Period due in the middle of exams; what to do about really bad period pains?
My period is due on Tuesday the day of my A2 English language paper. I always seem to get crippling period pain and cramp, with headaches, cramps and back pain. I know a lot of girls will get this problem but I was just wondering if anyone has any advice for me? I have worked so hard for this exam and I don't want stupid mother nature to distract me from getting a good result!
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Take precautions before it starts: sleep with a hot water bottle on your stomach the night before.
Avoid foods that will increase the bleeding and pain (a lot of people say that this is just an old wives tale but from experience I think that all of this is true): avoid the likes of chocolate, fish, cheese, and see if this makes a difference. Sometimes it's different foods for different people, but personally I've found that this works.
Dairy products (mainly milk) temporarily make the cramps worse but because of the lactose you'll find it a lot easier to go the bathroom. Eat warm food in the morning like soup or oatmeal.
I dislike paracetamol but all it takes is half a tablet in the morning and you'll notice that you don't feel as much pain later on.
A lot of girls think that pads are "unhygienic" but this makes absolutely no sense to me - so, if you normally wear tampons, then you should switch to pads (especially if your periods are heavy) because your vagina needs to breathe. Tampons may seem more hygienic, but you're essentially trapping the blood inside of your body and not allowing it to be released, which is why a lot of girls tend to feel sick / nauseous.
If you already wear pads, switch from thin ones to thick ones (e.g Kotex night-time pads). A lot of girls feel sharp pains around the vaginal area but they don't realise that a thin pad isn't going to help - wear a thick one, to give yourself more support down there and prevent leakage, and you'll immediately notice less pain down there.
(Birth control will affect long term fertility and also the regularity of your menses, so I wouldn't recommend it unless you're sexually active. The Jenner sisters take contraception to "soothe" their period pain, but they don't seem to realise that the pain is being soothed because contraception is obviously stopping their period).
Avoid foods that will increase the bleeding and pain (a lot of people say that this is just an old wives tale but from experience I think that all of this is true): avoid the likes of chocolate, fish, cheese, and see if this makes a difference. Sometimes it's different foods for different people, but personally I've found that this works.
Dairy products (mainly milk) temporarily make the cramps worse but because of the lactose you'll find it a lot easier to go the bathroom. Eat warm food in the morning like soup or oatmeal.
I dislike paracetamol but all it takes is half a tablet in the morning and you'll notice that you don't feel as much pain later on.
A lot of girls think that pads are "unhygienic" but this makes absolutely no sense to me - so, if you normally wear tampons, then you should switch to pads (especially if your periods are heavy) because your vagina needs to breathe. Tampons may seem more hygienic, but you're essentially trapping the blood inside of your body and not allowing it to be released, which is why a lot of girls tend to feel sick / nauseous.
If you already wear pads, switch from thin ones to thick ones (e.g Kotex night-time pads). A lot of girls feel sharp pains around the vaginal area but they don't realise that a thin pad isn't going to help - wear a thick one, to give yourself more support down there and prevent leakage, and you'll immediately notice less pain down there.
(Birth control will affect long term fertility and also the regularity of your menses, so I wouldn't recommend it unless you're sexually active. The Jenner sisters take contraception to "soothe" their period pain, but they don't seem to realise that the pain is being soothed because contraception is obviously stopping their period).
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Rhi93
Perhaps think about taking something to delay it? If you're not on any cotnraception, go to the doctor's to get some Norethisterone
It will probably be too late for that if its due Tuesday
What painkillers normally work for you OP? If paracetamol and ibuprofen usually works you can alternate between them. If you need something stronger consider getting co codamol and feminax ultra OTC and doing the same with them (not ideal but ok if only for a day) to keep the pain at bay.
Also make sure you drink plenty and don't let your blood sugar drop to low by eating little and often, and eating filling, complex carbs (porridge, weetabix or brown toast for breakfast with a banana for example)
When I used to suffer with bad period pain I found that taking paracetamol or cocoamol together with one ibuprofen every four hours (ideally when you first feel the pains come on) helped to keep them at bay. You can also buy heating pads which you can wear under your clothes, you can find them in most chemists and supermarkets in the feminine hygiene section.
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