It's difficult to understand what living with severe period pain (dysmenorrhoea) is like unless you experience it yourself.
It is likely that most women out there suffer in silence because let's face it, not everyone goes around talking about their monthly sufferings (it's still a taboo for some cultures). If it affects work, well, there's also the problem of trying to tell your boss why you need a few days off - every single month. Painful period can be caused by endometriosis, fibroids, hormonal imbalance to name a few, but what if your doctor hasn't found anything suspicious yet. What if people think you are just making it all up? Then there's the issue of pain being part of the package deal for "menstruation", so you may have been advised to toughen up because "child-birth is far worse".
Unfortunately, these are some realities to painful periods. Having suffered from it personally - 12+ NSAIDS and Panadols, bedridden for days, skipping almost a full week of uni lectures - the issue of period pain can be addressed with better understanding of what that person is going through both physically and emotionally.
This is perhaps one of the many reasons why I chose to become a practitioner in holistic healing in the first place. It is a very personal story but I have learnt to heal my own pain with what I do. So I always tell people that acupuncture and herbal medicine can treat period pain. There's no need to live a life with a time-ticking bomb in your belly and be out of touch with the rest of the world for 3 to 7 consecutive days every month. Most people have no idea that Chinese Medicine was even an option!
You are always welcome to come and see me or talk to other Chinese Medicine practitioners about your struggles. Speak to a friend or family member you are comfortable with to get the support you need. Let's break this silence and remember that you don't need to suffer alone.
xx Kaylin
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