When Is Menstrual Pain No Longer Normal?
by Julia Gregory
Most women expect discomfort and cramp-related pain when they're approaching and starting their periods. Unfortunately, this expectation keeps many women from considering their pain to be a health problem. If you're experiencing high pain levels every month and haven't brought it up with a doctor, you should know that extreme pain isn't the norm and shouldn't be tolerated. Here are some signs that your menstrual pain isn't normal.
Interrupts Life
Menstrual pain should be minor enough that it doesn't get in the way of your daily life. Unfortunately, that's often not the case. Many women report having pain that's severe enough to make them miss work, school, or activities that they enjoy. If your pain level is this high, it isn't normal.
Pain Isn't Relieved with Over The Counter Medication
Over the counter pain relievers should provide significant pain relief for you when you're on your period. Medications like ibuprofen are extremely useful for reducing cramps, and the caffeine contained in pain relievers like Midol should help to reduce swelling and pain in places like the back.
If you're not having significant pain relief from these medications, that suggests that your pain level is too high to be fully controlled by these meds. Rather than reaching for something stronger or taking more pills, you should talk with a doctor to get to the root of your pain.
Bowel Pain
Many women with dysmenorrhea and endometriosis, two health conditions related to abnormal periods, report having bowel pain and diarrhea while on their periods. This is due to a variety of things, like abnormal hormone levels, severe cramps in the uterus irritating the colon, or in the case of endometriosis, uterine tissue that grows on the colon and cramps during one's period.
Neither of these conditions are normal, and neither is having diarrhea when you're on your period. If you've tried changing your diet and can't seem to control your diarrhea or bowel pain while you're on your period, you need to talk to a doctor.
Why You Should Get Help
Endometriosis and dysmenorrhea aren't the only two conditions you can develop that can cause period pain. Uterine cysts, ovarian cysts, and fibroids are also common conditions that can cause this kind of pain. The good news is, all of these conditions can be treated.
It's easy to feel like you're somehow at fault. You may have thought or even been told in the past that you have a low pain tolerance or need to suck it up, but that's not the case. Abnormal pain shouldn't be tolerated, and you don't have to suffer through it anymore. Talk to an ob-gyn to start the diagnostic process and to get the treatment you need to live a better life when you're on your period.
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About Me
The decision to move one of my parents into assisted living was one of the most difficult I have ever made. I had extreme feelings of guilt that led to me being at the facility with my parent practically around the clock. It took a few months before I realized that I could not let my own life fall apart from the guilt I was feeling. I also learned that my parent was fine without me constantly hovering around. Since that time, I have had several friends express similar feelings of guilt. I started this blog to help others in the same situation understand not only their feelings about assisted living, but those of their parents.