Pregnancy Cramps Vs Period Cramps
Pregnancy cramps usually happen when the pregnancy first takes place. These cramps are caused by the body adapting and changing to prepare for birth as well as to accommodate the baby growing inside of you. Women may get alarmed and fear that the baby is in danger, but you shouldnt be worried. Mild cramping during this time is very normal. Its also a little different from menstrual cramps. Theyre usually:
- Lower than normal
- Cramping on both sides
However, most women say that the cramping is similar to their normal menstrual cramps. It is only very few women that feel sharp twinges of pain in their lower abdomen that can last months after pregnancy occurs. This is absolutely normal thoughthe uterus and muscles inside of your body are just stretching to accommodate the baby.
The only time that cramps during pregnancy can be cause for concern are when:
- Cramping is very severe and painful
- Cramping is consistent and doesnt go away
- Blood is present
You should not have any cramping and bleeding seen together when youre pregnant. Any vaginal bleeding at this time should result in an immediate visit to your doctor.
A Closer Look At Estrogen
There may be a more fundamental approach. Rather than focusing on the prostaglandins themselves, it may help to look at the cellular factories that make them. Oral contraceptives, or birth control pills, lower the production of prostaglandins by slowing the growth of the uterus lining. As a result, 90% of women who take birth control pills experience reduced menstrual pain. However, diet changes may lead to similar results.
Estrogens are female sex hormones, a sort of hormonal fertilizer that makes the cells of the body grow. In every monthly menstrual cycle, the estrogen levels in a womans body rises and falls. These hormones are responsible for breast development at puberty, and each month they cause the lining of the uterus to thicken in anticipation of pregnancy.
Estrogen gradually rises as a womans period ends and falls again at the start of a new cycle. Then, for about two weeks, the hormone rises toward a peak and falls quickly around the time of ovulation. It rises again in the second half of the month and then falls just before the next period for a total of two rises and falls throughout the cycle. The uterus sheds its lining in a menstrual flow, accompanied by crampy pain.
Endometriosis: A Common Cause Of Severe Period Pain
Endometriosis is a gynecological condition in which endometrium-like tissue is found outside the uterus on other structures throughout the pelvis, including the ovaries, fallopian tubes, bladder, pelvic floor, and in more severe cases, the bowel, diaphragm, liver, lungs, and even the brain.
According to Ken R. Sinervo, MD, the medical director of the Center for Endometriosis Care in Atlanta, We dont really know why endometriosis causes menstrual pain may have to do with where is located and how it presents.
Untreated endometriosis can lead to adhesions, chronic inflammation, chocolate cysts , and internal bleeding all of which can prompt excruciating pelvic pain. Endometriosis pain isnt limited to period pain that goes on 24/7, says Dr. Sinvero. Many women also experience backache and other bowel symptoms, not to be confused with IBS, he added.
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When To See A Doctor
Have you asked yourself, Why do my cramps hurt so bad? If yes, that means that you have noticed that your menstrual cramps are not with the normal strength as usual. This is the first indication that you should go and see your doctor.
Your doctor will ask you about the symptoms that are present in your specific case and menstrual cycles. Your doctor will most probably do a full pelvic exam. The doctor should explain to you how long do menstrual cramps last and if it turns out that your cramps are not caused by your period, you will have to do additional tests to find out the exact reason. When you will discover the right cause of your cramps, your doctor will prescribe you a menstrual cramps cure.
To prevent menstrual cramps from happening, maintain a healthy lifestyle. Choose carefully the food that you are eating, exercise several times in the week and try to walk at least an hour every day. If you are willing to try some new diet or do any treatments, talk to your doctor first.
Why Do Women Have Periods
A period is normal vaginal bleeding that is a natural part of a healthy monthly cycle for a person with a uterus and ovaries.
Every month, in the years between puberty and menopause , your body readies itself for pregnancy. The lining of your uterus thickens and an egg grows and is released from one of your ovaries.
The average person who menstruates loses about 2 to 3 tablespoons of blood during their period.
The time between periods typically averages 28 days, with bleeding typically lasting around 4 to 5 days. However, people can experience longer time between periods, and fewer or more days of bleeding, and still have totally regular periods.
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What Can I Do For Cramps
If cramps bother you, you can:
- Take a pain reliever. Talk to your mom or dad or your doctor about which medicine is best for you. They can help you figure out how much to take and how often.
- Exercise! Being physically active can ease cramps, probably because exercise releases endorphins, which are chemicals in the body that make you feel good.
- Get warm. Try placing a warm water bottle, warm heating pad, or warm compress on your belly or take a warm bath.
If these tips dont help, talk to your parent or your doctor about other treatments.
Why Do I Have Problems With My Bowels When I Have My Period
It is common to find that your bathroom habits change while you are menstruating. The hormones that regulate the menstrual cycle also affect the bowel. For example, your body produces a higher level of prostaglandins when you are menstruating. Prostaglandins are responsible for causing uterine contractions, but can also cause your bowels to contract. Right before your period starts, you also have an increase in progesterone, which can slow down your bowel contractions. Because of these chemical changes in your body, you may experience constipation or diarrhea.
Diarrhea
Many women find that they experience more frequent bowel movements during their periods, and many have episodes of diarrhea in the first day or two of menstruating. Ibuprofen works by blocking prostaglandin production, so if you have a lot of trouble with loose bowels, ibuprofen can help.
Constipation
Due to the slowing of bowel contractions just prior to menstruation, it is common for to experience constipation around the onset of your period. Be sure to drink lots of water, eat plenty of dietary fibre , and get some exercise to help alleviate the discomfort of constipation.
Existing bowel problems
If you have ongoing problems with your bowels, such as irritable bowel syndrome , your bowel symptoms may worsen during your period. You may also have more cramping and other PMS symptoms. Some women with IBS find that using the birth control pill improves the bowel symptoms associated with menstruation.
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Q Could Something Else Be Making My Cramps Worse
Severe cramps can also be due to anatomical abnormalities. If I have a patient with painful periods without irregular or heavy bleeding, Id be thinking more about endometriosis or adenomyosis, says Dr. Hjort. Endometriosis develops when tissue inside of the uterus grows outside of it, while adenomyosis is essentially the opposite: the glands lining the uterus grow too deep, causing pain.
If the pain is coupled with heavy or irregular bleeding, Dr. Hjort advises that this warrants investigating a possible hormonal imbalance because these problems can trigger prostaglandin production.
Either situation should prompt a good and thorough physical exam by a gynecologist possibly followed by hormone blood work. This will help your practitioner zero in on potential anatomical or hormonal issues. âThe physical exam provides clues that guide our next steps,â says Dr. Hjort. âA good doctor who provides evidence-based medicine tries to do all the testing necessary to determine the most accurate diagnosis and thus lead therapy, yet simultaneously not order unnecessary testseither imaging or bloodthat increase costs without improving outcomes.â
How Does Secondary Dysmenorrhea Cause Menstrual Cramps
Menstrual pain from secondary dysmenorrhea is a result of problems with the reproductive organs. Conditions that can cause cramping include:
- Endometriosis: A condition in which the tissue lining the uterus is found outside of the uterus. Because these pieces of tissue bleed during your period, they can cause swelling, scarring and pain.
- Adenomyosis: A condition where the lining of the uterus grows into the muscle of the uterus. This condition can cause the uterus to get much bigger than it should be, along with abnormal bleeding and pain.
- Pelvic inflammatory disease : An infection caused by bacteria that starts in the uterus and can spread to other reproductive organs. PID can cause pain in the stomach or pain during sex.
- Cervical stenosis: Narrowing of the cervix, or the opening to the uterus.
- Fibroids : Growths on the inside, outside or in the walls of the uterus
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If You Have Significant Cramps Post
It might be: a dislodged intrauterine device . Although some mild, initial cramping is normal after implantation, any severe pain or pain lasting more than a few days might indicate a problem with your IUDs placement.
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Anytime youre inserting something into the uterus, it might not be sitting the right way, or could have been dislodged or expelled, says Masterson.
What to do: Make an appointment with your doctor, who will do a pelvic exam first to see if the IUD strings are visibly coming out of the cervix. If not, an ultrasound will likely be performed. We want to make sure its in the location its supposed to be, and hasnt moved or migrated, Masterson explains.
Period Pain Caused By A Medical Condition
Less commonly, period pain can be caused by an underlying medical condition.
Period pain linked to an underlying medical condition tends to affect older women. Women aged 30 to 45 are most commonly affected.
Medical conditions that can cause period pain include:
- endometriosis where cells that normally line the womb grow in other places, such as in the fallopian tubes and ovaries these cells can cause intense pain when they shed
- fibroids non-cancerous tumours that can grow in or around the womb and can make your periods heavy and painful
- pelvic inflammatory disease where your womb, fallopian tubes and ovaries become infected with bacteria, causing them to become severely inflamed
- adenomyosis where the tissue that normally lines the womb starts to grow within the muscular womb wall, making your periods particularly painful
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If You Have A Dull Constant Pain
It might be: pelvic inflammatory disorder . PID is characterized by constant pain outside of your menstrual cycle that comes with vaginal discharge, says Masterson. The condition is a serious infection of the uterus, ovaries, and/or fallopian tubes often caused by untreated STDs like chlamydia or gonorrhea.
What to do: Get to your doctor, because you need a swab culture to check for bacteria or an infection, says Masterson. PID is totally curable with antibiotics, but if left untreated for too long, scar tissue could form in your reproductive tract and mess with your fertility.
What Causes Period Pain
There can be many reasons for period pain, and if you experience chronic painful periods, its only natural to wonder why. Maybe youre the only woman in your family who gets severe cramps. Maybe your painful periods didnt start until your 20s. Whatever your situation, a doctor can help you understand why you get painful cramps every month. Some of the most common causes of painful periods are:
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I Cant Tell If I Have Cramps Or Need To Poop Is That Normal
Totally normal. Remember, uterine and bowel contractions are caused by prostaglandins, making it hard to tell the difference between the two.
Plus, cramps are often accompanied by a feeling of pressure in the pelvis, low back, and even the butt.
Pelvic muscles and how things are situated inside make some people more likely to push a tampon out during a bowel movement. Straining to pass a hard bowel movement can also dislodge your tampon.
Poop happens. You cant change your anatomy.
However, the following options might help:
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When Should I Get Medical Help For My Period Pain
For many women, some pain during your period is normal. However, you should contact your health care provider if:
- NSAIDs and self-care measures don’t help, and the pain interferes with your life
- Your cramps suddenly get worse
- You are over 25 and you get severe cramps for the first time
- You have a fever with your period pain
- You have the pain even when you are not getting your period
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What Can I Do To Reduce Cramps
Menstrual cramps can be quite painful, but there are a few things you can do to help get some relief:
Heat
Have a soak in warm bath, or use a hot water bottle or heating pad on your abdomen.
Anti-inflammatory medications
These include ibuprofen and naproxen. These are most effective if you start taking them a day or two before your period is expected to arrive.
Hormonal birth control
The birth control pill or other hormonal methods of birth control can be used to significantly reduce your menstrual cramps.
When Should You Contact Your Healthcare Provider About Menstrual Cramps
Bad cramps keep some women from working and going to school. You dont have to suffer and you dont have to put your life on hold. Contact your healthcare provider if you have painful periods.
It may be helpful to keep track of your periods and the days on which pain is the worst so you can make a complete report. If you notice other symptoms, like headaches or heavy flows, you should keep track of those, too.
Your provider will probably ask you when you started getting your period, how long they last, if you are sexually active, if other women in your family have problems with their periods and what kinds of treatments you might have tried already.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Menstruation is normal. You might get cramps, but you dont have to suffer silently with them. There are ways to make painful periods less painful. Make sure you talk to your healthcare provider about painful periods.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 11/20/2020.
References
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If You Have A Sharp Pain On One Side
It might be: an ovarian torsion or ruptured ovarian cyst. In the case of a torsion, something has caused the ovary to twist, which cuts off its blood flow ovarian cysts, on the other hand, are quite common and usually unproblematicunless they rupture or break open. Either condition is serious, says Masterson, who describes the pain for both as sharp and stabbing, causing you to double over. You may even experience nausea or vomiting, too.
What to do: Go straight to the ER for medical scans to determine whether a cyst or torsion is causing your severe pain. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, treatment for ruptured cysts is variable, ranging from mild interventions to surgery, but a torsion will pretty much always require surgery to either correct the problem or remove the ovary .
Period Pain And Fertility
Period pain that’s part of your normal menstrual cycle will not affect your fertility. However, if the cause is a medical condition, this may affect your fertility.
For example, endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease can cause scarring and a build-up of tissue in your fallopian tubes, making it harder for sperm to reach and fertilise an egg.
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How Do You Deal With Period Cramps
Menstrual pain can also be eased with some light exercises and stretching. Intense exercises can aggravate cramps. Experiment with yoga, Pilates , swimming, or even a simple outdoor stroll. Fresh air and light movement can often be the best remedy and help you deal with period pain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8viFSWE_t9Q
Putting Foods To Work
The key to success is to follow the diet strictly so that the beneficial effects are evident over time.
Eat plenty of:
- Whole grains: brown rice, whole-grain bread, oatmeal, etc.
- Vegetables: broccoli, spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, etc.
- Legumes: beans, peas, lentils
- Fruits: apples, mangoes, berries, oranges, etc.
Avoid completely:
- Animal products: fish, poultry, meats, eggs, and dairy products
- Refined grains: white bread, refined cereals, pastries, etc.
- Added vegetable oils: salad dressings, margarine, and all cooking oils
- Fatty foods: doughnuts, cheese, French fries, potato chips, etc.
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What Can Period Pain Be Compared To
Menstrual cramps, or Dysmenorrhea as it’s technically called, has finally been ruled as painful as having a heart attack. Professor of reproductive health at University College London, John Guillebaud, told Quartz that patients have described the cramping pain as ‘almost as bad as having a heart attack. ‘