credit: weheartit
When I woke up this morning, I didn't quite envisage my day going like this - laid up on the sofa with very bad lower back ache and womb ache, it's that time of the month. Seeing as I'm in lots of pain right now, I haven't felt inspired on what to write on the blog either - then the hubby suggested I write about, well you know, this thing we all go through every month. I thought it could be nice for us to share our routines/fixes etc for what we do when mother nature strikes! Sorry if this is TMI for you, feel free to pop back tomorrow for a more 'normal' post :)
I don't know about you, but I suffer from very heavy periods, they're no fun and they freakin' hurt. One of the worst bits for me is the lower back ache, there's not really any position I can get in which helps, but there are some tips and tricks which help take the edge off. Here's what I do.
Cura heat pads
These are sticky pads you put on the outside of your underwear and under your dress/jeans etc, it's like taping a hot water bottle to you all day. The heat lasts for a good 6-8 hours, but be careful, sometimes they can be a little too hot (I've been burnt once). These are an amazing help for those 'heavy' days when you feel at your worst.
Hot water bottle
If you can't get hold of cura heat pads (great if you're out and about) or if you're at home then a hot water bottle is awesome, the heat helps relax the muscles that are cramping which helps takes the edge off the pain.
Hot drinks
I think this one is just a comfort, but when I'm having my heavy days, I love having lots of tea and/or hot chocolate - it's comforting and just all round lovely :)
Chocolate
I think this will be an almost universal trend, but around the time of my period I really crave chocolate, not lots of it, but a bar of Dairy Milk is always welcomed with open arms :) I can't explain why I crave it, but I do and when I have it, it makes me feel better :)
Lounging about on the sofa
This isn't something I normally do, I'm usually planted by my desk upstairs and on my laptop, but on my heavy days I move my laptop downstairs, put a marathon of films on and hubby makes me cups of tea. Just the comfort of the sofa, a nice squishy seat helps, and usually my cat comes and sits with me too, so that makes it even better.
Massage
If you have a really nice other half, you might be able to convince them to give you a lower back massage. My hubby is great with this and when my back is really bad, he's more than happy to help. I love using the Lush Soft Coeur for this, it smells like white chocolate and isn't too oily, it absorbs in the skin well and just feels and smells amazing. I don't know whether it's just nice or if it really helps, but I always feel better after having a lower back massage.
Painkillers
Before I talk about what I take I just want to say be very careful when taking tablets, only take them if you really need them and NEVER ever take more than 2 paracetamol in 4 hours and not more than 8 in a 24 hr period. If you go over that, you can get irreparable liver damage which can kill - so please please be very careful with how much you take. Depending on the ache I'll either take paracetamol or ibuprofen. If you're not such which helps, ibuprofen is for muscular aches, paracetamol is for more normal pain - so for period pain, ibuprofen is probably the one you're more likely to reach for, make sure you always take it with/after food (it can damage your stomach if you don't). I only take tablets if none of the above have helped.
So they're my tips, I'd love for you to comment below with any of your tips and tricks and hopefully we can all help each other :) I hope you have enjoyed this post, I wasn't sure whether to post it or not but thought we're all in it together, lets share ideas :)
This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Karen from Liverpool Lashes
Follow me on Google Plus |
Bloglovin |
Facebook |
Twitter |
Pinterest
I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets the pain in the lower back!? I googled it, because I thought it was my kidneys, it only happens at the TOTM and only for the past year and nothing came up! Maybe just googling back pain would have made more sense hahaha.
ReplyDeleteYou're totally not! I do too,and it hurts so much, because I do suffer from back pain normally. It's excruciating sometimes and I struggle moving. Not pretty, haha. X
DeleteYeah I get it bad! This month has been terrible for it!
DeleteI love those cura heat packs, they're great!
ReplyDeleteJenn | Photo-Jenn-ic
x
They're so good aren't they :)
DeleteEurgh, feel for you .. feel better soon. L xx A Scottish Lass ❤
ReplyDeleteI went on the pill which really helped but before that I had this magnet from Superdrug which really helped... weird I know but might be worth Googling?
ReplyDeleteStevie | Stevie Hearts Makeup
xxx
Huh, that sounds unusual!
DeleteI get lower back pain and pain radiating down my legs. I'm extremely heavy aswell for about a day or two. As for painkillers, on the really bad days I take brufen and paracetmol together (2xbrufen + 2xparacetamol) which is completely safe and helps a ton. I'm asthmatic so I shouldn't really take brufen but sometimes needs must. Damn wummin troubles!
ReplyDeleteLx
Oh yeah - gotta love brufen and paracetamol together! I'm asthmatic too but I'm fine with brufen :D
DeleteI have a lot of trouble with endo & PCOS so TOTM is a bit horrific for me, something that really really really helps me is a tens machine! It basically delivers tiny electric shocks to a specific area (kind of like those weight loss belt things?) which feels kind of tickly and is quite a strange sensation but really helps me. I also try to avoid any dairy that isn't chocolate, I find that cheese and milk can make it a fair bit worse for me but I think I have a slight intolerance to lactose which might be why!x
ReplyDeleteCharlotte / coloursandcarousels
Aww, my friend has both of those too :/ She takes Nerpraxin (no idea how to spell it).
DeleteI love the picture you've used for this post! Hope you're feeling better xx
ReplyDeletehehe thanks - I thought it was pretty awesome, and matched pretty well how I was and still am feeling :P
DeleteUgh. I remember those days! Since you don't live in the US, I don't know if uterine ablation is available in Wales? It will definitely help with all of those problems. The only downside is if you plan on having children, it is not recommended.
ReplyDeleteAlso, what used to help me is over the counter Naproxen (sold here as Aleve). It works for 12 hours, but as you said, you need to follow dosing schedule exactly.
Hmm I've not heard about that - but we haven't had kids yet and it's on the cards so probably not a good idea :) Thanks for sharing though :)
DeleteHope you're feeling better tonight Georgina - I had a bad one last week together with the usual migraine which seems to last all pigging week - completely sympathise! :)
ReplyDeleteI had to go on the pill because my period was so bad, I used to be proper sick because of it.
ReplyDeleteI find that using a hot water bottle, having a nice bubble bath and then curling up in bed with my hot water bottle helps so much. :D
My periods are only bad if I have taken certain foods so I think dairy and gluten are important culprits to avoid for this time.
ReplyDelete