What medicine would best help my menstrual cramps, lower back and pelvic just got off of depo in Dec.?
493238
Try over the counter meds first, Advil, Tylenol extra strength, ibuprofen, before you move to the prescriptions.
1131965
try chewable motrin. i have serious cramps too and i take 2 extra strength tylenol every 4-6 hours those days i have cramps. it helps a lot. i think you should try to learn how to swallow pills. you probably will need to in the future so better to learn now, but try a chewable version of a pain reliever\n\ngood luck
930303
You are injecting artificial  hormones into your body and any sort of hormonal inbalancing or consequences can happen.  Hormone "imbalances" can cause sore, swolen, or leaking breaks (like it would if you were pregnant).  This may be just the beginning for you, so please watch carefully for other side affects.  \n\nDepo Provera is akin to forcing your body into an early menopause state.  If you ever heard what women say about their personalities while "going through the change".  Depo can produce the same thing!\n\nI've been off the Depo Provera since 2000 and my hair and my eyebrows still haven't grown all the way back. I lost about a 1/4 inch along most of my front hair line. The rest of my hair came back and is thick and strong, but the hairline is not the same compared to what it was. In addition to the severe hair loss, I gained over 40 pounds, 20 while taking Depo and 20 after coming off. I never had a migraine before Depo and during use and for the first year after being off it, I had severe migraines at least once a week. My skin itched like I wanted to rip it off and I was hot all the time. I would get extreme vertigo with no warning. Just try staggering at work or while in the pharmacy and not look like you had a drinking problem! My bones also ached a lot. Depo has been proven to cause osteoporosis. Over a year after coming off the Depo Provera, I developed two serious blood clots one after the other. The cause was never completely determined because I had not been on birth control of any kind for over a year and my blood tests were normal. I finally had a rib removed and the clots stopped, but I will contend to this day the Depo had at least a little something to do with it. About the same time as the blood clots, I started having severe cramping and a year into it, my doctor found pretty severe endometriosis. With the resulting depression and the lack of sex from Depo you may not have to worry about getting pregnant because you won't want to have sex anyway. I know some people do just fine with this birth control, but it's not worth the chance. It takes upwards of 6 to 8 months for the effects to wear off and sometimes longer. My hair has never grown completely back along the hairline and I am having a hair transplant at a tune of $5,000.00 to fix it.  I had to have my eyebrows tattooed because they will not fill back in!   I am only 35! I can't wait until Depo is researched more deeply and to someday find out what else this drug did to screw up my system. \n\nI got the (copper) IUD (since I can't use hormones anymore due to future clotting risks). My insurance paid for it. You still get your period, but it's worth it.\n\nOur bodies are made to have periods unless we are pregnant. If you force your body into an unnatural state, it WILL fight back!\n\nPlease be careful and watch for other side affects.   I would hate to see you have dire consequences for trying to make your body do something it should not.  Remember, people do die from the changes that hormones cause their bodies.
707784
Get off it as fast as possible.\n\nPlease have a look at this.\nDepo Provera shots\nhttp://www.abcinternetmarketing.com/depo-provera/
647676
You don't say how old you are and that might affect how your periods are.\n\nOne thing that helps with cramps is to give up caffiene.  No coffee, tea, caffienated sodas and you might have a much easier time.\n\nThere are over the counter meds that work well--Pamprin works pretty well--and your doctor can prescribe stronger medications.  In some cases, birth control pills are prescribed to manage menstrual pain.\n\nOther things you can do?  Use a heating pad (or one of those heating bandages that are out now), gentle exercise such as stretching or walking, and if you're of age a shot of brandy or some other liquor works pretty well.\n\nGood luck.  (You have my sympathies)
653444
Almost all women have some cramping and aching during their periods, classified as either primary dysmenorrhea (which refers to "normal" menstrual pain) or secondary dysmenorrhea (which is a result of an underlying disease or disorder).\n\n"Normal" cramps occur in almost all women due to the release of prostaglandins, which are hormones produced by the endometrium (the lining of the uterus). Prostaglandins cause the uterus to contract (sometimes quite painfully) in order to expel the menstrual debris (and henceforth, start the period). Some women produce higher levels of prostaglandins than others, so they may hurt more. \n\nHOWEVER, killer cramps and debilitating abdominal pain are NOT normal and are in most cases due to secondary dysmenorrhea. Most frequently this is because of a disease or disorder like Endometriosis, Adenomyosis, Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, cervical stenosis, structural abnormalities in the vagina or uterus itself, fibroids, etc. If your cramping disables you, see your gyn to talk about options.\n\nNon-steroidal inflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen may help relieve cramping...your doc can also prescribe oral contraceptives that will prevent ovulation and reduce prostaglandin production, thereby alleviating cramping. Use of heating pads, avoidance of salt, sugar, alcohol and caffeine, intake of vitamin B6, calcium and magnesium supplements, and pelvic massage are all said to be helpful as well. \n\nIt is important to determine if the cramps are "normal," or if they could be due to another cause like Endometriosis (www.endocenter.org). Pain that is crippling is never normal and should be investigated ASAP so that appropriate diagnosis and treatment can be rendered.  Hope that helps.
526566
Depends on how bad the pain is...is it debilitating pain that interferes with your normal activities?  That could be a sign of a problem like endometriosis, and you would need to see a doctor about it.  But if it's just cramps, there are a few things you can try.  Hot water bottles or heating pads on the lower abdomen sometimes help.  PMS medications like Midol work for some women, usually better than Tylenol or other ordinary pain meds.  Sometimes exercise helps.  I've had good luck with homeopathic blue cohosh--if you have a natural foods store that sells herbs, you can talk to someone there to see what they recommend for menstrual cramps.  And sometimes cramps get better if you go on the Pill, if that's an option for you. \n\nIf nothing helps, it would be a good idea to talk to a doctor.  They can see if there's something wrong and possibly prescribe something to help the pain.  Here's a link about endometriosis so you can see if it sounds like what you're experiencing.
330148
There are tablets which you can take which aren't hormone based but which help to decrease the flow and the pain.\n\nMefenamic Acid is an anti-prostaglandin (prostaglandins cause the pain during your period) and you take it for a few days before your period is due and for the first couple of days of your period. It help reduce the pain, and also over time reduces the amount of blood loss.\n\nTranexamic acid is an anti-fibrinolytic and is used to reduce blood flow. \n\nBoth tranexamic acid and mefenamic acid can be used together to reduce blood flow during a period. However, the best thing really is to go onto the birth control pill - it dramatically reduces bleeding and pain.\n\nAlso, since your periods are irregular, it may be worth speaking to your doctor about having blood tests done, or possibly an ultrasound to see whether you may have something like PCOS.
1169324
I have a condition called endometriosis which causes me to have severe cramps, crazy periods, loss of appetite, and other things. My doctor recommended birth control to help control all of the symptoms (and it was an added bonus because I'm sexually active but didn't want my mom to know). Tell your mom about your cramps and see if she'd be willing to support you. My mom was the same way - even though she knew I had a medical problem, she hated the idea of me getting on birth control because she felt it would give me the "wrong impression" about sex and blah blah.\n\nAs far as everyone saying birth control can mess you up - that's not true. The Depo shot can certainly mess you up, but birth control? No way. It's just a once a day pill you take that regulates things. It doesn't stop your period, doesn't make you fat, doesn't hurt your insides. If it were that dangerous, there wouldn't be dozens of DOCTOR PRESCRIBED birth control pills on the market. So don't worry about the "precautions" some people are trying to scare you with.\n\nIf worse comes to worse and your mom doesn't agree with it, look into some programs to get birth control without your mom knowing. Or have a friend get birth control for herself (pretend) and then use hers. Good luck, hun!
801259
usually, advil or tylonel or other over the counter pain releivers can help. try a heating pad or curling up in a ball. if the cramps are sooo bad that you have to stay home from work/school more than twice a month, go see a doctor. you could have some other problem.
752110
I personally would try to stick it out a little longer with the Depo. After 6 months, my period stopped altogether and it was just nice knowing I didn't have to remember to take that damn pill everyday!!
62829
Heat does help releive cramps.  I usually just use a hot water bottle and elevate my legs.  I've never heard of that medication the other response mentions, I always just take ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, etc.)  To prevent cramps, its better if you wear pads instead of tampons.  When mine are bad, I'll just wear tampons at work, and switch to pads as soon as I get home.
1144284
You should see your dr. I'm not sure abt Depo, but sometimes on birth control pills you can have bleeding every day if your dose isn't high enough.
972441
I really feel for your daughter.\n\nI have always had pretty severe menstrual cramps every month, since my very first period.  So I can definitely relate.  At times the pain has been so bad I go in to shock and pass out. When I was in college I tried super prescription strength pain killers my gynecologist gave me and that didn't help, also I was put on birth control pills for a short time and that did nothing to change the degree of cramping.\n\nI was using ibuprofen for the longest time and that did make a slight dent with the pain but it didn't make it go away completely.  The thing with ibuprofen is you can't wait to take it, if you miss the small window of opportunity for it to kick in and beat the cramps then it doesn't matter how much you take it doesn't work.  What I did was just take it immediately when I started flow and continued to dose according to bottle directions (usually every 4-6 hours).  So always having it available and on hand is essential, at home, in her purse, her locker, with the school nurse, whatever.\n\nI however have since taken myself off ibuprofen because I didn't like the fact that I have to take so much of it every month and have been for so many years.  My acupuncturist gave me an herbal remedy for pain that is really working for me now. Pain, in Chinese Medicine, is blood stagnation, so the herbal remedy addresses moving the blood qi.   After about 3 or 4 cycles  there was significant improvement.  So if you are interested you can look in to acupuncture and Chinese herbs.\n\nHope this helps.
788632
That's would be Depo-Provera. It's a shot to stop your monthly friend for 3 months. There is some spotting involved. However, after I was on it for 9 months it helped to stop the horrible cramps I was getting. Now that I am no longer on it, I have relief from all the cramps I would get.
980649
take some tylenol (no asprin its a blood thinner) put warm towels around your tummy area, feet and the back of your neck. Drink plenty of water thru out the month to reduce cramps
310300
Almost all women have some cramping during their periods, classified as either primary dysmenorrhea (which refers to "normal" menstrual pain) or secondary dysmenorrhea (which is a result of an underlying disease or disorder).\n\n"Normal" cramps occur in almost all women due to the release of prostaglandins, which are hormones produced by the endometrium (the lining of the uterus). Prostaglandins cause the uterus to contract (sometimes quite painfully) in order to expel the menstrual debris (and henceforth, start the period). Some women produce higher levels of prostaglandins than others, so they may hurt more. \n\nHOWEVER, killer cramps are NOT normal and are in most cases due to secondary dysmenorrhea. Most frequently this is because of a disease or disorder like Endometriosis, Adenomyosis, Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, cervical stenosis, structural abnormalities in the vagina or uterus itself, fibroids, etc. If your cramping disables you, see your gyn to talk about options.\n\nI know you said 'no meds,' but non-steroidal inflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen may help relieve cramping...your doc can also prescribe oral contraceptives that will prevent ovulation and reduce prostaglandin production, thereby alleviating cramping. \n\nUse of heating pads, avoidance of salt, sugar, alcohol and caffeine, intake of vitamin B6, calcium and magnesium supplements, and pelvic massage are all said to be helpful as well. \n\nIt is important to determine if the cramps are "normal," or if they could be due to another cause. Pain that is crippling is never normal and should be investigated ASAP so that appropriate diagnosis and treatment can be rendered. Hope that helps.