Severe Menstrual Cramps

Your period, when it comes, isn’t supposed to knock you off your feet for days. If you’re suffering severe menstrual cramps and unbearable pain, seek the help of the Astra Fibroid Treatment Specialists in Brooklyn, NY and Bronx, NY. Dr. George Bolotin, an expert Interventional Radiologist, diagnoses the cause of your menstrual pain. Fibroids, growths on your uterus, is one of the most common causes of unusual menstrual cramps. For lasting severe menstrual cramp relief, call Dr. Bolotin. Get back to enjoying your life, all month, every month.

How Bad Are Severe Menstrual Cramps?

Menstrual cramps are considered severe when you can’t get relief from at-home remedies, such as taking over-the-counter pain medications or using a heating pad. Other symptoms that often accompany severe menstrual cramps include:

• Heavy bleeding
• Pelvic pain that’s as painful as childbirth
• Bleeding between periods

If you experience cramps with these symptoms every month, it impacts your whole life, from your routines to your relationships to your work or school life. You can’t enjoy or even fully participate in your favorite activities. If this describes the influence your cycle has over your life, you have severe menstrual cramps and need to seek medical attention.

Get in touch with the Astra Fibroid Treatment Specialists in Brooklyn, NY and Bronx, NY. Founder George Bolotin, MD is an Interventional Radiologist who specializes in vein disorders and fibroid conditions. Through expert diagnostic techniques, he can pinpoint the cause of your severe menstrual cramps, including finding out if you have uterine fibroid growths. Fibroids are one of the most common cause of severe cramping and bleeding during your cycle.

What Causes Severe Menstrual Cramps?

There may be several medical reasons why you’re experiencing severe menstrual cramps. During your consultation, Dr. Bolotin gives you an exam and takes your medical and family histories. To find the exact cause, you may need additional imaging tests, such as an ultrasound. Your fibroid specialist is attempting to rule out all possible causes to get to the actual cause, which may involve:

• Fibroids. These are benign growths that form on your uterine wall. They can be as small as a pea or as large as a grapefruit. If they start causing symptoms, they need to be treated or even removed. Severe menstrual cramps by themselves are a symptom of uterine fibroids.
• Endometriosis. This condition occurs when the endometrial cells from your uterus grow outside the uterus. These cells can cause your other pelvic organs to stick together, resulting in severe pain. The abnormal cells can be treated or surgically removed.
• Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID is an infection of your reproductive organs. This disease can cause bleeding and pain. PID stems from an untreated sexually transmitted disease, but antibiotics usually treat it successfully.
• Ovarian cysts. These growths are small sacs filled with fluid or tissue that grow on your ovaries. Larger cysts can cause pain or your period cramps to be much worse than usual. Small cysts usually don’t cause any symptoms. Cysts can burst, though, and when that happens, it causes a lot of bleeding and can put your life in danger. Visit your doctor as soon as you notice a consistent increase in your bleeding or menstrual cramp pain.
• An intrauterine device. A non-hormonal IUD, while safe, emits copper to keep you from getting pregnant. These devices can cause heavy bleeding and more pain than usual during your first few cycles. Check with your gynecologist if you’ve had one placed recently and you’re experiencing more bleeding than usual.

What Can I Do to Treat Severe Menstrual Cramps?

There are many things you can do to ease your pain, from at-home treatments to over-the-counter pain killers and alternative treatments. Self-care treatments include:

• Over-the-counter pain medications. Pharmacies stock pain relievers, including multi-symptom medications meant to cover all your menstrual discomfort.
• Heat application. Whether you use a heating pad or lie in a hot bath, heat is usually very soothing to your reproductive system during a painful period.
• Plenty of sleep. Enough sleep helps you combat pain, especially right before you get your period.
• A hormone treatment. Birth control pills and devices can help with pain and heavy bleeding. You can try the pill, the patch or a vaginal ring. IUDs can also moderate period pain, once it’s been inserted for a few months.
• Physical therapy. PT sometimes works to relax and stretch your pelvic floor muscles enough to relieve your severe menstrual cramps and pain. You can do the exercises and movements at home.
• Meditation. Calming your mind can calm your body as well. Try relaxing visualizations to control your pain.
• Yoga. This form of meditation and exercise can help when your muscles are trying to contract during your menstrual cycle.
• High-impact exercise. Do these exercises on the days you’re not having your period to keep your body loose and limber.

These at-home remedies may work temporarily. To get severe menstrual cramp relief that lasts, you have to learn the reason for your suffering. Once the source is identified, a fibroid specialist like Dr. Bolotin can prescribe an effective treatment, especially if the source is from uterine fibroids. Contact the Astra Fibroid Treatment Specialists for an appointment so you can start feeling better as soon as possible.