Probably best if only women read....?!

Hiya,
Can I ask how old you are? I only ask because my mother was in her thirties when she started the menopause and I know that some women start the menopause very early.
You might also be stressed out about something because that can affect your period and nursing is a stressful job!
I have awfully heavy periods too. I have to wear three towels at any one time and sometimes I still bleed through and I often wake up in the mornings to find blood all over the bed and my nightwear soaked in blood. My periods have been like this ever since I had an emergency c-section. I also got really bad period pain too. I found that 30mg codeine phosphorate helps but you can only get it on perscription from your doctor and it is pretty strong stuff too - I had it when I first came out of hospital after the c-section but I have continuous aches and pains in my scar and with the bad period pain too I found that sometimes only the codeine would take away the pain. But as I said codeine are extremely strong pain killers and they can also lead to addiction too. If you just want to buy something over the counter then the strongest pain killers I can think of is PARAMOL. This is paracetemol and codeine combined. It uses less codeine but even the Paramol can lead to addiction so it is really only a short term solution.
I hope this helps a little.

There's procedures to make you bleed less during your period and have no cramps. Check out the "Balloon" procedure. Or you could go on the birth control shot depo provera. That's what I'm on and I never get my period so I don't have to worry about cramps and bleeding. You only get the shot every 3 months and its supposed to be slightly more efective than the pill. It's great for me because I don't want children any time soon.

Things that help Cramps:

Fresh pineapple juice
Ginger
Warm Baths
Lying in fetal position
Heating Pad
Vegies and fruit
Fish

Things that Don't help cramps:

Caffeine
Dairy Products
Salt
Sugar
Junk food
Meat

There was a doctor who got women on a test diet of whole foods,- vegetables, fruits, nuts and grains. He cut out the refined foods, meat, and dairy. The women all noticed a marked decrease in menstral cramping and pain.

Near the end of the study he asked his women on the test diet to go back to the way they ate before he put them on the test diet. All the women refused. They felt so much better they did not want to go back. It seems the refined foods, meat and dairy are high in fat and protein that seem to make matters worse like you describe. You could give it a try for 60 days. It takes 30 days to get off meat, meat acts as a stimulant. So you temporarily feel weeker when you quit it till your body adjusts to not having it.

Mom of four, RN