How can I lessen my stomach cramps and go diving?

[miss_scuba]

The older I get, the worse my stomach cramps get.

Not only that, but it seems that my period always starts on a weekend, when I am on a dive boat.

A few weeks ago I felt sooooooooo bad that I could not even dive. I just curled up in a bunk and wished that somebody push me overboard and let me die.

Of course, by Thuesday I felt perfectly fine.

Does anybody have any tips how NOT TO FEEL SO BAD?
I don't like to take medication, so please don't start naming pills! That will not work.

 

[Walter]

Natural treatments.

 

[drl]

Raspberry leaf tea can be helpful (and it's natural). Those little heating pads that stick on the inside of your underwear (Thermacare is one brand; there are others) really help too, though I wouldn't try wearing them in the water.

 

[fairybasslet]

You don't say how old you are, but have you seen your gyn lately? You might have fibroids that could be causing those symptoms. If its something kind of new, I would see the doc just to rule out anything serious.

 

[TSandM]

I know you say you don't like to take pills, but a lot of the cramping is modulated by prostaglandins. Starting some ibuprofen a day or two before you're due can really decrease the severity. 800 mg three times a day, start two days before your period and continue through the first 24 to 48 hours, or whenever your cramps tend to be worst. This is assuming, of course, that you don't have any contraindications to antiinflammatories (no kidney disease, no ulcers, etc.)

And although this is NOT good medical advice, I also learned to use my birth control pills to avoid getting my period when I really didn't want it. Taking an extra pill or two, or stopping them one or two days early, could make sure I didn't end up on the floor puking when something important was happening.

I feel for you. I had eight years of misery, and finally, at the age of 21, I had a hysterectomy. (That solves the problem!)

 

[fairybasslet]

I feel for you. I had eight years of misery, and finally, at the age of 21, I had a hysterectomy. (That solves the problem!)

At 21???

 

[htweeo]

I would see a docter.

 

[AbyssalPlains]

A few weeks ago I felt sooooooooo bad that I could not even dive. I just curled up in a bunk and wished that somebody push me overboard and let me die.


I don't like to take medication, so please don't start naming pills! That will not work.

If you really felt THAT terrible, you might want to reconsider. In severe cases, anything but medication, chosen carefully by you and your doctor, might simply not work. I'm just like you, I hate taking medication. However, I had a recent run-in with sea sickness and tried the "gentle remedies", like ginger, pressing a spot on your wrist etc. Quackery. I finally broke down and tried Dramamine. Boy, did that put the fun back into being on a boat!

 

[AbyssalPlains]

Raspberry leaf tea can be helpful (and it's natural). Those little heating pads that stick on the inside of your underwear (Thermacare is one brand; there are others) really help too, though I wouldn't try wearing them in the water.

Keep in mind that "natural" is a totally overused notion. Automatically, many people assume that "natural" must be somehow better than "synthetic" medications. Why not try Arsenic? It's natural, too.

 

[fairybasslet]

Why not try Arsenic? It's natural, too.