I started my menstral life with severe cramps and all the other usual symptoms and I didn't even know it could be painful etc! By my third period I felt like I was being cut in half for 3 days and I was tending to bleed longer and longer. It got up to ten days and stayed there. Unfortunately I didn't have what you could call a cycle, just somewhere between 2 - 9 weeks I would wake up like a bear in a Stephen King film ( I, of course didn't notice this, everyone else was just being annoying and wrong! ). At some point I would start having cramps and 10 - 120 minutes later the flood gates would open.

I was 12 when I started and they spent nearly four years trying to find an anti - spasmodic to help with the pain or any kind of pain killer, in fact. The crowning glory was my trip to the gynae. ( female - 60-ish ) who told me it would all be alright once I'd had a couple of babies! Boy was my Mum pissed! ( though my mother has never had any problems in this area, she's pretty sympathetic ). After reading the gynae the riot act, she and our family doctor decided to try me on the pill.

It worked. The pain was reduced to that of "can I have a hot water bottle and a couple of asprin?" and I was actually rational enough to notice that I did behave radically different just before my period. It also helped that I knew when it was coming!

Over the years I have found various things that each seem to help a bit. Cod liver oil, brewers yeast ( B5 tablets just made me feel continually nauseous after about ten days ) multivits, with iron & zinc. Geranium oil ( don't ask, someone suggested it was good for 'balancing' your system and it does seem to help keep a lid on the cramps ) drinking lots of water and the worst of all...........NOT EATING CHOCOLATE THE WEEK BEFORE!!!!

It's dreadful but it works ( when I stick to it ). The minute I start getting that combination of "I wanna tear your head off" and "I will now burst into tears at the drop of a fluffy kitten" feeling, you know, that moment when you think "I could just do with a nice bit of chocolate" ? that's when I have to stop. "Move away from the Dairy Milk" . If I can cold turkey for about 3 days, the craving falls off and , in fact, the nearer I get to my period the less I like sweet stuff anyway.

I will now leave you with my shame and go eat lasagne!

TTFN M'Lady P.