Thread: Um...help?

So, today for the first time ever in my life (seriously) I have cramps. They are more painful than any fight I've ever been in! I always was a bit suspicious that everyone else was making them up...

What do I do? Ow!

And why now, at the age of 30?! My new doctor told me today it's because I am finally 'a lady', whatever that means.

One of those hot water bottle things. (The brown rubber ones) That does wonders for me!

If it's absolutely unbearable, I take advil (liqui-gels) but only when I am DYING. I don't like to take to much medicine and have heard some bad things about the effect of ibuprofen.

I have the worse cramps on earth, and they are often accompanied with barfing...and other things I'd rather not talk about!

Umm, first smack your doc (is your gyn a man?) and then take some Ibuprofin every 4 hours. I thought this was BS until mine got horrible after childbearing. I used t just suffer through them. But if you stay ahead of it with IB it does help.

uh, careful, not to scare you, but I just talked to a lady today who told me a similar story. Ends up she had gangrene and a ruptured appendix. By the time the Ambulance brought her to the ER, the docs only gave her 1 hr to live. So emergency surgery it was. She is fine now.

But I only mentioned it because you just want to make sure that you monitor your pains. Especially if you have never had this before.

On a different note. Things change at 30. Just when you knew your body and got used to it..wrong. Things shift, new things hurt, different things click, hairs grow out of places they never did before, your period may be different...etc..

welcome to 30. *sigh*

Nilaja

[QUOTE=ejaghana;212050

If it's absolutely unbearable, I take advil (liqui-gels) but only when I am DYING. I don't like to take to much medicine and have heard some bad things about the effect of ibuprofen.

I thought it was acitominophen that was bad (tylenol) not IB.w.:

OOH, you know what else? I just remembered, fibroid tumors. These are begnin tumors that can get bigger at certain times in your cycle. I think your gyn would have caught them with a digital exam though. Did he/she mention those?

Originally Posted by ejaghana

I don't like to take to much medicine and have heard some bad things about the effect of ibuprofen.

Indeed! I developed Angioedema recently and Ibuprofen is a huge trigger of it. Angioedema is life threatening..and mine certainly was. So do be careful with the advil.

Nilaja

Yeah, my new doctor is a man. He said some questionable things in regards to male/femaleness, but he also talked to me for about two hours, so while I did think of smacking him I've also not had anyone pay that much attention to me in the medical world. He's a general doctor, not a gyn though.

Arrrgh I don't want it to change! I also never had pms before (something I also still suspect is, well, suspect). Today though I'm not so sure. They hit without warning!!

My boyfriend said he's never heard me complain about pain before, ever. Pain of any kind...so I think it's pretty bad.

That appendicitis story is scary. I'll keep an eye on it.

Oh GOD! I had a General Practitioner tell me my cervices was ERODING! I went to a OB/GYN and he laughed his a$$ off. He told me (I was 20) that I had some cells in my uterus that were precancerous and I went through two cryo procedures (froze my uterus to kill the cancer cells) and I was fine. But the pain, yeah... when I turned 32 I had killer cramps, the kind that make you crouch down to the floor and HORRIBLE PMS. I don't have them very much any more. I stopped eating certain things and I think that helped, I don't know why but I don't have terrible cramps and the PMS is but a whimper instead of a scream. Oh and ladies don't drink ice cold water because that makes you clot up during your monthly. Just an F.Y.I. there.

Oh, the G.P. lost his license and went bankrupt.

I have had awful ones as long as I can remember. Heating pad works great. I've had them so bad I throw up. When it gets like that, the only thing that works for me is midol. Exercise also helps, by the way...

...

Originally Posted by jasani

Oh and ladies don't drink ice cold water because that makes you clot up during your monthly. Just an F.Y.I. there.

Don't drink it during your period, or never?

..c::

Yeah, the pain was so bad I was walking half-bent today and thought for sure I was going to get sick. What a smack in the face!

Bizarrely, the only male I asked about it promptly responded 'hot water bottle'.

Originally Posted by BreaMorgiane

Yeah, the pain was so bad I was walking half-bent today and thought for sure I was going to get sick. What a smack in the face!

Bizarrely, the only male I asked about it promptly responded 'hot water bottle'.

I got hit with my first bent-over cramps at about 20; I was beginning to suspect appendicitis, except I didn't feel ill otherwise. I sucked it up and drove to church, but nearly passed out on the freeway. Not a good thing . . . Before that time, well, yes, I noticed the cramping but it was managable with acetaminophen.

I didn't have that type of pain very often, but when I did, I always thought what a wus I was and how was I supposed to get through childbirth if I couldn't handle some heavy-duty cramps!

And you know what? Those heavy-duty cramps were exactly the same as heavy-duty labor! I wasn't a wus at all! I just got to experience some of the pain of childbirth a number of times before I ever bore a child. Yippee!!! ..c::

After my first child, I was cramp-free. After my second child, cramps resurfaced, but I have never gone through faux-childbirth since! Whew!

As others have mentioned, and if you haven't already, get checked for fibroids, endometriosis and, yes, appendicitis.

Good luck!

Deborah

It could also be an ovarian cyst. Those are extremely painful.

From experience, I'd recommend visiting an OB-Gyn. About a year ago, I had a regular doctor send me to the ER with all the symptoms of appendicitis. After an MRI and hours in the hospital waiting for results, they dismissed me, saying the doctor would call me the next day. Doctor calls and says I have a huge cyst in my ovary, which needed immediate attention. I call my OB-Gyn and they're about to laugh their heads off because a cyst is totally normal. I went to the OB-Gyn, anyway, and he examined me. Nothing out of the ordinary. He even told me that my slight fever could've been absolutely normal (HUH?). Needless to say, I was very frustrated. The whole problem went away a few weeks later.

Painful? Yes. Costly? Damn it, don't remind me. But I guess it's better to be safe than sorry...

If it's a cyst, it will go away on its own. I say that if it's a pain that's out of the ordinary and lasts for what you consider too long, have it checked out.

Originally Posted by da Sage

Don't drink it during your period, or never?

..c::

Don't drink it a couple of weeks before your period. I don't know about you but mine is like clock work and always on a weekend. Drink room temp. water or just a couple of ice cubes to make it slightly colder than room temp if you really need cold water - that goes for any beverage, beer, wine coolers, soda, whatever. I don't know if this will work for everyone but it does for me.

Originally Posted by BreaMorgiane

Yeah, the pain was so bad I was walking half-bent today and thought for sure I was going to get sick. What a smack in the face!

Bizarrely, the only male I asked about it promptly responded 'hot water bottle'.

..l;,..l;,..l;, Is he married? The married ones always know, IMHO.

Originally Posted by BreaMorgiane

Yeah, the pain was so bad I was walking half-bent today and thought for sure I was going to get sick. What a smack in the face!

Bizarrely, the only male I asked about it promptly responded 'hot water bottle'.

Oh man I'm sorry to hear that!! I've been there more times than I care to remember- but i second the Ibuprofen and the hot water bottle. One thing my gyn did tell me is that pms/ during period aches and pains can change over the course of your life long cycle...so this year I've 'welcomed' low back pain and bloating into my life and the cramps have eased off a bit....and she also changed my pill...

Originally Posted by BreaMorgiane

My new doctor told me today it's because I am finally 'a lady', whatever that means.

1st:
you need a new ob/gyn. seriously. that is very irresponsible. he should have checked you for cysts and the other things mentioned. it is not generally normal to doubled over in pain. you need to be checked by a professional who takes you seriously.

2nd: if it is cramps, try aspirin. it is a blood thinner and can help with...well stuff people might not wanna read about at work. + heatingpad or those self warming portable pads

3rd: please take good care of yourself, including knowing when to dismiss "professionals". in my experience, a good reputable, busy doc doesn't have that kind of time to spend with each client. just sayin. something to think about.

4th: get well soon

Originally Posted by ejaghana

One of those hot water bottle things. (The brown rubber ones) That does wonders for me!

If it's absolutely unbearable, I take advil (liqui-gels) but only when I am DYING. I don't like to take to much medicine and have heard some bad things about the effect of ibuprofen.

I have the worse cramps on earth, and they are often accompanied with barfing...and other things I'd rather not talk about!

LOL, I know what you're talking about. Mine don't make me barf, though.

hot bath and a glass of red wine. Seriously. these help.

{{{HUGS}}}

Thanks everyone! I guess I didn't think about how a doctor doesn't usually have that long to spend with a client...he seemed nice enough,though. He's not an OB/GYN, just a general doctor, and I went to see him about back pain initially. He wanted to know if I was having other problems and since that was the most pressing at the time, we talked about it. He told me it was totally normal.

The guy I asked isn't married but is kind of a rake, and he professes to be more like a woman than a man. Since I tend to often be more like a man than a woman, we've had some interesting conversations! I'm sure he'll be pleased to know that a lot of bellydancers backed him up on his advice. It was immediate, too, he didn't even have to think about it.

I've had such terrible experiences with the medical community and rude doctors that I guess this one was a breath of fresh air for me. We got into it a bit about the relative strength of men and women (and those who've read my other posts will know just what I think about that).

Apparently he thinks I might have a pinched nerve and also that I have knee-oriented (or whatever) tendonitis, that I should take it easier with the weights...that includes backbends I guess!

I mix some kava kava with water and sip it all day. If that doesn't kick it, I'll take Ibuprofen. If that doesn't work a hot bath (or heating pad or something with that same effect) also I'll sit in a funny yoga squat position which helps, or another position similar to child's pose in yoga except with your bum in the air. And if I'm feeling masochistic I'll do a bunch of crunches or sit ups or go for a run or something really active. It kills, but it makes the cramps leave faster.

I get awful cramps and Calcium and Magnesium help a quite a bit. Take at least 1500 mg of calcium a day and you will notice an improvement. I also love ibuprofen - as long as you are well hydrated, don't have kidney problems and don't take too much it's fine.

I agree with the hot water and Midol; sometimes caffeine can help me a bit

when I was younger I used to have cramps so bad I would cry, barf, have to leave school, etc, starting in 5th grade, ugh. The only thing that really made it better was when I finally went on birth control; I was on the pill for 6 years, and am now on the ring, which made it even better. I don't know if you're on BC now, but maybe that would help.

and the comment from that doctor...definitely slap-worthy :(

pamprin works best for me as far as medications. I have also had some luck getting some relief going about my daily activities wearing those adhesive heating pads that last for many hours. do consider seeing a GYN about it - cramps can be normal for some people (I've had terrible ones since day one) but sudden changes can be signs of various problems - better safe than sorry.

I had horrendous cramps due to my IUS.

Ibuprofen is ok, I have to double it up with paracetamol (they are different drugs so you can do that) I overlap the doses, so rather than taking both every 4 hours, I alternate which one I am taking every 2 hours, so there isn't a wearing off bit (this is what my Dr told me to do). I am also prescribed Mefanamic acid (ponstan) which is a painkiller designed for period pain, and codeine, which I only take if I can't sleep! Honestly I hate taking drugs, but I also hate being curled up in a ball grinding my teeth. Hot water bottles, being waited on hand and foot, these things help too.

From my experience, period pain and ovarian cysts/appendicitis are easily distinguishable (at least by me if not by the doctors) period pain for me is always very low in the pelvis, and cramps. Ovaries and appendix are higher up, about 3 fingers in from the hipbone and the pain is sharper, especially if you prod it. With appendicitis you would also expect discomfort when the gut is moving, if you have gas, and probably sickness, diarhea, constipation.

That's funny, I don't have a period any more thanks to my IUS! So naturally, no cramps.
It's a gift! True women's liberation I call it ..g.:

I've been period-free for 5 years and just got a new IUS.

So well, I guess I can't comment on the cramps...

MEISSOUN

What is IUS? I wish I didn't have mine anymore. It's a terrible nuisance.

I once met a guy who said it was 'wrong' for people to make things that allowed women not to have their periods; he said if he was female he'd feel like something was missing.

I just gave him the most mystified look.

Yeah, he said that cause he doesn't know what it's like. Whatever.

I think an "IUS" is probably the same as an IUD - intra-uterine device. I got one two years ago and it works wonders. But if you haven't had a child, be prepared for some serious pain during insertion and two weeks thereafter. You'll have to look for a qualified OB-Gyn, get bloodwork, and be prepared for some rather personal questions. Since most women in the States use birth control pills, the IUD is not as heavily advertised.

If you want to know more, send me an email.