Home At what point do you go to the doctor for painful periods?

[JulieN]

I remember not taking any painkillers in my early teens, but now I max out the daily ibuprofen dosage.

 

[pancake]

If you can''t manage the pain, I think it''s perfectly reasonable to go to the doctor. I don''t know if I''m allowed to make any professional advice-type posts here but you could also make sure that you are taking different types of OTC analgesia - eg. paracetamol (acetaminophen) as well as ibuprofen.

 

[AmberGretchen]

DEFINITELY go to the Dr. ASAP - there is no reason to suffer that much. I had super painful periods as a teenager and ended up being diagnosed with endometriosis. With early intervention (minor surgery), and hormonal BCP ever since, I''ve been pain-free and symptom-free ever since. Endometriosis, uterine fibroids, or any number of other conditions could be causing your pain, and many of them are easily treatable but if left on their own, could develop to a more advanced degree and have more severe health effects.

Good luck!

 

[packrat]

Have you tried taking something specific to cramps, like Midol or Pamprin? Sometimes that makes a difference for me. Otherwise, I''d go see the Dr and see what they say!

 

[Kaleigh]

Go see your Doc. There are new meds out there for this. No need to suffer.

 

[sparklyheart]

When I was 17, lying on my parents bathroom floor crying because it hurt so bad?? Birth control changed my world completely! I would be completely laid out, unable to even walk because the cramps would make me double over..life basically sucked every time! You''re never wrong to go to the doc if the pain is more than you are comfortable with. If the ibuprofen isn''t helping, I would definitely go. They can give you stronger stuff that may help (and no, I don''t mean narcotics). I think the fact that you''re asking the question means you are probably in need of a doctor''s visit!

 

[Lilac]

In high school I used to throw up and pass out from the pain every month. My back and legs hurt so much I couldn''t drive to school (not to mention the fear of blacking out

). After about a year of this I finally went to the doctor and she gave me a prescription for naproxen which is similar to ibuprofen, but it''s stronger. It definitely helped but then I unfortunately developed an allergy to aspirin and naproxen (and advil and motrin), so I wasn''t able to take it anymore. My doctor told me the next step was for me to take birth control pills, so after going back and forth for a few months on whether or not I should do that, I finally decided I would. They have taken away the pain almost completely! I mean I do still get cramps, but compared to what I used to deal with each month it feels *so* much better.

Definitely speak to your doctor - there''s no reason to have to suffer with that pain!

 

[somethingshiny]

I suffered with painful periods (the kind where you rock back and forth on the bathroom floor because the pain is so bad and you''re going to puke) for a long time. When I finally went to a good doctor, he knew right away that I had a significant number of cysts and endometrial tissue. I had surgery within 2 weeks and my periods were SOO much better. I think as women we try to tough it out assuming that EVERY woman has painful periods and it''s part of life. The fact is, painful periods are not mandatory. See you dr to find the underlying cause of the pain.

Good luck to you!

 

[jewelz617]

My periods have been unbearable since giving birth. I have prescription strength Motrin for it, but sometimes that''s even not enough. A heat pad does wonders as does a hot bath.

 

[Mrs Mitchell]

I would see a doctor at the point where it was impacting on my life, my ability to go about normal living. Just because it''s fairly common doesn''t make it trivial or something you should just put up with, it''s a big deal. One week in four where you can''t enjoy life at best or can barely function at worst probably needs attention.

 

[galeteia]

Date: 2/28/2010 1:57:44 PM
Author: Mrs Mitchell
I would see a doctor at the point where it was impacting on my life, my ability to go about normal living.

This. If the pain is incapacitating your ability to function, that''s a sign that there is something else going on.

However, just a bit of advice on when you go: endometriosis has sort of become a catch-all for doctors and are a little too eager (in my experience) to cut people open to check if that''s what is causing the cramps.

There are other things that can cause severe cramping, such as PCOS, and in my case, hypothyroidism. I had doctors try to strong-arm me into getting cut open to check for endo even though I didn''t match any of the symptoms other than the cramps, and in fact my symptoms were WORSE on BC pills instead of better. Then I went to a doctor who started treating my hypothyroidism. Turns out estrogen causes a hypo thyroid to flip its'' proverbial lid and since my symptoms were caused by my thyroid, the estrogen in the BC pills was making things into holy hell down there, according to my doctor.

By all means, go to the doctor about it, but if they start barrelling you down the endo path and you don''t feel that the symptoms match, don''t let them force you into a diagnosis that doesn''t jive for you.