🩸I frequently see women of all ages with painful periods. It’s one of the toughest things to deal with and is especially difficult for those who can’t take hormonal medication, or prefer not to. During perimenopause especially, periods can change and become heavier and more painful.
🍼For some women, it’s like being in labour for two days or more every month.
🤒It can stop or reduce our ability to do our normal activities. Did you know that in NZ, around 12% of women have to take time off work and school for period pain? That’s around 300,000 women (or just under the population of Christchurch) every month.
🤮I decided once to see how I would go off pain relief for my period. Big mistake!! I ended up in excruciating pain, vomiting and had to stay home that day until I could get some pain relief on board. Needless to say, I didn’t try that again.
🩸🩸So what causes period pain?
We know that period cramps are caused by prostaglandin hormone build up in the pelvis. This makes the uterine/womb muscle cramp (like the contractions during labour - prostaglandins also stimulate these). It’s similar to when you do unaccustomed exercise, your muscles can go into a cramp/spasm and there is less blood supply to this muscle - it hurts!!
🔥🔥What can we do to reduce the pain?
First of all it’s important to get checked out with your doctor, especially in perimenopause, to make sure there’s not an underlying problem.
If your check-up is normal, the good news is there are some things which you can do to help reduce your pain.
💡Tip: Medications such as anti-inflammatories (eg: naproxen, ibuprofen) can be helpful. Starting these a few days before your period, to reduce the prostaglandin buildup in the uterus can be more effective than trying to get on top of the pain once your period has already started.
💊Some women choose to use hormonal therapy which can also be really helpful, especially if wanting to stop the periods completely.
🧘Other lifestyle measures have been proven in research to reduce period pain, including regular aerobic exercise and yoga. Dietary strategies may also be useful. Combining medication and lifestyle treatments can improve your quality of life during periods significantly.
If you want more personalised one on one help with your period pain, contact me on [email protected]
Good News!! The speakers for the upcoming menopause seminar in Alexandra in October are confirmed. We’ll be having speakers who specialise in pelvic health, exercise, bone health, MHT, sleep issues and nutrition. Numbers are limited to 20 tickets to make sure we can provide a great small group interactive experience and there will be a complimentary afternoon tea as well.
Save this date: Saturday afternoon 11th October. Further information will be coming soon with ticket details. I look forward to seeing you there!
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Stay happy and healthy!
Erika.
PS: On the positive side: “Menopause: Mother Nature’s way of saying, ‘You’re welcome, honey, for not having to deal with monthly mood swings and cramps anymore!’“
