Painful periods

There is nothing worse than rolling from one month to the next with that dreaded knowledge that you will experience bloating, fluid retention, headaches and then the dreaded menstrual pain. Most women will experience some form of menstrual pain throughout their life, and around 50% of women will be so seriously affected by the pain that it affect their daily lives.

Do I have a disease?
Although most women will experience some form of period pain in their time, for the majority of the time it will be manageable. Dysmenorrhoea is the name given to period pain and there are two categories. The first is Primary dysmenorrhoea where there is no specific problem or abnormality causing the pain whilst Secondary dysmenorrhoea is where the pain is caused by a specific condition such as endometriosis or fibroids. It can take a while for your type of dysmenorrhoea to be diagnosed and to do this you will need a full medical investigation. Generally the pain experienced by most women is due to hormonal imbalance, when the body's prostaglandins or chemicals affect blood pressure , body temperature and the womb contracts.

Primary dysmenorrhoea
Although your womb is actually contracting on a regular basis throughout the month most of the time you will be totally unaware of it. However, come the time of your period the contractions become stronger and sometimes for some women these contractions become unbearably strong. The greater the build up of the womb lining the stronger the contractions will become in order to rid the womb of the engorged blood, whilst at the same time the oxygen supply to the womb is decreased and restricted and therfore, perpetuates the pain. Another reason for painful periods is prostaglandins, where the excess production of these hormone -like substances can increase womb contractions and sensitivity to nerve endings increasing the pain.

Stress Factors:
Stress can play an important role in the pain you feel and simple steps may make a difference to you and the pain you feel each month.

Secondary dysmenorrhoa:
There are several conditions that can create this problem and all of them need to be identified by a medical doctor. They include:

Endometriosis:
This condition tends to affect women over the age of 25 and is where tissue similar to the lining of the womb is located outside of the womb but still bleeds on a monthly basis. As the tissue is outside the womb there is no outlet for the blood, so it becomes trapped in the tissues and it is this that creates the pain as well as internal scarring, cysts and inflammation. Unfortunately with endometriosis it can be undetected for years or can be misdiagnosed as heavy periods which are relatively common. Many women are told to simply cope or rely on heavy painkillers and therfore, this condition can go undiagnosed.

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
This is caused by a long-standing infection in the pelvis and should not be self diagnosed. The infection can be in any of the reproductive organs including the ovaries, womb, Fallopian tubes, cervix, vagina and womb lining. Unfortunately PID can be serious and have long-term consequences it therefore vital that you seek medical assistance and medication. In terms of alternative treatment aim to work on prevention and boost your immune system through your diet and by supplements or herbs.

Fibroids
These are non-cancerous growths in or on the muscular wall of the womb and can vary in size and number. They are very common affecting around 20% of women over the age of 30 and the chances of them becoming life threatening are extremely rare. However, they do cause heavy periods ether because they grow and make the womb bigger or the pressure of the fibroids can disrupt the normal blood flow. Many women will never know if they have fibroids or not, but other women will experience some symptoms such as pain on or during sexual intercourse, some abdominal swelling, anaemia from heavy bleeding, clots of blood during menstruation, periods that go on for weeks without a real break or trouble conceiving and infertility. Most fibroids shrink after the menopause, as they seem reliant on increased levels of oestrogen.

Treatment can be through drugs prescribed by a gynaecologist but naturally you can treat fibroids through diet, natural supplements, herbs and controlling excess production of oestrogen.