Dysmenorrhea (Painful Periods)

Dysmenorrhea (painful periods) can cause days of agony and distress every month. If your menstrual cycle causes unbearable period pain, the dedicated OB/GYNs at Urgyn in Atlanta, Georgia, can help. They use advanced methods to diagnose the condition causing your painful periods and find the most effective treatments. For an answer to the problems dysmenorrhea causes, call Urgyn or request an appointment online today.

What is dysmenorrhea?

Dysmenorrhea (the medical name for painful periods) is a common problem affecting more than 50% of people who menstruate. The pain is an intense, deep aching and tenderness that spreads across your whole abdomen and often into your back. 

There are two kinds of painful periods:

Primary dysmenorrhea

Primary dysmenorrhea is the most likely cause of painful periods. Women with primary dysmenorrhea experience severe menstrual cramps because of the high levels of prostaglandins in their bodies (natural chemicals made by your uterine lining).

Prostaglandin levels tend to be higher at the beginning of your period, making the first day the most painful. As the uterine lining sheds, prostaglandin levels fall, and your pain lessens. Primary dysmenorrhea usually starts soon after you begin menstruating.

Secondary dysmenorrhea

Secondary dysmenorrhea results from a reproductive system disorder and might not begin until you reach your 20s or 30s. Secondary dysmenorrhea pain typically worsens rather than improves as your period progresses. 

It might start several days before your period and persist when your period ends.

What conditions cause secondary dysmenorrhea?

Painful periods resulting from secondary dysmenorrhea are often due to endometriosis. This condition develops if the tissue lining your uterus (the endometrium) starts growing in other places, such as your ovaries, fallopian tubes, bladder, and behind your uterus.

Endometrial tissue plugs react to the hormones that regulate your menstrual cycle, breaking down and bleeding like the endometrium in your uterus. However, the blood and tissue from the plugs can’t leave your body through your vagina in the same way.

As a result, areas of scar tissue (adhesions) form inside your pelvis. These adhesions can stick your organs and tissues together, causing pain that worsens during your period.

Adenomyosis is similar to endometriosis, but the endometrial tissue grows within your uterus’s muscular walls. Uterine fibroids (noncancerous growths) can sometimes cause dysmenorrhea.

How is dysmenorrhea treated?

Dysmenorrhea treatments include:

• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
• Birth control pills
• Contraceptive injections
• Birth control implants
• Hormonal patches
• Vaginal rings
• Hormonal intrauterine device (IUD)
• Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist medication
• Uterine artery embolization
• Endometrial ablation
• Myomectomy (fibroid removal)
• Hysterectomy (uterus removal)

NSAIDs like ibuprofen work well because they act on the prostaglandins causing your pain. Hormonal contraception can also resolve period pain and has additional benefits, such as reducing heavy bleeding and symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS).

Call Urgyn or book an evaluation online today for personalized dysmenorrhea treatment.