Is Pain During Menstruation Normal?
Common does not always mean normal. In my medical updates today I got a bit excited when I saw the heading, “Don't Normalize Patients' Period Cramps.” I was thinking, hey, we might be getting somewhere in conventional medicine, but was quickly brought back to reality once I dove into the article. Instead of diving deeper into cause they talked about the common treatment of NSAIDs. Other common treatment options include birth control pills. ACOG does also mention acupuncture, accupressure, nerve stimulation, B1 and magnesium.
Let’s first cover some basics.
Painful periods, or dysmenorrhea, affects more than half of women who menstruate. For some the pain is mild 1 to 2 days each month. For other women, the pain is so severe that it keeps them from doing their normal activities for several days a month.
There are two types of dysmenorrhea, primary and secondary (e.g. caused by endometriosis).
Potential causes of dysmenorrhea include:
1. Endometriosis – Inflammation issue
2. PID (Pelvic Inflammatory Disease)
3. Stenosis of cervix
4. Fibroids – less often a cause of dysmenorrhea
5. STD
6. Abnormal Gut Microbiome
7. Inflammation in general
When considering gut microbiome as a potential cause it would be helpful to do a deep dive into that with a thorough history, consider labs, possible elimination diet, key probiotics. Nutrition is huge here.
Make sure regular elimination is happening to support estrogen balance.
With inflammation look into stress, microbes/toxins.
Botanicals for Dysmenorrhea (can be found on Fullscript)
1. Cinnamonbark(Casiacinnamomum)
2. Peppermint oil (Mentha piperita)
3. Crampbark(Viburnumopulus)
4. Ginger root (Zingiber officinalis)
5. Valerian root (Valeriana officinalis)
6. Jamaican dogwood (Piscidia erythrina)
Another option for help with pain is vitamin E and omega 3 fatty acids in combination.
Not medical advice. These are things to guide and allow you to have a path for conversation with your provider.