Excruciatingly painful cramps.

[ReaperLeviathan]

When I started my period when I was 12, nothing seemed off. In fact, I didn't have cramps. My period would continue for a few days too long and annoy me a little, but aside from some very mild discomfort, nothing was amiss. My period was on schedule, it lasted sometimes over a week, and that was it.

When I turned 14, however, everything started turning for the worst. My periods suddenly got thrown off schedule. One month, I didn't have a period, and the next month, I would have two periods. When this first happened after I turned 14, I didn't mind it. It was only a mild discomfort like when I was 12, and I was happier because some months I didn't even have a period.

Then, for the first time, I got cramps.

Again, it didn't bother me much. It was only mild stabs of pain at random times during the day. I would only have a few cramps during the day, and sometimes the discomfort would be midly worse in the mornings. I didn't see it as a problem.

Now, only a year or so later, my period is still on a strange schedule, but I'm not quite as happy with it. If I go a month without a period, I stress over how bad my next one is going to be, and I break down and cry when I get rwo in the same month. Remember when I said I had mild cramps? Not anymore.

It's like my body suddenly turned on me and decided to give me an extra special torture session every month for a week, sometimes two.

Often I call out of school because of how distracting and painful it is, and I beg my mother to allow me to go home for the day. She told me she had painful cramps and I might get them too, but the way she described the pain was sugar coating it.

I hear stories from other girls saying "oh, my cramps hurt" and "my cramps are a little distracting," but I'm over here biting back tears and digging my nails into my palms because of how bad the pain gets. The intervals between cramps is maybe 1-2 minutes if I'm unfortunate enough to need to walk to get somewhere, and 5-10 minutes if I'm sitting down. Taking max strength pamprin and other medicine to dull the pain only helps so much as to keep me from passing out from the pain, but just barely that.

No methods of dulling the pain have helped, although a heating pad helps mildly, but I can't just take something like that to school. I thank whatever god might be up there for at least making my periods start on Fridays or Saturdays, so that way I have a few days for the cramps to dull a little so I can go back to school without bawling my eyes out.

My friends act like their periods are as bad as mine, but I don't see them vomiting from the pain or bringing a bottle of max strength pamprin to school to take one when the pan gets bad. I'm the only one I know that sometimes stops and stumbles against a wall because of how bad the pain gets, and twice already I've screamed from it.

I know this, whatever it is, isn't normal, because no amount of trying to convince me that "every girl feels pain like that" will work. My mom tries brushing it off by telling me she went through it so I can too, but I'm not buying it. It isn't fair that I'm the only girl at my school that has to experience this, so I shouldn't be brushed off as "overexaggerating" like I normally am.

I think I remember reading something about painful cramps like I'm experiencing pose a serious health risk if left alone, but I don't remember what it was. I just want and answer as to what the hell makes me suffer so much during my period.

[Ashlee T.]

I have a coworker who says hers were that bad. If I remember correctly, she had cysts that were causing her pain and once she was done with her child-bearing, she had a hysterectomy.

Have you spoken with your doctor about your level of pain? A ultrasound may be necessary. I don't often recommend hormonal birth control, but is that something you've considered?

[Motorguy]

I know your mom is ignoring you Reaper about the pain. So I would stress to her to go see your Obgyn doctor and get check out like BD was stating of having cyst that's causing you so much discomfort for you. My wife had this same issue after are last daughter was born so to removed the cyst she had a hysterectomy done and everything was taken care of after that. But I'm assuming you like to have kids of your own. So it would be a good idea to get check out to be safe then be sorry. I wish you the best and hope you can get to the bottom of the bad periods you are suffering with your doctor.

[paigefash92]

you could also actually be getting pain from wearing pads and tampons, people don't really know the harm that they can cause! you should consider switching to cloth pads, or even period pants - they're great. check out this site, flux-panties dot co dot uk they are launching some period proof pants that sound really cool!

[Necro]

I had something similar happen to me but without the irregular periods. I use to get crippling pain that had me dropping to the ground and holding myself in the fetal position. After years of doctors testing for this and that and telling me to try over-the-counter pain killers in combination with one another, I found that a night time codeine would help (not fix it, but help to some extend). I don't suffer from them any more, I very occasionally (like twice a year) get a horrifying pain that makes me throw up, I can't move an inch without the pain being triggered all over again and it takes far too long for it to settle down into something I can pretend I'm coping with. It feels like a really bad acid trip, my whole body goes into shock, I get cold sweats and I feel delirious :S

The doctors never found anything, they suspected endometriosis (which may be what you have by the sounds of it) but they didn't find anything. Over the years I just thought that that was my life, I had to miss out on school and then work... It was so terrible! People thought I was putting it on or just a pansy because "all girls get cramps" but it was ruining my life. I tried dietary supplements, eating different foods and I found the less meat I ate, the less the pain would be. I went vegetarian and within the first 2 months there was a pretty significant change. I went vegan a couple years ago and that's when I started getting normal period pain. I'll sometimes experience cramping for maybe one day but it's a walk in the park compared to what I use to go through. Nothing a hot water bottle can't fix!

My advice is to maybe ask your doctor about endometriosis, cysts and IBS (the latter is what I believe I suffered from). Try keeping a journal, take down notes of what you ate that day, how much water you've had, any physical activities you did and have a pain scale and pin point what type of pain it is; sharp, stabbing, aching, throbbing, spasms. Include any back pain as well. This will help the doctor to rule out some things

I hope my novel of ramblings has helped in some way.
Good luck!

[Trialia]

I know this post was made a while ago, so I hope you've found some help, but I will post my reply anyway...

My periods are horrendously painful and have been for a few years, starting when I was in college. I've since been diagnosed with menorrhagia (heavy menstrual bleeding) and dysmenorrhoea (very painful periods), but nothing more complex. However, since I also have a condition that means hormonal changes can make my hips dislocate more often and on top of that, nerve damage to my back incurred at age 19, they're bad enough that I am stuck in bed with morphine & heating pads for the duration. So I know how you feel, I'm afraid. My doctors brushed it off as nothing like your mother seems to be doing, at first.

If you have a form tutor or teacher in charge of your year group or grade, or maybe a school counsellor, I'd suggest asking if they would write you a letter of permission to bring in a hot water bottle during your period to allow you to attend school without having to call off sick - do emphasise that it will allow you to do so. (You might also have to take some pain meds alongside it, but that's your business, not theirs.)

If they're worried about the risk of hot water, perhaps try an electric heating pad that can be plugged into the wall and ask to have your seat changed to somewhere as near a power socket as possible so you can plug in without the risk of tripping people.

If it's that you don't want your classmates or friends to be able to tell when you're menstruating, there are adhesive heating pads that can be stuck to your underclothes where people can't see them, and you can attach them to your knickers if you wear "granny panties" as many people do while menstruating, for comfort. I used to take a pack into school with me and stick them to my underwear, sometimes one over my belly and one on my lower back as well. They're not usually very expensive & can be bought online if your mom won't get them for you. Cura-Heat is a good brand with adhesive that doesn't unstick easily, and you wouldn't have to tell anybody you were using them, even your teachers.

Absolutely insist that your mom lets you see a gynaecologist or at the very least a GP. I know it can cost money in the States, but it sounds to me like you really need to get checked out to be sure nothing worse is going on - it sounds to me as though you might have endometriosis. A lot of people unfortunately do get that.

Either way, it would be great if you wouldn't mind updating us all on how you are? Thanks, and good luck!

[Lithium]

I had always experienced different scenarios since I got my first period...
Was like a clock but would be painful as hell. Got a surgery twice to remove cysts on my ovaries and then started taking pills and everything went to "normal" : normal period flux (before it was way too abundant), normal pain or just light pain,...
I stopped using pills (health issues) since almost a year ago and for the last months my period has gone back to nightmare time. Now it is very painful again. The pain seems to be even in my anus, intestines, I don't know how to describe it. I have to sit carefully or it hurts. This pain however shows up also on non-period time...
I am starting to wonder if its normal or if I have another problem like cysts or something else.