Bummed... (solutions for this girl problem?)

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Originally Posted by withm

Well you can stay home curled up in a ball and be miserable. Or you can go on a bike ride and be miserable. I would venture a guess that the bike ride and surroundings will be distraction enough that you are able to put the discomfort on the back burner. Even a bad bike ride is better than curling up and feeling sorry for yourself.

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mmm. dunno about this. When my cycle is really bad, I get cramps with diarrhea, plus a super heavy flow that involves changing out supers like once an hour. The good news, it just lasts a day. The bad news is, frankly I'd rather stay home than deal potential leakage and other disasters. To top it off, I've found that the soft bits get a bit congested and then I'm more prone to chafing and other issues. Sorry for TMI, but that's just how it is sometimes. The days I have things going on and have to deal with this while out and about are a real nuisance.

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Originally Posted by Antaresia

Ya, can't say I've ever relied on it as bc 100% for more than a year (and that was a looooong time ago). Not gonna lie, for me the best reason for taking the pill is that it clears up my complexion like mad. Acne medication with a side effect of making my period less awful, I will be taking this stuff forever.

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I tried 10 years ago my freshman year in college because all of the sudden I had massive cramping. Like the other poster, I was having cold sweats and it was just terrible. My problems were (1) remembering and (2) the bc I was on made me feel like I wanted to throw up within an hour of taking it. It was awful and I quit after 2 months. That did something funky with my cycle, shortening it to every TWO weeks :eek: for four times before I got back to normal. Since then I've stayed away from the stuff.

Funny about changing the name. I'd love to get politics far far away from this!!!

withm, thanks for the kick in the pants earlier. I ended up getting out for a two hour bike ride today. Much better than sitting around having a solo pity-party. :p

I'm another one that mostly uses BC for period control. Started when I was in college. My cycle varies 28 days to as much as 60 days, so I started BC pills. Here's the thing for me I cannot take most of the generic BC pills because they make me sick. I've never had a problem with the name brand ones. The one I'm on now I actually can take the generic which is nice for the cost savings. I'm on one of the seasonal pills now.

There are lower dose options these days. I used Nuva Ring for a while to deal with heavy frequent periods, and did not have bad side effects. Unfortunately I wound up needing a higher-dose solution for my problem, and the pills I switched to did a number on me (water retention, migraines, feeling enraged most of the time) so I got off them as soon as possible.

But something lower dose like Nuva Ring might be enough to take the edge off your misery, and you leave it in for 3 weeks so you don't have to remember to do anything every day.

Yea, though I never experienced cramps like some gals here, it was the first 1-3 days that was uncomfortable on a multi-day ride..especially in the summer when it was scorching hot and humid.

Hope you stay refreshed.

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Originally Posted by zoom-zoom

I don't see why it can't be termed "hormone replacement" or "hormone adjustment" or something to that effect. Heck, I've been on the pill subsequent to having my tubal and during many years when I was not sexually active.

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after all they also call the tamoxifen therapy I take for breast cancer as hormone or endocrine therapy.

We do need a less polarizing label than BC.

just sayin.

My friends use pills to delay their period when they have a vacation reservation for example. I don't know the name of the pill because since I gave birth, I don't feel pain or discomfort. I use tampons and I can race or go for longer rides during this time. It might be worth trying this pill, it's over the counter.

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Originally Posted by Grits

This is what I do.

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Me too.

I hear the Mirena IUD also helps with cramps.

Is your cycle so regular, that you can be sure that the race will be just at the same time as your period?
I'm asking because last month I was fretting about the same issue just to find out that my body decided to be 2 days late - so there was no issue at all. If your cycle is just a little irregular, chances are that you won't have a problem at all.

If you have to deal with this problem: I talked to my doctor about this and she precribed a pain medication especially for pain/cramps related to menstruation (it's Ibuprofen-based). If I feel really bad, I take one in the morning and feel quite ok for the rest of the day, and I normally have really serious cramps that make me nauseous and dizzy.
You'd have to ask if it is safe to work out while taking medication though, I don't know about this for sure.

I would get medication and give it a try, but permit myself to not start/not finish the race, if I felt really bad. I don't think this is "feeling sorry for yourself", it's just sensible to not ignore serious pain.
Generally I feel that stress worsens my problems. I try to use this time of the month to be gentle to myself, take it a little easy and permit myself not to "feel like" doing something. This my sound strange but really helps for me.

I'm fortunate enough to not suffer from severe cramping or bleeding, so I can't really comment there. But I have had success with acupuncture to help with the cramping I do have, to the point where if I keep up with regular acupuncture, I don't have any cramping at all and my periods are more tolerable all the way around.

Also, in the past I have had the same timing issue that you are having related to an Ironman event. I also cannot tolerate most BC pills and don't like to mess with my hormones. But, my doc worked with me and got me on a low dose BC pill where I took it consecutively for 6 weeks (I think), about 4 months out from the race. That was enough to shift my cycle by about 10 days, problem solved. Meanwhile the low dose pills for a short duration were no big deal and the effects were way out of my system by the time the event came.

Whatever you want to call it, the options have changed in the last 10 years so a chat with your doc sounds like a good idea.

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Originally Posted by Muirenn

This is exactly why I started taking progesterone. It is not the full birth control, has no side effects (so far), and appears to reduce pain. Just started taking at the beginning of April. but looks promising.

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Progesterone increase is supposed to be ideal as you approach menopause. Funny, I used to the topical creme, and .... well not sure what happened. I'm so close to menopause now that I keep hoping that each time is the last time now.
http://www.johnleemd.com/ has some very interesting info on the use of progesterone. Maybe I need to start up again

Seconding the Mirena. Bonus: never having to remember taking pills!