Why Suffer from Menstrual Cramp?
Saturday, May 10th, 2008There are many health problems associated being a woman and it can often feel as if they are destined to suffer various pains for their entire lives. Menstrual cramp is one of these which can affect any woman; whether she has a regular cycle or not. The condition of endometriosis (which affects 1 in 10 women) can also increase the pain a woman will feel during this time. There does not seem to be any reason for those who feel no menstrual discomfort and those who experience regular agonizing effects.
Whilst a number of remedies available claim they will give menstrual cramp relief, it is the reliability of these drugs that often causes a problem. Often the easiest way to help stop this is complaint to just take a natural pain relief tablet. In theory, calcium may help prevent menstrual cramps by maintaining normal muscle tone. Muscles that are calcium-deficient tend to be hyperactive and therefore might be more likely to cramp. Calcium supplementation was reported to reduce pain during menses in one double-blind trial,6 though another such study found that it relieved only premenstrual cramping, not pain during menses. Some doctors recommend calcium supplementation for dysmenorrhoea, suggesting 1,000 mg per day throughout the month and 250-500 mg every four hours for pain relief, during acute cramping (up to a maximum of 2,000 mg per day). Like calcium, magnesium plays a role in controlling muscle tone and could be important in preventing menstrual cramps. Magnesium supplements have been reported in preliminary and double-blind European research to reduce symptoms of dysmenorrhoea. In one of these double-blind trials, women took 360 mg per day of magnesium for three days beginning on the day before menses began. Perhaps, if you are someone that doesn’t like to take medication it is time to think about this again and stop having this pain for days on end every time you have a cycle.
Why waste days of your life in pain when there is no need; think about all those things that you are stopped form doing. The cramps aren’t the only thing that has to be endured either; the feeling of having eaten too much and nausea can also be a problem. I just didn’t want to continue enduring the pains almost every month so I started looking around for menstrual cramp relief remedies. There doesn’t seem to be any consistency about it either, most months some ladies have an awful time and then the odd cycle that is completely pain free.
There are times when nothing seems to give any relief but someone suggested they try a heat pad on their stomach which works quite well although sometimes it works better against the patients back. You may not have tried this for your problem before but it is well worth giving it a go particularly if you haven’t had any success with pills. However, if you endure more painful menstrual cramps you may need to try something stronger. If this is a problem that affects your work attendance then you may need to do something about it before it damages your chance of promotion.
If this has happened to you, you should make an appointment to talk to your doctor about finding menstrual cramp relief. Your doctor may suggest using the contraceptive pill because he knows just how good it is at helping women who suffer each month with stomach cramps. Obviously this would be a stupid option if you are trying for a baby but there will be other remedies you doctor can prescribe to help the cramp you feel each cycle. You will eventually find a remedy that works for you; it is just a matter of time.
