Depending on the results of your imaging tests, your doctor may order a laparoscopy. This is a test in which a doctor makes small incisions in the abdomen into which they insert a fiber-optic tube with a camera at the end to see inside your abdominal cavity.
Treatment will depend on the severity and underlying cause of your pain. If PID or sexually transmitted infections STIs are causing your pain, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics to clear the infection.
Your doctor may also suggest that you try hormonal birth control. Hormonal birth control is available as a pill, patch, vaginal ring, injection, implant, or IUD.
Hormones prevent ovulation, which can control your menstrual cramps. Surgery can treat endometriosis or uterine fibroids. The surgery removes any endometriosis implants, uterine fibroids, or cysts. If you have a hysterectomy you will no longer be able to have children. Severe menstrual cramps can affect your daily life. We'll break down how to tell the difference between typical and severe cramps, go over what can…. The process of your uterus shedding its lining every month is called menstruation.
Some discomfort during your period is common, but intense or…. Some women may experience side effects while taking the birth control pill.
Find out here why you might have cramps while on birth control. Knowing the stages of the menstrual cycle can help put you in control of your body and empower you to know when to speak with a doctor. Caffeine causes your blood vessels to narrow. This can constrict your uterus, making cramps more painful. If you need your coffee fix, switch to decaf during your period. If you rely on caffeine to beat the afternoon slump, eat a snack high in protein or take a quick minute walk to boost your energy.
Vitamin D can help your body absorb calcium and reduce inflammation. Other supplements, including omega-3, vitamin E and magnesium, can help reduce inflammation and might even make your periods less painful. For best results, take supplements every day, not just during your period. Also, because some supplements interact with medications, be sure to ask your doctor before taking anything new. A little heat can help your muscles relax, improve blood flow and relieve tension.
Try sitting with a heating pad, taking a hot shower or relaxing in a hot bath. But even gentle exercise releases endorphins that make you feel happy, reduce pain and relax your muscles. Fifteen minutes of yoga, light stretching or walking might be all you need to feel better. Stress may make cramps worse. Use stress relief techniques like meditation, deep breathing, yoga or your own favorite way to relieve stress. Stay focused on this space for at least a few minutes while you take slow, deep breaths.
One study found that massage therapy significantly reduced menstrual pain in women with endometriosis. Massages may reduce uterine spasms by relaxing the uterus. In order to most effectively manage period cramps, massage therapy should focus on the abdominal area.
But a full body massage that reduces your overall stress may also help to relieve menstrual cramps. The hormone prostaglandin can cause muscle contractions and pain. Anti-inflammatory medicines like ibuprofen can provide fast-acting relief by reducing the amount of prostaglandins in your body. For best results, only take OTC medicines when you start to feel cramps. Some people find relief with alternative medicine practices like acupuncture and acupressure. Acupuncture is a practice that stimulates the body by placing needles in the skin.
Acupressure stimulates the body without needles by putting pressure on certain points of the body. These practices can help you relax, release muscle tension and improve blood flow throughout your body. Birth control can stop period pain if cramps are caused by a hormone imbalance.
Balancing your levels of estrogen and progesterone helps thin the uterine lining so it sheds more easily. Primary dysmenorrhea is the cramping pain that comes before or during a period. This pain is caused by natural chemicals called prostaglandins that are made in the lining of the uterus.
Prostaglandins cause the muscles and blood vessels of the uterus to contract. On the first day of a period, the level of prostaglandins is high. As bleeding continues and the lining of the uterus is shed, the level goes down.
This is why pain tends to lessen after the first few days of a period. Primary dysmenorrhea begins soon after a girl starts having menstrual periods. In many women with primary dysmenorrhea, periods become less painful as they get older. This type of period pain also may improve after giving birth. Secondary dysmenorrhea is caused by a disorder in the reproductive organs. The pain tends to get worse over time and it often lasts longer than normal menstrual cramps.
For example, the pain may begin a few days before a period starts. The pain may get worse as the period continues and may not go away after it ends. Endometriosis —Endometriosis happens when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows in other areas of the body, such as on the ovaries and fallopian tubes , behind the uterus, and on the bladder.
Like the lining of the uterus, this tissue breaks down and bleeds in response to changes in hormones. This bleeding can cause pain, especially around the time of a period. Scar tissue called adhesions may form inside the pelvis where the bleeding occurs. Adhesions can cause organs to stick together, also causing pain. See Endometriosis.
Fibroids —Fibroids are growths that form on the outside, on the inside, or in the walls of the uterus. Fibroids located in the wall of the uterus can cause pain. Small fibroids usually do not cause pain. See Uterine Fibroids. Adenomyosis —Adenomyosis develops when tissue that normally lines the uterus begins to grow in the muscle wall of the uterus.
This condition is more common in older women who have had children. Problems with the uterus, fallopian tubes, and other reproductive organs—Certain defects that a woman is born with can result in pain during menstruation.
Other conditions—Some medical conditions can flare up during a period and cause pain. Yes, if you have painful periods you and your obstetrician-gynecologist ob-gyn should talk about your symptoms and your menstrual cycle. If needed, your ob-gyn may recommend a pelvic exam.
A first step in treatment may be medications. If medications do not relieve your pain, treatment should focus on finding the cause of your pain. An ultrasound exam may be done when pain is not relieved with medications. In some cases, an ob-gyn may recommend a laparoscopy. This is a procedure that lets an ob-gyn view the organs in the pelvis.
With laparoscopy, a small incision cut is made near the belly button. A thin, lighted camera—a laparoscope—is inserted into the abdomen. Laparoscopy often is done with general anesthesia in a surgery center or hospital.
Medications are usually the first step when treating painful periods. Certain pain relievers target prostaglandins. These medications, called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs , reduce the prostaglandins made by the body and lessen their effects. This in turn makes menstrual cramps less severe. NSAIDs work best if taken at the first sign of your period or pain.
You usually take them for only 1 or 2 days. Women with bleeding disorders, asthma, aspirin allergy, liver damage, stomach disorders, or ulcers should not take NSAIDs. Birth control methods that contain estrogen and progestin , such as the pill, the patch, and the vaginal ring, can be used to treat painful periods.
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