How much period pain is normal?
Period pain is common and many women experience some degree of pain and cramping during menstruation. Some mild discomfort or heaviness in the pelvic region is normal, however, pain that requires painkillers or time off work or school is not normal and can be helped with dietary and lifestyle changes.
How much period pain is normal?
So, what is normal? How much period pain is normal? A little bit of mild discomfort, let's say. I would not call it pain. I don't think any kind of pain is necessary. Pain is always... I love the acronym for pain. It is a suggestion from our bodies to Pay Attention Inside Now, so paying attention to something that needs to shift.
There are a lot of different factors at play here that we can look into. However, anything other than some kind of mild discomfort, like definitely normal to have that kind of feeling of heaviness in the pelvic region, you know, there is a lot going on inside our bodies at this time. It would be great if we could have a sticker just to be like "Yo, busy inside!" You know, even if we're not doing anything on the outside, there's a lot going on on the inside, and we need to kind of acknowledge that.
So yes, our uterine lining is shedding, and we are releasing things called prostaglandins. And so, all of these things are happening that are contributing to pain and discomfort. A small amount of that is normal. So, a little bit of discomfort, a bit of pelvic fullness, you know, and a feeling of just sensation, generally, in that area, is normal. Anything more than that, any kind of pain, really, I would suggest is not normal.
There are a lot of different answers you can get when you look this up on the internet. As always, Dr. Google provides plenty of varying answers. One that I came across is that if you need to take painkillers and they don't work, then your period pain is too much. However, I think if you need to take any kind of painkillers and they do work, that's still too much period pain in my books. And if that's something you are experiencing, definitely, like seek out a herbalist or a naturopath, keep an eye on my page and all the different suggestions that I'm gonna come up with later and in future blogs because there is a lot you can do if you're experiencing more than that mild discomfort and pelvic heaviness.
The problem with painkillers
There is a paper I have here, a scientific paper, looking at the Risks of Using Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs.(1) It says from the first day of use, all NSAIDs increase the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, myocardial infarction, which is heart attack, and stroke. So even though this type of medication, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, they reduce the production of those prostaglandins but they are not without side effects. So, I think, if you are kind of being forced by your body to take this kind of medication one or two days every month, then definitely, it's a sign to pay attention inside now. That much period pain is normal and does not need to be a necessary part of being a menstruating woman!
Why is my period so painful?
As I mentioned, we have this kind of hormone-like compounds in our body called prostaglandins and the highest amount of these are produced in the first 48 hours of our menstrual bleed. They cause a lot of the pain associated with periods. That would be what we call primary dysmenorrhea. That's you're just getting period pain because you have a period.
There's also secondary dysmenorrhea and that's pain that's associated with another illness, like endometriosis, adenomyosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, fibroids maybe.
That's not to say that there's nothing you can do about those either. There definitely is, and herbal medicine can be really great support for those things. They are all issues that are often associated with higher levels of estrogen, estrogen dominance, or estrogen excess, depending on what you want to call it.
Herbs like Agnus castus can be really, really helpful at rebalancing that hormone imbalance that's contributing to a lot of these conditions. But painful periods as well can be associated with higher levels of estrogen, especially if your period is also very heavy or if your periods are close together, if you've got a kind of a short cycle, less than 28 days, you know 21, 23, whatever it might be. Often, there's more estrogen in your body, and Agnus castus or Vitex can help to rebalance that.(2)
Why is my period so painful?
1. Prostaglandins
If it's primary dysmenorrhea, that's some of the prostaglandins. You know, there's this shedding that's happening. So that's where you have that sensation down there because there is something going on. And it can also be a secondary issue to some of these illnesses.
2. Dehydration
There are a lot of other things at play as well. You could be dehydrated. Hydration is a really, really important factor for reducing pain in our bodies, in general.
3. Sleep
You could be not sleeping enough. Sufficient sleep is associated with less period pain.
4. Stagnation
In Chinese medicine, they would often associate period pain with something called stagnation. So there's just not enough blood flow and movement happening, and that stagnation is what can lead to pain.
5. Smoking
Smoking is also another risk factor. So, if you smoke, it's more likely that you will have painful periods.
So, there's a lot of different things that can be contributing to painful periods and a lot of them are lifestyle, dietary factors that can be changed.
The Sixth Vital Sign
Our period, the menstrual cycle, in general, is now considered a vital sign, like our blood pressure and our temperature. It's a sign for us to look at our bodies and see what's going on. So, if we're experiencing a huge amount of pain in our period, it is a sign for us to, as I said, pay attention and see what's going on.
A lot of the time, in the society that we live in nowadays, we are expected to act on.You know, it's a man's world. We're expected to act on this, you know, daily, all day, everyday sort of schedule, which fits in very well with the male body.
But, for our bodies, we're cyclical and, you know, we've more energy and more go, usually around ovulation. And then, around the time of our period is the time where we should be resting.
Unfortunately, in the world that we live in, that can be very difficult. You know, if you have kids, jobs, and lots of commitments, you might not find the time to rest during your period. And it could be your body's way of protesting by causing you so much pain that you need to lie down and rest.
So taking that time for yourself during menstruation, taking that time to rest if you can... I find it nearly impossible at the moment. I have a small child and working full-time. It's very difficult for me to take that time like I used to. However, what I do is I just generally go to bed when my daughter goes to bed and I usually sleep for 12 hours on the days that I'm bleeding, and that helps. You know, it's gonna be different for everyone, but taking the time to check in with yourself and see what it is you need and how you can honour that period of menstruation can go, in a long way, to helping period pain in the long run as well.
How can I have pain-free periods?
That is a really, really good question and one that we will look at definitely in more detail in the future.
1. Drink more water
I've mentioned, things like drinking enough water, getting enough rest, sleeping lots, eating lots of whole foods, and limiting processed foods, and then herbs that can help.
2. Try herbal remedies
Agnus-castus is a really wonderful herb that can be taken on an ongoing basis long-term.
Other herbs can be taken during your period to relieve pain. Valerian is a really great antispasmodic herb that can help with period pain.(3) You can take that just on the days that you're experiencing period pain.
Ginger, and chamomile, can be both drank as tea, and they're really helpful. You know, obviously, the things that we know like heat in a hot water bottle and abdominal massage can help too. We'll dive into different things that you can take for period pain in more detail in a future blog but for today, we will leave it there.
Just a quick summary that how much period pain is normal, really, a small bit of sensation, discomfort is, you know, that kind of pelvic heaviness, that is what I would say is normal. But if you are finding you're in so much pain that you need to take painkillers, then definitely a good idea to look into what you can do to help get your body back into more balance so that you can have pain-free periods going forward.
If you have any questions, as always, let me know in the comments or in an email and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
