A Question For The Females With Cd

[Guest dlf1021]

since i first began my periods six or seven years ago, i've experienced horrible cramping along with them. for the past four years i've been on various forms of birth control to keep this cramping to a minimum, but nothing i've tried has helped. i know that infertility can come as a result of celiac, but does anyone know of any other reproductive problems, such as cramping, that can result from the disease?

i'd love to be able to eventually get away from having to be on any medications at all and it would be amazing to truly feel good for the first time in my life.

any input would be great

[seeking-wholeness]

This may not be entirely relevant, but here goes:

When I was about 19, I began experiencing pain deep in my lower left abdomen that was temporarily relieved by passing gas. (Bizarrely enough, it was also referred to my left foot; often I knew an "episode" was imminent because I would start limping for no reason!) It was an intermittent pain, lasting about ten minutes at a time, and it would come and go for a few days and then apparently disappear...for a few weeks. It took me a couple of years of tracking it, but eventually I realized that it was definitely connected to my monthly cycle. The trouble was, it was too late for ovulation pain and way too early for PMS. No doctor I mentioned it to seemed to believe that it was actually related to the time of the month, but it was obviously affected by my going on the Pill. Unfortunately, it didn't go away--it just shifted to the first week of each new pack of pills! When I went off the Pill, it switched back to its former behavior.

I had an exploratory laparoscopy done which found a small fibroid and little speckles of endometriosis everywhere (ugh!), but no apparent cause for the pain. *I* think it was related to endometriosis/growth of the endometrium, because with both of my pregnancies the pain was particularly intense during the first month, then nonexistent thereafter. (I wasn't gluten-free for either pregnancy.)

However, the textbooks (for whatever they're worth--remember, most of them are written by men!) say that endometriosis usually causes severe cramping during menstruation, and sometimes even more severe cramping immediately afterward. I don't know whether endometriosis has been conclusively linked with celiac disease, but somewhere I have heard that eliminating wheat from one's diet often improves the situation dramatically, so I wonder.... Maybe your periods will become less painful as your body heals. I certainly hope so!

[Connie R-E]

Hi Deb,

I noticed that if I am low on calcium, I experience more sever cramping!

Celiac disease quickly destroys the tips of the villi where the calcium/dairy is absorbed. Maybe if you could up your calcium levels, it would help your cramps!

I take a calcium citrate powder supplement in my milk, or OJ, from NOW brand.

Good luck!

Connie

gluten-free since 1-'98

[tarnalberry]

adding to what Connie said: both calcium and the b-vits can help with cramping. they helped mine.

[Guest gillian502]

I also used to have periods so bad they would make me crawl on the floor, rock back and forth in bed, and just practically tear my hair out until the pain passed! I was bed ridden for the first 2 or 3 days of each period. Then I went on the pill and it got sooo much better. I'm surprised the pill hasn't done more to help your pain and/or the heavy flow. I take Modicon, generic name Brevicon. Maybe you need to experiment with a couple different brands/doses until you get a good match for your system. Good luck!

[shimma]

Hi, I have really bad cramps during my period too. I've been on countless different brands of Pills, and nothing has really helped. When I was in high school, I used to take Anaprox which is supposed to stop cramps before they start, but because my periods were so irregular, I could never catch them in time. Now that I'm on the Pill, the only relief I really get is that my period is shorter, so I don't have cramps for as many days--usually just the first or second instead of the whole week! I haven't noticed improvement since going gluten-free, but I'm still having so many other symptoms that this isn't too surprising.

[KayJay]

I was on the pill for awhile and had bad cramps then when I got off of it I don't have any cramps now. I don't understand that either but I think what helped me the most was exercise. If you work out during the whole month you may have less cramps. Also if you can eat lots of fruits and veggies.

I hope you feel better soon

Kayla

[Laura]

I've definitely had less cramps since I've been gluten-free. I also used to have the kind that just sent me to bed for a day at least. My leg muscles would spasm so badly I could barely stand.

And it's a really good thing the cramps got better since I've been gluten-free, because I get my period two or three times as often (because of malabsorption I used to only get it every two or three months). If I still had that kind of cramps but more often, I don't know what I'd do.

[tammy]

PMS>Cramping

Check your estrogen and progesterone levels.