Dysmenorrhea

Dysmenorrhea General Information

Dysmenorrhea is a condition which affects only the female human organism, and it is characterized by frequent and severe menstrual pain and cramps in the abdomen and lower back occurring during the menstruation. There are two classifications of this condition, most commonly known as Primary and Secondary Dysmenorrhea.

The Primary condition is chronic, spanning for the entire lifetime of the patient. It is not related to a disease of any of the other organs, and the pain can be mild to severe, varying from one patient to another. Usually caused by abnormal and severe contractions of the womb (uterus), it is common for this affection to appear 2-3 years after the first menstruation, and the chances for it to appear are much greater in relatives of a patient already diagnosed with this condition. Up to 75% of all women can experience this condition at some time, and in 5 to 10 percent of the cases the patients experience incapacitating pain.

The Secondary form of the affection is more commonly found in patients with an age range of 20 to 40 years of age. The main characteristic of this condition is the existence of an underlying cause, some of the most common being  pelvic inflammatory disease or endometriosis; also an increase in sexually transmitted diseases among the teen population has led to the apparition of a larger number of patients diagnosed with Secondary Dysmenorrhea.

Dysmenorrhea Symptoms

While the symptoms of Dysmenorrhea can often be mistook for symptoms defining other affections, it is recommended that you consult your personal health care specialist whenever you start repeatedly experiencing any of the following symptoms for three or more menstrual cycles in a row: cramps and pain in the lower back and abdomen, usually occurring a few days before the beginning of the menstrual period and often lasting for another few days into it; pain in the lower back and radiating into the legs, in the same time frame; periods of fainting, fatigue, nausea and weakness; constipation or diarrhea; vomiting, often accompanied by severe outbursts of headache. The primary Dysmenorrhea may be discovered in a patient by consulting the medical history and / or performing a pelvic examination, as they should provide the consulting doctor with sufficient information to enable him to clearly diagnose the situation.

Secondary Dysmenorrhea cases can be discovered by performing a routine medical examination; however in this case additional medical tests may be in order, such as radiologic studies, involving ultrasound examinations and magnetic resonance imaging. Also, more intrusive methods can be employed, such as laparoscopy (a minor surgical procedure through which a visualization instrument is inserted into the pelvic cavity in order to see directly into the abdomen) or hysteroscopy (a medical procedure which involves the insertion of a visualization instrument through the vagina into the cervical canal and uterus, in order to directly check for any abnormal appearances).

Dysmenorrhea Treatment

It is recommended to seek qualified advice when any of symptoms that we have presented in the previous chapter occur, or any potential variations. It is known that the signs may vary greatly from one individual to another, and only a doctor specialized in this area of expertise can provide you with a correct and complete diagnosis. It is highly recommended to seek advice from a professional health care specialist in order to obtain an exact treatment for Dysmenorrhea, based on the patient’s personal age, health, medical history and a number of other factors such as extent of the condition or the patient’s tolerance to certain medications or procedures. Most commonly, in the treatment of primary Dysmenorrhea doctors will prescribe a treatment with antiprostaglandin drugs, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), whose main goal is to relief pain. They work by limiting the levels of prostaglandin, lowering the menstrual flow and reducing the rate and force of the contractions. An alternative to that, oral contraceptives are also commonly employed as they also act by limiting hormone levels and stopping ovulation, which may also cause a decrease in the pain.

Secondary Dysmenorrhea therapy methods vary greatly, most commonly based on the underlying cause of the affection. In most cases, namely when the condition is based on a case of endometriosis, the patient may opt for conservative drug-therapies which will eventually cure the affection. Of course, there is always the possibility for more radical actions, such as surgical procedures; however these may result in permanent infertility of the patient, so they should be employed with care and the patient should be informed about all the risks of such procedures. Regardless of the cause underlying the secondary Dysmenorrhea, it is best that you seek advice from your personal health care specialist, as he or she is best suited to provide you with the options that are most beneficial to your case, and also which fit best your condition. Some cases are best solved by medicine therapy, such as cases caused by pelvic inflammatory disease, while cases based on adenomyosis, uterine fibroids, fibroid tumors and pelvic tumors are best solved, in most situations, by surgery.

In some circumstances, this affection can be caused by an intra-uterine device. If so, the doctor may prescribe a treatment with antiprostaglandin drugs, and in this situation it would be best that the device is removed and a different birth control method is used in order to re-establish and maintain the patient’s health. Among the self-imposed treatments which the patient herself can opt to employ, a number of practices and solutions are offered: starting with a control of the diet, as an increase in the protein intake and a decrease in sugar and caffeine levels can be beneficial; regular exercise by walking, swimming, bicycling, climbing or aerobics can also help relief pain and discomfort caused by Dysmenorrhea; Hot baths and showers are also recommended, accompanied or supplemented by a hot pad placed across the stomach and coupled with sessions of abdominal massage. Also, adding vitamin supplements to your regular nutrition is a common method of strengthening the organism and preventing or ameliorating the condition.