hello, im a 22 year old female in great health. I dont consume refined sugars and eat a relatively keto/paleo diet. I have been struggling with severe menstrual cramps for years and they havent improved. Some periods are worse than others. Im not on any medication either. My cramps are debilitating. I have to miss work/school/ and other respomsiblites because of it. Ive been to doctors for it and they tested both my blood to check hormone levels and PCOS. ive also done ultrasounds on my uterus and it came back normal with no signs of endometriosis. Does anyone have an idea of what im dealing with?
I don’t know what it could be, but I can recommend naproxen. I have extremely painful periods which are getting worse as I get older and naproxen is the only painkiller that works. It can give you really bad indigestion and acid reflux so I would recommend taking either zantac or nexium at the beginning of the day and take the naproxen after food.
I am in the same situation as you- I have very painful periods. At times they’ve meant I am unable to walk, can’t stop involuntarily writhing around in agony and no amount of pain killers touch it. I can see you’ve not yet tried medication? I would suggest speaking to your GP about this- I take mefenamic acid which helps a lot, (usually!) though does need a bit of a cumulative approach to get a full on benefit. It is an NSAID medication and pretty strong so shouldn’t be mixed with other NSAID medications (including but not limited to Naproxen and Ibuprofen) and it is important to not exceed the dose as it can affect your heart. It sounds scary, but it really isn’t if you follow the instructions and take it for what it’s designed for. It can be taken alongside things like paracetamol and nutritional suppliments if you find these helpful for any other pains caused by your TOTM, (such as headaches or energy issues) It is prescription only so you will need to speak to your GP but I’ve been taking it for years now and I find it makes the biggest difference compared with any other painkillers for period pain and aside from the times when I took more than the recommended amount (my mistake for not reading first!) I’ve not had any side effects either.