Is It Normal for Periods to Hurt This Much?

That's not normal. You need to go see a gynecologist.

Your mom is wrong. It's hard to hear that about your mom. But moms aren't always right.

You are 18 years old. You are old enough to go to the doctor on your own. If you are on your parents' health insurance, find out the names of some of the gyn practices that are covered on your insurance. Call them and ask about doctors in their practices who specialize in teens periods that include your symptoms. All gyns can work with you on this, but if you can get one who specializes in it, it's better.

Don't be surprised if the doctor recommends that you take birth control pills. If he or she does recommends them, it will help. You must not look at them as birth control if you are not sexually active. You must look at them as medicine to help you get better. If you had bad stomach trouble every 3 weeks, you would take stomach medicine for it. This would be no different. You don't need to discuss the treatment for it with your mom if you think she is going to be angry or upset about birth control pills. Don't mention the possibility that the doctor will prescribe this to her before you make the doctor appointment. No point inviting an argument from her.

You do NOT have to live with this debilitating condition every month. You may have to pay for the medicine if it's not covered under your insurance. But you are a grown woman and you can do this.

Please see your doctor/gynocologist.

It may be that your mom thinks this is 'normal' because that's what she experienced. Some women do not like to share their medical history or perhaps she thought it was normal because her mom experienced the same things and told her about it. It can run in families.

Painful periods and PMS can be debilitating. Many women use the hormone medication we call 'birth control' to help regulate and manage menses. These hormones are not just for sexually active women avoiding fertility, it is a real medicine for many. You do want to look into it now while you are younger so that your periods and pain don't affect your employment and /or education, this way you can manage your future and not use up sick days or miss important classes because you feel so awful. It's good that you want to take care of this sooner than later. You are legally an adult, so go and get yourself seen by a doctor. :)

It might not be abnormal (in the sense that there isn't anything horribly wrong with you), but that doesn't mean you have to live like this. There are quite a few things that can be done to reduce your discomfort, and you're a perfect candidate for this - you need relief. Please talk to your gynecologist. If you don't have one, ask your regular doctor for help, either directly or by referring you to a gynecologist.

I'm sorry your mother hasn't been willing to help you get some answers. Do you think she's afraid that, if you go to a doctor, you'll ask for birth control and become sexually active? Or is she just misinformed to think that you should be this miserable every month? Please - you're 18. Take your health care info your own hands and tell her you have to see someone to stop all the vomiting at least. Then, when you get there, be sure you are in the room alone with the doctor and not with your mom. You need unbiased and well-informed facts.

When i was your age, I had surgery to clean out endometriosis. Prior to that, I couldn't function when I had my period. Go to the gyno, make sure the doctor understands the severity of your pain, and go from there. Its definitely not normal. I don't think your mom is taking you seriously.

This is absolutely something you should be talking to your doctor about. An OB/GYN doctor.

Have you asked your doctor/gynocologist?
I have friends who had terrible cramps. I get migraines. It's always good to rule out possible reasons for it to be so bad.
Everyone's 'normal' is different. If you can't eat or drink - I would say that's atypical.
There's medication and alternatives to help with pain and symptoms. At the very least, you should be discussing this with your physician.

I definitely had cramps and nausea but not to the extent you are describing. For the most part, I was able to treat the symptoms with Midol. Tylenol and ibuprofen helped, but Midol was much better for me.

If there is something you can take that helps you feel better or function, great. But this definitely sounds like something you should discuss with your doctor. Even your family doctor or pediatrician should be able to help you out, but they will likely refer you to an OB/GYN, which is probably going to be your best bet.

If you aren't already taking something, I would suggest taking some Midol to see if it helps and calling your doctor first thing tomorrow morning.

Have you spoken with your doctor about this? If you don't have one (or don't have insurance) PP may be an option. Yes, cramps are normal, but very severe cramps are not always normal and can be a sign of issues. If there are no other issues there are medications that can help, like going on the birth control pill. This really is a question for your doctor because only they can examine you and figure out if what you are feeling is really "normal" or not. Best of luck.

Thank’s for your question J..

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If you have not been seeing a gynecologist, now is the time. Period discomfort varies by woman from none at all to OMG-pass-the-whisky, but what you're describing is beyond the normal range. You may have a medical reason for your excess pain, such as cysts, polyps, or endometriosis. Those are all treatable situations with various remedies that can lessen or even eliminate your pain. I hope you find relief soon.

I had this...once I started my period the first day of a job at a department store...I ended up doubled over and threw up (almost on my manager's shoes). It was horrible.

My doctor wasn't much better he gave me pills to take the days leading up to my period but it was so irregular I didn't know when to take them and he wouldn't believe me my cycle wasn't exactly 28 days...sigh!! I could go three months at a time between.

So that being said, No, it isn't normal and things have come a long way since then.

I ended up finding out years later when I was trying to get pregnant (and I had a much better doctor) I had polyps and had them removed...not only did I get pregnant the horrible periods stopped. (Which I though got sorted out from my pregnancy hormones...nope a few years later they got really really bad again and sure enough I had another polyp.)

Being older and done having children I had an ablation to keep them from growing back as easily.

You are 18, so you can book an appt with an OB/GYN get some recommendations from friends to find a good one. Call ahead and find out how much it will cost for a visit (if you have insurance it might be covered). Tell them what's going on. They will put you on birth control pills to try and help the symptoms and sometimes that does help. If you don't have insurance you could go to a free clinic or maybe Planned Parenthood (call first their services vary by location and if they have an OB on staff or just nurse practitioners).

It is not normal...I did find out taking a hot bath as hot as I could stand it really helped with the cramping and a heating pad between soaks in the tub. Also ibuprofen, but that only took the edge off of it if I wasn't throwing up. Good luck!!!

Definitely talk to your OB/GYN. My periods make me really sick (aggravate my IBS), so mine had me take the pill straight through. I rarely do the period week and when I choose to do the week, it's not as bad as it used to be. Your OB/GYN will know what's the best option for you, but you definitely don't have to live this way.

definitely see a gyn about this, i had horrible cramping and it was so bad that i was blacking out from the pain of my period. i talked to a gyn. they prescribed a birth controll pill that not only regulated my cycles but also eliminated the pain of the periods