Well, I woke up with that wonderful shallow burning pain and needing to go to the toilet desperately. I wouldn’t have minded laying there for a few minutes to adjust to the morning light but no my body was telling me to go immediately!
I had a wonderful bought of runny tummy followed by that knowing that it was that time of the month. I felt crap. Cramping, bloated and light headed I straddled myself back upstairs to try and face another day at work. I managed to get to work – even though I could feel the pain throughout getting ready process. I took some ibuprofen as this normally works pretty well but no it wasn’t doing the trick this month.
So, I had to take a day off work. Truth is, I had worked really hard yesterday and possibly overdid it. I was feeling okay but somehow shaky and the thought of having to concentrate was too much. Energy draining stuff!
Well, so I went home. Here is the process I have taken to feel a whole lot better by the middle of the day:
1. Took off all that fancy work wear and put on my sloppy pants. These should ideally be ones with a drawstring or very loose elastic! I can’t handle any elastic!
2. I made myself a tea. Initially I made a Chamomile Tea but I have varied my tea selection throughout the day.
3. Made myself a heat pack. Now you can use a hot water bottle for this but I find the heat pack better cos it isn’t as heavy on the tummy and I have this cool strap for it so I can walk around with it too!
4. Watched several chick flick movies. I love these when I am sore as I somehow feel better when I let some of that emotion out. I like to cry at all the soppy scenes and it somehow distracts from my own pain and potentially feeling sorry for myself. Here is what I watched: The Notebook, Marley and Me and off course: Sex and the City!
5. Ate some cucumber and parsley to get my body to flush out what it needs to.
6. Did some really basic Yoga which opens up the lower pelvic area. These are seriously light and not strenuous but do wonders! It gets oxygen into the area which really alleviates the pain extremities!
Check out this one.
7. Gave myself a Calendula massage. This is a beautiful oil that doesn’t smell funny afterwards. I rub it in and give myself a light massage. It somehow just alleviates that total bloated feeling.
8. Ate lots of fruit and nuts throughout the day and drank heaps of water too. This ensured I didn’t get that hunger sensation like I had the other day.
So, it is amazing how much better all these little things in combination can do. They don’t get rid of the pain totally but I do feel much better than I did this morning. The main thing is not to panic about the pain. Remember when we cramp we get more sore!
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What do you do when you get sore? What works for you? Any other ideas besides the ones I used today?
Author of Cure Endometriosis & Eating with Mel.
So, last month i cut gluten out of my diet (About 2 weeks before my expected time of the month) and im not sure if its jut a coincidence, but my pain wasn’t as bad! I drank alot of chamomile tea (Which i have grown to LOVE). Whenever i felt pain, i would lay on the ground and do some ab exercises. I stayed on top of my Motrin and Tylenol, too. I also found some yoga, one position in particular that REALLY REALLY helped. It always made the pain go away.
I sat up really straight, on the floor with my back against the wall and put my feet together. Then i pulled my feet as close to my body as possible while keeping a straight back.
^^THAT RIGHT THERE IS A MIRACLE FOR ME^^
I’m hoping, eventually i wont need any painkillers. (:
Great tip – thank you Mary. Gluten makes a huge difference to pain levels with endo – think our digestion is just not as good.
Well done
Speaking of heat packs, there’s this fantastic thing called a Bed Buddy. I used to just use a hot water bottle, but when I got married my husband already had this Bed Buddy thing, and it’s the best thing in the world. It’s basically a cloth bag with buckwheats inside it. You heat it up (a microwave is the most convenient way), and it stays hot for quite a while.
That is a great tip! Thanks for sharing
When I get my pains they are usually so bad that I can’t really make tea or heating pads anymore
Therefore I use Ibuprofen which doesn’t take the pain really away, but keeps it so much at bay that I can think again and maybe even make tea/heating pads/sleep. Sometimes I deliberately sleep only a few hours on the day before I get my period (sometimes difficult as it’s so irregular), so I’m very exhausted on Day 1 and just fall asleep – sort of “passing out” against the pain. However that’s not really healthy… :/
Hi Isadora. That is certainly not a great healing regiment
but I can understand why you do that~
http://www.cureendometriosis.com/could-this-be-your-easy-affordable-solution-for-endometriosis/
Next time you get such severe pain, try the Castor Oil Pack. Trust me! This is amazing. Also take 6 Evening Primrose Oil capsules in a day. Unfortunately, Ibuprofen will actually make your healing get worse over the long run. It affects your liver and also the very hormones that actually alleviate inflammation and clotting. Hope we can find a better alternative for you than drugs and sleep
I take barley grass powder by now brand and i find the chlorphyll oxygenates the blood and pelvic region to releive pain and also build good intestinal flora.
That is brilliant and thanks for sharing! I will give it a g
One thing I do if I can, is take a nap. I usually feel so tired when I don’t feel well. Sleeping usually helps reducing the pain. I can’t always do that, unless I’m off work… But then again I’ve found myself taking a nap after coming home from work, I lay down on the couch to try to relax and end up falling asleep for a little while! Sleep is good!
I totally agree with that one! Love the little nap! It makes such a difference too and you can’t feel pain when you’re asleep!