natural treatments for menstrual cramps

[Journey]

my 17 year old suffers terribly from cramps, especially on the second and third day of her cycle. So much so that she stays home from school and work. She gets white as a ghost, chills and generally just is down for the count. Are there any natural alternatives that she can try? She takes apple cider vinegar to help but hates the way it feels on her teeth. She got her "thing" today and has to work tomorrow at a pizza shop from 11-8. She won't call in sick because, number one she has never done that and doesn't to and number two, it's Super Bowl Sunday so everyone has to work. I am willing to talk to her boss but she doesn't want me to and she's afraid to talk to him because he's a young guy and it's embarrassing. She also has tachycardia so we have to be careful. Something like magnesium wouldn't be good. Any ideas? Anyon actually use anything that actually works?

 

Thanks

[SKL]

I don't have a cure-all, but I will say I saw a significant improvement when I switched to organic food and particularly organic milk products. (I used to drink a lot of milk etc.). I don't care what the "studies" say - the hormones made a difference for me.

[wapiti]

:lurk5: I was like this when I was a kid. Ibuprofen is all I know. I'm not looking forward to dd dealing with this in a few years and I'd like to have a few tricks up my sleeve. :bigear:

 

 

I have another question for you, though, maybe too hard to explain here - why is magnesium bad for tachycardia? I have a ds who takes magnesium citrate (for chronic constipation issues) and we recently learned of his heart condition (hyptertrophic cardiomyopathy) and the big danger for him would be getting into an arrhythmia, which could cause SCD. I'm still learning about heart stuff, though, so if there's some simple explanation of the mechanics of magnesium with tachycardia, I'd much appreciate learning that! (fwiw, his cardiologist said it was ok to take the magnesium, though I'm still concerned that it messed up the exercise stress test he had recently. I did read someplace that it's a natural beta blocker - not that I know what that is either, except that for my ds, relaxing the muscle would be a good thing - his cells are too rigid). ETA, it sounds like an issue involving medication that must be kept in a particular balance?

Edited February 4, 2012 by wapiti

[HiddenJewel]

Calcium levels play big into how bad my dd's cramps are.

 

Why isn't magnesium a good choice? Is her type of tachycardia one that is worse from it (if there is such a thing)? I have only heard of magnesium being good for controlling heart regularity.

[SweetMissMagnolia]

magnesium helps with cramping.....if you take ibuprofen every few hours that helps too....I take 2 magnesium supplements daily and if cramps are bothering me and ibuprofen doesn't work I'll take an extra magnesium I also take evening primrose oil to help with "women's issues"----vitamin E can help with breast tenderness----I had bad/heavy periods all of my life-teen years were awful....went on bc pill after high school so I could "work" and not worry about it so much but they were still bad---after baby and found out we couldn't have anymore had ablation and tubal---best thing I've ever done at least when it comes to periods-they are so short and not much of a bother now.... (not suggesting it for her-just sharing story)

Edited February 5, 2012 by SweetMissMagnolia

[Mergath]

It's not exactly natural, but going on the pill can do a lot to ease bad menstrual cramps. I had the same thing when I was a teen (I ended up being diagnosed with PCOS, though I don't know if they're actually related) and the pill was the only thing that really made a difference. They did get less painful as I got older, too, but that's not very helpful right now, I know.

[beaners]

Heat and motion help me now as an adult, but they didn't help me much when I was around that age. I would be laying on the couch unable to function. I could barely make it to the bathroom to take care of business. I believe the actual condition is considered dysmenorrhea. I had a couple doctors put me on birth control to make it better, but that didn't help either.

 

I did have to leave work on a couple occasions, and it isn't easy to explain. I just stated that I have a medical condition that affects my reproductive system. It's the truth, after all. It's tough. :grouphug:

[brett_ashley]

I was the same way in high school--very painful cramps that I realize now were as bad as labor contractions!

 

Ibuprofen taken in advance on the 2nd and 3rd day will help as well as some exercise. It killed me to get up and walk when I was doubled over in pain but it was the only other thing that helped. I did end up missing a day of school if I didn't get ahead of the cramps with ibuprofen.

[mom2samlibby]

Ibuprofen (and lots of it) was the only thing that worked for me too. I had terrible cramps in high school too. I remember the principal had to drive me home once from school because I was so sick one day. :lol:

[AK_Mom4]

I suppose it depends on whether you consider caffiene natural....

 

What works here: ibuprofen (taken AHEAD of time is better) and caffiene. Also, avoiding dairy products helped my oldest DD.

 

Eventually, she ended up needing to go on the pill because the cramps were debilitating.

[Sandragood1]

For tomorrow, she's stuck with ibuprofen and maybe one of those stick-on heat pads.

 

But next month try taking Cod Liver Oil, two capsules a day. I find it really reduces cramping and heavy flow.

 

Note that heavy flow can be a symptom of low thyroid. If she has any other low thyroid symptoms, you might want to have it checked.

 

Sandra

[frugalmama]

I was the same way as a teen - pretty much bedridden from them. Nothing worked on them - pain meds, codeine - nothing. Tried the pill - nada.

 

 

In college I switched to cloth pads instead of disposables due to chemical allergy - and the cramps STOPPED. Cold turkey stopped - I get NOTHING now other than the occasional twinge. Turns out that sometimes the chemicals in the pads / tampons that draw the blood into them can increase your flow and cause heavier cramps as a result. If I have to use disposables the cramps come right back too, so I'm pretty sure they are causing the cramps.

 

So maybe that will work for her? It's worth trying.

[cloversandlions]

Mine were that bad, too, when I was your dd's age. Like others, the only recommendation I have is ibuprofen (up until last month, I regularly took 800 mg of ibuprofen [my friend calls it Vitamin I] 2-3x/day during the first couple days; interesting to know that taking it in advance can help, too. I can also say that my step-mother's solution - a shot of brandy - did not work. :glare: I also eventually went on BCP to help, but I started on the 7-7-7s, and at least then, if I didn't take the pill at the *very same time* every day, I was nauseous for the rest of the day. There were eventually better alternatives; I'd hope that's still true now.

 

I really hope that my girls do not inherit this 'condition' from me; it's just miserable!