Presenting condition: Dysmenorrhea and flooding periods
Brief history: Had flooding and excruciating painful periods since teenager. Suffering for 20yrs.
Relevant timeline incidents:
9yrs Adult male ‘family friend’ abused her sexually. Only told her mother about this recently as a 30yr+ adult now.
12yrs Started periods but mother did not tell her about them prior to this happening.
13yrs Bad acne. Flooding and very painful periods began to happen. Nausea and vomiting due to pain, as well as fainting from the pain. Missed lots of days off school due to this. Mum thought she was ‘faking it’. She felt very alone and abandoned. Menstruation is still thought of as a taboo subject in Asian cultures.
14yrs Had flooding accident at school which resulted in girls at school pointing and laughing at her. Humiliated and embarrassed.
18yrs Started on the contraceptive pill which helped with her symptoms
33yrs Has to use menstrual cup and heavy maxi pad together during menstruation. Still leaks/floods even with this protection. Severe back and lower abdominal cramps during period. Large clots and exhausted due to large quantity of blood lost. Worrying about how to cope with work during this time as she works with special needs children. Cycle length: 34 days. Constipation before and during period.
Main remedy given: Sepia
After 1st prescription:
Pain was still quite bad as the remedies hadn’t helped. Changed menstrual cup less often. Previously was changing it every 3hrs now only every 5.5hrs. Less angry around PMT time. Smaller clots. Cycle length: 32 days.
After 2nd prescription:
Cycle length shorter, now just 31days. Bleeding for less days now. Previously 4 days of very heavy bleeding. Now just 2 days. Still changing menstrual cup less often. So much more energy! 40% decrease in pain. Not needed to use prescription painkillers as remedies working well. This has never happened before! Some small clots. Brain fog better and mentally stronger now. ‘I feel like I have an element of control – never felt like this before!’. Craving healthy food not crisps and biscuits. Painful cystic acne before and after her period.
After 3rd prescription:
Acne cleared up with remedies within 2-3 days. No pain with her periods! Less bloated, still only 3 days of heavy bleeding, and changing the menstrual cup at same frequency as before. No clots. Seed cycling helping. Cycle length now 28days. No constipation before period!
After 4th prescription:
Acne and Periods have got worse again. Cycle length 40days. Ran out of seed for seed cycling. Still changing menstrual cup every 3.5hrs. No clots. Very bloated and uncomfortable. Remedies worked for period pain. Has resigned from her very stressful job.
After 5th prescription:
Only 1-2 days of heavy bleeding. Cycle length 37days. Still changing menstrual cup every 4hrs. No clots or bloating. Lower back pain better. PMT mood worse this month.
After 6th prescription:
Acne remedies working well now especially for painful spots. Cycle length 31days. Very heavy bleeding this month for 9 days. Ramadan month, so fasting is affecting her overall.
After 7th prescription:
Return of old symptoms of Bartholin’s cysts (vaginal cysts). Remedies not needed, as topical lavender and tea tree oil worked. Acne mostly gone and no painful spots left. Cycle length 31days. Now changing menstrual cup every 8hrs! Brisk walking everyday has really helped with her mood and generally too. More independent and has a zest for life back! ‘I’m just as important as everyone else!’ Emotionally feeling in a good place especially with her relationship with her mother. Needing less approval from her mother.
Summary:
This lady was suffering from very heavy flooding periods which were really painful too. Exhausted from the blood loss and the pain, she was ‘out of action’ for at least 1 week per month. She is now only changing her menstrual cup every 8hrs compared to 2hrs at the start of treatment, pain is managed well, and is feeling emotionally stronger.
