I love being
a girl! Dressing up, makeup, all things girly and feminine included.
But like all
the other ladies, I dread that time of the month and I particularly detest it
when my period coincides with important dates, events or worse, travel dates.
Apart from the inconvenience and trouble, bad menstrual cramps are seriously
the worst 🙁
I’m sure most
ladies have experienced them before, cramps that are so painful that you feel
horrible and just want to curl up in bed and cry. It can be so debilitating
that your school, work or social life is affected, and worst of all, this cycle
happens every single month, for the rest of your life! Just to think about the
pain and suffering every 28 days of your life.. It’s a pretty bleak thought.
I was
privileged to attend a very informative workshop a couple weeks ago and I
learned a lot of tricks to dealing with menstrual cramps, which I’m gonna share
with you girls too!
Don’t Let
Menstrual Cramps Steal Your Days!
When it comes to menstrual cramps, you don’t have to
suffer in silence, really! There’s a ton of tips/remedies to help with easing
bad cramps, so read on!
Heat
This never
fails to make me feel better. Applying a little bit of heat to the stomach can
actually help ease menstrual pain.Try a heat patch or resting a hot water
bottle on the stomach!
Exercise
I did a bit
of research and it seems that light exercise, especially stretching exercises
such as Yoga is actually helpful towards easing menstrual cramps! And it’s even
better too if you exercise regularly all the time and stay active!
A warm shower
Similar to
applying heat on the tummy, I always take a comforting warm shower which helps
to relax my body and takes away some of the discomfort.
Over-the-counter pain relievers
There’s over-the-counter
medication available for pain relief, which may help with mild menstrual
cramps.
See your doctor
If you have
very severe menstrual cramps which aren’t helped by the above, the most
effective thing to do is to consult your doctor for more options! A doctor can
prescribe you stronger medication to help pain relief, such as non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). However, these drugs may be associated
with gastric side effects and have to be taken 2-3 times a day for effective
pain relief.
Not sure if
you’ve heard of Arcoxia, but I have had recommendations to try this
particular pain relief medication which works just like NSAIDS but with lower
risk of gastric side effects! It only has to be taken once a day but Dr Fong
mentioned that you will need to see your doctor for this medication.
I also know
of people who take birth control pills because they regulate your hormones and
thus help to reduce period cramps.
Most
importantly, do know that you don’t have to suffer every month! You can be
empowered to take control of your menstrual cramps with the above tips and
information.
During our session, we were given a talk by Dr Fong Yoke Fai, who’s a Senior Consultant and Head of Benign Gynecology at National University Hospital, Singapore.
It’s scary,
but we learnt that painful menstrual cramps can be caused by a condition called
Endometriosis, which occurs in ONE in every TEN women!
Endometriosis is a condition where the endometrium
(inner membrane of the uterus) is found in areas outside the uterus, usually within
the pelvis.
It is not a cancer or STD, but may be genetically
linked. Some common symptoms are:
-Painful and/or heavy periods
-Painful intercourse
-Infertility
-Pelvic pain not related to menses
However, you
could even be totally symptom-free because symptoms and disease severity do not
go hand in hand. Which makes Endometriosis even more scary 🙁
The great
news is that the earlier this condition is detected, the better it can be
treated. There’s many different ways to treat Endometriosis, ranging from medicines to implants/injections and lastly surgery for
more serious cases. Treatment can help to relieve your symptoms and improve
fertility, as well as improve your quality of life!
If you are experiencing
severe menstrual cramps, I strongly urge you to see a doctor and get checked
out, instead of just suffering in silence and brushing it off by thinking that
this is something that’s perfectly normal. It could very well be Endometriosis
that’s affecting you and keeping you from enjoying a higher quality of life.
Here’s the
lovely ladies who attended this informative talk with me! We really learned a
lot from Dr Fong, who was very helpful and willing to share.
Dr Fong is
also heading an initiative at NUH: EndometriosisAwareness Campaign,
Singapore which is dedicated to growing a community of support and hope for
women who suffer from Endometriosis and also to spread the word about this
condition so that more women can be detected for this condition earlier and
allow a better quality of life!
I’m all for
supporting the EndometriosisAwareness Campaign
because I think everyone should be better educated in our current age of
information and technology. Noone should be suffering in silence due to
ignorance, especially when this condition affects one in every ten women of
reproductive age.
You should
follow EndometriosisAwareness Campaign’s Facebook page too to learn more about the condition and to help
awareness!
Cheers to a better quality of life every single day, and remember not to let menstrual cramps steal your days!
xoxo
Look for me on my other social media platforms here:
