i've always had bad cramps (curling into fetal position, cringing, crying, destroying...) and Midol has been always been my savior. but i found something better - avocados! (or vitamin B6) i never used to eat avocados because they just weren't a part of my diet for whatever reason. but one month i decided that i loved them and ate like 3 in a week. the week after was my period and to my suprise i didn't have any signs of cramps or menstral discomfort whatsoever. i searched my memory for what i did or didnt do that was different and the only thing i found was my recent endulgence on avacado. but i thought whatever, i'll keep that in mind to see if i notice a pattern. the next month, i had maybe one at some point way before my period but when i came i had terrible cramps again. the next month, by chance, i ate probably 2 the week before my period and didn't have cramps or think about midol at all. so i started to get excited that i may have found a natural cure but was skeptic so i looked online and found no information about it. the cure kept working and proved itself true for me. then one of my friends at work whom i talked to about avacados said she looked it up and found out that they are a source of major doses of B6 wich helps with muscle cramps. ... so... long boring story short, avacados are packed full of so much heath it's unbelievable and totally obliterate menstrual cramps. http://www.avocado.org/healthy_living/nutrition.php http://www.pcrm.org/magazine/GM00SpringSummer/GM00SpSum3.html
don't mess around with cramps that horrible. That is your body's way of telling you something is bad wrong. You can help ease the symptoms (pain) in lots of ways, but whatever is causing the problem is still there, probably getting worse with time. Left untreated, it can become much more serious than painful periods, no matter what is causing the pain in the first place. If your doctor blows it off or says pain is part of being a woman, find a new doctor who will take your symptoms seriously. Anyone allergic or sensitive to bananas or latex should not eat avocados, as they are in the same family and allergic reactions can get much worse with repeated exposure.
That is not what I've been told by every doctor (almost all female) that I've been to. I've asked about various different conditions, and the doc went down the list of symptoms of the condition (endometriosis, etc.), explaining what other symptoms would accompany the cramps if I had that problem. I've had regular paps every year, even had a colposcopy done -- nothing wrong. Just bad cramps. Nothing to be done about it, except hormonal bc if I want it. For cramps, my doc told me to take 100mg of vitamin B1 daily, starting several days before the period starts and during the time when I normally cramp. She suggested vitamin B6 (50mg/day) to help with any emotional side effects I may experience due to hormones.
Interesting! And I love avos too. I'm really glad I read this today, because I'm starting my period soon and I should be getting cramps starting tonight or tomorrow morning. I don't have any avocados in the house but I do have some EmergenC which has a good dose of B6 in it so I'll try that and see if my cramps lessen this time..
that sounds really cool, I'm going to have to try that! I had just as bad cramps as you do before I had Leane. They were so bad, I'd be crying and screaming kneeled over in the fetal position just begging for it to stop. There was one day, I accidentally took 2 asprin and 2 tylenol within an hour or so of eachother because they were so bad, and I threw up for 3 hours. But I had them checked many times, and nothing came up odd. I had pap smears and ultra sounds done too many times to count to see if anything was wrong, and nothing. But yeah, since having my daughter, they're nearly diminished, and the BC I'm on makes them non-existant (hurray!) But there is still the odd time I get them badily, so I'll give this a try. Do you have to eat them a few days before you're expected to start or during?
That is interesting. I never ate avocados until about a year ago, and my cramps and other menstrual pains really did lessen, greatly. I didn't know anything about avocados affect. I can't even get an appetite for them right now, I wish I could make myself eat one right now. I almost always have avocados in the house though.
either you are lieing or your "many" doctors don't know squat about endo. Look it up for yourself. Women docs who don't have cramps are the very worst people to go for when you hurt. They just don't get it, don't believe it, and don't care. Nothing but surgery will diagnose endo, or rule it out. No ultrasound, no blood tests, no nothing but actually going inside and taking a peek around will tell you whether you have it or not. You never know whether you have it or not by the symptoms you have or don't have because it's totally different for each woman who has it. One woman might only have painful intercourse the week before her period, and no other symptom at all. Another woman might just have bad menstrual cramps. Another might only have IBS-like bowel symptoms or bladder pain during her periods. That dietary changes have helped with your pain surely points to endo being a possibility. If/when the pain gets too much for you to be able to function, or if you find yourself unable to have children when the time comes that you want to start a family, I want you to remember what I said, and go find a specialist who is very highly skilled with surgical removal of endometriosis. Most docs are not skilled enough to be effective with surgery, so you want the very best doc available. If you have endo, hormonal birth control might make the pain go away, temporarily. Problem is, the endo itself continues to grow and as soon as the hormones are out of your system, the pain comes back worse than ever before.
So, you're suggesting that, instead of listening to medical professionals, I should listen to some random stranger on the internet... AND, based on the opinion of that random stranger (with no medical credentials that I am aware of), I should go have invasive surgery to see if that random stranger's assumed diagnosis (based on no physical exam, medical history, etc.) might possibly be accurate? Thanks, but no thanks. And, I love the sexism of criticizing women doctors. They couldn't possibly be as good as a man, right? And, yes, I opened that door by pointing out that most of the doctors I had been to were female -- but that was to deflect the potential criticism I expected, that male doctors are assumed to not be as receptive or attentive to our gynecological complaints as most people assume women will be.
no way! That is not what I was saying at all. I was telling you to look into it for yourself. Do your own homework and research. Don't listen to me, or anyone else. Find out for yourself what is causing your pain. No, women doctors aren't any better or worse than male doctors, unless you have endo and they don't. Women who don't experience menstrual cramps (whether they are doctors or not) do tend to look down their noses at women who are incapacitated by severely painful periods. That is a fact, jack. My medical credentials are living with very painful endometriosis for 30 freakin' years, and reading everything available online or in books about the condition and treatment options. I have lived it, and my regular ob/gyn doctor would be the first to admit that I know more about endo than he does. He is not the one who does my surgeries, for that I go see a specialist.
i dunno.. i've had pap exams and stuff and they say i'm fine. i don't really care. cramps happen for me 2 days out of my period and most women i meet agree on the pain levels. anyway.. i'd like to add, you gotta eat like, 2 or 3 full avacados the week before the period of it might not work as well.
Oh mannn... now I totally have an excuse to eat tons of guacamole. Thank you for this little tidbit! ;-D
let food be your medicine and medicine be your food! rock on, love those avocados !! Nutritional Highlights Avocado (raw, all varieties), 1 medium Calories: 324 Protein: 3.98g Carbohydrate: 14.8g Total Fat: 30.8g Fiber: 10g *Excellent source of: Potassium (1,204mg), Vitamin C (15.8mg), Folate (124mcg), and Vitamin A (1,230 IU) avocados are also a source of healthy fats. eating the right kinds of fats can help your body's response to prostaglandins omega 9's like these can have an antiinflamatory action in the body~~like the one you experienced: no cramps and avocados are a rich source of potassium which helps with muscle function, so that might've helped with the cramps too.
granted, pot relieves cramps and pms but what about when you can't be on it? like, i'd get cramps at work if i did nothing about it and would be in hell. i can't be high at work and it takes enough pot to get me high to stop the intense discomfort. so why not just stop the cramps in the first place AND smoke up when you can? lol oh and you don't need to be worried about the fat and calories in raw - straight from the earth - foods if you excersise. that fat and calories are there to be used, not wasted like in fried food and shit.
If that works for you, and the pain doesn't come back, that's fantastic. But, mamaboogie does have a point, I am a Health Care Professional, and I can tell you what she said about Endometriosis is completely correct. It can only be diagnosed with an endoscopy, or an open abdomen procedure, which, thankfully, isn't used much anymore. Endo, and related conditions can cause fertility problems, even sterility. I've had endo, and nothing I ate (and I eat a lot of Avocados, although I am allergic to latex, I seem to be OK with Avocados) or took helped, save massive doses of Vicodin. (About the only thing that helps me, when I am in pain of any sort.) I had endo surgery, they found 3 or 4 "implants" (actually they are flat cysts) and went on Depo (not suggested) when I fianlly got my periods back, the cramps were nearly as bad, and I did get pregnant again, now, I only get moderate cramps, with 3 or 4 periods a year where they are bad, and I can handle them with Anti inflamitories, now.) Anyway, I think Boogiemama was just concerned, because severe, gut wrenching menstrual cramps MAY be something serious, and could threaten your fertilty and your quality of life. Heal well. I hope the avocadods continue to work for you. I'm stuck with a huge bottle of Aleve.
Oh my gosh! I'm going back home next week where the avocados are a-plenty. And I'm expecting a visit right around that time. I usually put avocados in my burritos--with beans and tomato and cheese. Looks like I'll be having a lot of burritos the next few days
