STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Oh no!  I just went off BC this week after being on it for 10 years and I'm so worried this same thing is going to happen to me.  Anyway, my best friend is a doctor and she swears by Alieve for any sort of pain.  I guess Alieve was a prescription med before it was sold OTC.  HTH and feel better!

Heating pad, aleve (vicoden if I have it) , stay away from the caffine (it will make everything worse) and a hot bath.

Hope you feel better!!

definitely agree on the heat. I have a microwaveable heat pad I carry around with me when I'm at home with cramps, and they also sell heat pads you can just stick to your skin. They're pretty thin and stay on, warm, all day. I love them.

UGH!  I feel your pain.  Cramps get worse as you get older, I've found that out the hard way.  I just went back on BC to lessen my cramps, they were SO BAD.  For three days a month I would be completely out of commission.  I would take Midol (regular dose, but it makes me sleepy when it starts to kick in) every 6 hours and Advil (400mg) every 6, but overlap them when my cramps got to where I couldn't move.  I talked to my OBGYN about them about a year ago, and she told me to start taking Ibuprofen about 5 days before my period to build it up in my body.  Thing with me is that I haven't had a regular cycle in forever, so I wasn't really sure when I'd start until right before.

Oh, and also a heating pad.  My best friend when Aunt Flo comes to visit.  I've wanted to try those disposable pads from the drug store, but haven't gotten around to it.  It would be nice to not have to be tied to the electrical outlet for 3 days!  I agree about the caffeine.  STAY AWAY FROM IT!  And a glass of red wine has been proven to help a lot of women. 

Hope you feel better soon!

2 tylonal menstrual formula
a cup of tea
a hot bath


seriously, the only combo that gets me through it. A girly book or a magazine in the bath (for distraction) helps lots too.

Thermacare makes these incredible heating pads that activate when you open up the package and the stick on your clothes, so you can go anywhere with them on.  Seriously, when I have bad cramps, that's what I turn to.  They're the best things ever.  So use one of those, take something for the pain (Aleve, Advil, whatever) and have a glass of wine.

Here's what the heating pads look like at the store:

Everything that the ladies said about heat is right on the money. I do hope you feel better!

On a side note, does this mean that you and J want to give Cheese a little brother or sister?

I have prescription Naproxen and I would die without it. I'm on the pill and while it helped with my cramps, I still get them really bad the first day. I wouldn't be able to function w/o the Naproxen. If I ever get off the pill, I'll probably need an IV of the stuff to stay sane.