Possibly TMI question about cramps

Hope I’m in the right place with this. Also, men or squeamish women might not want to read this. :slight_smile:

Some months, shortly before my period, I get very painful intestinal cramping. This usually goes along with a more painful and heavier period. Any rational reason these correlate?

I’m 43 and have never been pregnant. I did have peritonitis at age 8, resulting from a burst appendix.

You may have endometriosis? That’s just my first thought on hearing “unexplained abdominal pain that seems to correlate with a heavier-than-normal period”

I always have diarrhea the day before my period, along with bloating. I thought it was just changing hormone levels. Mother Nature is a bi-atch. No endometriosis, though I have had periods for 38 years.

My whole gastrointestinal tract goes haywire before and especially during my period; I get not just uterine cramping but stomach cramps and really painful gas and bloating…constipation and/or diarrhea…the actual menstrual cramps are the least of my problems. I can cure those with some Advil or a couple glasses of wine. The rest of it is what makes me truly miserable.

The hormone involved in creating cramps–I believe it is progesterone?–doesn’t just affect your reproductive organs; it can impact lots of other things too. So this is why it’s not just cramps that make you suffer during your period. I have read that taking ibuprofen can decrease the production of this hormone, so to take some Advil regularly a few days before your period…

On the rare occasions I remember to do this, it does seem to help.

Progesterone is highest during the luteal phase (after ovulation, before period) and is associated with constipation and hard stools. Then it drops abruptly when the bit of the ovary the egg popped out of dries up, and constipation/hard stools often ease at the same time menstruation starts. Some women (raises hand) notice this as positively *loose *stools, along with intestinal as well as uterine cramping.

At least…that’s the hypothesis. The problem with this hypothesis is that it’s mostly discussed and researched in the context of IBS. And at least with IBS, the constipation/loose stool pattern doesn’t seem to stop if you go on hormonal birth control and don’t get those progesterone swings. So, for the moment, we have a hypothesis that doesn’t seem to fit all the facts for women with IBS - but I can’t find anything on whether it fits for women *without *IBS.

Real-life medical questions go in IMHO rather than General Questions. Moved.

samclem, moderator

Sorry, I’d thought this one was factual rather than opinion. Thanks for cleaning up after me. :slight_smile: