I get migraines, too…as if the cramps and the rest weren’t bad enough! I basically live on Advil the whole time.
No, the pill doesn’t really help me, it lessens the cramps but aggravates the migraine.
No, it didn’t get better with age. I used to have much lighter cramping when I was younger.
And I always have to think about something I read/heard (I don’t remember where it came from, pity): “You get lots of information about menstruation as a girl. But nothing prepares you for chunks.” So true, so true.
Ok, I need to find some catharsis here as this has been bugging me. I was one of those poor junior-high school kids that had accidents more than I deserved (no one told me not to take aspirin for cramps until I was 19 or so and at that time I slapped my forehead).
So a particular situation at school bugs me irrationally. All the grad-level seminars in my department are given in a nice small paneled room with a nice big table, with fairly comfortable cloth-seated padded chairs around it-- a kind of light Williamsburg blue coloreed cloth. One of these chairs, since about my third month here, has had a particular stain on the seat-- the very specific parallel two-stripe stain that happens when someone’s maxi-pad leaks. Whenever I see this chair I am absolutely mortified and I do all that is in my power to nonchallantly avoid sitting in that chair, or even on that side of the table lest I have to ever somehow acknowledge its presence. Not that I think it’s unsanitary or gross, but I just am so embarassed-by-proxy by its very existence that I can’t deal with it. I do not know if anyone else notices this. I have no idea if any of the men would recognize its character. It’s like the elephant in the parlor, or the tell-tale-heart for me: "why doesn’t anyone else ever notice or mention that ABOMINABLE STAIN?! It could be that every other woman that uses that room has the same internal reaction. Or I’m crazy. This has been haunting me for 2 1/2 years now
Last week a second chair appeared with an even worse accident stain. God, kill me!
Am I insane?
Okay, I’ll have to admit it - periods aren’t so bad. Mine last for 2 days. 2 1/2 at most. Not much in the way of cramps. However, it wasn’t until I read the migraine threads a while back that I realized that one thing I could count on was a blistering headache that would last for days longer than my period. Now I’m on migraine meds and it’s much better.
Mine didn’t get better after I had kids. It got worse, much worse.
Taking the pill didn’t stop mine, either. Instead of bleeding once a month (and sometimes twice), I bled all month long. The same thing happened no matter which brand I tried.
Got it! I just misunderstood is all. Nevermind, I have nothing else to add, except now that screemegirl has called me in to gross me out with clots, it doesn’t bother me all that much anymore.
Incidentally, anybody who thinks this is TMI, needs to look up some TMI threads from the past. Be Afraid! Be Very Afraid!
Huh… you want TMI… forget menstruation… childbirth… now that was a lesson in TMI for me
And it was my baby! My ovaries were sitting on my abdomen and my husband got the quick tour of my reproductives from my OB… now he’s officially seen far more of me than I ever will
You’ve reached a new TMI place when a nurse helps clean up the gooey genital boogers with a spray bottle! ack I could never be a nurse!!!
To clarify, I was indeed talking about taking the live, non-placebo birth control pills nonstop. Not simply skipping the placebos and taking nothing at all for 7 days.
It doesn’t work for all women, but it works for many, apparently. Constant midcycle-flavored hormones = no periods.
As I said, don’t play without a doctor on your team. But most opinions I’ve read range from “It’s safe” to “We don’t have any reason to think it isn’t safe”.
My period used to be pretty bad, until I got on the pill. In fact, the horribleness of my periods was what led me to take the pill, as I wasn’t sexually active yet. Bad headaches, backaches, cramps, and a period that averaged about 8-9 days, bleeding HEAVILY throughout. It sucked. I couldn’t use tampons because I’d have to replace them too often to be convenient, especially in high school when you’re trying to hide whats going on - rushing to the washroom every 2-3 hours was a sure sign that a girl was “on the rag”. This lasted from the time I was 11 to when I was 18, and I finally get on the pill.
Now my periods are Wednesday noon-Saturday morning, with the odd spotting on Sundays. They are heavy the first 2 days, and then really light the rest of the time. I still live on advil, because the cramps are still bad, but whereas before I couldn’t stand when a cramp hit, now I can at least manage to get up and get through the day. Every once in a while I get a period without cramps, which is just amazing! I am much more prone to migraine, but they aren’t that severe, and I’m learning the warning signs and how to prevent them.
I toss out the placebos in my pill pack too. Oddly enough, they CAUSE migraines, and increase the intensity of the cramps I get (“But they’re PLACEBOS!” - I know, I know, I’m just weird that way!). I’m pretty good about starting a new pack simply because of the pattern of my period - when it’s over, it’s time to start a new pack.
Oh and I forgot to mention the blessings (?) of regularity. Before the pill, I would get my period every 26-58 days. It was so unpredicatble that it added a LOT of stress to my life. Now every 28 days is nice and regular, though a little short.
[Ava], the patch works like the pill, except you only have to remember once a week. It doesn’t come off in the shower (and is supposed to stay on in the pool, too).
I used to be on Depo-Provera (for 4 1/2 years), but recently switched to the patch. The two most common side effects of Depo are weight gain (check!!) and depression (already HAD a family history - check!!), so according to Ilonka at Planned Parenthood, I should never have BEEN ON Depo.
Believe me - the BEST thing about Depo was amenorrhea (no periods). I don’t remember what/if any “problems” I had in the beginning, but I do know that I spotted in June of 2001 (before my wedding) and near Christmas of the same year (paranoia over gift for New Husband). I was NOT AMUSED to buy 100 tampons in February.
However, now my periods last 72 hours or so. I am crampy and tired for the first half, but that’s about all of the PMS symptoms I get. And, I only need to use “regulars” - or even “light days” for the last one or two tampons.
avarie537, thanks for the info! I may just look into the patch when my new insurance comes through and I can afford a visit to the gynecologist.
For those who suffer with horrible pain during their periods, I would like to make a suggestion - I’ve done the same thing my whole life. I’ve been incapacitated for the first three days of my period, horrible pain, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, pain in between periods, the like, and I finally told my gyno about it - most of these symptoms are indicative of endometriosis. I’m on a very low-dose estrogen birth control pill because of it. So if something like this concerns you, tell your gyno - it could be endo. Which sucks, because I spent almost fifteen years of my life in horrible pain before they put a name to it. Now the bc pill works for the most part, but I’ll still need to have surgery within the next year or so to ‘clean things up’ and hopefully, clear up any problems that I might have when I want to get pregnant.
Do you not have a Planned Parenthood anywhere near you? My annual exam is $50, and the patch is $20/month. IIRC, you pay next to nothing if you’re unemployed. I’ve always been really happy there (except for the interminable wait!!).
I would just like to say that I thank God that I don’t get clumps. I have read about them plenty at the SDMB but have never experienced that particular wonder of menstruation.
When I’m on the pill, I get migraines during my periods. The instant the period arrives=migraine, period ends=end of migraine. The next time I’m on it I’m going to go three months on and a week off, I swear, just so I don’t get those headaches. Has this happened to anyone else? The nurse practitioner was mystified.
IANAD, but that sounds like something is wrong. Maybe a yeast or other infection. You should definitely mention that to your M.D.
My experience with The Pill matches others’ – it definitely eases the cramping and excessive flow, besides taking the guesswork out of when if you are not a “clockwork” kind of woman.
Similarly, for those with a flow every 2 weeks – that is not normal either, and should be referred to the doctor. It could be endometriosis or an infection, and can be dealt with.
Take heart, ladies – eventually it goes away, but you will not be going bald like our testosterone-poisoned friends!
I’ve just started taking the pill and i’ve had my period for almost six and a half weeks. What a total nightmare! One of the things that bugs me the most is the fact we have to pay for pads and tampons - its not our bloody fault, we don’t choose to have this horrible pain and suffering inflicted upon us! Why should we have to pay for this crap. It wouldn’t be so bad if they wern’t so expensive! deep breaths Ok i’m finshed my rant…for now…
