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I know you don't like pills, but birth control has worked wonders for me. They're a lot smaller than most other pills and can do other wonders for your body, like clearing up your skin and making sure you don't get knocked up. I used to have cramps so bad every day of my period that if I was in school, I would not be able to focus and sometimes had to have the nurse send me home. If I was home I would just sit in a warm bath all day and it helped a little. I've been on the pill for 4 years now and I get almost no cramps. Just small ones that let me know it's coming, and those are nothing, more like a small nudge from my body telling me to get the pads and tampons ready.

I'm so use to pills crying I've been using prescription meds for menstrual cramps for years. My mom is one of those, got a headache? take advil, got cramps? take these drugs! But I'm more and more "trying to respect my body" as hippie as it sounds. So I'm trying to endure. But I got the crypling cramps, nausia, aches, big time back aches, and Im exhausted from being in pain. I'm trying to get stuff done and not let it ruin my day, but... it's slow going. The green tea seems to be helping. But I still feel bloated and yucky and dont much feel like doing anything

I know birth control pills work for some people but it's important to assess your symptoms to determine if you are estrogen or progesterone dominant. If you're estrogen dominant (I am) then birth control will only make things worse. The bad part is that a lot of doctors won't do the hormone level tests on young menstruating women because levels fluctuate so much within a month that they say they'd have to literally test every day and then try to determine if you are "normal" or not.

My problems started at about age 23. By the time I finally worked up the nerve to try and describe it to my doc, he tried to put me on birth control even though I had already been on it before and it made my symptoms worse, so I refused. He then gave me a diagnosis of PMDD and prescribed Effexor XR which I took for four years. Finally in January of 2008 I weaned myself off that and have been clean ever since.

I tried fish oil but it really didn't conquer my symptoms. Those symptoms were actually debilitating and included extreme water retention to the point of needing a size larger bra for two weeks out of each month plus my pants fit tight, breast pain, headache, body ache, and terrible mood swings. Not just the typical PMS type, but bipolar type. I just couldn't imagine suffering through that for another 25 years or so.

What finally helped and actually cured it was progesterone cream. teenage girls typically have lower levels of estrogen and can benefit from the pill, but women in their mid 20s and 30s up to menopause are typically estrogen dominant, so they might benefit from the cream too. For more info on that, read this site by Dr. John Lee who devoted his study to hormone replacement, particularly natural HRT.

Sweet! My dad planted some strawberry plants this year so i'll have to get some of those leaves! =D

Well Leia, they do do that in a way... hysterectomy... but then a lot of people have to take hormones and stuff after that. Don't worry my cousin! I will bring thee rosemary this coming week!

They work about the same. I just use a large pinch of the dried crushed leaf. I might sometimes add in willow bark too for the pain. For using rosemary, just the leaves are fine. Oh, I also up my iron too.

Eh, seems I am a little lucky there. In my apartment block there is a HUGE beautiful old willow tree. I just pick up some of the branches that fall off. I did not know what it was until one day I was out walking with a friend of mine who knows a bit about trees. I said that I wish I could find some willow bark. We just walked by the tree and he pointed it out. lol. The rest of the stuff, I get from my local grocery store or health store.