Fibromyalgia and Menstrual Pains

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Yatte

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This might be a sensitive subject to some of you.

I had the worst ever menstrual pains this past week, so bad that I just dropped everything and went to bed. The pain medication would not even help, nor a worm bath or a hot water bottle.

This set me to thinking and mostly wondering.
1. Do any of you have extreme menstrual pains?
2. Could this be as a result of the fibro?
3. Could the normal hormonal changes happening in your cycle affect the pain levels of your fibromyalgia?
4. How do you manage it?
 
Oh he'll yes to all.
That's half the reason this last week has been so bad. It's like it's too much to have to deal with the Fibro AND the monthly pain. That just normally. If I'm in flare mode like the last weeks it's so much worse for everything. Menses trigger the IBS a lot more too. The pain killers are a lot less effective at this time too. I have to use breathing exercises more and I still am not very efficient at that yet. I'm not very good at meditation even though I do try.
 
Yes!

I have PCOS as well as this whole chronic pain thing. Now days I'm on continuous progesterone so I don't have my periods, ever. But the last few I had last year or so (when the rest of my chronic pain hit) were OMG! I'd suddenly be hit by a cramp so bad that I'd yell and double over. If I was standing I'd nearly go to my knees.

If you're beyond the point of having children you could possibly consider NovaSure/uterine ablation if your periods are heavy/painful on a regular basis. It basically scars the uterus so that the lining no longer builds up and you have either light or no periods. Dunno if it'd help or not.
 
Thank you guys, my problem is I cannot take any additional hormones like the pill etc. It affects my IBS and depression too badly.

I am not keen on surgical intervention either, as this just adds to my problems. Two tots and a sick mommy does not go down well. I am very sensitive to medication and the anesthesia makes me as sick as a dog.

I will just have to grin and bear it.
 
Yatte,

That's to bad about the anesthesia :( I've heard of people doing it without a general anesthetic, but having had an endometrial biopsy done without even a local spray that can be used? ... yeah, not so much going to recommend that route!

Also too bad about the progesterone. I've read that JUST progesterone (rather than The Pill which has both progesterone and estrogen), can help with depression. The first 2 days I took it I was a crying mess with increased anxiety - like, my husband took way, way too long at the grocery store and wasn't answering his cell phone and I freaked out, just absolutely sure he was dead on the highway somewhere. That's a common anxiety for me, because people drive crazy here (what, you mean it's not OK to turn right across 3 lanes of traffic while the light is red?), but it normally doesn't get me that bad. After that I really evened out some, especially as I didn't have the ups and downs in hormones associated with a menstrual cycle.

I've also read that IBS symptoms get worse just before a period (Goodness, did mine ever!) due to the fall of progesterone. I'm so glad I don't have to deal with that anymore, at least. I'm actually finding that the potential constipation side effect of gabapentin is counteracting what is either IBS, the results of not having a gallbladder anymore, or the gastro-distress caused by metformin. It's kinda funny because I was so out of it with the lyrica that it took me almost a week to realize I'd been mostly "normal" since starting them!
 
Have you tried the Mirena coil? I've got one, I have endometriosis so periods were really painful and heavy. Now I don't bleed at all, I have some pain still but no where near as much. It does have a teeny amount of progesterone in, but it's really a very small amount no where near that in the pill. You should speak to your doctor. You don't have to be GA"d to have it fitted either
Feel better soon xx
 
Since I have stopped taking the birth control pill I have noticed that every month my cramps are getting worse and worse. This past month was especially bad. Heating pad and T3's were my medication of choice.

My husband and I are trying to get pregnant so every month I just hope to not get my period so I won't have to feel the pain, although another part of me worries about what would happen to my body when I am pregnant.

I have been seeing an Osteopath and she feels that I have problems with my Ovaries as well since the worst of my pain is in that central area.
 
Nyx - have you had menstrual irregularities in the past? (Long periods, periods showing up less than a full month apart, skipping periods even while not pregnant? Extremely heavy periods with horrid cramps?) Elevated blood glucose but not at "diabetic levels"? If so, and your doc thinks it's to do with your ovaries, you might get a hormone panel done to see if you also have PCOS. It seems that like hypothyroidism, PCOS is ofte concurrent with fibromyalgia.
 
SulaBlue, no I was actually quite regular while on the birth control pill, and since being off I am only off by a day or two. I did have blood work done last April for thyroid while trying to see what has been going on with my body and nothing came up then ... thanks for the suggestion though!
 
I thought I would add a little tip about how I fixed my menstrual cramps many years ago. I am almost 60 now, so don't have that problem anymore. I would eat green apples. If I was in the country I would pick good green unripe apples off the trees and eat them. Now it is know that unripe green apples can cause a belly ache. But if you already have a belly ache they can help ease the pain. I think it is the slight sourness that does it, anyways if you don't have access to an unripe apple, try granny smith apples. Try one and see if it helps or not.

I also used cold cloths laid across my belly or a heating pad. :)
 
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