“Stomach cramps?”
I am 19 years old. I have menstrual cramps every month the severity always changes but for the past few months they have been very severe but they lessen with over the counter medication. Last month after my period I started getting really severe pain in my abdomen just after my period but it only lasted about 3 days. This month however the same type of pain started the day before my period ended it has been going on for 10 days now. I have tried regular pain killers, ibuprofen, MMT and other medication but nothing works. The pain is kind of systematic I don't feel it in the morning when I wake up, it starts around 11 then stops after about 3 hours then it picks up again at 1600. I don't have any diseases. Also, the length and of my period has decreased from 5 days to 3 days since last month and there is very little blood.
Female | 19 years old
1 Answer
Dr. Victoria Mondloch
OB-GYN (Obstetrician-Gynecologist) | Gynecology
Severe cramps can be associated with a few things: 1) this may be a low Progesterone which means a n Estradiol/Progesterone female hormone imbalance; this causes more lining to have to be passed which means your cervix has to dilate in order to pass more blood and these cramps can be similar to labor pains. Severe cramps with minimal bleeding can also mean endometriosis which is blood and tissue passing through your tubes and into your abdomen causing a condition like peritonitis and scar tissue. Then if scar tissue involves the bowel, it can cause GI symptoms that are associated with when you have good travel through your GI tract. One of the easiest things to do is to have your blood levels for Estradiol, Progesterone, Total Testosterone and Free Testosterone checked on d21 of your cycle with d1 of your cycle being the first day of bleeding. Check out my book, Blossoming, Becoming a Woman on Amazon; there is a section in the back about how to talk to your doctor and it talks about the bloodwork to order and why I recommend it. If your doctor is not comfortable interpreting these values, then contact my office: 262-524-9116 and let us help you.
Dr. Victoria J. Mondloch
Dr. Victoria J. Mondloch
