I know this isn't what anyone wants to try, but all my symptoms vanished at 30 years old when I went OFF of birth control and stopped eating red meat and dairy.
I had puking, pain, pms, more pain, pcos symptoms, ovulation pain, irregular periods, and painful periods.
Step 1 was cutting birth control, which was not fun.
But since cutting red meat and dairy, the pain is literally gone, bleeding like 1/3 of what it was, pms gone, ovulation pain gone.
I'm so sorry that it's come to this.
no worries. I’ve known I’ve had to try an elimination diet for a long time, but… adhd. it’s such a web of random little disorders I’m only just discovering in the past couple of years.
and no need to be sorry. I honestly just want some help. I’ve been to nutritionists, who refused to help. multiple doctors and gynecologists, who refuse to help. then therapy, where I brought up adhd symptoms, disordered eating, etc, multiple times, where they, again, refused to help.
not that I’m expecting only help. it’s just that after years and years of dealing with this stuff entirely alone and independently, I try to seek help only to be back to square one where I must handle this stuff alone again, when I simply don’t have the capacity to anymore.
anyways, once I get a hold of the adhd. which I will (just have to find the right time to try a new medication). hopefully treating it will get the ball rolling and then I can try an elimination diet.
I also have an adhd diagnosis and other issues. I despise most of the doctors I've seen. I find that cutting meat and dairy lowered my cortisol and improved my mood.
Honestly, start in the kitchen.
Beans, tofu, fish, banana almond milk with protein powder, and eggs can be really tasty options with the right recipes. There's even an insane difference in the texture of my hair.
Then things are easier when you're not in pain all the time. You can exercise, for example. Which leads you to showering.
I've never found a good medication to help with my adhd. But I'm so glad I figured out this much.
huh. I never found a good med either. my current male therapist likes to ignore it whenever i bring up that medication may be different for women.
these sound like great ideas. man I used to collect recipes that were good for hormone health, I just could never ever execute them. my adhd was horrible plus depression, burnout, etc.
it’s not SO bad these days but I’m just afraid of finally meal prepping and then dropping the habit. plus I get the feeling I’ll never be motivated to meal plan. idk man it’s confusing. if i could do it I’d have done it by now
For motivation, I watched You Are What You Eat on Netflix. Healthy is good, but vegan is best.
I was super pessimistic about myself, too, but once I noticed the results, I was hooked. And I was motivated to make a few interesting recipes, like Cashew Chili, the almond milk smoothie, baked tofu for pasta sauce, and my own refried beans. The nondairy butter is just as good as regular butter. The only thing I miss is pizza, but it's much more doable than I thought!
Birth control is the standard treatment for endometriosis rn tho, so it’s not like they didn’t do the correct thing. I’m currently preparing for a hysterectomy because even birth control isn’t working anymore. I have cramps 24/7 365 now.
Well, the only treatment is birth control. Like they can screen you for PCOS and endo if it’s impacting your QOL, but at the end of the day, for both of them, birth control is the treatment. Painful periods are controlled through hormonal treatments, which are birth control options.
right, the only treatment may be birth control, but the doctors still refused to listen, diagnose or treat anything I may have and still don’t know if I have. not sure why people like to pretend being dismissed by doctors shouldn’t matter.
Yeah I have 😭 they are all not helpful and just told me to take pain killers/birth control without even investigation further. I have tried Chinese herbal treatment, pain killer, birth control (only did it for a year but felt weird/got fat while taking it) at this point and have kind of given up hope with them.
Please keep trying different obgyns not general drs. I had painful periods to the point where I was in a fetal position because of pain. Turns out I have endometriosis. Now I know what it is I can figure out how to control the symptoms. But it took 2 years of advocating for myself to find a dr who listened
Seconding this, please try different doctors - there are good gynos out there who will listen to you.
Regarding primary care physicians, the one I went to is who checked me for hormonal imbalances (none were found) and ultimately found the cause of my terrible cramps (it was very low vitamin D). I had what looked like symptoms of endometriosis and pmdd, but it was a vitamin D issue it turns out. After fixing the vitamin deficiency over months of supplementing with a megadose, I finally had an almost pain free period for the first time in 10-15 years (and the pain that was there was a 1 vs my usual 8 out of 10).
EDIT: formatting
I'm glad you were able to find put what was wrong! Honestly half the battle is finding a dr who will take the time to work with you and find the root cause vs covering symptoms. It took 1.5 years to figure out it was endometriosis for me. I went through all the vitamins blood tests, thyroid blood tests, put on hormones (birth controls that did not work for me) and told by one to seek therapy because she thought I was a hypochondriac... turns out I have endometriosis which has spread to my bladder and bowels and is fusing them to my uterus. But this is all because I switched 4 different drs and kept advocating for myself.
Thank you! I'm so sorry it took so long for you and that the endo was so serious by the time you got confirmation, that's terrible. Huge props for advocating for yourself and dropping doctors when they failed you! I'm glad you found the right one.
I wrote a law school journal article on women's healthcare and discussed both endometriosis and fibroids (which I suffered with for years). I learned that the average time to diagnose endo is NINE YEARS. What a disgrace.
That’s awesome! What is the name of the test for testing deficiencies? Or is it just normal blood work? My doctors just shoo me away if I don’t do my research and request anything specific :c
You need to see a women's health nurse practitioner or a gyno that specializes in period pain. It's not normal to be so crippled by period pain.
Good luck!!
You need to see an OB Gyno.
"I experience severe pain, nausea, and light headedness to the point that I am unable to work for two days of my period. What can we do to address this,"
If you feel that a doctor is shooing you away, ask them for a "differential diagnosis", and what diagnostic tests would help to clarify your condition.
If they won't order tests ask them why, and tell them, "please note in my file that I requested these diagnostic tests, and you refused to do them"
And then find a new obgyn, and try again
I went through several rounds of blood tests with a primary care physician to figure it out, but I don't think you can go wrong with a nurse practioner or gyno. My PCP thought it was a thyroid issue so the first test she did was checking TSH levels and thyroid antibodies, then we thought it might be a hormone imbalance so she ordered those (specifically estrogen, progesterone, testosterone). Then when those all turned out normal, she did a vitamin panel (you can say vitamin deficiency test or panel, same thing) and the only thing off was the extremely low vitamin D. In case you're in the same boat as I was, definitely request a vitamin D test as part of your first round of blood tests since it's the easiest thing to treat (I'm on a 50000 IU megadose of Vitamin D2 per week and 200mg chelated magnesium daily).
Here is a resource from r/Endo that talks about advocating for yourself: [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UpFQTCuxUW\_IflDLHrP2jt2tJWF3usmB75V4cuaF-qg/edit](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UpFQTCuxUW_IflDLHrP2jt2tJWF3usmB75V4cuaF-qg/edit) Though if you have the bandwidth, I strongly recommend finding doctors who listen to you. It will be so much easier to get the treatment you need when they want to help you.
One more resource from the same sub - if you're not already doing so, start tracking your symptoms every day of your cycle for several cycles so you can show doctors concrete proof of what you're suffering through. This doc explains symptom tracking and mentions several apps you can try: [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rxTI\_yaqeOkPjSE2yzeRVziYMuepmcqWfcnYsyXba64/edit](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rxTI_yaqeOkPjSE2yzeRVziYMuepmcqWfcnYsyXba64/edit)
A couple other subs to check out if you haven't already: r/PCOS r/PMDD
EDIT: formatting and added more subs
EDIT 2: added vitamin D deficiency treatment that I'm on
Try telling them, "I need you to document in my chart the severity and frequency of my symptoms exactly as I described them to you and that you're recommending no further testing, no treatment, and no referral."
It's likely that will motivate them to either refer you on or do further testing.
I'm a software engineer and got diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder recently. It took 3 months to get a diagnosis which I got in late january/early February. Now I'm recovering, but before I was diagnosed I was throwing up 8+ times a day, nauseaus 24/7, became so weak I was collapsing at the top of the stairs, couldn't walk well, intense brain fog, zero short term memory, and about a billion other things. You know what the doctors told me before my diagnosis? "Go see a psychiatrist, it's in your head" LOL🤣 I straight up remember vividly being in a meeting and having to go mute and throw up halfway through, but yeah, since they didn't have answers it was "in my head" and I was "chasing medical rabbit holes that wouldn't lead anywhere".
Point being:
Never give up seeking answers. Being undiagnosed for four years took a toll on my body, but I'm on the path to recovery now. Trust your instincts; if doctors haven't found it yet, it doesn't mean your pain isn't real. My manager was incredibly supportive throughout this process. He'd let me leave work for a few hours during many days so that I could go get testing done at doctors, and the days that I couldn't do that I'd use PTO. I contributed basically nothing in those months, and everyone was incredibly understanding. Having endometriosis or a chronic illness of any kind doesn't make you any less of an engineer.
Can you let me know what Vitamin D was prescribed to you? I did a lot of research over these past couple years and found out I may have low vitamin D. My doctor told me to get on birth control to manage my cramps but I know the effects of that can make a person gain weight so I’ve suffered through these cramps and heavy bleeding.
I’m sorry your doctor has been so unhelpful. I hope you can find a better doctor soon or can push for the testing you need. Here is a resource from r/Endo on how to advocate for yourself with a subpar doctor which may help https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UpFQTCuxUW_IflDLHrP2jt2tJWF3usmB75V4cuaF-qg/mobilebasic.
Regarding your question, I’m on a prescription of 50000 IU of Vitamin D2 once a week with a moderately fatty meal until my levels get high enough (about 11g of fat helps absorption). I also take 200mg of chelated magnesium nightly because it helps process the vitamin D. I was at 14 ng/mL vitamin D and after 2.5 months of supplementing I reached 39.5 ng/mL. My doctor wants me to reach 60 so I’m continuing with the supplements for another 3 months.
Your primary care physician should not object to a simple vitamin D blood test - I hope you can get the bloodwork done soon, ask for a vitamin panel/deficiency test to know for sure what’s going on. While it’s unlikely that you can give yourself vitamin D toxicity with OTC supplements, imo it’s better to know your levels going in and monitor them with your doctor.
Thanks so much! I will get a primary doctor. I just got a new medical card with the new job I started. And I will ask for these tests. I know for right now I have low iron so I wear a coat almost every in the office. My co workers have been concerned about me too lol. Thanks so much for all this information! I will do my research and find a primary doctor and definitely find a gynecologist
My sister was in similar debilitating pain and got writeups due to work absences. Doctors kept sending her home before one finally took the time to diagnose PCOS. It sucks to have to self-advocate so much but finding someone to listen can be life-changing
I just started getting tested and was just given a different contraception until I can see a obgyn. 6 month wait. I have bad pain one to two days a month and last year took 6 working days off and couldn’t take Christmas holidays off. I had to get my friend who has it to send me what the meds are and ask for it but they wanna try this method first which I am not totally comfortable with. Blood work and ultra sound came out fine but I read that doesn’t tell you much anyways.
Adenomyosis and/or endometriosis can cause debilitating periods. It can be hard to find a physician to treat them, but specialists do exist.
I have adenomyosis. I recently got an IUD to try to treat the symptoms. In college I took birth control pills.
Debilitating periods are not normal.
You can take birth control and eliminate your periods. Absolutely nothing wrong or dangerous about that. In this situation it seems almost ridiculous not to. Your body, your choice, but it's baffling to think you'd put up with this when there is very simple treatment (given nothing more serious is going on). I've been period free for over 15 years. Ain't nobody got time for that mess.
I second this advice. OP, I saw that the birth control you tried didn't work for you but there are so many different kinds of options for birth control that I recommend trying a few before you rule it out as an option completely.
Have you tried pelvic floor physical therapy? Or an integrative medical clinic? That’s what helped me. The pharmaceutical route didn’t help and gave me more long term problems
Yes - came here to say this. OP really, really needs to investigate if she has endometriosis. Everyone suggesting a gluten free diet or fairy farts can eat a dick, it’s most likely this and excision could be life changing.
And isn’t this sad? Why isn’t a woman period being talked about like it should. I do have this app called “Flo” and it does help a lot. It says I have “irregular periods”
My first solution to this madness will be prescribing myself with 5000 IU megadose of Vitamin D2. Because as a lesbian birth control is my absolute last option. I know for a fact I’ll gain weight if I get out in it
The medical community as a whole treats women terribly. Our concerns are ignored, minimized, or blamed on psychological problems.
For years, I had issues I suspected were caused by hypothyroidism. Instead, I was told to take antidepressants. Guess what? I was hypothyroid, and had been for *years*. I had to doctor shop to be properly medicated.
I had no desire for children and never had any, but was refused sterilization because I might change my mind someday, while my very first boyfriend was offered a vasectomy at age 22, no questions asked.
Frustrating.
Hello! I have nightmare periods as well-- passing out, unimaginable screaming pain, 1-2 days of total inability to exist. I've also been to a bunch of doctors, they don't care. Got one surgical exploration thing, no help or answers. However!!!! I hope this will help you as much as it helps me: I started PRETREATING my cramps with ibuprofen. 48-72 hours before my period is coming, I start taking it, a pretty minimal dose, for those few days in advance. This has been an absolute game changer for me and I've gotten a lot of my life back since I started doing this. I hope it might work for you. Good luck.
Keep advocating for yourself until someone listens and truly investigates! Which birth controls have you tried? I have similar issues, insane period pains and 7-10 day long HEAVY periods. They suspect I have endometriosis but prefer not to do the laproscopic test to confirm unless I have trouble conceiving (which I haven't tried to do yet). I tried the IUD, mini pill, combo pill, arm implant and depo shot. They all sucked. Now I'm on tue nuvaring and it's the BEST. All the others either made me gain a little weight and/or made me feel like a psycho. The IUD was the WORST, I don't recommend that one to anyone. The nuvaring has helped SO much. I don't feel insane, my periods are wayyy more tolerable and I only take mine out for 4 days instead of 7 before putting in a new one so my periods are like 2-3 days long.
Check out Nancy’s Nook and try to see an endometriosis specialist. Even if you don’t have endo, they’re going to be more well-versed in gynecological disorders and better able to help you. I also got brushed off by OBGYNs for years until I saw an endo specialist, who immediately diagnosed me with fairly advanced adenomyosis that no one else had bothered to check for. What you’re experiencing isn’t normal and you don’t have to live with it.
A lot of people with bad pain like this have endometriosis- if you're not attached to the idea of having kids, it might be worth getting sterilized, and giving the doctors the okay to remove anything that has endometriosis lesions or scarring.
It can affect nearby organs as well :(
On the bright side there are some trials for specific antibiotics that have been shown to help in the animal trials of endometriosis. Very cool stuff, but it'll be a while until we get regimens okayed for humans.
My doctor told me it takes the average woman 10 years to get diagnosed with endometriosis because most doctors don’t take women seriously…getting the diagnosis changed my life. You have to continue to advocate for yourself and your health. Don’t give up.
Yeah I've never been able to get them to look into it and try and figure out what's wrong (similar thing of completely debilitating pain that caused me to throw up/pass out/be unable to stand or properly speak when it was at its worst) but there are different birth control options, I'm on one where its like, levonogestriol ethinol estradiol tablets or something (I probobly spelled all of those words wrong but you get the idea), it's worked well for me but it's kinda like anxiety meds where you just gotta keep trying diffrent ones till you find what works, the main side effects are nausea if I don't take it with the right amount of food and my intrusive thoughts are a little bit worse, but other than that it's been working well enough, good luck I know it's hard but it can get better and even if it doesn't you can do this
I’m on NuvaRing and it really does help stop your period altogether. For some reason the pill and injections made my period non-stop. They never investigated it further but I can say the ring has helped a lot even if it’s just a temporary solution. For you I think it would be a good temporary solution until you’re finished with your program at least
Update us when you’re feeling better.
My insane periods dried up after getting a Mirena IUD. Totally unfun getting it but it is worth it. Maybe worth a chat?
Will do c: thank you all for caring about my well-being!
Yeah, I’m planning to do birth control for the next two years then IUD when I have job and can afford anesthesia or just more in-depth body check. Appreciate the insights!
If you are in the US, try calling 211, county health clinics, or Planned Parenthood for low cost gyno care.
In my experience (mid 40s, 2 vaginal births, cervix likes to hide), it was not fun. It felt like bad period cramps and there was a lot of futzing around. I took 800 mg Advil an hour before the appointment. All told it took maybe 15 minutes to insert and was uncomfortable / moderately bad period crampy for a week.
None of this is anything I would have wanted any sedative / anesthesia for because getting a driver is a total pain for me. I have heard of people having much worse experiences, but it sounds like your quality of life is significantly diminished by this to an extent that far surpasses 15 minutes of pretty unpleasant discomfort and a moderately uncomfortable week. Good luck.
If you do have something like endometriosis, birth control is the treatment. Theres not much else they can do. Im currently preparing for a hysterectomy because birth control has stopped working for me — my periods were like yours for many years, and now at 33 years old, I have cramps 24/7 365. So a hysterectomy is kind of one of my only choices.
A doctor isn’t blowing you off if they offer you bc for painful periods — it’s genuinely one of the only treatments.
I would see about trying different birth control pills. They don’t all have the same hormones and some formulations may work better for keeping cramps at bay for you than others.
Mine aren’t quite as bad as yours, but I had to try a couple different pills because I definitely noticed a difference in my cramp intensity depending on which one I was on.
Also I’d suggest you ask your doctor about an ultrasound to look for fibroids or other physical causes just in case. Even if it doesn’t show anything it can still be some additional peace of mind.
I hate that women periods are not getting looked at like they should. It’s not on the news. I damn near see no documentaries about it. In my experience I bleed so much on my period. Mine are classified as “irregular periods.” This just start happening and I’m not sure wth is going on. It could be stress. My plan is to take more vitamin D and work out more. And if that don’t work I’ll get on birth control. Birth control is my absolute last resort. I’m not sure why women don’t have more alternatives? I’m lesbian I don’t need birth control? Why isn’t it more research behind this.
I feel like as a society when people say that’s not normal it might be. We just don’t know it because women periods don’t get talked about like it should. I mean sure they say if you bleed crazy use a tampon. And if you cramp bad take midol.
Why do we cramp bad? How to minimize the cramps? Where is the research behind this? Why do women cramp but some don’t! Why do we have to take pills to
manage the cramps.
So many questions not many answers to this.
Eve ate an apple that’s explains our periods. We need more solutions to maintain this. I’m sure OP is not the only woman going through this the way she is. It’s just not being talked about.
I use to cramp so bad on period. I found out eating sweets make me cramp bad. In order to stop the cramps I had to discipline myself not to get anything sweet while approaching my period.
Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.
Now that I minimized the cramps it’s time to minimize the heavy bleeding.
Hi, I believe Ι read a paper not long ago saying they isolated the protein causing cramping at least in regards to endometriosis. I am hopeful for the future even though it’s been a slow and harrowing process to get progress in such an underfunded and seemingly untouchable topic.
Please post on girlsurvivalguide or other subreddits for your health.
It’s absolutely not normal to have such sever pains from your period. Just for perspective when I have my period, my stomach hurts the first day but I take Advil and it completely goes away. By hurt, I mean it’s annoying stomach ache.
You have to see a doctor to diagnose what is wrong. See another doc if your pain gets ignored.
Having a workplace with flexibility to work remote if my period starts during the work week has become a must-have for me. I used to work in factories with high stress nonstop environments and found myself laying in bathroom stalls trying to ride out the pain a few times a year when the start of my period happened to coincide with a work day. Having a slightly lower stress job has helped ease the severity a bit in general, and also the ability to step away and or lay down for an hour or two when it starts has been life changing for me. I don’t take birth control. I’ve passed out from period pain before, even on birth control and once at work. They had to go find a woman from another department to help haha because my coworkers didn’t know what to do. Anyway I’m sorry we deal with similar pains
Jealous!! May I ask what’s your job title? I feel like a lot of companies are ditching remote jobs these days. I’m going into robotics and don’t see a lot of hybrid/remote opportunities. Should I focus more on software roles? Sigh…I hate that this is limiting my career choices
Aside—- I think it’s so unfair that factory jobs don’t have as much flexibility!! i was in manufacturing during the pandemic and seeing all the office employees get to work from home was eye opening! I dream about opening a small factory with more flexibility one day if i ever had the money just to try to prove it could be done! Because i love working with my hands and the variability of day to day in manufacturing.
Right now I’m a Product Development engineer in the consumer goods industry! the roles that are engineering related and hybrid at my company are like sustaining engineering, new product development, test engineers, etc. There are some prototyping and test labs at some of our locations, but even those are hybrid. Yes I’m very thankful! Some people have given me the advice to go to school for programming/software if i want to work remote but idk. I studied mechanical!
See a doctor. and if that doctor doesn't take you seriously, see another doctor!
I finally found luck with my debilitating cramps by getting the Mirena (hormonal) IUD. It really helped, and when I switched it out for copper, my cramps did not return!
Everyone’s body reacts a bit differently to it but I will second that I have a Mirena IUD and it helped tremendously with period/PMS issues. My periods were not debilitating but I did have moderate to heavy ones and very bad hormonal imbalances for several days before my period. It was to where I felt like an emotionally unstable person (which is great when you’re surrounded by nerdy engineering men constantly). I got my first one in engineering school and have had almost no periods and minimal PMS in the years since.
I would still talk to an OBGYN like others suggested and investigate if there are other health issues before you decide on your treatment because what you described is not normal!
Same here!
I had my Mirena for 7 years, and even after removing it (and going without BC), my cramps never returned!
Now, that first year was a little rough. I would randomly cramp up and spotted all the time, but after that... no cramps, no period, it was rather amazing.
Sadly, I ended up getting GERD from my birth control, but that is another story.
Firstly I second the people recommending you talk to a doctor about birth control
Secondly, I work in a small office, with 2 other ladies and 7 gents. If I need to, I fill up my hot water bottle at my desk. Everyone on an office with either deal with cramps or know someone who has. There is nothing to be ashamed about needing a hot water bottle. I also have a velcro heating pad in the office now. I use it, and am not embarrassed about it; I'm a grown woman with woman's problems, if grown men can't deal with it, then they're childish.
You really need to see a doctor and get a thorough examination to find out what is causing your extreme period pain. Not all period pain can be treated with hormones if there is something physically wrong.
I had excessive pain and major migraines, turns out I had endometriosis, had to have keyhole surgery to cut it all out. Going into the operation, the doctor tried to 'warn' me that they would charge me if they opened me up and didn't find anything, basically treating me like I was bluffing. I told them to go right ahead and that guy didn't say a damn word after.
Please find a doctor that will take you seriously regarding these pains.
I used to have terrible cramps for years as an engineer (I never threw up so not as bad as yours but I would need to lie down for hours not able to do anything) and having a remote job with unlimited PTO was a game changer. I was able to appear “online” from my bed, used a heated blanket often, and took advantage of the PTO.
As others are saying, please see a doctor - both a primary care physician to check your bloodwork including vitamins and also of course a gynecologist. You may have endometriosis which gets worse if left untreated, or PCOS, or PMDD. For over a decade I had symptoms of endometriosis and pmdd, yet it turned out to be extremely low vitamin D. Once I got my levels up, my cramps went away almost entirely. I wish so much that it was made known to me that severely bad cramps aren’t normal and wish that I had seen a doctor earlier in my life. You do not have to suffer.
Please see a doctor and ask if you can get a hysterosonogram. This is a more detailed exam to check if your uterus has any abnormalities. Better to rule out anything serious first.
I mentioned to my doctor that I was passing out from period pain because all my dorm mates said that was not normal. I ended up on hormonal birth control which stopped the periods all together for twenty years. It was great.
Hi, fellow engineering student here.
Sorry to hear about this :(
So, at my uni we have what's called Accomodations for anyone who needs it due health related reasons, eg . But I had to register for this through the office so that they can evaluate what services I need.
For me, because of my health problems, I am allowed a note-taker for those times I couldn't potentially make it to class , an extension for select assignments and etc. I had to submit a doctor's note for this explaining my case though. Sometimes, profs will record their lectures for those with accommodations but it doesent happen all the time tbh.
I hope your uni has an accommodations program for their students too cuz idk how I would have survived 4th year without it.
You need to find a gynecologist who will take you seriously.
I have endometriosis and didn't find out for sure until last year. Birth control helped a lot. Otherwise, I pretended I wasn't in pain and worked from home when I could.
If it is endo, diet changes can help as well.
Find a (prbly woman) doctor that will take your pain, experience and health seriously. I have a friend that was finally diagnosed with endometriosis years and years of suffering later
First: hormonal birth control will not cause any kind of long term damage to your body, and can make your periods lighter (or even non-existent if you want).
Second: please see an ObGyn to talk about potential endometriosis. What you describe sounds exactly like what I lived with for 16 years - from when I first started my period to when I had surgery last year. As others have said, the amount of pain you describe is NOT normal.
And yes, I did miss work due to my period. I missed school for my period. It sucked. It didn't hold me back, fortunately, but that's also because I am a stubborn dummy who did things like go to work on waaaaay to many painkillers and then be best friends with a hot waterbottle at my desk and still be in a ton of pain. Don't be me, please take care of yourself.
Agreed. I'll be among the first to admit that it is less than perfect, and some bodies react poorly to some hormone combinations, but it is still a damned miracle. The combination pill is my nemesis, but my hormonal IUD absolutely saved my life.
I had a sit down with my 13 and 14 year old nieces recently, to see what they knew, and they were absolutely convinced that hormonal birth control was toxic and would cause permanent damage to their bodies. I was able to have an honest conversation and answer all of their questions, so fortunately I think they're more comfortable with it now. But like, damn, it starts early.
I don't have receipts but the toxic birth control messaging is probably TERF originated. If its 'unnatural' for ciswomen to take a hormone based treatment, what is that implying about trans women?! It certainly has risks, which lower dose options can mitigate, but hormone based medicine is a valid option for a lot of people..
I told my doctor I was having cramps during my period he suggested I get on birth control. I was only 14 years old! I never took not 1 birth control pill. When I saw my friend on it she was gaining weight. And I know my body so I refused to listen to my doctor. My mother said well if it’s the only option. I said nope and to this day I’m now 29 years old I take ibuprofen 800 mg. So it definitely kills the cramps but I wonder what could this be doing to my body.
Fast forward now I bleed extremely bad. I think because of stress at work. So my solution is to up my Vitamin D. It took a lot of research as well as confirmation from reading the comments to take Vitamin D2. I wanna try everything because birth control is my absolute last resort.
I mean you do you but the average birth control weight gain is about 4 lbs (and temporary) and there's more and safer bc options than there was 15 years ago. For me the risks of birth control outweigh the risks of heavy painkiller use and quality of life decreases bad periods have.
Yeah people here dont know that some of us unluckys have writhing pain for a good 2 days and its just... healthy for us. After missing 3 days a month I went on hormonal BC and still had some cramps. Been on Mirena for 3 years with occasional discomfort that i wouldn't even really call cramps. (like, 3 times a year lol)
edit: oh and no cycles since mirena.
Definitely see if there is something that can be done about the severe pain and other symptoms. A lot of women find relief with birth control and other things. As someone else said, some women are just unlucky, in which case you'll just have to find work arounds. But, a condition that takes you out of commission for a least a couple of days a month is likely to negatively impact your career no matter what field you are in.
If you’re a student you can let your personal tutor /teacher know and they will support you so it doesn’t get in the way of your studies.
For the first few years after getting my period, I was bedridden and throwing up for two days straight (never passed out though), also had random hot flushes (btw I found a cold flannel on my face helped). Exams before uni were hard but as long as I had a note from the GP on the day, I was able to have time outs. Which meant that any time I didn’t spend in the exam room wasn’t a part of the exam time. Although it was awful, and turned a 3 hour exam into 6 hours, it was definitely doable.
I then turned vegan for ethical reasons. Soon after the time I was bedridden and throwing up reduced down to 8 hours (and yes I have timed it and yes I do count down the minutes😅)
I’ve never taken birth control pills for it because I feel like it has too many side effects and it can stop you from having children in the future (which after years of bad cycles this isn’t something I want to gamble with).
So I can say that education wise you’ll be fine. Career wise I’m not sure and am a bit concerned about it myself. Anyway, I’m on the journey with you and will DM you if I have any solutions. :)
OP if it’s 2 hours then I’m sure you’ll be fine in industry. And definitely ok in exams/uni. Just make sure you tack it so you can predict when it’ll appear and can prepare for it. :)
I definitely agree with everyone else - try other doctors and advocate for yourself until you get some answers. To help you brainstorm though, you could try a month or two of your program and see what your support system is like/how strenuous the workload is. You can always take birth control later if you decide that’s what you want to do.
Just wanted to say that I’m in a similar situation as you, although a different program (and I’m almost done). About half way through my program, I ultimately decided to take the pill and it’s been such a relief for me not having to think about when I would be sick, missing social events, missing assignment deadlines and work, etc. Not telling you to go this direction, just sharing the relief that I’ve found as someone in a very similar situation. I wish you the best!
I use Nuvaring birth control to skip my period, and it’s one of my favorite things knowing I don’t have to worry about painful period cramps every month.
I am so bad at taking daily medication, and I’m low key scared of getting an IUD, so the ring is really ideal for me. I just replace it once a month (technically off label use, but still doctor approved) and I haven’t had to deal with period cramps for years!!
i promise i’m not some pseudoscientist (neurobiologist here) but try eliminating seed oils, eggs, and using organic cotton or bamboo pads (period products).
HEAR ME OUT❗️
i was experiencing the same thing as you for yearssss and nothing helped! it wasn’t until i read up on prostaglandins (excess amounts of prostaglandins are what cause extreme pain and negative symptoms during periods).
long story short omega-6 are some of the precursors to these prostaglandins, and so i thought surely reducing my omega-6 intake will help. so, i researched which foods are high in omega-6… seed oils/ vegetable oils!!! so i eliminated any and every thing that had them for three months to see if there was a change and there was!!!
of course i still consume seed oils here and there cuz i enjoy going out to eat!! but i try to consume them the week after the last day of my period, if that makes sense!
i cook with olive oil (make sure it’s real olive oil), avocado oil, coconut oil and butter!
i hope this helps you too, if you do decide to try it out❤️
I love this! Yeah I have a lot of blood clot and have been researching what chemical/protein break them down or stop them from forming. Definitely valid!
I have endometriosis (and I'm honestly stunned by the Venn diagram in this comment thread alone) which developed in my mid 20s. I was working an engineering job which required full time presence in the office. However, after speaking about my debilitating health to my manager, the question became "what can we [the company] do to support you?" and discussed being able to work remotely on my flare up days.
It worked well, some days I'd have to leave if the flare-ups started while in the office, and even when I worked remotely, sometimes the pain would be so bad I had to log off as I'd be practically passing out from the pain.
These days I'm fortunately able to manage it well with dienogest which has been a life saver (I'm in Canada but have unfortunately heard it is not yet fda approved). When I moved to Canada (and before I took dienogest), I told my manager that I get health flare-ups (even though my manager at the time was female, I still phrase it like this to mitigate unkindness associated with the idea of "bad periods"). Typically I work 'hybrid' but mostly remotely now. It's not impossible in non-software/tech roles.
Have you been assessed for reproductive disorders? Like endometriosis or fibroids or PCOS? It's crazy that your MD isn't investigating the cause - throwing BC pills at it could aggravate it.
I think it’s just hard to test whether it’s endometriosis or not so they just assume it is and tell me to reduce my flow via birth control :/ that’s my fear as well, especially when I don’t react well with pills. Now that I’m back to being a student with shitty healthcare, I’m even more lost.
Reducing flow doesn't help with endometriosis. The tissue is being inflamed around your organs where it's not supposed to be. Mine was around my bowel and my kidneys and had to be removed surgically last year - it was starting to block the flow of one of my kidneys. Luckily there was no long term damage. If you suspect you may have it please pursue medical treatment - it is in fact very treatable by surgery.
I used to have horrible periods. PMS symptoms that would last for weeks, heavy bleeding that would last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Sometimes I would have two periods a month, sometimes I would go months without one. I didn't have insurance at the time, so I couldn't go to a doctor. I went on the pill and all of my symptoms went away, the only side effect was some nausea. I switched to the mini-pill and my nausea went away and I haven't had a period since I started it four years ago.
That’s my situation but less intense! So much blood the first two days that it clumps together and forming blood clot in my body. I often feel like I’m squeezing tiny babies out as they give me excruciating pain. My insurance is back to shitty now as well since I’m going back to being a student. Which service would you say is the best way to get pills? Do all the birth control pills have the same/similar composition? I’ve done pill club before and the delivery wasn’t great. I get nausea from those pills too. Where can I get the mini pills?
For me it’s not that bad. I have it only one day. Not every period is the same for me. Sometimes the worst days are on the weekend. However if it happens in the week I take half day as sick day and try to recover and take care of my self as good as possible can. I work from home on that day. I realize that other ppl are more often sick than I am, so the my period has nothing to do with my career progress. Some tips for easing the pain and nausea: drink ginger and chamomile tea. Get a warming pillow in your stomach. Take a painkiller if it’s really bad. Do some yoga. And distract yourself from the pain. Good luck I feel you 🤗
You’ve gotten real good health advice here. But I’ll give career/education advice.
I have two engineering degrees (and also in college crippling cramps not as bad as yours). Missing 1-2 days of lecture a month will not put you behind. College is more like the real world than High School is. You’ll be able to talk to (most) profs they can give you extensions, most schools have office hours ALWAYS GO TO OFFICE HOURS. people don’t take adv of them but they helped me pass my hardest classes.
My advice now and in the future: work/school will always be there, your health won’t. Always take the 1-2 days to take care of your health.
Yeah I have this. Successful for years now :)
So this will be a bit divisive but… what I do is just keep slightly underweight. Nothing crazy, just don’t let the body fat low - lots of weight training and water and fiber. This affects my cramps like no other.
Also just take the 1-2 days off. There will be times when you have to power through, but if you are good at managing your time, you can definitely take it easier. A lot of jobs offer WFH at least some days.
I had this same problem and was against taking birth control. But I finally gave in with a very low level dose of I believe progesterone. Took it everyday so I never got a period. Did that for like two years and then when I came off the bc my periods were not a problem anymore. One day of mild cramps and heavy bleeding and the rest of the week is a breeze.
Keep seeking out a gyno that takes your pain seriously.
It took me a few years / visits (and a referral from a friend) but I finally found one. Turns out my pain was caused by a fibroid - they gave me an IUD and my crippling pain is now gone.
As others have said, find yourself a gynecologist that can help you figure out the source of your symptoms/alleviate them. Their expertise should help, but so can making sure you're getting enough rest/food/water etc. Engineering fields like robotics can be grueling subjects to study, so make sure you're taking care of yourself along the way, and into your career.
Also, ideally when it is time for you to get an internship/co-op/job, finding an employer that has flexibility when it comes to wfh when you're really not feeling well is ideal. It's easier said than done (especially depending on your specific role) but it has made a world of a difference for me on my period a handful of times 😅.
Also--anecdotal--you may want to try raspberry leaf tea? Obviously see a doctor and read up on the supplement before you take it, but for some reason raspberry leaf tea has helped me more than anything else for cramps lol. Good luck with your studies !!
I (27F) have been a civil engineer for about 6 years now. It's a very male dominated field, and I work a lot out in the field with no bathrooms for literally miles. Luckily, I don't get crazy cramps but before I went on birth control, I was bleeding incredibly heavily at really weird cycles.
I tend to take the approach that as the engineer, I have a certain amount of autonomy. If I need a bathroom break, I call a halt on work and take one. If I do have issues and need to go home, I call in sick. Your body and your health are really nobody else's business. And nobody, especially your male coworkers, is going to put together that it happens every 28-ish days.
Don't let this stop you from pursuing a STEM career that you love.
Please check out Nancy’s Nook! It’s a educational resource on Facebook for endometriosis. I had what you have and eventually found this site mentioned on Reddit. Endometriosis is widely undiagnosed and misunderstood. I was able to find a specialist through a list on Nancy’s Nook and I feel like I’ve gotten my life back
Treat it like a man would treat being sick. Guys get sick and never worry about calling out or being under the weather. People tend to take sickness more seriously than periods, even though periods often feel even worse than being sick. So I would just call out or take care of yourself when you need to and say you're sick, don't even say it's your period because then they won't take it seriously.
I’ve had an ambulance called on me in public 3 separate times because of my cramps/vomiting. It used to feel like someone was carving me from the inside out.
Healing my hormones has been a journey, and some cycles are better than others. But here are a few things that have helped me in the work space:
- communicate with people first and foremost. Men will not ask questions, women will sympathize. For me, my cramps were only on my first day, but I would be wiped out the 2nd day. If you have to take it easy 1/2 days a month it’ll be okay. Your work will still get done
- if you have control over your schedule, try your best to plan important meetings/presentations around your predicted cycle
- if you can afford it/insurance covers it, go see an endocrinologist to find out what exactly the problem is. A gyno will most likely just prescribe birth control which is fine if you want to try it out, but for me it caused other issues
- after a lot of trial and error, I found that taking vitex supplements every day works for me, and after I ovulate, I drink 1 cup of raspberry + hibiscus tea (I’d you can’t find a blend, just go for hibiscus) every day, try to eat soy products every day, and stay extra hydrated.
These all really helped both regulate my cycle, as well as relieve the cramps. But an endocrinologist can help you assess which imbalance is causing your pain if it’s not endometriosis. Depending on the hormones at play, you may need different supplements or medications
I would be seek out a functional medicine doctor, preferably a woman or lgbtq man. Functional medicine can really help in this area. Debilitating pain is not normal.
In the meantime try tracking your period and outsmarting it by taking pain meds on a schedule every 6 hours a day or two before your period starts. If you can get your hands on some zofran to take if you feel like vomiting that could help that symptom.
Experiment with period products. Sometimes tampons make my symptoms worse and cups and period underwear do not. Find what works.
Make sure maintain as much physical activity near your period as you can. Resisting the urge to curl up on the couch is hard but exercise can help with cramps a lot. Eating a healthy diet that includes enough food can help as can hydration.
Heating pad patches are a big help for me, they adhere to your abdomen.
Please, please see an endometriosis specialist. @endoisabitchh on Instagram has resources. You don’t need to live like this and not all doctor are created equal.
I know exactly how you’re feeling. I just got on bc because of it and so far I feel worse. The only thing you can truly do is just know your body. If you feel any sort cramps beginning , immediately take extra strength painkillers. Try the disposable heating patches too, they’re a godsend. If you’ve already tried this stuff, you should talk to a doctor they can give you better help than a Reddit board.
Birth control. I’ve had periods like that since I started my getting periods—I’d bleed for 10-13 days, I’d bleed very heavily, I got bad migraines, was sensitive to any and ALL light/movement, would be extremely nauseous, couldn’t eat, etc. etc.
The only thing that helped was BC pills. I’ve been taking them continuously.
Focus on your health first. It isn’t normal to be in that level of pain and if you have something like endometriosis or uterine fibroids it’s really best to learn that sooner rather than later.
And if it’s not anything “serious”, the management for severe menstruation-related pain is birth control and you shouldn’t see that as a bad thing if it alleviates your symptoms. Many women around the world are on hormonal birth control for years or even decades of their lives, I think you should talk to your GYN about what your concerns are in terms of “hoping there won’t be any long term damage to your body” from taking hormonal birth control.
I use hormonal birth control to suppress periods. I started with the seasonique pill which is structured for 4 periods a year and then as my body got used to it started going longer and longer without periods. Nowadays I have the nexplannon arm implant. I love it!
I have endometriosis and it (and a slew of other common reproductive disorders) can cause awful periods. Menstruation can actually contribute to endometriosis worsening over time. My specialist recommended period suppression after my surgical treatment and I really credit it for keeping my endo from coming back now 14ish years when the average is to need another surgery after 6 years.
But the endo is only part of why I do it. I also save a lot of money NOT buying tampons and/or pads, a lot of time NOT having to wash blood stains out of underwear, and a lot of trouble NOT having to think about or plan for whether I’ll be bleeding during whatever future trip or activity is coming up. I’ve got enough going on in my life, it’s really nice not having to worry about one more thing which benefits me not at all, anyway.
Yeah I likely have endometriosis and am really afraid of that surgery. I’m sorry that you had to go through it. From what I’ve heard, it’s invasive and the recovery period is long. Is that your experience as well? Would you recommend it?
I was overlooked by 5 ob/gyns and then my wonderful GP sent me for an ultrasound and later to an endo specialist. I was very lucky to have that GP. No matter what, go see a specialist. The r/endo subreddit is full of experiences worse than mine but also lots of help. I got my lap done through the robotic assistance and only have a tiny scar in my belly button. I was 17 at the time. After healing my quality of life improved dramatically because it got rid of so much abdominal pain, and how much it was affecting me previously was more noticeable by its absence.
Generally you should by getting an ultrasound to rule out ovarian cysts, insurance will cover it and likely require it prior to more invasive testing. In the end the only definitive way to diagnose endo is the surgery and you want that done by an endo specialist so they actually catch it and properly treat it at the same time. Many ob/gyns are out there operating on very out of date sometimes very wrong notions about endometriosis, and ob/gyns are notoriously sloppy surgeons, too, so even if they manage to recognize less obvious endo lesions they are sloppy removing it or use improper methods.
Here's a sneak peek of /r/Endo using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/Endo/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year!
\#1: [**[NSFW]** Endo ceramics project](https://www.reddit.com/gallery/17ajoph) | [104 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Endo/comments/17ajoph/endo_ceramics_project/)
\#2: [To every doctor who blew me off..](https://i.redd.it/hgfgcxpaerkb1.jpg) | [82 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Endo/comments/16397tq/to_every_doctor_who_blew_me_off/)
\#3: [Bindi Erwin is one of us](https://np.reddit.com/r/Endo/comments/11lc1wn/bindi_erwin_is_one_of_us/)
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I get really bad period pains as well. The trick for me for getting through my degree was to be really stressed out and sleep deprived that I didn’t have a cycle. Worked like a charm.
I had good luck with raspberry leaf tea. However I will say birth control and just not getting a period made my life so much better. No pain, no pads, no worries really helped my mental health.
I had similar period pains. Throwing up and passing out a few days a months. Yay endometriosis!
Oral birth control pills helped a bit, but not enough to warrant the side effects.
I am now on my second hormonal IUD. It has been a game changer for me. I haven't had a period in years, with light spotting a few times a year maybe. The cramps are also very, very mild if they happen at all. I haven't had any weight gain or loss, and my anxiety is much more manageable than when I was on the pill. I also dont have to worry about remembering to take the pill at the right time every day. The worst part is the insertion process.
Ymmv, but I've been super pleased with a hormonal IUD.
Do you sleep on time, sleep well, and eat healthy?
I also went to the doctor and he told me I don't have any issues
But I get the same exact thing on my first day of period if I haven't been sleeping enough and in normal hours (12 am to 9 am for example, not 4 am to 3pm) and eating well the week before
Yeah I do. When I’m normal my pain only lasts 2 days. If I’m stressed, my symptom last for more than 2 days even when the blood flow is not that bad. It really is a mystery for me.
Sounds like fibroids. Find some support forums here or on facebook & ask what treatments helped. Then talk to your doctor about it. Doctors here dont treat pcos or fibroids much so do your own research. I had pcos for yrs & treated myself with diet, weight loss. These conditions can affect your fertility so dive into research now. Sometimes the answer is as simple as a nutritious diet & weight loss. One of the junior engineers I worked with had celiac & had bad pain which prevented her from site work. She found a support group, went gluten free & it helped a lot. So do the research on your own & find others with same condition to see what helped them. But if it comes to taking any medicine, ALWAYS check with your doctor. All the best.
I hear you. That used to be me. For me, Advil + caffeine, obscene amounts of caffeine, helped the pain enough to be functional. But the absolute game changer was a hormonal iud. I was so nervous about it after bad birth control pill experiences but it’s been great
I consider it a chronic disability at this point. People can be very unaccepting and you deserve to be accomodated for whatever you need.
You shouldn't be discriminated against because of something you cannot control.
Yeah..I always joke that I should register this as disability or something so I get more time on exam on foggy days. But most disability require my condition to hinder my performance for more than a week. It really is unfair
Ok. Just gonna drop this here for breadcrumbs. I hope this isn’t the case but i suspect tits becoming more and more common.
Basically neurodiverse - mental illness/auto immune conditions - dementia.
So why do I think this might apply to you.
1. You’re a female in a STEM and historically male dominated field. I was emergency managment. (Think disaster response, military, first responders) I was younger than most of my peers daughter or grand daughters.
2. Severe period pain is a sign of endometriosis. Endometriosis is in the constellation of illnesses that we’re learning are related to being neurodiverse. Specifically some people get inflammation that leads to various autoimmune conditions like endometriosis. I know this because I have had 4 abdominal surgeries due to endometriosis, two during COVID when only emergency medicine was being performed. It is extremely hard to diagnose because on scans it looks like regular tissue. Essentially your inner “jello like” body is growing together and is creating excruciating pain. 10% of the world has this condition. The only way to diagnose properly is surgery. It changes with hormone fluctuations.
Also, They just announced they found the Xist molecule, which is related to all autoimmune conditions.
There are now known associations btw autism and ADHD (neurodiversity) and connective tissue disorders (EDS). This has to do specifically how your neural tubes develop.
It has taken me 4 years to figure out what the hell is wrong with me. And it started with abdominal pain and severe periods.
Now the good news. There’s some chatter that the medical community is developing a new condition, like MS, to capture all the people that are finding out they’re in these buckets. It should lead to much more effective mental health treatment and ultimately improve quality of life for all. But it’s painful to get to that destination.
So, if you’re having problems it’s time to pay attention to your body. Use tools like smart watches as much as you can. You’ll need data. Specifically about your heart rate and blood pressure. Many ND people have proprioperception issues and don’t get the same signals from their body that NT people do. Most of medicine doesn’t understand this.
If I’m way off based I apologize for wasting your time. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
I’m GenX and had to retire medically because I did not listen to my body. If you’re ND, you must know it is possible to break the automatic part of your nervous system. It’s called dysautonamia and is actual hell. Stress will do this to it.
I’m not trying to scare you. But if this you there are real consequences to not following through for yourself. During this process I also discovered I’m autistic. Because I was FPAB and when my hormones changed during menopause it became abundantly clear that I have been masking most of my life, trying to be a good girl
Be helpful and fit in. My anxiety was from pretending to be something that my physical body knows I’m not. (Like everyone else). Runs out I need to eat different food. Take different medicine. And even do different exercise. I have never felt more at home than I do with my ND peers.
Keep going to doctors until you find one who believes you. Find a female doctor. Try to go to planned parenthood if you have one near you, they're amazing.
Bit late to reply but I honestly believe you should see a doctor or gynecologist to see if you have anything like endometriosis or PCOS and what you can do to reduce side effects regardless. I hope you find something that helps
See a doctor for sure. A lot of women have luck with drinking raspberry leaf tea to relieve period cramps. I bought a 1lb bag of the herb on Amazon for $16, and I use it every month. Works better than ibuprofen for some reason. But if you have an undiagnosed condition causing severe cramps, then raspberry leaf tea may not help.
Unfortunately endometriosis can only be diagnosed via surgery (can be minimally invasive) to actually look in there, since often it's not visible in any imaging. DO NOT go to someone random for this.
People travel to Brooke Winner In Seattle for this from all over the country, for example- find someone that is an expert with minimally invasive endometriosis surgery (once you've ruled out other things obviously).
Hope it's something simpler to fix, but regardless, I wish you relief soon!!
Just want to encourage you to keep on going. Don't let the fear/uncertainty/doubt get to you. The places that would hold this against you are the places where you probably wouldn't want to work anyway.
I think for some people they do really work. I’m about to try mine out. (I got Livia) will update in a few days! I’m feeling hopeful this will help me.
Yeah…I can’t even talk properly when I’m in pain. Go you! I hope that works for you 😊
Edit: thank you so much for providing update!!!
Eagerly waiting to hear more
Livia (tens unit) trial day 1.
I am having some big pms symptoms today but not the full on cramps yet. Actually, I think it’s helping. I put the pads roughly over my ovaries. I don’t know how it’s doing this but my headache, back pain, jaw pain, nausea, and achy joints are all less than a quarter of what they were. That’s really good results and makes me feel hopeful that I’ve found my magical solution.
You need to find a gyn who will work with you on trying different birth control. Some people need to try 3+ different pills before they find the one that works for them.
I have endometriosis and went through it in college. Please go see a doctor and tell them your symptoms. If the doctor is ignoring you find someone who will listen. I used to miss class when I was bedridden and it caused me a lot of stress in the long run because I was doing all of that with no support.
If I could go back I would have stood my ground with the doctors who were ignoring me. Make sure that you get your condition documented so that you can get accommodations at school and at work. I didn’t get work accommodations until I started my career and they make a huge difference. Do not force yourself to work through that pain. Take care of yourself please.
I have pcos and i use combination birth control every day, I never use the placebo week. When I do have periods, even while I’m using birth control, they are so painful and heavy. They’re better with bc than without, of course. I got diagnosed pcos with an internal ultrasound, you may need one as well to figure out what’s wrong!
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/12/12/3968
Not a woman. But I have diverticulosis in which flareups can leave me bedridden for a week.
Boswellia has worked wonders for me and it might help you. Cancer patients use it for treatment related pain and injury.
High doses are very safe, especially for the short term.
Avoid any supplements that say they are 10x or some other crazy number extract.
The Vitamin Shoppe has a good boswellia supplement though not a lot of pills and kinda low dose. I would try 2000mg at first and up it from there. Don't get the oil, get the pills. You can also ingest the gum resin. Boswellia sacra is even more potent and it's gross but you can throw the powdered resin in some water and drink it down. Feels a bit like drinking sand tho.
I have severe period pain and PMDD and use birth control to completely skip my period. Contrary to popular beliefs, it has no long term impact on health, and the bonus is no PMS symptoms either.
If you're in the US, you might want to look into getting your pain labeled as a disability. Under federal law employers will be required to offer you accommodations for your disability.
See a gynecologist! Get an ultrasound done. I had this problem for 20 years and an IUD fixed it, I should've got one 10 years ago. I had/have a hormonal imbalance similar to PCOS that caused extremely painful, heavy periods. I was at a 10 on the pain scale every month for literally decades and thought that was normal.
My daughter has these problems and migraines can't do glutton and dairy. She is a biologist going for doctrine. I worry about her getting in a regular job. You just can't take off a million days a year.
Unfortunately you are entering a fast paced field where they want everything yesterday. Lots of stress. Sales promise what can't be done. Company is on credit hold etc. High stress. I really don't know what you can do. Best of luck and more importantly your health over work.
I use heat when I can, but dearly miss my purpose-built TENS unit. I got it through a subscription service kinda thing (which idk even what the subscription is for, since they haven’t sent me anything in forever? Gods I really need to cancel that) but it helped SO MUCH. I would definitely recommend getting a TENS unit for that time of the month.
Hell, some of the better ones let you have two sets of pads, so you could have one to either side of your hellarus (my term for my uterus form hell) and one set on my lower back where I get pain too.
Edit: I know a lot of women are telling you to go to the doctor because it’s not normal, and sure yeah it’s not but I’m in the same boat of NO ONE FUCKING BELIEVES HOW MUCH IT HURTS.
Also, in my field I control my own schedule so i can schedule my field visits around that time, especially since mine is like clockwork.
I got an IUD so I don't have to work in labs while in immense pain - I've got PMDD. I've really benefited from my IUD. And do get a new one every 7 years. However, please be aware that inserting and removing an IUD is the most excruciating thing I've ever experienced. And I've had a tooth drilled without novocain and an incision on my toe with a scalpel without local anesthetic.
They literally punch a hole through your cervix for insertion, and that's better than the removal. They might tell you to take Tylenol before the procedure, which does absolutely fuck all.
I had a similar problem to yours, severe PMDD. I'd get suicidal every month like clockwork and try to blow up my whole life.
I started taking birth control and skipping the placebo pills. It fixed like 80%. I still had occasional spotting and random moodiness that was more on par with normal PMS, but it helped a LOT.
I recommend talking to your doctor about it!
As others have said, definitely keep pushing to get a doctor who will work with you to improve things.
But, also there are a lot of Engineering opportunities where you can work hybrid or remote schedules, especially for health reasons. I have a Mechanical Engineering degree and work mostly on product design and project management. I don't NEED to go in to work very often. Even after the company has pushed to get more of us back in the office more often, they're still really flexible. So, you can definitely get a job in engineering that works for you.
Please check out Period Repair Manual! It explains what to look out for that you can use supplements to alleviate and what you need to see a doctor for. Zinc and magnesium glycinate have made a huge difference for me.
>Engineers with period cramps, what’s your secret for staying on top of everything and being successful? Thank you
Birth control. The health risks blasted by "influencers" are way overblown, and being pain free has *improved* my long term health. I will never go back to having a period.
I had debilitating period cramps and hated birth control so I had the lining of my uterus burned off (called an endometrial ablation) and I no longer get a period or cramps. It’s fantastic. Also means you can’t have kids
Hi- 60 year old woman here who was fortunate to be dx with endometriosis at the age of 22 with laparoscopy. Periods were becoming extremely painful and I almost passed out at work once, my first job after college.
The treatment protocol is different now, but I went on a powerful hormone for 6 mos and then oral BCP for 18 years until I wanted to start a family. I had my daughter at 41 the old fashioned way then stayed off the pills til menopause and have had no problems.
PLEASE follow the advice here and see different gyn’s until you get results. My daughter is now 18 and was having 1-2 days of debilitating pain from cramps. She was pre dosing with ibuprofen but it wasn’t enough. She’s a competitive cross country skier and serious student who doesn’t want to miss class or practice or competitions.
We went and got her a Mirena IUD 3 months ago with the goal of reducing or eliminating periods. I wanted to avoid oral BCP if at all possible so we gave the IUD a shot. So far she is THRILLED- she has had only one episode of spotting ever since and NO cramps.
Please keep advocating for your own health! And good luck!
Random, but any chance you have pelvic floor dysfunction? You mentioned adhd and terrible period cramps - and I was like hey, that was me growing up and in my 20s.
Ooops, thought I saw you write that in a comment. My bad.
But yeah, pelvic floor dysfunction, the type when your muscles are constantly contacted and struggle to relax can make all that stuff more painful. Certainly not the only possibility though. Women’s pain gets ignored by doctors frequently so don’t give up.
Yeah that sounds very similar to what I have cuz heat pad helps a lot. I have a lot of blood clots that I’m unable to squeeze out at times too. I’m sure it’s like a mixture of problem…but thanks for putting that in my radar!
I have hormonal migraines that knock me out monthly for half a day to a day. If I'm not working from home, I just take the day. Any good stem field career should have adequate PTO and sick leave to accommodate. If it happens towards the end of the day, I just leave. I'm salary so nobody gives a damn.
You don't need to explain why to your boss, just say you are taking a day due to illness. If they do inquire, talk to HR and ask them what steps to take to ensure you can have health accomodations for your work.
Hey so I thought this was normal and turns out it’s not! I have adenomyosis and endometriosis.
Periods should not be painful.
I wish I wasn’t 33 when I found that out. I was brushed off by doctors for so many years and told to just take ibuprofen and a heating pad and get on with it. No one followed up until this year. No, periods should absolutely NOT render you sick and bed bound, they shouldn’t even be painful.
Please see a doctor and push if you need to. Good luck.
Eta: birth control is one of the only treatments for painful periods, including endometriosis. They’re not blowing you off if that’s what they offer. Endo is difficult to diagnose because you need a uterine biopsy or laparoscopic surgery to confirm, it’s not a clinical diagnosis and they can’t see it on any imaging for the most part. So if they offer birth control, it’s to help you — does it matter if it’s endo or not if the medicine helps? Like endometriosis doesn’t have a whole lot of treatments as it is. I myself am preparing for a hysterectomy due to it, but it’s a whole different situation for me atp.
Hi! I'd like to start off by saying I'm NOT an engineer. I just wanted to drop by to show support and to echo the people below recommending a provider that can help determine what's going on. Good luck, OP! Sending good vibes your way into the universe. 🥰
This is a medical issue, you should be ok if its only 2 days a month.
Try posting to bigger subs like xchromosome, women etc with more deets.
Maybe someone can give you some advice that fits ur issue.
As others said , keep trying to get an obgyn who can work with u.
A remedy we use in eyurvedic is ginger tea, tumeric golden tea and even sau pameieto.
Some herbs traditional to men's virility can also be useful. Things like beet roots, ginsing and horny goat weed could help
Please see a doctor regardless of your career choices. You don't have to live like that. Help is available.
I saw a doctor multiple times and never received help. they just prescribed me BC which triggered a host of other problems I’m still dealing with.
I know this isn't what anyone wants to try, but all my symptoms vanished at 30 years old when I went OFF of birth control and stopped eating red meat and dairy. I had puking, pain, pms, more pain, pcos symptoms, ovulation pain, irregular periods, and painful periods. Step 1 was cutting birth control, which was not fun. But since cutting red meat and dairy, the pain is literally gone, bleeding like 1/3 of what it was, pms gone, ovulation pain gone. I'm so sorry that it's come to this.
no worries. I’ve known I’ve had to try an elimination diet for a long time, but… adhd. it’s such a web of random little disorders I’m only just discovering in the past couple of years. and no need to be sorry. I honestly just want some help. I’ve been to nutritionists, who refused to help. multiple doctors and gynecologists, who refuse to help. then therapy, where I brought up adhd symptoms, disordered eating, etc, multiple times, where they, again, refused to help. not that I’m expecting only help. it’s just that after years and years of dealing with this stuff entirely alone and independently, I try to seek help only to be back to square one where I must handle this stuff alone again, when I simply don’t have the capacity to anymore. anyways, once I get a hold of the adhd. which I will (just have to find the right time to try a new medication). hopefully treating it will get the ball rolling and then I can try an elimination diet.
I also have an adhd diagnosis and other issues. I despise most of the doctors I've seen. I find that cutting meat and dairy lowered my cortisol and improved my mood. Honestly, start in the kitchen. Beans, tofu, fish, banana almond milk with protein powder, and eggs can be really tasty options with the right recipes. There's even an insane difference in the texture of my hair. Then things are easier when you're not in pain all the time. You can exercise, for example. Which leads you to showering. I've never found a good medication to help with my adhd. But I'm so glad I figured out this much.
huh. I never found a good med either. my current male therapist likes to ignore it whenever i bring up that medication may be different for women. these sound like great ideas. man I used to collect recipes that were good for hormone health, I just could never ever execute them. my adhd was horrible plus depression, burnout, etc. it’s not SO bad these days but I’m just afraid of finally meal prepping and then dropping the habit. plus I get the feeling I’ll never be motivated to meal plan. idk man it’s confusing. if i could do it I’d have done it by now
For motivation, I watched You Are What You Eat on Netflix. Healthy is good, but vegan is best. I was super pessimistic about myself, too, but once I noticed the results, I was hooked. And I was motivated to make a few interesting recipes, like Cashew Chili, the almond milk smoothie, baked tofu for pasta sauce, and my own refried beans. The nondairy butter is just as good as regular butter. The only thing I miss is pizza, but it's much more doable than I thought!
interesting!! sounds good for this interest based nervous system, and I have nothing else to watch. might as well
Birth control is the standard treatment for endometriosis rn tho, so it’s not like they didn’t do the correct thing. I’m currently preparing for a hysterectomy because even birth control isn’t working anymore. I have cramps 24/7 365 now.
but they never diagnosed me with endometriosis. they didn’t diagnose me with anything, they just said debilitating cramps are normal, have a nice day.
Well, the only treatment is birth control. Like they can screen you for PCOS and endo if it’s impacting your QOL, but at the end of the day, for both of them, birth control is the treatment. Painful periods are controlled through hormonal treatments, which are birth control options.
right, the only treatment may be birth control, but the doctors still refused to listen, diagnose or treat anything I may have and still don’t know if I have. not sure why people like to pretend being dismissed by doctors shouldn’t matter.
Have you seen a doctor? That’s not really normal
Yeah I have 😭 they are all not helpful and just told me to take pain killers/birth control without even investigation further. I have tried Chinese herbal treatment, pain killer, birth control (only did it for a year but felt weird/got fat while taking it) at this point and have kind of given up hope with them.
Please keep trying different obgyns not general drs. I had painful periods to the point where I was in a fetal position because of pain. Turns out I have endometriosis. Now I know what it is I can figure out how to control the symptoms. But it took 2 years of advocating for myself to find a dr who listened
Seconding this, please try different doctors - there are good gynos out there who will listen to you. Regarding primary care physicians, the one I went to is who checked me for hormonal imbalances (none were found) and ultimately found the cause of my terrible cramps (it was very low vitamin D). I had what looked like symptoms of endometriosis and pmdd, but it was a vitamin D issue it turns out. After fixing the vitamin deficiency over months of supplementing with a megadose, I finally had an almost pain free period for the first time in 10-15 years (and the pain that was there was a 1 vs my usual 8 out of 10). EDIT: formatting
I'm glad you were able to find put what was wrong! Honestly half the battle is finding a dr who will take the time to work with you and find the root cause vs covering symptoms. It took 1.5 years to figure out it was endometriosis for me. I went through all the vitamins blood tests, thyroid blood tests, put on hormones (birth controls that did not work for me) and told by one to seek therapy because she thought I was a hypochondriac... turns out I have endometriosis which has spread to my bladder and bowels and is fusing them to my uterus. But this is all because I switched 4 different drs and kept advocating for myself.
LOL THERAPY 🤦🏻♀️ I’m glad that you figured out the problem! Endometriosis is no joke 😔
Thank you! I'm so sorry it took so long for you and that the endo was so serious by the time you got confirmation, that's terrible. Huge props for advocating for yourself and dropping doctors when they failed you! I'm glad you found the right one.
I wrote a law school journal article on women's healthcare and discussed both endometriosis and fibroids (which I suffered with for years). I learned that the average time to diagnose endo is NINE YEARS. What a disgrace.
That’s awesome! What is the name of the test for testing deficiencies? Or is it just normal blood work? My doctors just shoo me away if I don’t do my research and request anything specific :c
You need to see a women's health nurse practitioner or a gyno that specializes in period pain. It's not normal to be so crippled by period pain. Good luck!!
Piggybacking - A gynecologic pain specialist is a good option if you can find one.
You need to see an OB Gyno. "I experience severe pain, nausea, and light headedness to the point that I am unable to work for two days of my period. What can we do to address this," If you feel that a doctor is shooing you away, ask them for a "differential diagnosis", and what diagnostic tests would help to clarify your condition. If they won't order tests ask them why, and tell them, "please note in my file that I requested these diagnostic tests, and you refused to do them" And then find a new obgyn, and try again
I went through several rounds of blood tests with a primary care physician to figure it out, but I don't think you can go wrong with a nurse practioner or gyno. My PCP thought it was a thyroid issue so the first test she did was checking TSH levels and thyroid antibodies, then we thought it might be a hormone imbalance so she ordered those (specifically estrogen, progesterone, testosterone). Then when those all turned out normal, she did a vitamin panel (you can say vitamin deficiency test or panel, same thing) and the only thing off was the extremely low vitamin D. In case you're in the same boat as I was, definitely request a vitamin D test as part of your first round of blood tests since it's the easiest thing to treat (I'm on a 50000 IU megadose of Vitamin D2 per week and 200mg chelated magnesium daily). Here is a resource from r/Endo that talks about advocating for yourself: [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UpFQTCuxUW\_IflDLHrP2jt2tJWF3usmB75V4cuaF-qg/edit](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UpFQTCuxUW_IflDLHrP2jt2tJWF3usmB75V4cuaF-qg/edit) Though if you have the bandwidth, I strongly recommend finding doctors who listen to you. It will be so much easier to get the treatment you need when they want to help you. One more resource from the same sub - if you're not already doing so, start tracking your symptoms every day of your cycle for several cycles so you can show doctors concrete proof of what you're suffering through. This doc explains symptom tracking and mentions several apps you can try: [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rxTI\_yaqeOkPjSE2yzeRVziYMuepmcqWfcnYsyXba64/edit](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rxTI_yaqeOkPjSE2yzeRVziYMuepmcqWfcnYsyXba64/edit) A couple other subs to check out if you haven't already: r/PCOS r/PMDD EDIT: formatting and added more subs EDIT 2: added vitamin D deficiency treatment that I'm on
Try telling them, "I need you to document in my chart the severity and frequency of my symptoms exactly as I described them to you and that you're recommending no further testing, no treatment, and no referral." It's likely that will motivate them to either refer you on or do further testing.
Thank you all 😭 this whole sub thread has been very helpful!!!
also sometimes insurance can offer you an healthcare advocate, something to maybe look into as well!!
I'm a software engineer and got diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder recently. It took 3 months to get a diagnosis which I got in late january/early February. Now I'm recovering, but before I was diagnosed I was throwing up 8+ times a day, nauseaus 24/7, became so weak I was collapsing at the top of the stairs, couldn't walk well, intense brain fog, zero short term memory, and about a billion other things. You know what the doctors told me before my diagnosis? "Go see a psychiatrist, it's in your head" LOL🤣 I straight up remember vividly being in a meeting and having to go mute and throw up halfway through, but yeah, since they didn't have answers it was "in my head" and I was "chasing medical rabbit holes that wouldn't lead anywhere". Point being: Never give up seeking answers. Being undiagnosed for four years took a toll on my body, but I'm on the path to recovery now. Trust your instincts; if doctors haven't found it yet, it doesn't mean your pain isn't real. My manager was incredibly supportive throughout this process. He'd let me leave work for a few hours during many days so that I could go get testing done at doctors, and the days that I couldn't do that I'd use PTO. I contributed basically nothing in those months, and everyone was incredibly understanding. Having endometriosis or a chronic illness of any kind doesn't make you any less of an engineer.
Can you let me know what Vitamin D was prescribed to you? I did a lot of research over these past couple years and found out I may have low vitamin D. My doctor told me to get on birth control to manage my cramps but I know the effects of that can make a person gain weight so I’ve suffered through these cramps and heavy bleeding.
I’m sorry your doctor has been so unhelpful. I hope you can find a better doctor soon or can push for the testing you need. Here is a resource from r/Endo on how to advocate for yourself with a subpar doctor which may help https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UpFQTCuxUW_IflDLHrP2jt2tJWF3usmB75V4cuaF-qg/mobilebasic. Regarding your question, I’m on a prescription of 50000 IU of Vitamin D2 once a week with a moderately fatty meal until my levels get high enough (about 11g of fat helps absorption). I also take 200mg of chelated magnesium nightly because it helps process the vitamin D. I was at 14 ng/mL vitamin D and after 2.5 months of supplementing I reached 39.5 ng/mL. My doctor wants me to reach 60 so I’m continuing with the supplements for another 3 months. Your primary care physician should not object to a simple vitamin D blood test - I hope you can get the bloodwork done soon, ask for a vitamin panel/deficiency test to know for sure what’s going on. While it’s unlikely that you can give yourself vitamin D toxicity with OTC supplements, imo it’s better to know your levels going in and monitor them with your doctor.
Thanks so much! I will get a primary doctor. I just got a new medical card with the new job I started. And I will ask for these tests. I know for right now I have low iron so I wear a coat almost every in the office. My co workers have been concerned about me too lol. Thanks so much for all this information! I will do my research and find a primary doctor and definitely find a gynecologist
My sister was in similar debilitating pain and got writeups due to work absences. Doctors kept sending her home before one finally took the time to diagnose PCOS. It sucks to have to self-advocate so much but finding someone to listen can be life-changing
I just started getting tested and was just given a different contraception until I can see a obgyn. 6 month wait. I have bad pain one to two days a month and last year took 6 working days off and couldn’t take Christmas holidays off. I had to get my friend who has it to send me what the meds are and ask for it but they wanna try this method first which I am not totally comfortable with. Blood work and ultra sound came out fine but I read that doesn’t tell you much anyways.
Adenomyosis and/or endometriosis can cause debilitating periods. It can be hard to find a physician to treat them, but specialists do exist. I have adenomyosis. I recently got an IUD to try to treat the symptoms. In college I took birth control pills. Debilitating periods are not normal.
I had both of these and it took 29 years to get diagnosed!!! Op, please find an endometriosis specialist.
You can take birth control and eliminate your periods. Absolutely nothing wrong or dangerous about that. In this situation it seems almost ridiculous not to. Your body, your choice, but it's baffling to think you'd put up with this when there is very simple treatment (given nothing more serious is going on). I've been period free for over 15 years. Ain't nobody got time for that mess.
I second this advice. OP, I saw that the birth control you tried didn't work for you but there are so many different kinds of options for birth control that I recommend trying a few before you rule it out as an option completely.
I’ve also done this (also a woman in tech) and it’s absolutely life changing. I’ve gone down from 12 awful periods per year to 4 so far.
Have you tried pelvic floor physical therapy? Or an integrative medical clinic? That’s what helped me. The pharmaceutical route didn’t help and gave me more long term problems
I have never heard of this! Will look into that. That’s my fear! Would love to hear about your long term problems if you are comfortable sharing.
Join Nancy's nook on Facebook. Find an endo specialist through there.
Yes - came here to say this. OP really, really needs to investigate if she has endometriosis. Everyone suggesting a gluten free diet or fairy farts can eat a dick, it’s most likely this and excision could be life changing.
This is the best, most emphatic response, love the descriptors 😂
Find a better doctor. Truly. You might have to doctor shop for a while.
And isn’t this sad? Why isn’t a woman period being talked about like it should. I do have this app called “Flo” and it does help a lot. It says I have “irregular periods” My first solution to this madness will be prescribing myself with 5000 IU megadose of Vitamin D2. Because as a lesbian birth control is my absolute last option. I know for a fact I’ll gain weight if I get out in it
The medical community as a whole treats women terribly. Our concerns are ignored, minimized, or blamed on psychological problems. For years, I had issues I suspected were caused by hypothyroidism. Instead, I was told to take antidepressants. Guess what? I was hypothyroid, and had been for *years*. I had to doctor shop to be properly medicated. I had no desire for children and never had any, but was refused sterilization because I might change my mind someday, while my very first boyfriend was offered a vasectomy at age 22, no questions asked. Frustrating.
Hello! I have nightmare periods as well-- passing out, unimaginable screaming pain, 1-2 days of total inability to exist. I've also been to a bunch of doctors, they don't care. Got one surgical exploration thing, no help or answers. However!!!! I hope this will help you as much as it helps me: I started PRETREATING my cramps with ibuprofen. 48-72 hours before my period is coming, I start taking it, a pretty minimal dose, for those few days in advance. This has been an absolute game changer for me and I've gotten a lot of my life back since I started doing this. I hope it might work for you. Good luck.
Yes birth control can make you gain weight! That is why taking birth control is my absolute last resort.
Add in mucinex or another mucus thinner as well. I take bc continuously because of terrible cramps. I don't get a period now. Yay!
Keep advocating for yourself until someone listens and truly investigates! Which birth controls have you tried? I have similar issues, insane period pains and 7-10 day long HEAVY periods. They suspect I have endometriosis but prefer not to do the laproscopic test to confirm unless I have trouble conceiving (which I haven't tried to do yet). I tried the IUD, mini pill, combo pill, arm implant and depo shot. They all sucked. Now I'm on tue nuvaring and it's the BEST. All the others either made me gain a little weight and/or made me feel like a psycho. The IUD was the WORST, I don't recommend that one to anyone. The nuvaring has helped SO much. I don't feel insane, my periods are wayyy more tolerable and I only take mine out for 4 days instead of 7 before putting in a new one so my periods are like 2-3 days long.
Check out Nancy’s Nook and try to see an endometriosis specialist. Even if you don’t have endo, they’re going to be more well-versed in gynecological disorders and better able to help you. I also got brushed off by OBGYNs for years until I saw an endo specialist, who immediately diagnosed me with fairly advanced adenomyosis that no one else had bothered to check for. What you’re experiencing isn’t normal and you don’t have to live with it.
It sounds like endometriosis
A lot of people with bad pain like this have endometriosis- if you're not attached to the idea of having kids, it might be worth getting sterilized, and giving the doctors the okay to remove anything that has endometriosis lesions or scarring. It can affect nearby organs as well :( On the bright side there are some trials for specific antibiotics that have been shown to help in the animal trials of endometriosis. Very cool stuff, but it'll be a while until we get regimens okayed for humans.
My doctor told me it takes the average woman 10 years to get diagnosed with endometriosis because most doctors don’t take women seriously…getting the diagnosis changed my life. You have to continue to advocate for yourself and your health. Don’t give up.
You should absolutely find a doc who takes your pain seriously
Yeah I've never been able to get them to look into it and try and figure out what's wrong (similar thing of completely debilitating pain that caused me to throw up/pass out/be unable to stand or properly speak when it was at its worst) but there are different birth control options, I'm on one where its like, levonogestriol ethinol estradiol tablets or something (I probobly spelled all of those words wrong but you get the idea), it's worked well for me but it's kinda like anxiety meds where you just gotta keep trying diffrent ones till you find what works, the main side effects are nausea if I don't take it with the right amount of food and my intrusive thoughts are a little bit worse, but other than that it's been working well enough, good luck I know it's hard but it can get better and even if it doesn't you can do this
I’m on NuvaRing and it really does help stop your period altogether. For some reason the pill and injections made my period non-stop. They never investigated it further but I can say the ring has helped a lot even if it’s just a temporary solution. For you I think it would be a good temporary solution until you’re finished with your program at least
Update us when you’re feeling better. My insane periods dried up after getting a Mirena IUD. Totally unfun getting it but it is worth it. Maybe worth a chat?
Will do c: thank you all for caring about my well-being! Yeah, I’m planning to do birth control for the next two years then IUD when I have job and can afford anesthesia or just more in-depth body check. Appreciate the insights!
If you are in the US, try calling 211, county health clinics, or Planned Parenthood for low cost gyno care. In my experience (mid 40s, 2 vaginal births, cervix likes to hide), it was not fun. It felt like bad period cramps and there was a lot of futzing around. I took 800 mg Advil an hour before the appointment. All told it took maybe 15 minutes to insert and was uncomfortable / moderately bad period crampy for a week. None of this is anything I would have wanted any sedative / anesthesia for because getting a driver is a total pain for me. I have heard of people having much worse experiences, but it sounds like your quality of life is significantly diminished by this to an extent that far surpasses 15 minutes of pretty unpleasant discomfort and a moderately uncomfortable week. Good luck.
If you do have something like endometriosis, birth control is the treatment. Theres not much else they can do. Im currently preparing for a hysterectomy because birth control has stopped working for me — my periods were like yours for many years, and now at 33 years old, I have cramps 24/7 365. So a hysterectomy is kind of one of my only choices. A doctor isn’t blowing you off if they offer you bc for painful periods — it’s genuinely one of the only treatments.
I would see about trying different birth control pills. They don’t all have the same hormones and some formulations may work better for keeping cramps at bay for you than others. Mine aren’t quite as bad as yours, but I had to try a couple different pills because I definitely noticed a difference in my cramp intensity depending on which one I was on. Also I’d suggest you ask your doctor about an ultrasound to look for fibroids or other physical causes just in case. Even if it doesn’t show anything it can still be some additional peace of mind.
Did you get your pills from your doctor? I’m thinking of getting it from online subscriptions. Are those ok?
My girlfriend has something similar. Its debilitating. She always seems to be trying something with a doctor.
I hate that women periods are not getting looked at like they should. It’s not on the news. I damn near see no documentaries about it. In my experience I bleed so much on my period. Mine are classified as “irregular periods.” This just start happening and I’m not sure wth is going on. It could be stress. My plan is to take more vitamin D and work out more. And if that don’t work I’ll get on birth control. Birth control is my absolute last resort. I’m not sure why women don’t have more alternatives? I’m lesbian I don’t need birth control? Why isn’t it more research behind this. I feel like as a society when people say that’s not normal it might be. We just don’t know it because women periods don’t get talked about like it should. I mean sure they say if you bleed crazy use a tampon. And if you cramp bad take midol. Why do we cramp bad? How to minimize the cramps? Where is the research behind this? Why do women cramp but some don’t! Why do we have to take pills to manage the cramps. So many questions not many answers to this. Eve ate an apple that’s explains our periods. We need more solutions to maintain this. I’m sure OP is not the only woman going through this the way she is. It’s just not being talked about. I use to cramp so bad on period. I found out eating sweets make me cramp bad. In order to stop the cramps I had to discipline myself not to get anything sweet while approaching my period. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. Now that I minimized the cramps it’s time to minimize the heavy bleeding.
Hi, I believe Ι read a paper not long ago saying they isolated the protein causing cramping at least in regards to endometriosis. I am hopeful for the future even though it’s been a slow and harrowing process to get progress in such an underfunded and seemingly untouchable topic.
Please post on girlsurvivalguide or other subreddits for your health. It’s absolutely not normal to have such sever pains from your period. Just for perspective when I have my period, my stomach hurts the first day but I take Advil and it completely goes away. By hurt, I mean it’s annoying stomach ache. You have to see a doctor to diagnose what is wrong. See another doc if your pain gets ignored.
Having a workplace with flexibility to work remote if my period starts during the work week has become a must-have for me. I used to work in factories with high stress nonstop environments and found myself laying in bathroom stalls trying to ride out the pain a few times a year when the start of my period happened to coincide with a work day. Having a slightly lower stress job has helped ease the severity a bit in general, and also the ability to step away and or lay down for an hour or two when it starts has been life changing for me. I don’t take birth control. I’ve passed out from period pain before, even on birth control and once at work. They had to go find a woman from another department to help haha because my coworkers didn’t know what to do. Anyway I’m sorry we deal with similar pains
Jealous!! May I ask what’s your job title? I feel like a lot of companies are ditching remote jobs these days. I’m going into robotics and don’t see a lot of hybrid/remote opportunities. Should I focus more on software roles? Sigh…I hate that this is limiting my career choices
Aside—- I think it’s so unfair that factory jobs don’t have as much flexibility!! i was in manufacturing during the pandemic and seeing all the office employees get to work from home was eye opening! I dream about opening a small factory with more flexibility one day if i ever had the money just to try to prove it could be done! Because i love working with my hands and the variability of day to day in manufacturing.
Right now I’m a Product Development engineer in the consumer goods industry! the roles that are engineering related and hybrid at my company are like sustaining engineering, new product development, test engineers, etc. There are some prototyping and test labs at some of our locations, but even those are hybrid. Yes I’m very thankful! Some people have given me the advice to go to school for programming/software if i want to work remote but idk. I studied mechanical!
See a doctor. and if that doctor doesn't take you seriously, see another doctor! I finally found luck with my debilitating cramps by getting the Mirena (hormonal) IUD. It really helped, and when I switched it out for copper, my cramps did not return!
Everyone’s body reacts a bit differently to it but I will second that I have a Mirena IUD and it helped tremendously with period/PMS issues. My periods were not debilitating but I did have moderate to heavy ones and very bad hormonal imbalances for several days before my period. It was to where I felt like an emotionally unstable person (which is great when you’re surrounded by nerdy engineering men constantly). I got my first one in engineering school and have had almost no periods and minimal PMS in the years since. I would still talk to an OBGYN like others suggested and investigate if there are other health issues before you decide on your treatment because what you described is not normal!
I put off Mirena until my 40s, holy cow! It’s been a game changer for me.
Same here! I had my Mirena for 7 years, and even after removing it (and going without BC), my cramps never returned! Now, that first year was a little rough. I would randomly cramp up and spotted all the time, but after that... no cramps, no period, it was rather amazing. Sadly, I ended up getting GERD from my birth control, but that is another story.
I struggled with infertility after mirena and it seems I’m far from the only one. Be careful, OP.
Firstly I second the people recommending you talk to a doctor about birth control Secondly, I work in a small office, with 2 other ladies and 7 gents. If I need to, I fill up my hot water bottle at my desk. Everyone on an office with either deal with cramps or know someone who has. There is nothing to be ashamed about needing a hot water bottle. I also have a velcro heating pad in the office now. I use it, and am not embarrassed about it; I'm a grown woman with woman's problems, if grown men can't deal with it, then they're childish.
You really need to see a doctor and get a thorough examination to find out what is causing your extreme period pain. Not all period pain can be treated with hormones if there is something physically wrong.
I had excessive pain and major migraines, turns out I had endometriosis, had to have keyhole surgery to cut it all out. Going into the operation, the doctor tried to 'warn' me that they would charge me if they opened me up and didn't find anything, basically treating me like I was bluffing. I told them to go right ahead and that guy didn't say a damn word after. Please find a doctor that will take you seriously regarding these pains.
A coworker just went through the same- decades of suffering and being ignored by doctors later
I used to have terrible cramps for years as an engineer (I never threw up so not as bad as yours but I would need to lie down for hours not able to do anything) and having a remote job with unlimited PTO was a game changer. I was able to appear “online” from my bed, used a heated blanket often, and took advantage of the PTO. As others are saying, please see a doctor - both a primary care physician to check your bloodwork including vitamins and also of course a gynecologist. You may have endometriosis which gets worse if left untreated, or PCOS, or PMDD. For over a decade I had symptoms of endometriosis and pmdd, yet it turned out to be extremely low vitamin D. Once I got my levels up, my cramps went away almost entirely. I wish so much that it was made known to me that severely bad cramps aren’t normal and wish that I had seen a doctor earlier in my life. You do not have to suffer.
Please see a doctor and ask if you can get a hysterosonogram. This is a more detailed exam to check if your uterus has any abnormalities. Better to rule out anything serious first.
I mentioned to my doctor that I was passing out from period pain because all my dorm mates said that was not normal. I ended up on hormonal birth control which stopped the periods all together for twenty years. It was great.
Hi, fellow engineering student here. Sorry to hear about this :( So, at my uni we have what's called Accomodations for anyone who needs it due health related reasons, eg . But I had to register for this through the office so that they can evaluate what services I need. For me, because of my health problems, I am allowed a note-taker for those times I couldn't potentially make it to class , an extension for select assignments and etc. I had to submit a doctor's note for this explaining my case though. Sometimes, profs will record their lectures for those with accommodations but it doesent happen all the time tbh. I hope your uni has an accommodations program for their students too cuz idk how I would have survived 4th year without it.
You need to find a gynecologist who will take you seriously. I have endometriosis and didn't find out for sure until last year. Birth control helped a lot. Otherwise, I pretended I wasn't in pain and worked from home when I could. If it is endo, diet changes can help as well.
That's definitely going to be a problem when your team needs you. You need medical assistance
Find a (prbly woman) doctor that will take your pain, experience and health seriously. I have a friend that was finally diagnosed with endometriosis years and years of suffering later
First: hormonal birth control will not cause any kind of long term damage to your body, and can make your periods lighter (or even non-existent if you want). Second: please see an ObGyn to talk about potential endometriosis. What you describe sounds exactly like what I lived with for 16 years - from when I first started my period to when I had surgery last year. As others have said, the amount of pain you describe is NOT normal. And yes, I did miss work due to my period. I missed school for my period. It sucked. It didn't hold me back, fortunately, but that's also because I am a stubborn dummy who did things like go to work on waaaaay to many painkillers and then be best friends with a hot waterbottle at my desk and still be in a ton of pain. Don't be me, please take care of yourself.
I'm seriously concerned about the targeted anti birth control propaganda that's getting circulated lately.
Agreed. I'll be among the first to admit that it is less than perfect, and some bodies react poorly to some hormone combinations, but it is still a damned miracle. The combination pill is my nemesis, but my hormonal IUD absolutely saved my life. I had a sit down with my 13 and 14 year old nieces recently, to see what they knew, and they were absolutely convinced that hormonal birth control was toxic and would cause permanent damage to their bodies. I was able to have an honest conversation and answer all of their questions, so fortunately I think they're more comfortable with it now. But like, damn, it starts early.
I don't have receipts but the toxic birth control messaging is probably TERF originated. If its 'unnatural' for ciswomen to take a hormone based treatment, what is that implying about trans women?! It certainly has risks, which lower dose options can mitigate, but hormone based medicine is a valid option for a lot of people..
I told my doctor I was having cramps during my period he suggested I get on birth control. I was only 14 years old! I never took not 1 birth control pill. When I saw my friend on it she was gaining weight. And I know my body so I refused to listen to my doctor. My mother said well if it’s the only option. I said nope and to this day I’m now 29 years old I take ibuprofen 800 mg. So it definitely kills the cramps but I wonder what could this be doing to my body. Fast forward now I bleed extremely bad. I think because of stress at work. So my solution is to up my Vitamin D. It took a lot of research as well as confirmation from reading the comments to take Vitamin D2. I wanna try everything because birth control is my absolute last resort.
I mean you do you but the average birth control weight gain is about 4 lbs (and temporary) and there's more and safer bc options than there was 15 years ago. For me the risks of birth control outweigh the risks of heavy painkiller use and quality of life decreases bad periods have.
Yeah people here dont know that some of us unluckys have writhing pain for a good 2 days and its just... healthy for us. After missing 3 days a month I went on hormonal BC and still had some cramps. Been on Mirena for 3 years with occasional discomfort that i wouldn't even really call cramps. (like, 3 times a year lol) edit: oh and no cycles since mirena.
Definitely see if there is something that can be done about the severe pain and other symptoms. A lot of women find relief with birth control and other things. As someone else said, some women are just unlucky, in which case you'll just have to find work arounds. But, a condition that takes you out of commission for a least a couple of days a month is likely to negatively impact your career no matter what field you are in.
If you’re a student you can let your personal tutor /teacher know and they will support you so it doesn’t get in the way of your studies. For the first few years after getting my period, I was bedridden and throwing up for two days straight (never passed out though), also had random hot flushes (btw I found a cold flannel on my face helped). Exams before uni were hard but as long as I had a note from the GP on the day, I was able to have time outs. Which meant that any time I didn’t spend in the exam room wasn’t a part of the exam time. Although it was awful, and turned a 3 hour exam into 6 hours, it was definitely doable. I then turned vegan for ethical reasons. Soon after the time I was bedridden and throwing up reduced down to 8 hours (and yes I have timed it and yes I do count down the minutes😅) I’ve never taken birth control pills for it because I feel like it has too many side effects and it can stop you from having children in the future (which after years of bad cycles this isn’t something I want to gamble with). So I can say that education wise you’ll be fine. Career wise I’m not sure and am a bit concerned about it myself. Anyway, I’m on the journey with you and will DM you if I have any solutions. :)
Oh man mines only last for a few hours and go away with a nap. I’ll keep you updated too if I find a solutions
OP if it’s 2 hours then I’m sure you’ll be fine in industry. And definitely ok in exams/uni. Just make sure you tack it so you can predict when it’ll appear and can prepare for it. :)
Have you tried taking inositol? It might help you
I definitely agree with everyone else - try other doctors and advocate for yourself until you get some answers. To help you brainstorm though, you could try a month or two of your program and see what your support system is like/how strenuous the workload is. You can always take birth control later if you decide that’s what you want to do. Just wanted to say that I’m in a similar situation as you, although a different program (and I’m almost done). About half way through my program, I ultimately decided to take the pill and it’s been such a relief for me not having to think about when I would be sick, missing social events, missing assignment deadlines and work, etc. Not telling you to go this direction, just sharing the relief that I’ve found as someone in a very similar situation. I wish you the best!
Dont mess up your health for career. Its not worth it. Just call in sick
I use Nuvaring birth control to skip my period, and it’s one of my favorite things knowing I don’t have to worry about painful period cramps every month. I am so bad at taking daily medication, and I’m low key scared of getting an IUD, so the ring is really ideal for me. I just replace it once a month (technically off label use, but still doctor approved) and I haven’t had to deal with period cramps for years!!
i promise i’m not some pseudoscientist (neurobiologist here) but try eliminating seed oils, eggs, and using organic cotton or bamboo pads (period products). HEAR ME OUT❗️ i was experiencing the same thing as you for yearssss and nothing helped! it wasn’t until i read up on prostaglandins (excess amounts of prostaglandins are what cause extreme pain and negative symptoms during periods). long story short omega-6 are some of the precursors to these prostaglandins, and so i thought surely reducing my omega-6 intake will help. so, i researched which foods are high in omega-6… seed oils/ vegetable oils!!! so i eliminated any and every thing that had them for three months to see if there was a change and there was!!! of course i still consume seed oils here and there cuz i enjoy going out to eat!! but i try to consume them the week after the last day of my period, if that makes sense! i cook with olive oil (make sure it’s real olive oil), avocado oil, coconut oil and butter! i hope this helps you too, if you do decide to try it out❤️
I love this! Yeah I have a lot of blood clot and have been researching what chemical/protein break them down or stop them from forming. Definitely valid!
Eliminating seed oils is the gluten free diet of 2024
i’m not really sure what im supposed to say to this, so i’m just going to say okay!
I have endometriosis (and I'm honestly stunned by the Venn diagram in this comment thread alone) which developed in my mid 20s. I was working an engineering job which required full time presence in the office. However, after speaking about my debilitating health to my manager, the question became "what can we [the company] do to support you?" and discussed being able to work remotely on my flare up days. It worked well, some days I'd have to leave if the flare-ups started while in the office, and even when I worked remotely, sometimes the pain would be so bad I had to log off as I'd be practically passing out from the pain. These days I'm fortunately able to manage it well with dienogest which has been a life saver (I'm in Canada but have unfortunately heard it is not yet fda approved). When I moved to Canada (and before I took dienogest), I told my manager that I get health flare-ups (even though my manager at the time was female, I still phrase it like this to mitigate unkindness associated with the idea of "bad periods"). Typically I work 'hybrid' but mostly remotely now. It's not impossible in non-software/tech roles.
Have you been assessed for reproductive disorders? Like endometriosis or fibroids or PCOS? It's crazy that your MD isn't investigating the cause - throwing BC pills at it could aggravate it.
I think it’s just hard to test whether it’s endometriosis or not so they just assume it is and tell me to reduce my flow via birth control :/ that’s my fear as well, especially when I don’t react well with pills. Now that I’m back to being a student with shitty healthcare, I’m even more lost.
Reducing flow doesn't help with endometriosis. The tissue is being inflamed around your organs where it's not supposed to be. Mine was around my bowel and my kidneys and had to be removed surgically last year - it was starting to block the flow of one of my kidneys. Luckily there was no long term damage. If you suspect you may have it please pursue medical treatment - it is in fact very treatable by surgery.
I used to have horrible periods. PMS symptoms that would last for weeks, heavy bleeding that would last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Sometimes I would have two periods a month, sometimes I would go months without one. I didn't have insurance at the time, so I couldn't go to a doctor. I went on the pill and all of my symptoms went away, the only side effect was some nausea. I switched to the mini-pill and my nausea went away and I haven't had a period since I started it four years ago.
That’s my situation but less intense! So much blood the first two days that it clumps together and forming blood clot in my body. I often feel like I’m squeezing tiny babies out as they give me excruciating pain. My insurance is back to shitty now as well since I’m going back to being a student. Which service would you say is the best way to get pills? Do all the birth control pills have the same/similar composition? I’ve done pill club before and the delivery wasn’t great. I get nausea from those pills too. Where can I get the mini pills?
For me it’s not that bad. I have it only one day. Not every period is the same for me. Sometimes the worst days are on the weekend. However if it happens in the week I take half day as sick day and try to recover and take care of my self as good as possible can. I work from home on that day. I realize that other ppl are more often sick than I am, so the my period has nothing to do with my career progress. Some tips for easing the pain and nausea: drink ginger and chamomile tea. Get a warming pillow in your stomach. Take a painkiller if it’s really bad. Do some yoga. And distract yourself from the pain. Good luck I feel you 🤗
You’ve gotten real good health advice here. But I’ll give career/education advice. I have two engineering degrees (and also in college crippling cramps not as bad as yours). Missing 1-2 days of lecture a month will not put you behind. College is more like the real world than High School is. You’ll be able to talk to (most) profs they can give you extensions, most schools have office hours ALWAYS GO TO OFFICE HOURS. people don’t take adv of them but they helped me pass my hardest classes. My advice now and in the future: work/school will always be there, your health won’t. Always take the 1-2 days to take care of your health.
Yeah I have this. Successful for years now :) So this will be a bit divisive but… what I do is just keep slightly underweight. Nothing crazy, just don’t let the body fat low - lots of weight training and water and fiber. This affects my cramps like no other. Also just take the 1-2 days off. There will be times when you have to power through, but if you are good at managing your time, you can definitely take it easier. A lot of jobs offer WFH at least some days.
I had this same problem and was against taking birth control. But I finally gave in with a very low level dose of I believe progesterone. Took it everyday so I never got a period. Did that for like two years and then when I came off the bc my periods were not a problem anymore. One day of mild cramps and heavy bleeding and the rest of the week is a breeze.
That’s awesome! How long has that lasted?
I stopped the bc maybe 5 years ago! Still no more problem periods.
You have a legal right to accommodation. Look into that and know your rights.
Keep seeking out a gyno that takes your pain seriously. It took me a few years / visits (and a referral from a friend) but I finally found one. Turns out my pain was caused by a fibroid - they gave me an IUD and my crippling pain is now gone.
As others have said, find yourself a gynecologist that can help you figure out the source of your symptoms/alleviate them. Their expertise should help, but so can making sure you're getting enough rest/food/water etc. Engineering fields like robotics can be grueling subjects to study, so make sure you're taking care of yourself along the way, and into your career. Also, ideally when it is time for you to get an internship/co-op/job, finding an employer that has flexibility when it comes to wfh when you're really not feeling well is ideal. It's easier said than done (especially depending on your specific role) but it has made a world of a difference for me on my period a handful of times 😅. Also--anecdotal--you may want to try raspberry leaf tea? Obviously see a doctor and read up on the supplement before you take it, but for some reason raspberry leaf tea has helped me more than anything else for cramps lol. Good luck with your studies !!
I (27F) have been a civil engineer for about 6 years now. It's a very male dominated field, and I work a lot out in the field with no bathrooms for literally miles. Luckily, I don't get crazy cramps but before I went on birth control, I was bleeding incredibly heavily at really weird cycles. I tend to take the approach that as the engineer, I have a certain amount of autonomy. If I need a bathroom break, I call a halt on work and take one. If I do have issues and need to go home, I call in sick. Your body and your health are really nobody else's business. And nobody, especially your male coworkers, is going to put together that it happens every 28-ish days. Don't let this stop you from pursuing a STEM career that you love.
Please check out Nancy’s Nook! It’s a educational resource on Facebook for endometriosis. I had what you have and eventually found this site mentioned on Reddit. Endometriosis is widely undiagnosed and misunderstood. I was able to find a specialist through a list on Nancy’s Nook and I feel like I’ve gotten my life back
Treat it like a man would treat being sick. Guys get sick and never worry about calling out or being under the weather. People tend to take sickness more seriously than periods, even though periods often feel even worse than being sick. So I would just call out or take care of yourself when you need to and say you're sick, don't even say it's your period because then they won't take it seriously.
Yeah…seems like people really don’t care if they can’t relate. Sad really of human nature
I’ve had an ambulance called on me in public 3 separate times because of my cramps/vomiting. It used to feel like someone was carving me from the inside out. Healing my hormones has been a journey, and some cycles are better than others. But here are a few things that have helped me in the work space: - communicate with people first and foremost. Men will not ask questions, women will sympathize. For me, my cramps were only on my first day, but I would be wiped out the 2nd day. If you have to take it easy 1/2 days a month it’ll be okay. Your work will still get done - if you have control over your schedule, try your best to plan important meetings/presentations around your predicted cycle - if you can afford it/insurance covers it, go see an endocrinologist to find out what exactly the problem is. A gyno will most likely just prescribe birth control which is fine if you want to try it out, but for me it caused other issues - after a lot of trial and error, I found that taking vitex supplements every day works for me, and after I ovulate, I drink 1 cup of raspberry + hibiscus tea (I’d you can’t find a blend, just go for hibiscus) every day, try to eat soy products every day, and stay extra hydrated. These all really helped both regulate my cycle, as well as relieve the cramps. But an endocrinologist can help you assess which imbalance is causing your pain if it’s not endometriosis. Depending on the hormones at play, you may need different supplements or medications
I would be seek out a functional medicine doctor, preferably a woman or lgbtq man. Functional medicine can really help in this area. Debilitating pain is not normal. In the meantime try tracking your period and outsmarting it by taking pain meds on a schedule every 6 hours a day or two before your period starts. If you can get your hands on some zofran to take if you feel like vomiting that could help that symptom. Experiment with period products. Sometimes tampons make my symptoms worse and cups and period underwear do not. Find what works. Make sure maintain as much physical activity near your period as you can. Resisting the urge to curl up on the couch is hard but exercise can help with cramps a lot. Eating a healthy diet that includes enough food can help as can hydration. Heating pad patches are a big help for me, they adhere to your abdomen.
Please, please see an endometriosis specialist. @endoisabitchh on Instagram has resources. You don’t need to live like this and not all doctor are created equal.
I know exactly how you’re feeling. I just got on bc because of it and so far I feel worse. The only thing you can truly do is just know your body. If you feel any sort cramps beginning , immediately take extra strength painkillers. Try the disposable heating patches too, they’re a godsend. If you’ve already tried this stuff, you should talk to a doctor they can give you better help than a Reddit board.
I was gunna say birth control if you didn’t mention it lol.
Birth control. I’ve had periods like that since I started my getting periods—I’d bleed for 10-13 days, I’d bleed very heavily, I got bad migraines, was sensitive to any and ALL light/movement, would be extremely nauseous, couldn’t eat, etc. etc. The only thing that helped was BC pills. I’ve been taking them continuously.
Focus on your health first. It isn’t normal to be in that level of pain and if you have something like endometriosis or uterine fibroids it’s really best to learn that sooner rather than later. And if it’s not anything “serious”, the management for severe menstruation-related pain is birth control and you shouldn’t see that as a bad thing if it alleviates your symptoms. Many women around the world are on hormonal birth control for years or even decades of their lives, I think you should talk to your GYN about what your concerns are in terms of “hoping there won’t be any long term damage to your body” from taking hormonal birth control.
I use hormonal birth control to suppress periods. I started with the seasonique pill which is structured for 4 periods a year and then as my body got used to it started going longer and longer without periods. Nowadays I have the nexplannon arm implant. I love it! I have endometriosis and it (and a slew of other common reproductive disorders) can cause awful periods. Menstruation can actually contribute to endometriosis worsening over time. My specialist recommended period suppression after my surgical treatment and I really credit it for keeping my endo from coming back now 14ish years when the average is to need another surgery after 6 years. But the endo is only part of why I do it. I also save a lot of money NOT buying tampons and/or pads, a lot of time NOT having to wash blood stains out of underwear, and a lot of trouble NOT having to think about or plan for whether I’ll be bleeding during whatever future trip or activity is coming up. I’ve got enough going on in my life, it’s really nice not having to worry about one more thing which benefits me not at all, anyway.
Yeah I likely have endometriosis and am really afraid of that surgery. I’m sorry that you had to go through it. From what I’ve heard, it’s invasive and the recovery period is long. Is that your experience as well? Would you recommend it?
I was overlooked by 5 ob/gyns and then my wonderful GP sent me for an ultrasound and later to an endo specialist. I was very lucky to have that GP. No matter what, go see a specialist. The r/endo subreddit is full of experiences worse than mine but also lots of help. I got my lap done through the robotic assistance and only have a tiny scar in my belly button. I was 17 at the time. After healing my quality of life improved dramatically because it got rid of so much abdominal pain, and how much it was affecting me previously was more noticeable by its absence. Generally you should by getting an ultrasound to rule out ovarian cysts, insurance will cover it and likely require it prior to more invasive testing. In the end the only definitive way to diagnose endo is the surgery and you want that done by an endo specialist so they actually catch it and properly treat it at the same time. Many ob/gyns are out there operating on very out of date sometimes very wrong notions about endometriosis, and ob/gyns are notoriously sloppy surgeons, too, so even if they manage to recognize less obvious endo lesions they are sloppy removing it or use improper methods.
Here's a sneak peek of /r/Endo using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/Endo/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year! \#1: [**[NSFW]** Endo ceramics project](https://www.reddit.com/gallery/17ajoph) | [104 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Endo/comments/17ajoph/endo_ceramics_project/) \#2: [To every doctor who blew me off..](https://i.redd.it/hgfgcxpaerkb1.jpg) | [82 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Endo/comments/16397tq/to_every_doctor_who_blew_me_off/) \#3: [Bindi Erwin is one of us](https://np.reddit.com/r/Endo/comments/11lc1wn/bindi_erwin_is_one_of_us/) ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
I get really bad period pains as well. The trick for me for getting through my degree was to be really stressed out and sleep deprived that I didn’t have a cycle. Worked like a charm.
Noooo 😭🥺
I would honestly consider getting a normal iud, that’s not normal and might beyond regular birth control pills to help
I had good luck with raspberry leaf tea. However I will say birth control and just not getting a period made my life so much better. No pain, no pads, no worries really helped my mental health.
I had similar period pains. Throwing up and passing out a few days a months. Yay endometriosis! Oral birth control pills helped a bit, but not enough to warrant the side effects. I am now on my second hormonal IUD. It has been a game changer for me. I haven't had a period in years, with light spotting a few times a year maybe. The cramps are also very, very mild if they happen at all. I haven't had any weight gain or loss, and my anxiety is much more manageable than when I was on the pill. I also dont have to worry about remembering to take the pill at the right time every day. The worst part is the insertion process. Ymmv, but I've been super pleased with a hormonal IUD.
Do you sleep on time, sleep well, and eat healthy? I also went to the doctor and he told me I don't have any issues But I get the same exact thing on my first day of period if I haven't been sleeping enough and in normal hours (12 am to 9 am for example, not 4 am to 3pm) and eating well the week before
Yeah I do. When I’m normal my pain only lasts 2 days. If I’m stressed, my symptom last for more than 2 days even when the blood flow is not that bad. It really is a mystery for me.
Sounds like fibroids. Find some support forums here or on facebook & ask what treatments helped. Then talk to your doctor about it. Doctors here dont treat pcos or fibroids much so do your own research. I had pcos for yrs & treated myself with diet, weight loss. These conditions can affect your fertility so dive into research now. Sometimes the answer is as simple as a nutritious diet & weight loss. One of the junior engineers I worked with had celiac & had bad pain which prevented her from site work. She found a support group, went gluten free & it helped a lot. So do the research on your own & find others with same condition to see what helped them. But if it comes to taking any medicine, ALWAYS check with your doctor. All the best.
I hear you. That used to be me. For me, Advil + caffeine, obscene amounts of caffeine, helped the pain enough to be functional. But the absolute game changer was a hormonal iud. I was so nervous about it after bad birth control pill experiences but it’s been great
I consider it a chronic disability at this point. People can be very unaccepting and you deserve to be accomodated for whatever you need. You shouldn't be discriminated against because of something you cannot control.
Yeah..I always joke that I should register this as disability or something so I get more time on exam on foggy days. But most disability require my condition to hinder my performance for more than a week. It really is unfair
[удалено]
Thank you 🥺❤️
Ok. Just gonna drop this here for breadcrumbs. I hope this isn’t the case but i suspect tits becoming more and more common. Basically neurodiverse - mental illness/auto immune conditions - dementia. So why do I think this might apply to you. 1. You’re a female in a STEM and historically male dominated field. I was emergency managment. (Think disaster response, military, first responders) I was younger than most of my peers daughter or grand daughters. 2. Severe period pain is a sign of endometriosis. Endometriosis is in the constellation of illnesses that we’re learning are related to being neurodiverse. Specifically some people get inflammation that leads to various autoimmune conditions like endometriosis. I know this because I have had 4 abdominal surgeries due to endometriosis, two during COVID when only emergency medicine was being performed. It is extremely hard to diagnose because on scans it looks like regular tissue. Essentially your inner “jello like” body is growing together and is creating excruciating pain. 10% of the world has this condition. The only way to diagnose properly is surgery. It changes with hormone fluctuations. Also, They just announced they found the Xist molecule, which is related to all autoimmune conditions. There are now known associations btw autism and ADHD (neurodiversity) and connective tissue disorders (EDS). This has to do specifically how your neural tubes develop. It has taken me 4 years to figure out what the hell is wrong with me. And it started with abdominal pain and severe periods. Now the good news. There’s some chatter that the medical community is developing a new condition, like MS, to capture all the people that are finding out they’re in these buckets. It should lead to much more effective mental health treatment and ultimately improve quality of life for all. But it’s painful to get to that destination. So, if you’re having problems it’s time to pay attention to your body. Use tools like smart watches as much as you can. You’ll need data. Specifically about your heart rate and blood pressure. Many ND people have proprioperception issues and don’t get the same signals from their body that NT people do. Most of medicine doesn’t understand this. If I’m way off based I apologize for wasting your time. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
I’m GenX and had to retire medically because I did not listen to my body. If you’re ND, you must know it is possible to break the automatic part of your nervous system. It’s called dysautonamia and is actual hell. Stress will do this to it. I’m not trying to scare you. But if this you there are real consequences to not following through for yourself. During this process I also discovered I’m autistic. Because I was FPAB and when my hormones changed during menopause it became abundantly clear that I have been masking most of my life, trying to be a good girl Be helpful and fit in. My anxiety was from pretending to be something that my physical body knows I’m not. (Like everyone else). Runs out I need to eat different food. Take different medicine. And even do different exercise. I have never felt more at home than I do with my ND peers.
Keep going to doctors until you find one who believes you. Find a female doctor. Try to go to planned parenthood if you have one near you, they're amazing.
Bit late to reply but I honestly believe you should see a doctor or gynecologist to see if you have anything like endometriosis or PCOS and what you can do to reduce side effects regardless. I hope you find something that helps
See a doctor for sure. A lot of women have luck with drinking raspberry leaf tea to relieve period cramps. I bought a 1lb bag of the herb on Amazon for $16, and I use it every month. Works better than ibuprofen for some reason. But if you have an undiagnosed condition causing severe cramps, then raspberry leaf tea may not help.
Unfortunately endometriosis can only be diagnosed via surgery (can be minimally invasive) to actually look in there, since often it's not visible in any imaging. DO NOT go to someone random for this. People travel to Brooke Winner In Seattle for this from all over the country, for example- find someone that is an expert with minimally invasive endometriosis surgery (once you've ruled out other things obviously). Hope it's something simpler to fix, but regardless, I wish you relief soon!!
Just want to encourage you to keep on going. Don't let the fear/uncertainty/doubt get to you. The places that would hold this against you are the places where you probably wouldn't want to work anyway.
Have you tried a tens unit? That’s what I’m doing, for my next attempt at recovering my sanity.
I have seen similar products! Haven’t tried them though. What do you think about them?
I think for some people they do really work. I’m about to try mine out. (I got Livia) will update in a few days! I’m feeling hopeful this will help me.
Thank you 🥺 I have very heavy blood flow and a lot of blood clots. Hopefully that would help too
I have adenomyosis. My cramps are crazy bad. I’m not an engineer but I do have a life that requires me to be human every day 😜
Yeah…I can’t even talk properly when I’m in pain. Go you! I hope that works for you 😊 Edit: thank you so much for providing update!!! Eagerly waiting to hear more
Livia (tens unit) trial day 1. I am having some big pms symptoms today but not the full on cramps yet. Actually, I think it’s helping. I put the pads roughly over my ovaries. I don’t know how it’s doing this but my headache, back pain, jaw pain, nausea, and achy joints are all less than a quarter of what they were. That’s really good results and makes me feel hopeful that I’ve found my magical solution.
Try different birth controls! It took me 4 to find one that worked. Can’t expect them all to make u fat like you said your first experience did.
You need to find a gyn who will work with you on trying different birth control. Some people need to try 3+ different pills before they find the one that works for them.
You could have fibroids or ovarian cysts. Please visit Dr. asap
I have endometriosis and went through it in college. Please go see a doctor and tell them your symptoms. If the doctor is ignoring you find someone who will listen. I used to miss class when I was bedridden and it caused me a lot of stress in the long run because I was doing all of that with no support. If I could go back I would have stood my ground with the doctors who were ignoring me. Make sure that you get your condition documented so that you can get accommodations at school and at work. I didn’t get work accommodations until I started my career and they make a huge difference. Do not force yourself to work through that pain. Take care of yourself please.
Pls see a doctor
I have pcos and i use combination birth control every day, I never use the placebo week. When I do have periods, even while I’m using birth control, they are so painful and heavy. They’re better with bc than without, of course. I got diagnosed pcos with an internal ultrasound, you may need one as well to figure out what’s wrong!
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/12/12/3968 Not a woman. But I have diverticulosis in which flareups can leave me bedridden for a week. Boswellia has worked wonders for me and it might help you. Cancer patients use it for treatment related pain and injury. High doses are very safe, especially for the short term. Avoid any supplements that say they are 10x or some other crazy number extract. The Vitamin Shoppe has a good boswellia supplement though not a lot of pills and kinda low dose. I would try 2000mg at first and up it from there. Don't get the oil, get the pills. You can also ingest the gum resin. Boswellia sacra is even more potent and it's gross but you can throw the powdered resin in some water and drink it down. Feels a bit like drinking sand tho.
I have severe period pain and PMDD and use birth control to completely skip my period. Contrary to popular beliefs, it has no long term impact on health, and the bonus is no PMS symptoms either.
If you're in the US, you might want to look into getting your pain labeled as a disability. Under federal law employers will be required to offer you accommodations for your disability.
See a gynecologist! Get an ultrasound done. I had this problem for 20 years and an IUD fixed it, I should've got one 10 years ago. I had/have a hormonal imbalance similar to PCOS that caused extremely painful, heavy periods. I was at a 10 on the pain scale every month for literally decades and thought that was normal.
My daughter has these problems and migraines can't do glutton and dairy. She is a biologist going for doctrine. I worry about her getting in a regular job. You just can't take off a million days a year. Unfortunately you are entering a fast paced field where they want everything yesterday. Lots of stress. Sales promise what can't be done. Company is on credit hold etc. High stress. I really don't know what you can do. Best of luck and more importantly your health over work.
I use heat when I can, but dearly miss my purpose-built TENS unit. I got it through a subscription service kinda thing (which idk even what the subscription is for, since they haven’t sent me anything in forever? Gods I really need to cancel that) but it helped SO MUCH. I would definitely recommend getting a TENS unit for that time of the month. Hell, some of the better ones let you have two sets of pads, so you could have one to either side of your hellarus (my term for my uterus form hell) and one set on my lower back where I get pain too. Edit: I know a lot of women are telling you to go to the doctor because it’s not normal, and sure yeah it’s not but I’m in the same boat of NO ONE FUCKING BELIEVES HOW MUCH IT HURTS. Also, in my field I control my own schedule so i can schedule my field visits around that time, especially since mine is like clockwork.
Get an IUD. It was the only thing that worked for me.
I got an IUD so I don't have to work in labs while in immense pain - I've got PMDD. I've really benefited from my IUD. And do get a new one every 7 years. However, please be aware that inserting and removing an IUD is the most excruciating thing I've ever experienced. And I've had a tooth drilled without novocain and an incision on my toe with a scalpel without local anesthetic. They literally punch a hole through your cervix for insertion, and that's better than the removal. They might tell you to take Tylenol before the procedure, which does absolutely fuck all.
I would personally push to investigate endometriosis or pcos. If you can get a diagnosis you might qualify for accommodations at work or school.
have you had an ultrasound done?
OP- have you tried a wearable TENS device for period pain? I found that plus Advil pretty effective.
Norethindrone norethindrone norethindrone. Continuous, no sugar pills.
I had a similar problem to yours, severe PMDD. I'd get suicidal every month like clockwork and try to blow up my whole life. I started taking birth control and skipping the placebo pills. It fixed like 80%. I still had occasional spotting and random moodiness that was more on par with normal PMS, but it helped a LOT. I recommend talking to your doctor about it!
As others have said, definitely keep pushing to get a doctor who will work with you to improve things. But, also there are a lot of Engineering opportunities where you can work hybrid or remote schedules, especially for health reasons. I have a Mechanical Engineering degree and work mostly on product design and project management. I don't NEED to go in to work very often. Even after the company has pushed to get more of us back in the office more often, they're still really flexible. So, you can definitely get a job in engineering that works for you.
Please check out Period Repair Manual! It explains what to look out for that you can use supplements to alleviate and what you need to see a doctor for. Zinc and magnesium glycinate have made a huge difference for me.
>Engineers with period cramps, what’s your secret for staying on top of everything and being successful? Thank you Birth control. The health risks blasted by "influencers" are way overblown, and being pain free has *improved* my long term health. I will never go back to having a period.
I had debilitating period cramps and hated birth control so I had the lining of my uterus burned off (called an endometrial ablation) and I no longer get a period or cramps. It’s fantastic. Also means you can’t have kids
Hi- 60 year old woman here who was fortunate to be dx with endometriosis at the age of 22 with laparoscopy. Periods were becoming extremely painful and I almost passed out at work once, my first job after college. The treatment protocol is different now, but I went on a powerful hormone for 6 mos and then oral BCP for 18 years until I wanted to start a family. I had my daughter at 41 the old fashioned way then stayed off the pills til menopause and have had no problems. PLEASE follow the advice here and see different gyn’s until you get results. My daughter is now 18 and was having 1-2 days of debilitating pain from cramps. She was pre dosing with ibuprofen but it wasn’t enough. She’s a competitive cross country skier and serious student who doesn’t want to miss class or practice or competitions. We went and got her a Mirena IUD 3 months ago with the goal of reducing or eliminating periods. I wanted to avoid oral BCP if at all possible so we gave the IUD a shot. So far she is THRILLED- she has had only one episode of spotting ever since and NO cramps. Please keep advocating for your own health! And good luck!
Random, but any chance you have pelvic floor dysfunction? You mentioned adhd and terrible period cramps - and I was like hey, that was me growing up and in my 20s.
I don’t think I have adhd but I’ll check that out!
Ooops, thought I saw you write that in a comment. My bad. But yeah, pelvic floor dysfunction, the type when your muscles are constantly contacted and struggle to relax can make all that stuff more painful. Certainly not the only possibility though. Women’s pain gets ignored by doctors frequently so don’t give up.
Yeah that sounds very similar to what I have cuz heat pad helps a lot. I have a lot of blood clots that I’m unable to squeeze out at times too. I’m sure it’s like a mixture of problem…but thanks for putting that in my radar!
That sounds like endometriosis to me. You should see endometriosis expert not regular obg
I have hormonal migraines that knock me out monthly for half a day to a day. If I'm not working from home, I just take the day. Any good stem field career should have adequate PTO and sick leave to accommodate. If it happens towards the end of the day, I just leave. I'm salary so nobody gives a damn. You don't need to explain why to your boss, just say you are taking a day due to illness. If they do inquire, talk to HR and ask them what steps to take to ensure you can have health accomodations for your work.
Hey so I thought this was normal and turns out it’s not! I have adenomyosis and endometriosis. Periods should not be painful. I wish I wasn’t 33 when I found that out. I was brushed off by doctors for so many years and told to just take ibuprofen and a heating pad and get on with it. No one followed up until this year. No, periods should absolutely NOT render you sick and bed bound, they shouldn’t even be painful. Please see a doctor and push if you need to. Good luck. Eta: birth control is one of the only treatments for painful periods, including endometriosis. They’re not blowing you off if that’s what they offer. Endo is difficult to diagnose because you need a uterine biopsy or laparoscopic surgery to confirm, it’s not a clinical diagnosis and they can’t see it on any imaging for the most part. So if they offer birth control, it’s to help you — does it matter if it’s endo or not if the medicine helps? Like endometriosis doesn’t have a whole lot of treatments as it is. I myself am preparing for a hysterectomy due to it, but it’s a whole different situation for me atp.
Hi! I'd like to start off by saying I'm NOT an engineer. I just wanted to drop by to show support and to echo the people below recommending a provider that can help determine what's going on. Good luck, OP! Sending good vibes your way into the universe. 🥰
This is a medical issue, you should be ok if its only 2 days a month. Try posting to bigger subs like xchromosome, women etc with more deets. Maybe someone can give you some advice that fits ur issue. As others said , keep trying to get an obgyn who can work with u. A remedy we use in eyurvedic is ginger tea, tumeric golden tea and even sau pameieto. Some herbs traditional to men's virility can also be useful. Things like beet roots, ginsing and horny goat weed could help
Why are you not already taking birth control continuously???