Period/Cramp question

[scorpio72]

This is new territory for me.  DD#1 started her period a few months ago.  She's having really bad cramps and nausea with it.  I remember the cramps but I never had nausea with them, although it was a REALLY long time ago, so maybe I've just blocked it out.   

Any recommendations on how to help her deal with this?  Advil seems to help a bit.  Midol does nothing.  Heating pad helps a bit.  Anything to help with the nausea?  That seems to be the worst part of it.  I know it's the surge of hormones and maybe we just need to ride it out.  

Thanks to birth control it's been forever since I had cramps or even a period so I'm not so helpful.  

[ZoeHart]

Motrin works best for me. I've used two heating pads before - one for my stomach and one for my back. I get awful cramps.

Honestly I felt best on birth control.

[spitforspat]

When I first got my period I had terrible cramps and nausea. I got a prescription for pain meds to use on the worst days, and eventually got on birth control which helped a lot.

Other things that help me are taking medicine at the very first sign of period/cramps and not letting them get out of control, and baths. Nice hot baths.

[scottyderp]

I'd probably go to the doc to make sure all is well. Unless she's pain sensitive and her pain just manifests with nausea. I developed nausea years later and like pp said, nipping it in the bud early with a pain killer tricks my body into a calmer, less-nauseated state. Ginger helps.

[mcsangel2]

Prescription meds or birth control pills (depending out how old she is).

[Alyssa]

I used to get horrible cramps as a teen to the point of getting the cold sweats, passing out and throwing up. They were right on par with active labor contractions now that I'm a mom.

Anyway, I would pop a couple Advils and take a swig of Pepto. Then go lay down for about 20 minutes until the Advil kicked in. If you have a heating pad, I would have her use that too.

[compassrose]

I had cramps that led to vomiting, diarrhea, or passing out until I was on birth control. Thankfully, my mom let me stay home the first day every month.

Taking two Advil in combo with one Tylenol was the recommendation of my doctor uncle. It's the best non-prescription thing I've found. Plus the heating pad.

[mich1]

For me, it was important to get the ibuprofen in me BEFORE the cramps got a full hold and then to take them regularly. The cramps seemed to exacerbate the nausea and diarrhea, so getting that under control controlled the rest.

She may need a prescription dose of ibuprofen....or the ok to take this much. You can take yp to 3200 mg of ibuprofen a day under a doctor's supervision.

Going on BCPs did help a lot.

[Eagles]

I get the nausea and have since I was a teenager. I keep Nauzene chewables in my bag and massage acupressure points in my wrist (you can Google; I know Sloan Kettering has it on their site). Ginger ale helps, too.

Poor girl. My cramps were very bad as a teen, improved in my twenties and early thirties, and have just gotten bad again in the last six months or so. I hope she finds something that helps!

[achi]

A lot of Motrin. Like more than the bottle says you should have in a day. And birth control pills.

Edit: and like PPs I would need to start it the day before my period. I would usually have an hour of what I called "warning cramps" the day before it started. As soon as I felt those I started popping the Motrin

[pamela]

Heating pad and avoiding any cold drinks the worst days. Aleve worked for me more than Advil, but i remember my doc then told me I could rotate them.

[MrsAxilla]

PAMPRIN! PAMPRIN PAMPRIN PAMPRIN! Maximum strength, multi-symptom. It's made with magical unicorn tears and works a million times better than everything else, including prescription pain killers. Take three at the first twinge.

[anastasia517]

Poor thing. I'd want to talk to a doctor to make sure it's "normal" and not related to a disorder of some kind. I know my sister was deemed healthy and got pain meds while my cousins were diagnosed with PCOS and put on the pill quite young to manage symptoms. Hopefully you find something that works for her.

[cabbagecabbage]

It's important to catch it early. Take ibuprofen at the first sign of cramps. If I can medicate before it takes over, I'm fine and it never gets awful.

Laying in child's pose or with knees on the ground, butt up and head on my hands helps too.

[noodleskooze]

Hearing pad and Advil, though honestly, I stayed hope the first day of my period almost every month of high school