Disabled people have a lot of challenges that non-disabled people will never completely understand but sometimes we experience normal things that people without disabilities may also experience such as getting your period. There is nothing fun about the constant bloating that period cramps give you, but until you reach menopause and stop getting your period, it’s not something we can avoid, and all women go through it. When I am on my period, I do have to take prescription medication because I have endometriosis and have more severe period cramps than the average woman. I don’t completely rely on my medication to get relief from period cramps because medication does not work miracles. Period cramps are not fun and can make you feel bloated all week long and not want to do anything. What can you do to get relief from period pain if you don’t have access to medication? In this post, I am going to talk about other things that I do to get relief from period pain that do not require a prescription.
Do a little exercise or skip it altogether- There are a lot of different opinions on whether or not you should be exercising on your period. Some people say that people say movement helps improve period pain, while others disagree and say you should avoid exercise at all costs. I think that it is hard to give a black-and-white answer on whether or not you should be exercising during your period because every woman has different cycles with different levels of pain. If you have a light period with hardly any pain, I don’t think that you need to be taking the week of your period off of exercise, but if you are like me and have debilitating pain and fatigue, working out on your period might be hard. Light exercise can help relieve period cramps, but it’s important that you listen to your body, and if you need to skip a workout, then there is no shame in that. I got my period this week and have not done a workout all week long because I have heavy, painful periods, and that is okay because it’s more important to listen to your body than to force yourself to exercise and cause more pain.
Do some yoga- I don’t regularly practice yoga because I can’t do most yoga poses. During my period, sometimes I will do some yoga poses that are accessible to me because there are a lot of poses that can help support period pain and give your relief.
Put a heating pad on your stomach- When I am on my period, I will not lie in a hot bath because it’s messy and I don’t want to be sitting in a pool of blood but I will use my heating pad Heat can be a very helpful, drug-free way to get period pain relief because it can help relax your abdominal muscles which often get tense when you are on your period. Heating pads can be so helpful for period pain relief because you can sit in bed and relax while watching your favorite Netflix show to distract you from the pain. Make sure you are being safe and giving yourself breaks because the last thing you want to do is burn yourself.
Limit your caffeine intake– People sometimes think that coffee helps relieve period cramps, but that is not necessarily always true, and sometimes caffeine makes pain worse because it can cause inflammation and bloating. I drink a little more coffee when I am on my period because I haven’t noticed my pain worsening, and I get more fatigued than most people, and the caffeine helps me get through the day. There is nothing wrong with drinking coffee on your period, but pay attention to how it makes you feel, and if it worsens your period pain, then try and cut back to see if that helps. If you struggle with having a bowel movement on your period, coffee can help because it can stimulate your bowels, but if you want period pain relief, I wouldn’t solely depend on caffeine.
Reduce your sugar– When I am in a lot of pain, I usually have more sugar cravings because eating a piece of chocolate gives me comfort. There is nothing wrong with satisfying your sweet tooth and eating a bowl of ice cream, but you want to make sure that you are eating a lot of iron-rich foods and have a variety in your diet because sugar increases inflammation, which can worsen pain. As much as you may want it, you don’t want to be eating too many foods that don’t support your period if you want less pain. When I am on my period, I will eat something to satisfy my cravings, but I don’t use that as an excuse to eat more carby foods than I normally wouldn’t because I know I will feel worse if I do that. Skip the third bowl of ice-cream because it is not helping your periods.
Limit your dairy consumption- I don’t eat a whole of extra dairy products because it interacts with my stoma, but I do eat less when I am on my period because dairy can cause bloating and worsen period pain. Skip the extra bowl of ice cream if you are on your period, because although it may give you comfort, it also can worsen your pain levels and make you feel worse, and no one wants that.
Period pain is frustrating, and if you have debilitating period cramps, there are medications that can help improve pain, but not everyone experiences severe pain on their period, and medication may not be necessary. When I am on my period, I have to take medication, and if I don’t, I will be stuck in bed for three days with debilitating pain, but I don’t completely rely on meds to do miracles. Medication has helped improve my pain levels, but it only gets it to a level where I can kind of function, and most of the things I do for pain relief don’t require a prescription. I do not completely rely on my medication for period pain relief because it only temporarily masks symptoms, and you have to get to the root cause of your pain to see improvements. Listen to your body, and if you can’t do as much on your period, that is okay because there is nothing wrong with having weeks where you rest more. If you have unbearable period cramps that prevent you from living life, talk to your gynecologist because that is not normal and could be a sign of other health conditions. How do you get relief from period cramps? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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