this whole thing and waiting for someone to suggest Endometriosis as a possible cause. I think it is definitely something to consider if it already hasn't been ruled out. I know a few people who have had surgery for it and have felt a world of difference.

I hope things get better for you.