Evie, 14, has experienced cramps since she started her periods at age 11. Here’s her story.
''My PMS is not too bad – I sometimes get an upset stomach or am a bit moody – and at first, my period pains were OK. But after a year, they started getting worse.
I remember getting ready to go to school and throwing up, then lying on the bathroom floor because it was cold and I was sweating. My mom gave me some pain relievers but that didn’t help. I thought, ''I hate being a woman and never want a period again!''
It happened twice more so we went to the doctor’s who told me I have severe cramps, or dysmenorrhoea. He prescribed me some medication, which I was a bit scared of taking at first. But when I was sent home from school the next day, I took a tablet, closed the curtains, went to bed, and woke up feeling much better.
I find it much easier to cope with cramps now. I don’t always take a tablet. If it’s not too bad at school, I’ll go to the bathroom and do some stretching and squatting to help ease the pain. At home, I do more stretching or curl up in bed with a hot water bottle. I also put on an eye mask and play a sleep hypnosis soundtrack on my phone to help me fall asleep. And I drink a lot of water, which seems to help flush them out!''
