posted
I have always had terrible menstual cramps, but since getting sick they are soooooo much worse. Like multiplied by 100.
The pain is so bad at times that I get extremely sick to my stomach. Like I'm going to throw up.
There are even times when I physically cannot move because they are so severe. I can't even breathe, I have to hold my breath until it eases.
Now here's the strange part. When this happens, sometimes my tampon comes out. Completely out. I am not pushing to cause this. It just happens.
This has happened to me several times. I have not mentioned this to my doctor yet, but I will the next time I see her.
I guess I'm just wondering if this has happened to anyone else? And does anyone have any ideas what might lesson the cramping?
Thanks, July
Posts: 111 | From northeast Iowa | Registered: Oct 2006
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
-
I assume you've consulted your doctor and had ultrasounds done.
I hope you might be able to consult a naturopathic physician who is also an acupuncturist and SPECIALIZES in women's health, one who has lots of experience with this.
I've not had this problem for many years, but this is what helped me then:
a heating pad, of course
magnesium. Take it to bowel tolerance.
Also a good mineral and vitamin blend. Calcium needs to balance magnesium.
Be sure to get B-vitamins but not too late in the day except for B-6 which is more calming than the other B's.
Herbs such as Dong Quai, Angelica, etc.
Liver support as the liver plays a role in all this.
you might consult this book - most of it is on line:
Good luck. Sorry I can't be of more help. I lost a total of decades of my life to cramps. But, even before menopause came along, they had cleared up with the help of herbs and acupuncture.
Effects of Corydalis yanhusuo and Angelicae dahuricae on cold pressor-induced pain in humans: a controlled trial.
Yuan CS, Mehendale SR, Wang CZ, Aung HH, Jiang T, Guan X, Shoyama Y.
Tang Center for Herbal Medicine Research, Committee on Clinical Pharmacology, and Department of Anesthesia & Critical Care, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. Pain is considered the most common complaint worldwide for which patients seek treatment.
Conventional analgesic agents play an important role in modern pain therapy, but they cause several adverse effects. Therefore, newer and better analgesics continue to be investigated.
In this controlled clinical trial, the authors evaluated the analgesic effects of 2 herbal medicines, Corydalis yanhusuo and Angelicae dahuricae. They used the cold-pressor test-a simple, reliable, and widely used model in humans-for induction of tonic pain.
They demonstrated that after a single, oral administration of the extracts of C. yanhusuo and A. dahuricae, the pain intensity and pain bothersomeness scores significantly decreased (both P < .01).
Dose-related analgesic effect was also observed. Results from this study suggest that C. yanhusuo and A. dahuricae may have a potential clinical value for treating mild to moderate pain.
cantgiveupyet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8165
posted
Hey, the majority of my symptoms are in my pelvis, so i can relate.
Ok, what you describe with the tampon, really sounds like your pelvic floor muscles are in spasm. You probably have no clue what Im talking about.
BUT, I learned that my severe cramps were actually my PF muscles spasming. I have what they call High tone pelvic floor dysfunction.
The tampon pushing out really sounds like this.
What has helped me is valium suppositories(you have to get them specially compounded)
Im going to try to dig up a link on PFD....Just in case any of the other symptoms ring true with you. It doesnt mention the tampon thing, but I know it can happen with PFD.
Feel free to PM me as well.
Also good to go to the gyn and see if they can give you something stronger for the cramps and do a pelvic ultrasound to rule things out.
Keep in mind most gyn dont know about PFD at all, but urogynocologists should, so if your gyn doesnt know the answer dont panic.
-------------------- "Say it straight simple and with a smile."
"Thus the task is, not so much to see what no one has seen yet, But to think what nobody has thought yet, About what everybody sees."
-Schopenhauer
pos babs, bart, igenex WB igm/igg Posts: 3156 | From Lyme limbo | Registered: Oct 2005
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Hoosiers51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15759
posted
I have horrible menstrual cramps too.
I have noticed one thing that helps is not consuming ANY caffeine around this time. So, maybe the day before you expect to get your period, don't drink any coffee, tea, soda, etc. But especially while you are in the harder days of menstruation, do not reach for that cup of coffee.
I believe it is because caffeine causes the muscles to spasm. Also, no chocolate. It causes spasms too....don't know if it is the chocolate itself or the caffeine in the chocolate. (sorry. you can probably eat it when you are PMSing tough).
Keep in mind, a lot of over the counter period meds have caffeine as an ingredient, such as Midol. Read the ingrdients.
I take ibproufen, 4 or 5 pills, even though that is more than the bottle says. I have heard from a couple different sources this is safe, though no one should simply take my word on that, check it out for yourself.
Also, sometimes I will get in a hot bath, as hot as I can stand it. And, drinking soy milk helps (or eating soy nutrition bars). It kicks in faster than any pills do.
I know it is hard....good luck!
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
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disturbedme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 12346
posted
I have this too. You can look through the search and probably find a lot on this topic.
I get horrible menstrual cramps. It's weird though because sometimes they'll be horrible for months and months in a row and then out of nowhere I'll have a month with no cramps whatsoever, etc. I'm not sure why that is. And I don't consume caffeine, so that has nothing to do with it...
But when they are horrible, I end up taking Ibuprofen (2 or 3 of them every 6 hours). I've been told by a pharmacy that I could take up to 9 a day but to not go over that. On bad days, I have to keep taking Ibuprofen and constantly have a heating pad on my tummy.
-------------------- One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. ~ Helen Keller
My Lyme Story Posts: 2965 | From Land of Confusion (bitten in KS, moved to PA, now living in MD) | Registered: Jun 2007
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sparkle7
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10397
posted
Yes. I also have very bad cramps. I had them all of my life. I have tried almost ever natural-type remedy known to woman & none of them seemed to help (Chinese medicine, dong quai, red raspberry leaf tea, etc.).
The only think that even touches the pain for me is Vicodin.
The other ladies have suggested some interesting solutions. I've been to many gyns & none of them ever mentioned ultrasound or valium suppositories.
I think the reason why cramps may be worse with Lyme is that it wacks out your hormonal balance. I was taking bio-identical hormone replacement but I recently stopped. I wasn't sure if it was really working anymore.
There's also the issue of xenoestrogens. There's some good info from a Dr. Lee (who's now deceased) about using progesterone cream. You can buy some brands without a prescription.
I find tampons incredible uncomfortable so I've stopped using them. Some people find they have chemicals sensitivities to pads & tampons. There are some brands you can buy at the health food store without the chemicals.
It's come to be "the monthly horror" for me. I used a birth control pill called Seasonale for a while but I don't think they are a good idea. You only get your period 4 times a year - so, it was great but I also gained 40 lbs.
They really don't know what the long term side effects will be from these things so I wouldn't recommend this method of treatment.
I'm actually looking into going back & trying the herbs again for hormone balance. I posted a thread of a number of herbal remedies for hormones about a month ago.
Kelp seems to be the "herb" that I keep reading about in regards to balancing the hormones. There are a number of good ones such as liquorice root, black cohosh, and others.
Herbs have always been the best long term treatment for me. Drugs are very helpful but I'm more inclined towards the herbs for lasting solutions.
Posts: 7772 | From Northeast, again... | Registered: Oct 2006
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cantgiveupyet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8165
posted
well, im now going thru this today :-( blah!!!!
with me it feels like i have to have a BM with my cramps.
these cramps are different than before i was sick, more organ pain and muscles. But i still feel sick to my stomach and weak the first day....and today im really hot and my temp is 98.
Oh regular gyn probably wont prescribe valium suppositories, unless you ask, then maybe they might. I go to a pelvic pain center....i guess i sort of lucked out as I have interstitial cystitis.
So, these treatments are available to me.
but the IC also makes the pain worse. Im taking a homeopathic remedy tonight to see if it helps, im hoping it will. I just hate the sick feeling i get with it.
-------------------- "Say it straight simple and with a smile."
"Thus the task is, not so much to see what no one has seen yet, But to think what nobody has thought yet, About what everybody sees."
-Schopenhauer
pos babs, bart, igenex WB igm/igg Posts: 3156 | From Lyme limbo | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
Me too. My bad cramps happen on the third or fourth day, toward the end of my period. It feels as though someone is sticking a knife in my left side.
Had an ultrasound, and everything is normal. The bowel thing sounds like mine, too. My physical therapist said that the pelvic swelling due to menstration may be pressing on nerves/muscles, such as the sciatic and piriformis muscles, which are a problem for me.
This sounded logical to me, but the pelvic floor disfunction syndrome sounds like it could be the answer. I would be interested in hearing more about that.
Also, as someone else had said, these horrible cramps do not happen every month, although it has been more frequent recently.
Posts: 418 | From NJ | Registered: Sep 2007
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cantgiveupyet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8165
posted
amk- there are a few of us with lyme and company that have pelvic floor dysfunction.
I went thru physical therapy for this, but it didnt last, and now im getting trigger point injections.
there is a group on yahoo, called happypelvis that has a lot of info on pelvic floor stuff.
very supportive group.
-------------------- "Say it straight simple and with a smile."
"Thus the task is, not so much to see what no one has seen yet, But to think what nobody has thought yet, About what everybody sees."
-Schopenhauer
pos babs, bart, igenex WB igm/igg Posts: 3156 | From Lyme limbo | Registered: Oct 2005
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mojo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9309
posted
Oddly, this issue has cleared up for me since I've been treating my Lyme. I used to have horrible cramps and debilitating PMS. My first day of my cycle I'd sleep all day.
Now I hardly have cramps at all. I think it's a combination of a better diet and my supplements. I take extra magnesium the week before my cycle and that helps, too.
One month I was really bad with my diet. I ate a lot of sugar, etc. I had the worst cycle in years.
Posts: 1761 | From USA | Registered: May 2006
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posted
Well, I don't know what you all will think of this, but I have a good friend who suffered unbelievably with her periods and tried everything under the sun to help with the pain.
Turns out their was an emotional component to it and she is now using EFT -- tapping on certain accupuncture points while repeating an affirmation and her pain is mostly gone now. If she starts feeling any twinges she just does the tapping and it lessens or stops.
It is not a good thing to say such things as "I hate my period", or anything like "being female sucks", which the mind can misinterpret as rejection of femininity and that includes female body function, hormones etc. There can be a body-mind connection component to this.
My friend felt inferior to her brothers as a child because her Dad preferred spending time with the boys. I know certain nationalities devalue female children while the boys are fussed over, so that can be a factor too or even sexual abuse can contribute to these problems. Also pregnancy loss can cause grief to lodge in the organs.
Just thought I would put this out there as it doesn't cost you anything to do it.
So it's just tapping while you say something like "Even though I have a history of terribly painful periods, I now completely release all negative emotions, pain and erroneous beliefs associated with my femininity and embrace, welcome and appreciate my female cycle."
Of course you customize it to your own experiences.
posted
I have horrific cramps a lot too. The only thing that kinda takes the edge off is Vicodin. I actually have had to take Percosette before because they were so bad.
I do have LOTS of gyno issues going on though, so it makes sense for me. Still no fun!
Posts: 215 | From Student | Registered: Oct 2007
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