Cramps.

[Darth_Kitten]

:evilgrin: :(

I know, too much information. ;)

[flamingyouth]

1. Heating pad, chocolate, possibly a glass of wine

Works like a charm for me. :)

[Darth_Kitten]

2. I've just taken medication

waiting for it to kick in...... :evilgrin:

Chocolate would be nice...... :)

[NMDemDist2]

3. Aleve will relax "long muscles" also

but chocolate and red wine sound like more fun :D

[Darth_Kitten]

11. I took advil, so wine is out....but chocolate....

oh yes, gimme gimme. :)

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

4. GIRL

Oil of evening primrose pills, one twice a day. Up to three a day if necessary. Go to your store or health food store and find them, they aren't that expensive and work wonders!!!!!!

I take it all the time so that it is in my system and I noticed a HUGE difference. HUGE. Did I say huge?

I used to lay, curled up fetal-style, for an entire day, wishing for hard liquor and narcotic drugs and possibly death before I started taking the oil of evening primrose.

And my dr gave me an rx for 800 mg ibuprofen.

Since my uterus is strictly for decorative purposes only now (done with it, anyone want one? Used only once, in great shape), I am trying to talk him into yanking it. To no avail so far.

[Darth_Kitten]

6. I'll try to remember for next month.....

sometimes it's bad sometimes it isn't.... will check out the oil of primrose....

thanks!

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

8. Vitamin E

supplements help some women, too. Plus makes your hair shiny and your nails strong, who can beat that??

My mother always used to love her cramps, great excuse for her to hit the hootch.

[Skittles]

5. no, it's not TMI; it's a perfectly good subject

get a guy to give you a good backrub, yes INDEED. :D

[Darth_Kitten]

7. Yes. Need man. When better.

Right now need Chocolate I.V........STAT!!!! :evilgrin: ;)

[flamingyouth]

9. Oh right on!

And then there's that other great cramp-relieving method.:D

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

12. What other method?

[Skittles]

21. non-invasive fooling around can take your mind off of pain

oh yes.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

27. Yeah

cause I always feel in the mood for THAT when I have cramps, LOL!

I've heard that too, but damn if that isn't the last thing on my mind then.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

45. The fun method

;-)

[Skittles]

20. oh yeah

YES INDEED!!! :thumbsup:

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

10. Can I tell a funny story?

It's not too gross.....would it be TMI? Can people handle it? Will wait for answers...

[Darth_Kitten]

13. Forgive my ignorance, what is TMI?

:shrug: :D

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

14. Too Much Information

[flamingyouth]

15. I want to hear it!

:D

[Skittles]

24. me too

nt

[Darth_Kitten]

16. Duh. Thanks.

:thumbsup: :D

[Darth_Kitten]

18. Goferit!!!!

please..... :)

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

25. Ok two of them

when my husband and I were still dating, we went to Astro World in Houston. Went on one of those big rafty rides with loads of BIG WAVES whoosing over you, you know? Well we went to the bathroom afterwards because we were SOAKEd and while I was in there, I noticed my panty liner was missing. Not on my back or anything, but GONE. (Fortunately it was just there just in CASE, so this isn't as gross as it sounds!)

I was kinda horrified but I came out and we walked over the bridge that went over the ride and saw people staring, pointing and laughing at one of the rafts that had come back. There is was. Right in the middle of the bench people sit on, clear as day. (Like I said, nothing on it, so not THAT disgusting!) My then boyfriend pointed it out and laughed pretty hard. I laughed, too. Ha ha hee hee, oh hee hee, wonder whose that is? Hee hee. Let's go!

The second story was more recent. I was teaching and didn't realize I would need as much protection as I needed. As a result, I realized about two hours before school was out that I had a MAJOR PROBLEM. It was Friday so I was wearing jeans. I tried to make up a homemade thingie, but that didn't work too well. It was literally a matter of resorting to untucking the shirt and walking around very very carefully so as not to give myself away. I literally had to put paper down on my van seat when I drove home.

Got home, husband sitting on couch says "How was your day?" I plant one foot up on the coffee table, smile and show him. He choked on his Dr. Pepper. It was almost to my KNEES at that point. The good part was he felt VERY VERY VERY sorry for me and I milked that sympathy a lot.

[flamingyouth]

28. OMG! Those are crazy stories!

I never leave the house unprepared ever since that traumatizing day in 8th grade.:cry: Never felt comfortable in light-colored pants since.:scared:

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

31. I am a little retarded

despite my IQ. Teaching is hard because you can't just leave the room whenever you want or need to, ya know? Who is going to leave 27 eighth graders unsupervised longer than they have to?

Plus they've been getting worse since I've gotten older, that's why I keep trying to talk my dr into yanking the uterus. I don't want it anymore, leave everything else, but yank that. I won't miss it.

[flamingyouth]

34. A hysterectomy is pretty major

Unless you're really, really debilitated by cramps, like my friend with severe endometriosis, I'd give that some serious thought.:hi:

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

37. I'm actually

probably getting endometrial ablation. It works wonderfully, apparently, and doesn't involve yanking stuff.

They are pretty debilitating and I have a very high tolerance for pain. They get worse every year and I am only 33. So the ablation is for me, it seems! Just three hours total in the doctor's office (outpatient)!!! Wheeee!!!

[flamingyouth]

38. I had an operation last year

When I was 34, for fibroids. You're too young to suffer like this. I've heard that the ablation is great. Good luck!:hi:

[BuddhaGirl]

46. Moonbeam_Starlight....

having your uterus removed is pretty drastic, as another poster stated. I would suggest you check into natural progesterone cream...it's a transdermal progesterone that helps balance out hormone levels. It has been used successfuly to treat fibroids, endometriosis, severe pms etc. For example, one of my co-workers has uterine fibroids and painful, heavy periods, and surgery was recommended by her doc. She decided to try the progesterone cream and is now much improved. She has decided against surgery.

I recommend the following excellent book: "What your Doctor May Not Tell you about Pre-Menopause: Balance Your Hormones and Your Life from Thirty to Fifty" by John Lee, Jesse Hanley, Virginia Hopkins.

It has loads of good info on balancing hormone levels with supplements, progesterone and diet/lifestyle changes.

Good luck :-)

[yvr girl]

39. A friend of mine has a worse story...

Has anyone used Instead. Good in some ways, but changing them is icky. Also, you become vulnerable during certain, usually mundane activities such as sneezing, coughing etc.

My friend was walking down a very busy street, wearing a skirt. She had a violent sneeze that tipped the contents which ran down her leg and onto the street. She still had about 4 blocks until she got home.

As far as remedies go - try a bath, really hot, just short of scalding. Be careful though, during one 'treatment' I passed out in the tub, with only my face out of the water.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

41. Are

Instead those cup thingies you put in there? I used those for a while. I was a bit grossed out by all the excessive handling I had to do.

[flamingyouth]

42. Yeah, that was a little too much for me too

And after hearing the story above, well...:scared:

[yvr girl]

43. Exactly

You feel pretty clean while you're wearing them. But after you change one, it's like you've had an encounter with Freddie Kruger.

[trof]

17. I Enjoy Being a Girl

Oh boy, is this from a long time ago.
Flower Drum Song.
Miz t. sez the best thing about "having my bits out" (hysterectomy) was not having to go through that anymore.
Sorry yer sufferin'. Maybe this will perk ya up a little.
:hi:

I Enjoy Being a Girl

I'm a girl, and by me that's only great!
I am proud that my silhouette is curvy,
That I walk with a sweet and girlish gait
With my hips kind of swivelly and swervy.

I adore being dressed in something frilly
When my date comes to get me at my place.
Out I go with my Joe or John or Billy,
Like a filly who is ready for the race!

When I have a brand new hairdo
With my eyelashes all in curl,
I float as the clouds on air do,
I enjoy being a girl!

When men say I'm cute and funny
And my teeth aren't teeth, but pearl,
I just lap it up like honey
I enjoy being a girl!

I flip when a fellow sends me flowers,
I drool over dresses made of lace,
I talk on the telephone for hours
With a pound and a half of cream upon my face!

I'm strictly a female female
And my future I hope will be
In the home of a brave and free male
Who'll enjoy being a guy having a girl... like... me.

When men say I'm sweet as candy
As around in a dance we whirl,
It goes to my head like brandy,
I enjoy being a girl!

When someone with eyes that smoulder
Says he loves ev'ry silken curl
That falls on my iv'ry shoulder,
I enjoy being a girl!

When I hear the compliment'ry whistle
That greets my bikini by the sea,
I turn and I glower and I bristle,
But I happy to know the whistle's meant for me!

I'm strictly a female female
And my future I hope will be
In the home of a brave and free male
Who'll enjoy being a guy having a girl... like... me.

[Darth_Kitten]

19. Thanks!

:D

[yorgatron]

22. The Cramps

http://members.shaw.ca/thecramps/

[Skittles]

23. lucky is the gal who has trof

YES INDEED!!! :D

[proud patriot]

26. Primal Screams work for me

:evilgrin:

I actually walk around the house rubbing my tummy
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

29. Hee hee

I bought those thingies that you can stick to your underwear that sits against your skin and gets all hot, like a portable heating pad (does anyone know what I'm talking about?). And I wear that around all day. Feels gooooooood.

So I laughed when I read your post because I did that last time, kept pressing the warmness against me and moaning (that whole sympathy play thing).

[flamingyouth]

30. Yeah, those are great!

You can also get a piece of flannel and soak it in some castor oil, put it right on your skin, then put heat over it. It's an old-time method, but it really works for me.:hi:

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

33. Why does the castor oil

make it better I wonder? Any idea? Because that sounds like it is worth trying!

[flamingyouth]

36. I don't know

My doctor says it can help reduce swelling. Maybe it's all in my head, but it sure seems to help me.:hi:

[Darth_Kitten]

32. it's nice to get some sympathy here.....

:) I'm just waiting for that darn pain medication to kick in.... :(

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

35. Once my grandmother told me

what it was like to be a girl back in the day. She had three sisters and was born in 1926. They lived way out in the country and had a big bucket on the back porch with water and bleach in it and that's where they'd leave their homemade pads when they were done with them. Can you imagine cleaning that out? FIVE women total in that house and my great-uncle and my great-grandpa were the only guys.

She told me that apropos of nothing, too, so it was kind of weird, but fascinating. They used to sew theirs.

[yvr girl]

40. Yuck n/t

[Pithlet]

55. Ugh

Just one of the many reasons I'm glad I was born in the time I am. Although who knows, women of the future may not have to deal with it at all. They'll look back to our time and think "They had to go through THAT once a month! Ewwwww..."

One of the many benefits of breastfeeding is I'm not dealing with that right now. I haven't had a period since Jan of 2003.

[devilgrrl]

44. The Cramps???

Great band!!!!! :evilgrin:

[flamingyouth]

47. Teenage Goo-Goo Muck!

:D

[Bridget Burke]

51. The Mydolls opened for them Houston---years ago

At the Island. Houston's all-girl punk/nu-wave band started almost as a joke but got to be pretty good. They appeared briefly in Paris, Texas--shot in Houston.

The Cramps were excellent, of course--Grade Z Horror Movie Psychobilly. Who would have suspected that they'd still be touring in 2004? Perhaps they really are undead....

[Kat45]

52. The Cramps are still touring? Wonder if he still whips it out onstage?

That might be a bit too weird.

[Magrittes Pipe]

48. My favorite Cramps song is "Green Fuzz."

Dunno if that helps. :P

[mede8er]

49. Fascinating............

*

[Mandate My Ass]

50. Vitex agnus castus

Sold in most drug stores or vitamin stores usually just labelled vitex. About $6 a bottle for 60 tablets. I didn't hear about this until I was in my 30's. I would have saved myself a lot of suffering and a lot of sick days had I heard about it sooner. Takes about a month to get into your system but once it kicks in, cramps, bloating etc. are dramatically reduced.

I had a doc who wanted to put me on prozac for PMDD and then I found this herb and I am ecstatic with the results. Vitamin E also helps especially if you cut down the caffeine.

[RetroLounge]

53. Yes, I like the Cramps. Thank you for asking.

RL

[Coventina]

54. Heh, I just got out my copy of "Stay Sick"

Having cramps always makes me enjoy "Bikini Girls with Machine Guns" that much more!!!!

[bookfreak]

56. Some ideas

If you have a regular cycle and can predict your period try taking 800mg ibuprofen (Motrin) every 8 hours beginning 1 day before your period on through to the end of your period. Taking it prior to the start of your period can help stop the prostoglandins that create the cramps.

If that doesn't help or is not helpful enough:

Heating pad
Warm bath
Sex with orgasm
Chiropractic adjustment
Alcohol (if you have not been taking any meds)
The birth control pill can dramatically reduce monthly cramps, but also carries it's own risks

Unfortunately the Motrin just doesn't cut it for me for the more severe cramping so I have a prescription for Percocet.

Good luck