Expert Compares Menstrual Cramps to Heart Attacks, Yet Many Men Still Brush It Off

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Hey there! Have you ever tried to power through a workday while feeling like you’re being attacked from the inside with a melon baller? If so, you’re definitely not alone. Many women experience this, which is why we might give a fierce glare when someone makes a joke about “that time of the month.”

For some women, “that time of the month” is nothing short of a nightmare — full of agony and discomfort. It’s high time to stop treating this like a punchline. When someone in your life, especially someone without a uterus, minimizes the excruciating pain you’re feeling, it’s frustrating. And when it’s a medical professional doing the same? That’s just unacceptable.

According to research, one in five women deal with debilitating pain every month during their periods, and it seems like healthcare providers aren’t doing enough to help. In her article “It’s Time to Discuss Period Pain,” writer Olivia Hartley seeks to investigate why women have so few options for managing this pain based on her own struggles.

Hartley spoke with Dr. Samuel Gibbons, a reproductive health expert at City University. He mentioned that the cramping can be as intense as experiencing a heart attack. If that’s the case, why isn’t more attention being paid to this issue? Hartley’s own experience with severe pain led her to seek answers after suffering from multiple slipped discs. She describes the monthly pain as comparable to those episodes.

“Before I had my MRI, I told my family doctor that my pain seemed to be linked to my menstrual cycle. He dismissed it,” she recalls. Later, after her scans came back normal, a specialist attributed her discomfort to nerve inflammation — another instance of her concerns being brushed aside.

When she finally saw her gynecologist, an ultrasound revealed everything was “normal,” and the recommendation was to go on birth control indefinitely to stop her periods altogether. When Hartley inquired about the risks, the doctor casually mentioned that a small chance of blood clots and breast cancer shouldn’t be a major concern since one in eight women gets breast cancer anyway. Wait, what?

Her research led her to identify two primary culprits of period pain: primary dysmenorrhea and endometriosis. The former is simply painful periods without a clear medical reason, often starting when menstruation begins. The latter, endometriosis, affects about 10% of ovulating women in the U.S. and can take nearly a decade to diagnose accurately.

So, while one in five women suffers from unexplained painful periods, and one in ten has endometriosis, the common advice for the former is basically to “take some ibuprofen.” For endometriosis, more drastic measures like surgery or even a hysterectomy might be needed to alleviate the suffering.

Why is there such a disparity in experiences? “That’s a million-dollar question,” Dr. Richard Lee, an expert from the Medical College, tells Hartley. Without a strong advocacy group pushing for more research, the pain of menstrual cycles is often kept under wraps. In fact, he notes that many media outlets shy away from using terms like “vagina” or “menstrual bleeding,” making it tough to have an open discussion about painful periods.

There’s nothing embarrassing about the words “vagina” or “menstrual bleeding.” The agony women endure isn’t a joke. It’s not something for men to roll their eyes at while chatting by the water cooler.

Dr. Gibbons adds, “Men just don’t understand, and the issue hasn’t received the attention it deserves in medicine.” It would be great if that changed.

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Summary

Menstrual pain is often dismissed, with many women suffering in silence. Experts liken the severity of cramps to heart attack pain, yet treatment options remain minimal. It’s crucial to bring this issue into the spotlight and seek better solutions for those affected.