i know this has probably been gone over a billion times before, but..

[lesbianic.livejournal.com]

i've never posted here before, i just joined. i keep an eye on vaginapagina, but i thought this would be a better place for this question.
over my past couple of cycles, my menstrual cramps have gotten progressively more painful. my period started today, with me waking up with insane cramps, and they've gotten worse as the day has gone on. i tried taking a warm bath, applying a playtex heat therapy pad, and massaging my lower abdomen, but nothing's helped. i can't go to the doctor right now, as i have no insurance, and to tell you the truth, i'm not really interested in taking medication. i'm kind of anti-all drugs, even prescription drugs. but i've got to do something, because lying in bed and whimpering doesn't really make me feel any better.
so my question is, does anyone have any natural remedies they've found helpful for really bad cramps?
thank you in advance.

Comments

[fieryhot.livejournal.com]

i've heard/read somewhere (i think a woman's magazine) that masturbating or having an orgasm can help temporarily relieve menstral cramps.

i don't know if the heat pad you used is one, but try a heating pad that you plug in. when i have bad cramps, i usually sleep with that thing and use it as much as possible (while i'm watching tv, sitting at the computer, reading, etc), and usually have it on, with constant heat, for a few hours at a time. i don't know if that's bad for you though, but i've never had any problems.

[geminigirl]

http://www.egregore.com/diseases/dysmenorrhea.html

Other things that have helped with my cramps include: exercising more, eliminating (or limiting) caffeine and salt in my diet, especially around my period, making sure I get enough caffeine and magnesium during the entire month.

Mine are still severe enough that I treat them medically with a birth control pill, but the combination of 12-14 day periods, three days in bed, vommiting and fainting just sort of trumps any feeling I might have on drugs.

[lesbianic.livejournal.com]

thanks for the link and the suggestions.
i don't ingest any caffeine at all, ever, as i've got GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) and i've been told numerous times to completely eliminate caffeine/nicotine/alcohol intake. i don't eat a very-high salt diet. i believe i get enough magnesium.
no matter how severe mine get, i'm not taking medication. i don't take medication for my panic attacks, and they're sometimes so bad i don't leave the house for days. i'm really anti-drugs, i don't like anything messing with my chemicals. i can totally understand how someone else would take medication for severe menstrual symptoms, though.

[balmofgilead.livejournal.com]

I know you said you get enough magnesium, but it might not hurt to try taking a combined calcium-magnesium supplement daily...taking those two throughout the month sometimes helps prevent cramps. I think the recommended daily amount/ratio is about 1000mg calcium and 400 mg magnesium. With most calcium/magnesium supplements, you have to take a few tablets to get that amount, so you could try taking less first and see if that helps (especially if you're getting calcium and magnesium from things you eat anyway).

As a bonus, those two minerals are recommended for anxiety too sometimes. I have anxiety problems too, and I find calcium/magnesium to have a slightly relaxing effect...it's especially good to take before bed.

Hope you find something that works and feel better soon. Lying in bed in pain is no fun.

[lesbianic.livejournal.com]

i get enough magnesium because i take supplements. :]
i'm a vegetarian, so i take all kinds of vitamins to make up for the lack of meat/protein in my diet. one of the first things my doctor filled me in on was the possible causes of my panic disorder.. i noticed calcium and magnesium were pretty important.
thanks for the help. :]

[starmama.livejournal.com]

:( i find it sad that so many vegetarians think they need to take a bunch of supplements to make up for the lack of meat in their diets. i really recommend you find and consume "may all be fed: diet for a new world (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380719010)" by john robbins.

sorry, i know this wasn't about your question, but i've been a vegan almost constantly since 1994 and i don't take ANY supplements and i'm very healthy. the protein myth is fed to us from kindergarten on, in "educational" materials put out by the meat and milk industry. don't buy it.

[lesbianic.livejournal.com]

i don't take a lot of supplements. i take supplements for the things i'm deficient in. like, i'm anemic, so i take iron supplements. i've read a zillion books on vegetarianism, believe me, i wanted to know what i had to do to never eat meat again. i take an iron supplement and one of those one-a-day everything-you--need-is-in-here things and that's about it.
my mom is an rn, and she'd curse you to hell for telling me i didn't need protein. i didn't get that particular myth from an educational material, i got it from her. the DAY i became a vegetarian, protein became some kind of mantra for her.. i always told her to shut up and leave me alone. (i was twelve.) to tell you the truth, i'm not very worried about my protein intake and never have been, but as i've told her a million times, i eat plenty of "fake meat," which is full of protein. so whether i need it or not, i get it.
:]

[starmama.livejournal.com]

well, but where do you think your mom got the idea? anyway, the fact is that the time in our lives when we need the MOST protein is during infancy. and breastmilk, the perfectly-designed food for infancy, derives 3 percent of its calories from breastmilk.

supplements can be useful but they aren't the best way. increasing iron-rich foods is a better choice, for example, than iron supplements. supplements are never going to be as well absorbed as nutrients from foods.

[faetal.livejournal.com]

my mother SWEARS by taking calcium for cramps..
She will drink like an entire gallon of milk... dairy messes with me so I usually suffer through cramps with ibprofen and a lot of swearing...
but really, I think there's merit to what she's saying
Calcium Calcium Calcium!!!! tums, supplements, enriched soy milk.. etc.

i find activity, while they say it helps, is only annoying while i'm crampy, but sexual activity is a plus if its an option