How To Treat Stomach Cramps During The First Trimester
Needless to say, painful cramps during early pregnancy can be inconvenient and uncomfortable. You might be experiencing physical and emotional changes, and adding cramps to your discomfort might feel overwhelming. Treating pregnancy cramps can help you feel more comfortable and as stress free as possible.
If youre experiencing cramps, here are a few tips for alleviating them quickly:
- Drink water. You are more likely to experience cramps if you are dehydrated. Make sure that you drink at least eight cups of water each day.
- Change positions. When you experience cramps, try shifting positions while lying or sitting down. Dont put pressure on the source of the pain.
- Stretch and exercise. Try doing mild pregnancy exercises or stretch your body to soothe cramped muscles. In addition to relieving active cramps, this can also help prevent future ones.
- Gentle massage. A massage can stimulate blood circulation in your muscles, relieving uncomfortable cramps. Getting a gentle lower back massage might help relieve aches.
- Sleep. Try to get a good nights sleep during early pregnancy as this makes you feel rested. Try to get enough sleep every night.
When To See A Doctor About Butt Pain During Your Period
Butt pain during your period can unfortunately just be run of the mill. But Dr. Greves recommends keeping a diary of the pain to help determine if its really related to your period. Its also smart to track the severity of your symptoms. If butt pain during your period doesnt get better with painkillers or gets so bad you cant function, see your doctor. Debilitating discomfort around your period is something worth addressing, no matter where it is.
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You Go Mother Earth Natural Remedies
Theres a few natural remedies can help ease bloating, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal woes. One is peppermint, which has been a staple of GI treatment for centuries.
Peppermint oil helps to keep waste moving through your intestines and combats inflammation. .
According to a 2016 study, peppermint may help relieve stomach pain, reduce bloating, and make a person feel less regularly like they need to poop everywhere. Cash BD, et al. A novel delivery system of peppermint oil is an effective therapy for irritable bowel syndrome symptoms.
Digestive issues dont always wait for your period to rear their ugly head. For monstrous premenstrual symptoms, a cup of ginger tea could be just the ticket. According to a 2014 study, ginger may ease nausea, relieve joint and muscle aches, and improve mood during that uncomfortable pre-period period. Khayat S, et al. Effect of treatment with ginger on the severity of premenstrual syndrome symptoms. DOI: 10.1155/2014/792708
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Exercise Regularly To Prevent Cramping
Another way to help reduce episodes of cramping before the start of your period is to keep yourself in shape by exercising.
According to Dr. Melissa Conrad Stöppler on MedicineNet, physical exercise can help to get relief from menstrual cramping. This is because exercise releases pain-relieving endorphins and can manage cramps associated with the menstrual cycle.2
For some ideas about exercises to help keep you in shape and reduce menstrual cramps, please read my article on the easy exercises for great legs and butt you can do at home.
Your Hormones During Your Menstrual Cycle
Before we dive into how your hormones can affect your digestion, its important to have a good understanding of how our hormones change throughout our cycle.
Our menstrual cycle consists of two distinct phases with different hormones dominating each one.
The first phase, the follicular phase, lasts from the day you start your period until the day you ovulate. This phase, which varies widely in length from woman to woman, is dominated by the sex hormone estrogen.
Then the luteal phase occurs from the day you ovulate until the day before your next period. This phase is typically the same length, give or take a day or two, for each woman, and is dominated by the sex hormone progesterone.
Charts like the one below are useful for helping to visualize the hormonal changes during each phase of our cycle.
As you can see from the chart above, estrogen is at its peak right before we ovulate. And both estrogen and progesterone are elevated until a few days before your period.
This is important to keep in mind as we dive into how these hormonal changes affect our digestion.
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Menstrual Cramps Are Classified As
1. Primary Dysmenorrhoea
- Arises in women under the age of 20.
- One may feel mild to severe pain in the lower abdomen, back, and thighs. It starts right before the period and usually lasts between 12-72 hours.
- Due to pain caused by uterine muscle contractions. During menses, a high level of prostaglandins has released that act as chemical messengers which shed the uterine lining by uterine contraction causing pain during menstruation.
2. Secondary Dysmenorrhoea
- One may feel mild to severe pain in your lower abdomen, back, and thighs. It starts right before your period and usually lasts between 12-72 hours.
- It often first arises after a young woman has already been menstruating for several years. Here, women may also have pain at times of the month other than during menstruation.
- Pain during menstruation such as benign uterine growths , endometriosis uterine tissue lining growing outside the uterus elsewhere in the abdomen or pelvis, PID infection of the upper part of the female reproductive system.
The Most Common Causes Of Menstruation Cramps Before Period
Besides basic PMS cramping, there are all sorts of reasons you might end up feeling stomach cramps before periods. These conditions can range from reproductive problems to pregnancy. Some of them are quick and easy to treat while others may require more extensive care.
In some cases, the pain in your abdomen might be unrelated to your menstrual cycle. If you have a urinary tract infection or bladder infection, you may be feeling cramp-like pain in your lower abdomen. With UTIs, you tend to also have a fever and pain when urinating. Cramping sensations can also be caused by constipation, stomach flu, and food poisoning. In these cases, your cramping is usually accompanied by strange bowel movements and possibly vomiting.
Another potential cause of stomach cramps before periods is an ovarian cyst. Ovaries grow cyst-like structures every month when releasing an egg. However, the cyst sometimes sticks around after ovulation. It can grow larger and eventually cause pelvic pain and abdominal bloating. Growths can also develop on the uterine wall. Called fibroids, these are associated with cramping, heavy bleeding, and pelvic pain.
You may be able to identify these other conditions just by learning about their symptoms. However, many types of reproductive disorders have very subtle symptoms. You will typically need help from a female or male gynecologist South Florida to get a diagnosis.
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Coping With Period Pain
There are a number of simple ways to ease the discomfort.
Copper Iud: Period Pain After Insertion Vs Cramps Later On
A copper IUD is a nonpermanent, nonhormonal form of birth control that can prevent pregnancy for up to 10 years. The device, which is placed in the uterus by a licensed healthcare provider, works by continuously releasing copper, which immobilizes sperm and prevents egg implantation.
A copper IUD, as opposed to a progestin IUD, can make menses heavier and more painful, particularly in the first few cycles after insertion, says Streicher. But be aware if you have had your copper IUD for years and suddenly develop severe period pain, look for another reason. Your IUD is unlikely to be the culprit.
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What Can I Do For Cramps
If cramps bother you, you can:
- Take a pain reliever. Talk to your mom or dad or your doctor about which medicine is best for you. They can help you figure out how much to take and how often.
- Exercise! Being physically active can ease cramps, probably because exercise releases endorphins, which are chemicals in the body that make you feel good.
- Get warm. Try placing a warm water bottle, warm heating pad, or warm compress on your belly or take a warm bath.
If these tips dont help, talk to your parent or your doctor about other treatments.
What Causes Menstrual Cramps
- Endometriosis: The tissue that lines your uterus becomes implanted outside your uterus, most commonly on your fallopian tubes, ovaries or the tissue lining your pelvis
- Uterine fibroids: These noncancerous growths in the wall of the uterus may be the cause of pain
- Adenomyosis: The tissue that lines your uterus begins to grow into the muscular walls of the uterus
- Pelvic inflammatory disease : This infection of the female reproductive organs is usually caused by sexually transmitted bacteria
- Cervical stenosis: In some women, the opening of the cervix may be so small that it impedes menstrual flow, causing a painful increase of pressure within the uterus
While WebMD might tell you the five causes of your symptoms are all reason to run to the doctor, there are often much less severe and more common reasons for your symptoms.
You probably think that menstrual cramps just include the pain in your lower stomach however, it actually includes a lot more.
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Implantation Cramping Just Before The Menstrual Period
You could have cramps before your period if implantation has happened and you have become pregnant.
For many women, implantation cramping and implantation spotting are some of the first signs of pregnancy.
According to doctors from the Mayo Clinic, implantation cramping along with spotting happens a week to 2 weeks after conception. The abdominal cramping happens when the fertilized egg implants in the uterine lining. In fact, the light cramping can happen so close to the start of the period that some women mistake implantation cramping for their period.6
Of course, taking a pregnancy test at the right time is the only way to know if you are pregnant.
Jan Are Tummy Woes Common Before Or During Your Period
If you get stomach pain, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, bloating or another digestive problem in your premenstrual week or during your period, youre far from alone.
Past research has already shown that women with gastrointestinal disorders, such as IBS and Crohns disease, can experience flare-ups of these disorders around menses.
Now a new study of 156 women without GI disorders in the journal BMC Womens Health found that a whopping 73% reported experiencing at least one digestive complaint in the five days prior to menstruation, 69% reported experiencing at least one during their period and 31% were hit with two or more stomach woes either before or during menstruation. This means nearly three-quarters of the women in this study struggle with at least one cycle-related tummy trouble and nearly a third get struck with multiple cycle-related digestive issues.
Want to know the most common problems experienced by all women in the study? Bloating, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Sound familiar?
Get painful periods? The women in this study with a history of moderate to severe menstrual cramps were more likely to experience abdominal pain, diarrhea and nausea premenstrually and abdominal pain and nausea during menstruation. So, if your cramps are intense, chances are, youre more likely to experience more stomach complaints, too.
* Women experiencing the blues premenstrually or during their period were also more likely to experience diarrhea on these days.
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When Should I Report Stomach Pain In Pregnancy
Stomach pain can be very worrying for pregnant women. Pain can make you fear the worst, such as a miscarriage. Its important to listen to your own instincts. If you are worried about any pains youre having, or you just feel like something is wrong, contact your midwife. Dont be concerned about wasting anyones time. Its always best to get things checked out.
If you are having persistent stomach pain or cramping, or if the pain comes on suddenly it should be checked by a doctor or midwife immediately.
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Causes Of Cramping In Early Pregnancy
It is common to experience mild pain or cramps in your abdomen during pregnancy. In most cases, abdominal pain in early pregnancy is caused by normal bodily changes such as:
- Implantation When a fertilized egg forms a blastocyst and implants into the lining of the uterine wall, it can cause a bit of cramping in your lower abdomen. This is known as implantation cramping and is often one of the first signs of pregnancy.
- Uterine growth During the first two trimesters, there is rapid uterine growth to accommodate the growing fetus. This can also lead to early pregnancy cramping. As the ligaments and muscles that support the uterus also grow, you might experience sharp pain when you stand, change position, or sneeze/cough.
- Orgasm If you have sex while pregnant, you may experience cramps after an orgasm. The pain may feel similar to a period cramp and usually goes away quickly. This doesnt mean that you have to stop having sex if youre pregnant, though. That being said, if the pain is severe and accompanied by bleeding, consult with your health care provider immediately.
In rare cases, early pregnancy cramps may be caused by the following pregnancy problems:
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Remember: Take A Test
The most important thing you can do if you feel you may be pregnant is take a pregnancy test. These are inexpensive and widely available. You can even find them sometimes at the dollar stores! There are also community resources available such as Planned Parenthood, where you can get a test for free if you cannot afford to pay.
If you are too shy to buy one yourself, ask a friend to pick one up for you. You can even buy them on Amazon. For your health and your babys health, its best to know as soon as you can if you are indeed pregnant. Buck up and get one!
When taken properly, home pregnancy tests are 99% accurate. Though some say you can take them up for five days before your missed period, the earlier you test, the more likely you are to get a false negative. If the test is negative and your period still doesnt come, try again.
Learn The Difference Between Painful Periods Endometriosis And Ibs
If you have pain in your pelvic area, it may be difficult to know whats causing your discomfort. Maybe you feel nauseous or constipated, or have diarrhea. You may have mild to severe cramping during your period. Or perhaps you have pain during intercourse or during a bowel movement. These symptoms can range from inconvenient to incapacitating, and the causes can vary as well.
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Why Period Hormones Impact Your Stomach
Estrogen and progesterone are the two hormones that regulate your menstrual cycle, while prostaglandins are a lipid, or fat, compound that actually act like a hormone in the body, said Davis. Like estrogen and progesterone, your level of prostaglandins also fluctuate during your period. She explained there are different types of prostaglandins in the body, and one is specific to the female reproductive system. The amount of reproductive prostaglandins is what fluctuates during your period.
While its not known exactly why the GI tract is sensitive to hormonal changes throughout a womans cycle, it is known that there are sex hormone receptors located along the GI tract, said Davis. So, the presence of sex hormone receptors in the GI tract is the reason why experts think women experience digestive issues during their period. Receptors interact with the hormones, and regulate certain physical responses to the hormones. Davis explained, Progesterone is well known for causing constipation during pregnancy by slowing the motility, or the contraction of muscles, of the GI tract. On the other hand, estrogen tends to enhance GI motility, and can be to blame for diarrhea.
What Causes Breast Tenderness Before A Period
There are a number of possible causes of breast pain before a period. If youre wondering what hormone causes breast tenderness before a period, youll find your answers below. From monthly hormonal fluctuations to the use of certain medications, there are many possible reasons for this condition. Lets read about each of the possible causes in detail.
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Does Your Stomach Hurt Two Weeks Into Pregnancy
Many women will notice that they feel uterine cramping as an early sign and symptom pregnancy. You could even feel period like cramps or even pain on one side. The most common reason for this kind of cramp is that your uterus is growing. This is normal pain and should be expected in a healthy pregnancy.
What Causes Menstrual Period To Come Out
Period occurs due to cyclical change of your hormones during your menstrual cycle.
What is the menstrual cycle?
The menstrual cycle is the number of days between 2 periods. For example, if your last menstrual period started on the 27th of April and your next period starts on the 26th of May, then you have a 30-day menstrual cycle.
Some women may have an erratic menstrual cycle, short menstrual cycle or long menstrual cycle.
What causes period to come out?
At birth and during puberty, the ovaries contain a fixed number of follicles that are released in each cycle. Weeks before you are born, your body stops producing follicle that develops to release an egg.
It is estimated that throughout the lifetime of women, about 500 eggs are released from the ovaries. These release of the egg is called ovulation.
Before ovulation occurs, your body increases the secretion of estrogen. This hormone works to help grow the endometrium covering the inner part of the uterus.
If you get pregnant, you will have no period because the endometrium helps provide nutrition for your baby.
However, if youre not pregnant, the endometrium breaks down coming out from your vagina as period.
Now its your turn. Do you have a headache or pains before your period starts? Are your menstrual period symptoms affecting your daily activities?
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