OWWWW! (complaining about "that time of the month")

[VeganChick]

Well, I didn't used to have much problem with my period, besides it being a bit heavy. Occasionally I had cramps, but not too many problems. However, beginning like last year, things started getting progressively worse. I started getting, one by one and slowly getting worse, nearly every PMS/menstruation symptom you can think of. And every month it seems to snowball. So this past week I've been moody and very emotionally sensitive, and for the past few days I've been feeling really ill; nauseated and lightheaded and extremely tired. And fairly depressed. But now I realize, with the start of my period, that I can blame that all on PMS. So now, in addition to still feeling ill, I have these amazingly bad cramps and my entire lower back has this throbbibg ache, and nothing's making it better...
I talked to my mom months ago about going on birth control, since I've heard from a lot of friends that that seems to help, and while I didn't get a "I-can't-believe-you're-even-thinking-about-sex" rant, I was floored to get a lecture about how BC messes with your body and your hormones and it's bad for you. I understand that, but I'm thinking that that sounds like a really good option at the moment. I also can't decide between the pill and the ring. There are so many versions of the pill out there that I'd have to do some research, but that might be a better option since I'm always neglecting taking my vitamins and supplements, and if I had to take BC, then I would probably force myself to take all my other stuff too.
I don't know, I just hate my body because I seem to be in pain and/or uncomfortable for the entire month!

 

[Shimmer]

I understand completely....
How old are you?

 

[Lady_MAC]

Ginger tea works very well when you have cramps. Simply boil the root, then drink that water.

Since your forgetful, definitely go for the NuvaRing...you're just like me lol. I actually use the NuvaRing to stop my period completely, it's not recommended though. You're moms right, the hormones are pretty crappy. The NR has made me overly sensitive, so nearly everything makes me cry

Do you have a doctor to talk to?

Oh, I truly admire your veganism

. I'm only a vegetarian...that cheese has a hold on me

 

[Raerae]

mmm pills lol...

3 cheers for birth control. I'd say go for it. Just because the hormones aren't, "natural" doesn't mean you should suffer through really bad symptoms.

It's your body, get informed on all the pro's and cons from your doctor, and make a decision. Your Mom might even not understand what your going through, since everyones body's are different.

Birthcontrol can't be that much worse than stuffing your face with saturated fat, and your not doing that =P

I named my cat Tofu when I was doing the Vegan thing hehe... He's a white ball of fluff. I'm back to the occasional chicken/fish in my diet though. Being Vegan wasn't as fun when I didn't have a friend to do it with me, and figuring out vegan ways to cook all our fav foods lol. So one i stopped living with her, i had a hard time keeping it up, since I wasn't as motivated to cook.

If anything i live off of cereal and soymilk though LOL...

 

[VeganChick]

Yeah, I'm one of the few vegans I know, and definitely the only one I hang out with on a regular basis...But I expect more in college. Yay for liberal schools!
I'm 18, but I was 17 at the time of the conversation with my mom, so now I have more control. But I should check and see if birth control is covered in our insurance. That would be awesome.
Mmmm, I think we have some ginger in the fridge actually. Although dad will think I'm insane if I go downstairs and boil ginger at 12am...
I'm thinking that the pill would actually make me remember my other pills, since not taking it would make me in pain. Although the ring is more convenient and my friend said you get used to it fast, but I have some odd tension problem going on down there and can't even use a tampon, so that might be a problem. Although I need to see a gyno eventually about that anyway...
Argh, I want chocolate and stupid me started doing research about whether or not they make vegan nutella. They do, and you can make your own, but we don't have any hazelnuts or powedered sugar. darn it!!
Veganism is great, although I doubt I'm as healthy as I should be, since I eat far too much junk even as a vegan and I don't take my vitamins and supplements like I should. Silly me...
Ugh, and I slept for a lot of the day since I have insomnia and I tend to stay up til dawn and then sleep through the morning. And since I'm sick, I slept off and on for the rest of the day. So now I'm wide awake again and probably will be til dawn. Great...
Yeah, I think seeing a doctor and a gyno is a good idea for me. My parents don't understand the insomnia and I don't think mom understands the PMS ordeal. But I did some research and nearly all the things that bother me are symptoms of PMS...which definitely warrants a search for a new doctor.

 

[litlaur]

A gyno will be able to help you choose a pill that hopefully has minimal side effects, but everybody reacts differently. You might not experience some side effects until several months into taking it, or you might not even get anything awful.

My experience: Just went off birth control after about 4 years. When I first went on the pill, my period was more regular and tolerable from the first pack, but I started to get different side effects at different points. Some were bad, so I tried a couple different options (different pills and Depo), and I've come to the decision that hormonal birth control is not right for my body...at least right now. The cons far outweighed the pros.

 

[Raerae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VeganChick Yeah, I'm one of the few vegans I know, and definitely the only one I hang out with on a regular basis...But I expect more in college. Yay for liberal schools!

Heh, yeh vegan is pretty rare heh... I always had fun explaining it to people when you go out to lunch, and your order vegi stuff, and ask the waiter if there is dairy in this, or that lol... And people are like... You dont eat meator dairy?!?!?! LIKE OMG What do you eat then! And then they think your crazy lol...

And then you think to yourself... I'm also not obese!

I actually needed to stop with the vegan since i was starting to lose to much weight. A combination of the fact that I already dont eat a whole lot every day, and then cutting out all meat/poultry/fish/dairy products from my diet. I was getting down to the 100 LB mark. Which when your 5'6" i was getting into the 16 BMI range lol.

So yeh now I compromise with eating occasional chicken/sushi and some dairy! lol. But since I hate grochery shopping alone (no roomates anymore lol) i always end up running out of food, and end up just going to the corner store for a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter and living off of sammich's for a few days LOL...

 

[ilovexnerdsx]

oh man. i know what you're talking about. my cramps are SO bad that i'm morethanlikely going to get one of my ovaries removed once i'm done developing and everything in a few years (i'm only 15 now)
also recently my face has been breaking out a few days before my period.
so i feel your pain

though its hard to find something that takes all the pain away, talk to your doctor and ask about a medicine called anaprox. basically its just a REALLY strong dosage of naproxen, and it works pretty good. it works a LOT better though if you take it before the cramps develop though.
also, at basically any drug store you can buy menthol patches that will help the pain settle down some.
i dont have any advice about the pms though because im lucky enough to be spared of it ... try sleeping a lot, thats what i do during my period :roll:
but i hope that helps the cramps!

 

[VeganChick]

Geez Raerae, you need to pack on some weight! 100 is low for me and I'm shoooort.
Breaking out before your period? Is that what happened?! My face has never been totally clear, but holy, I broke out like you wouldn't believe these past few days.
ilovexnerdsx...you totally HAVE to procreate. We're not gonna let you get by without it.

Kissy smileys actually help too, as long as you don't giggle too hard. Ow.
I'll ask about anaprox. Menthol patches? Never heard of that for periods... Yes, sleeping does help, as does curling in a tiny ball. Not sure why, but that's how I relax enough to sleep anyway. I'm gonna try an epsom salt bath tomorrow, since it's supposed to release toxins and lessen muscle pain. Plus, long hot baths are good for cramps. And yell at dad to go buy some chocolate...

Yeah, for like a year after I started, people were still finding out that I was vegan and were always asking me "you don't eat meat or dairy? what do you eat?! .... so you don't like steak? or eggs? or CHEESE? omg, you're crazy!!"
I need to start eating healthier though. Because junk food tastes good, but if I don't eat it, I feel loads better. So, college=healthy food, right? They have a bunch of nice vegan dishes and a huge salad bar and a nice snack bar with loads of healthy organic snacks...and a health food store like a few blocks away, which also has a great little buffet and amazing smoothies. Yeah, I'm thinking I can deal with eating healthy at my college.

Argh. I'm tired, but I can't sleep. I hate that. The rain like almost lulls me to sleep, but I can't bridge the gap...

 

[Raerae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VeganChick Geez Raerae, you need to pack on some weight! 100 is low for me and I'm shoooort.

lol... i float between 105 and 110ish on my normal diet.

Problem with gaining weight is I can't gain weight where I want to =P I woulnd't mind a little more on my butt and boobs, but then i feellike my tummy is getting fat too lol...

 

[Chic 2k6]

i sometimes get nasty pains and usually bend over in agony but Mom gave me some Feminax pills and they are a godsend, they are like ibrurofen (sp?) but they are designed to eliminate period pain as they can. Look for packs in your store like drugstore kinda thing, and you dont need any prescription.

 

[Lady_MAC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raerae lol... i float between 105 and 110ish on my normal diet. Problem with gaining weight is I can't gain weight where I want to =P I woulnd't mind a little more on my butt and boobs, but then i feellike my tummy is getting fat too lol...

I know how it is. I'm 5'7 and pre-pregnancy I was 108. I hated how people would always bug me about it, and put me down. Like c'mon, no matter what I'd eat, I'd still be super skinny. Now I'm 120- 125 and the doctor is being a biotch about it, but whatever - I eat a lot.

I'm with you about gaining weight in the wrong places. Every now and then I gain a couple pounds (it always seems to go away after a week) and it goes straight to the thighs, grrr. Why not the booty?! I am so not the stereotypical black girl in the sense that my butt is a flat as a board, lol. Annnyway.

 

[Raerae]

Yeh serious.... If only i could decide where my fat went lol... That would be so amazing lol...

 

[colleen389]

Feminax is awesome for period pain, I got a gigantic supply when I was in the UK in January (I had forgotten my perscription and was in agony)... but it's not sold in the US. My mom actually works for the company that makes it, and even she can't even get it here.
You might want to get a prescription for Ultram - it works really well for me.
With the back pains it sounds like there's a possibility you could have something like endometriosis... so seeing the Dr is a good thing - and the pill would probably help you.

 

[Kiwi Girlie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VeganChick Well, I didn't used to have much problem with my period, besides it being a bit heavy. Occasionally I had cramps, but not too many problems. However, beginning like last year, things started getting progressively worse. I started getting, one by one and slowly getting worse, nearly every PMS/menstruation symptom you can think of. And every month it seems to snowball. So this past week I've been moody and very emotionally sensitive, and for the past few days I've been feeling really ill; nauseated and lightheaded and extremely tired. And fairly depressed. But now I realize, with the start of my period, that I can blame that all on PMS. So now, in addition to still feeling ill, I have these amazingly bad cramps and my entire lower back has this throbbibg ache, and nothing's making it better... I talked to my mom months ago about going on birth control, since I've heard from a lot of friends that that seems to help, and while I didn't get a "I-can't-believe-you're-even-thinking-about-sex" rant, I was floored to get a lecture about how BC messes with your body and your hormones and it's bad for you. I understand that, but I'm thinking that that sounds like a really good option at the moment. I also can't decide between the pill and the ring. There are so many versions of the pill out there that I'd have to do some research, but that might be a better option since I'm always neglecting taking my vitamins and supplements, and if I had to take BC, then I would probably force myself to take all my other stuff too. I don't know, I just hate my body because I seem to be in pain and/or uncomfortable for the entire month!

Like the previous person said you could have something like endometriosis. I was diagnosed with endo about 3 years ago. From what you've said it definately fits. I used to feel nauseated all the time, had severe period pain, was always tired etc etc. I went to millions of doctors and was tested for this that and everything, and I was told I had nothing wrong with me and that It must be in my head. I can say I definately got depressed as I it only got worse and worse as time progressed. It took 5 years to find out what was wrong with me.

Enough blabbering.. I must say the pill definately helped me, Im on Monofeme 28 and have been since I was 12 due to my illness. And it regulated and reduced the pain with my periods.

But seriously make sure you don't have something like Endo, because the longer you leave it the worse it gets.

Let us know what happens.