Do women's cramps really hurt that bad?

Question

I've always wondered - do cramps really hurt that bad? All the women I know are always complaining around their time of the month - is it bs so that men feel sorry that they have to go through a cycle and we don't or what?

Answer 1

Every woman is different - but let me tell you - this is a pain that consists of more than just 'tummy' problems. The estrogen and progestrone buildup is preparing us for pregnancy. The pitutary gland sends the message that the females body is ready to start the process and everything goes haywire. Your head hurts, your eyes hurt, you get cranky and moody -things that normally would not bother you, get on your nerves, your legs and breasts start to swell, your stomach bloats, some foods you cannot eat, the smell of some things like smoke -you can't handle, your feet swell, you start to feel fat, and some men don't make it any better when they make snide or ugly comments. This can go on for two weeks until the menstrual cycle begins. Once the egg realizes that there is no sperm in place, it will flush itself out and usually women will start to feel better. Can you imagine this horror every month for 50 years????? The best thing a man can do is give us space - be extra nice, cook dinner, rub our back, speak in soft tones, try not to bring up anything that will cause an argument ("you didn't pay the light bill!), be extra loving and caring. We respond to that and we will know that you care about us and really want to understand what is happening to our bodies. It's not about feeling sorry, it's about showing love and empathy. Thanks for your question. Some men would never ask.

Answer 2

They do hurt, but the severity can be much worse if the girl has endometriosis or something. I don't know how to explain them. They're not like the cramps you have in your knee or your foot. The pain is similar, but it doesn't get better/worse if you move around, nothing seizes up. It just feels like a dull ache. Hot packs or hot water bottles or painkillers help :-) You're a brave boy asking a question like that! Most guys run a mile at the mention of it.

Answer 3

Most women who have bad cramps don't give a s**t what anyone else is thinking about them or their pain at the time so really, it is unlikely that they are looking for sympathy. Actually, most of us have been raised to be embarassed and to believe that our pain is "all in our heads" even when we know it isn't. Often, we assume that men think we are all full of bs, so if these women are complaining in front of you (a man), then they are probably having or about to have bad pain.

How much does it hurt? "Depends on the woman" is what I've heard. I've personally never known a woman who had easy breezey periods although I know some who can take care of most of the pain with over the counter medication. I do however have a friend who has passed out from the pain, and all the women in my family have monster cramps.

I'll speak from personal experience here, and try to put it in terms a guy could maybe relate to. There are often several kinds of pain one woman will experience under the umbrella term of "cramps". There is back pain that feels a lot like how it feels the day after you press way too much weight or help an ambivalent friend move their slepper sofa up three steep and bendy flights of stairs. There is pain that stretches from the very tender area just inside your hips down through your groin and into your thighs that feels like the worst charlie horse you've ever had. There are lancing bracing bands of pain that rip through your pelvis so hard you lose your breath, sometimes coming to a focal point in a swath from just below your belly button to just above your pubic bone. Your boobs hurt. You have moments of the same general gut feeling that men have when they get whacked in the b**ls...that sick sick sick oh god blinding sick pain. You have to go to the bathroom really bad every couple of minutes but when you get there, you can't go. You might puke, you might retch, you might build a nest out of towels and the bathmat on the bathroom floor and mumble like a drunk buddhist at the base of the toilet. You want to curl up and not move. You need to rock back and forth. You need to pace but you can't stand up straight. You wish you were part wall.

Mostly, you want whatever is chewing its way out of your middle to just get out already.

I'm really not exaggerating.

If you find you are ever an intimate in the life of a woman who has cramps that bad and you want to be a pal, you'll get dark chocolate, ginger candy, ibuprofen, a microwavable heating pad, and maybe some wine if you and the woman are legal. Leave them somwhere she is likely to see them when pain or potty or medication needs rouse her from whatever lair she has chosen that month. Move quietly and slowly - minimize changes to the light, heat, motion, and sound level in the room. Then leave quickly, before your presence is noticed and you are dug into...possibly literally.

Answer 4

Yes. I must take pain killers every few hours during my cycle. I don't think the women around you want sympathy. It's just that the pain can become intense and they are venting because we don't ask for the pain or the mess and there is nothing we can do to stop it. Some girls start as young as 9 or 10. They're not ready physically or mentally to birth children and yet the cycle simply starts.

Answer 5

Cramps can be really painful for some women, a mild problem for others. I found when I had my son that my contractions never became more painful than my cramps were when I was a teenager :( The tightening in my abdomen used to cause me to vomit. We're not all searching for sympathy, I promise :)

Answer 6

It depends on the woman. Some women dont experience bad cramps and some have cramps so bad they cant get out of bed or go to work.

Answer 7

Yes, they do really hurt. Every woman is different, some women get really bad cramps and for others cramps are nonexistent. For the women who do have them - they are quite uncomfortable and painful - and no we aren't "faking" when we say we are in pain.

Answer 8

Not as bad as a contraction! But they do hurt. Twist your arm around toward your back and pull quickly as hard as you can for a second. Let go and do it again. That's kinda like a cramp.

Answer 9

Well your statement proves that you are male. And have the understanding and sympathy that most men do.

It can go from a fairly mild experience to a very painful one. And you can better believe it has nothing to do with trying to make men feel sorry for them.

Just imagine if you will having intense pain in your penis for a couple days and having blood come out when you pee.
Every woman you have ever known would have to feel sorry for you....you would insist on it.

Answer 10

first of all, cramps are not b.s.

second of all, each woman's period is different. some women have cramps that are so severe they can cause nausea, others rarely or never experience cramps.
there are also many different physical symptoms before and during a woman's period besides cramps.