Dealing With Painful Period Cramps

For many women, that time of the month can be a pain, but here are some ways to better deal with a menstrual cycle.

Michael Nimaroff, MD, vice chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at the North Shore-LIJ Health System, said warm compresses and heating pads have been shown to help with period pain. Non-steroidal drugs, including Advil and Motrin, can help lessen the pain and are more effective than Tylenol, Dr. Nimaroff said. Celebrex can also be used if non-steroidal medications aren’t working, Dr. Nimaroff said.

“The best therapy actually for severe dysmenorrhea [painful periods] is birth control pills,” Dr. Nimaroff said. “Hormonal management really does make a difference.”

A potential cause of painful periods is endometriosis, where the tissue lines of the outside of the uterus rather than the inside. One of the treatments for endometriosis is birth control pills as it helps lessen the bleeding and pain as well as making the lining thinner.

“Very often there is not an underlying cause, other than that some women just have more painful menstrual cycles,” Dr. Nimaroff said. “Certainly, cyclic, severe pain can be associated with endometriosis… If it’s a first episode and it’s severe, sometimes we even have to, believe it or not, rule out pregnancy, because bleeding alone does not mean that someone’s not pregnant.”

An intrauterine device with the hormone progesterone can also be used to treat heavy bleeding and dysmennorhea.

“If the pain is really debilitating for a day or two, it’s worth seeing a physician if you haven’t seen an ob/gyn,” Dr. Nimaroff said. “It’s worth exploring and seeing the practitioner and fortunately very often the treatments do help significantly.”

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