sam@phs.UUCP (Sherry Marts) (12/05/84)
On occasion (once every three or four cycles) I suffer from uterine cramps so intense m leg muscles cramp, I have diarrhea and vomiting, and I faint. I used to try to use aspirin to control the cramping, but I had to take eight at once for any significant relief, and my stomach didn't like that. Four years ago a nurse practioner (who now does all my routine gyn exams) prescribed Motrin (ibuprofen, now available over the counter as Advil), which is basically super- potent aspirin (it is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, like aspirin in that it inhibits prostaglandin synthesis). I call them my "miracle pills". They aren't psychoactive - they don't leave me "blissed out". They work, with no apparent side effects, and I only take 3 or 4 over a couple of days at the start of my period. I highly recommend this drug to anyone who suffers from cramps. I'm not ashamed to admit that I get cramps and that I take pain relievers for them. (Perhaps I should mention that I do not take any other drugs and prefer to deal with minor health problems using a combination of massage therapy and herbal medicine.) I think the attitude that menstrual pain is imaginary or that it is not significant enough to warrant medical attention is part of the mythology of fear and disgust surrounding menstruation perpetuated by the male medical establishment. Women are supposed to suffer, remember? It's our punishment for having committed Original Sin. When anesthesia was new, a lengthy debate took place within the (male) medical profession as to the moral implications of using it during childbirth. After all, the Bible commands that women bring forth children with suffering and tears (or something to that effect). Therefore, to use anesthesia during childbirth would be unChristian, immoral, unethical. What changed this attitude? Queen Victoria demanded she be given anesthesia when giving birth to her umpteenth child (her 8th or 9th, I think). Of course, the medical profession then acted like it was their idea all along, and in the past 20 years we've had to fight like mad to convince them NOT to anesthetize during childbirth when it isn't necessary. Enough flaming. I think ibuprofen is one of the best things the pharmaceutical industry has done for women in 50 years. Now if they can just develop a safe, reliable contraceptive... Sherry Marts
norm@ariel.UUCP (N.ANDREWS) (12/07/84)
For whatever it's worth, a friend of mine says that calcium tablets provide the necessary pain relief for periods. The added bonus is that supposedly most women should be taking calcium supplements anyway when they are younger so as to avoid calcium-loss-related diseases (such as osteo-porosis) when they are older... -Norm Andrews, whose opinions are not his employer's...
susie@uwmacc.UUCP (sue brunkow) (12/10/84)
In article <978@phs.UUCP> sam@phs.UUCP (Sherry Marts) writes: > > On occasion (once every three or four cycles) I suffer from >uterine cramps so intense m leg muscles cramp, I have diarrhea and >vomiting, and I faint. Me, too. In the last ten years, I think I must have tried almost every prescription drug that anyone recommended for cramps. Here are some of the best non-prescription cures I've found: 1) Eat (protein and carbohydrates) every few hours to keep your blood sugar steady. (This is very difficult for me, because I often feel sick enough that the last thing I want to do is eat.) 2) Hot tea. (Tea's a diuretic, and just having something warm in your stomach also seems to help.) 3) If you get bad leg cramps, get someone to massage your legs. 4) Several friends of mine have recommended calcium. For me, it caused the worst cramps I've EVER had! I hope this helps somebody. Does anybody have some others that I haven't tried? Sue Brunkow Univ. of Wisconsin {seismo,allegra,ihnp4}!uwvax!uwmacc!susie
jss@sjuvax.UUCP (Jonathan Shapiro) (12/12/84)
[Aren't you hungry...?] This one is asked largely out of ignorance: Is it true that the male medical practitioners have been perpetrating the myth of the horrors of menstruation? Or is it rather the case that until recently the studies on pain killers were not far enough advanced to produce things like Motrin? Perhaps I am naive, or perhaps I simply find the accusations against the medical profession incredible because I can't conceive of people being so stupid (people == the medical professionals), but if such accusations are baseless perhaps they should be reconsidered. I am attending Haverford College, which has a room/course exchange with Bryn Mawr College (in some cases major departments are split between the two). For those of you who may not know Bryn Mawr, it is a good, small, all female school. In any case, I spent a year living at BMC, many of my friends are there, and I have had a chance to observe some of the goings on there in a way I believe most of my peers have not. One of the things which has troubled me about womens groups there (and elsewhere) is that they are devided into at least two distinguishable groups: One which is comfortable with itself, whose members do things because they want to, and another which is simply hung up about the world in general, and reacts by trying to strike back. There are those who have referred to BMC's women (some of the speakers from BMC), as "Castrating Bitches." As much as I find the term distasteful, it is in some individual cases applicable. What I am getting at is that the people who are striking out out of insecurity jeopardize what the Women's Lib groups stand for - equality, not dominance. Maybe we all need to be careful about the line between vituperation and criticism. I am curious what others out there feel about this, and this seems an appropriate place for the question. Jon Shapiro
nap@druxo.UUCP (Parsons) (12/13/84)
Isn't it ridiculous how a term like *castrating bitch* is bandied about when, in reality, men have psychologically castrated women for centuries and yet one seldom hears of "castrating dogs." Sure says a lot about male dominance of the culture, doesn't it. Nancy Parsons
rohn@randvax.UUCP (Laurinda Rohn) (12/15/84)
I too find the "feminine product" ads irritating, though only mildly so. Frankly, I think they're just dumb. "..so you too can feel just-washed fresh all day..." Gag. More like "..so you too can smell like a medicine cabinet all day..." But what I find much more offensive is the attitude of some (not all, not even most :-) ) men, and some women, toward PMS (pre-menstrual symdrome). In particular, an all-too-prevalent attitude is that if a woman is irritated about something, then it must be "that time of the month." Ack! Lauri "Well, I think you were out of line today. Please don't ever do that again." "Geez, what's wrong with you? That time of the month again?" "AAAAAAAARRRRRRGHHHHHHH!!!!!" "Yeah, I knew it. Can't you take something for that?"
sunny@sun.uucp (Sunny Kirsten) (12/15/84)
> What I am getting at is that the people who are striking out out of > insecurity jeopardize what the Women's Lib groups stand for - equality, not > dominance. Until security and equality *are* achieved, how can dominance be fought other than with counter dominance? (sounds like US vs USSR, no?) Freedom (equality) is NEVER given, only taken. That's what revolutions are about. How long do you expect women to sit quietly and passively by, waiting for their equality? What alternative can YOU offer? Sunny -- {ucbvax,decvax,ihnp4}!sun!sunny
carson@homxa.UUCP (P.CARSTENSEN) (12/20/84)
Hey, do you know what a "monthly relief product" is??? (umm, I may have the middle word wrong--I was too busy giggling to listen well...) P.