There is an article in Quartz about period pain (menstrual cramps or dysmenorrhea). While I agree many people, especially doctors, don’t take painful periods seriously enough I disagree with the assertion that we don’t know much about painful cramps. I’m also not a fan of comparing period pain to heart attacks. Heart attacks are not that …
Continue reading “Comparing period cramps with heart attacks isn’t useful or accurate”
There are providers who recommend vaginal diazepam (Valium) for pelvic pain due to pelvic floor spasm. I have never understood why they do this as based on our understanding of how diazepam works it cannot be an effective therapy. I have written previously about vaginal diazepam (Valium) here, reviewing that diazepam works on GABA receptors which are …
Continue reading “Vaginal Valium: another study shows it’s ineffective for pelvic pain”
I’ve been asked so many times about Livia in the past month that I figured it’s time for me to just post on it. The makers of the device claim it is an “off switch for period pain” and that it is a “new device.” It’s neither. What Livia appears to be is a TENS …
Continue reading “Livia isn’t a new off switch for period pain, it’s an expensive TENS unit”
As a pain medicine physician one of the hardest parts of my job is to get people to buy into the idea that addressing stress or anxiety or sleep or nutrition doesn’t mean I think their pain is “all in their head” or that I am not taking their pain seriously. Or both. Chronic pain …
Continue reading “Stress and a bad diet can cause chronic pain, just ask my cat”
Most women report some painful or discomfort with their period. However, some women have killer cramps (the medical term is severe dysmenorrhea) and for many of them life goes on a 3-5 day hold once a month. Period pain is due to release of a substance called prostaglandins from the lining of the uterus during …
Continue reading “10 natural therapies for killer menstrual cramps”
Dr. Jen Gunter 