Many women believe that pain during menstruation is simply something they have to endure. This is a dangerous misconception.
What Is Normal
Mild discomfort in the lower abdomen on the first day of the cycle can be normal. It should not affect your ability to work or go about your usual activities. You should not need to cancel plans or spend the day in bed.
Pain relief medication is either not needed or taken only once. Your wellbeing should return to normal within one or two days.
Normal means that period pain does not interfere with your life.
When Pain Is Not Normal
Pain requires medical assessment if:
It is severe enough to make you miss work or school, cancel plans or stay in bed.
It lasts throughout your period, rather than only during the first one or two days.
It is not relieved by standard doses of pain medication or requires increasing the dose.
It is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fainting or diarrhea.
It appears for the first time.
It becomes worse with each cycle or is more intense than it used to be.
Any of these signs is a reason for diagnosis, not for enduring the pain.
Chronic pain does not build resilience. It exhausts the nervous system. Over time, the brain may become more sensitive to pain signals, even in the absence of an immediate threat. The longer pain is ignored, the more difficult it can be to manage.
Enduring pain can also mask a progressing condition. You do not need to tolerate it—and it can be harmful to do so.
What May Be Causing the Pain
Endometriosis — one of the most common causes of painful periods.
Adenomyosis — endometriosis affecting the muscular wall of the uterus.
Uterine fibroids, especially those that distort the uterine cavity.
Chronic inflammatory conditions of the pelvic organs.
Pelvic adhesions.
Congenital abnormalities of the reproductive organs.
Pain is not without a cause. It may indicate an underlying condition that needs to be diagnosed.