Menstration--the mere word makes me want to become violent ...I try to stay away from the media ("Reverse the Curse" does not help anyone hate themselves less because they are menstrual). I loathe it so much that I have the strong desire to do anything to cause ammenorhea (even if it means nearly starving myself). Anyone got any advice. (And keeping in mind that it's a "natural biological process" does NOT help.) Do I just need to find a therapist or something?

I don't know for sure because I haven't taken them for a very long time, but don't contraceptive pills do that?

If you keep taking the hormone tablets, toss away the week of sugar tablets, and go onto the next lot of hormone tablets immediately (without a break) doesn't that prevent the menstrual flow?

I hate it too. Sometimes I can delay it for a few days by starving myself, but when it does happen, and the most I can manage is 3-4 days delay, it's more miserable than usual. I hate it because I hurt, I have no energy at all, I feel icky, and I feel subhuman. And I hate when I say I don't feel good, or it's just plain obvious that I don't, or I'm reduced to a lump on the floor without the energy to even sit up, and somebody wants to know what's wrong and won't accept that it's just normal for me to be like that for a while once a month, and I don't want to talk about it. Aren't we supposed to go to any possible length to hide it lest we die of embarassment?

So, what do you hate about it? We can start a club.

I'm pretty sure there are new pills out that you can take {with drs rx} so you only have a period every 3 or 4 months.

info-
[Seasonique and Seasonale have you take 12 weeks of hormone pills, followed by 1 week of low-estrogen or no-hormone pills. On this schedule, you have four periods a year. If your doctor prescribes an unlabeled use for other birth control pills, you can also have four periods a year. You take the active hormone pills continuously for 12 weeks, followed by 1 week of sugar pills. You then start a new pack of pills. If you have breakthrough bleeding during the 3 months, your doctor will prescribe extra estrogen.

Lybrel comes in 4-week packs of hormone pills, which you take every day of the year. On this schedule, you have no periods.]
http://www.seasonale.com/LearnAboutS...naleWorks.aspx
http://www.seasonique.com/Consumer/L...iqueWorks.aspx

I don't think starving yourself is a good idea.
Although some highly trained female athletes do have loss of periods, most likely from very low body fat. But they would have a very high metabolism so most likely they eat plenty but burn it off.

Great suggestions jo!

Painful periods actually have a name, dysmenohhrea. I had this as well as endometriosis.

The dysmenohhrea can be treated, through birth control pills and it reduces your periods and teh pain.

But other things helps too. At the time of your period your body releases a chemical/hormones to start the cramping to get the actual bleeding part of the cycle going. Sometimes this chemical can get out of control and make you feel like this all over. Or perhaps you get over sensitive to it. It can be blocked by over the counter NSAIDS like advil or I take prescription cellebrex.

Eitehr way you shold talk to your OBGYN and make sure there is not a fibroid causing this or endometriosis or PID - pelvic inflammaroty disease either.

And if you have terribly heavy periods please please check your iron and ferritin tested. After years of heavy periods I hav an iron deficiency which really can contribute to the fatigue and muscle pain if not corrected.

That I am past all that...Being post menopause has been one of the greatest reliefs of my life [except for the getting older part?]. Sorry about hijacking this thread, but, my pains w/menstration were beyond incredible and now, they come up with names and treatments for this all well after I need it! Durn!
One thing I did learn early on tho, was....That if you are going hypo thryroid and are still menstrating? Do not take Synthroid and Aleve together! You know how we all tend to chug down our morning pills? Well, these two do not get along well. It's now really hidden very deep in the fine print of the 'prescribing information'...web it up.
I agree with others that you should really discuss this all with an ob/gyn. Don't accept the 'live with it' stuff. We've enuf to deal with as it is!
HOnestly, my heart goes out to you totally. Keeling over from the pain is not a fun or useful thing to do!
's - j

Nature is NOT kind. I suffered terribly with my periods but I kind of miss it now. I felt having my period was a sign of youth and femininity and was sad when it stopped. I don't miss the cramps, backaches, PMS, the smell and bother and expense of pads etc. I felt that all that misery was just part of being female. Throughout my life my period interfered with SO many things. I was Out of comission, missing school and work days, it really was a hinderance. But it's just part of life. I would never interefere with the process, just resign yourself to it and try to make yourself comfortable during those days and nights of misery. I think back on all that now and kind of wish I had been born a male. I think my life would have turned out much better.

I remember being a young teen, and all the other girls *starting* and they thought this was so cool, because now they were women. I was soooo depressed. I did not see anything cool about it. It seemed like the end of all things cool to me.

I'm just now starting menopaus, and even though my periods were really not bad, even though menopaus (at 45) means I'm getting old, and it's already worse than the periods were, this is way cooler than menstruating.

Every time I get to the end of another month with NO little visitor I just grin and do a little Snoopy dance.

I hear ya.....not quite there yet but soon (I hope). I won't miss it not one little bit.