teaplz

..and if nothing else, a warm mug clamped to your tummy feels pretty good too…

I crave the taste too;) And I think I’m addicting to making it.

I’m with you on the addiction. I’ve trained myself into an Pavlovian response with tea – tea (even the bad stuff) relaxes me, even just the process of brewing it (I’m relaxed before I take my first sip!). So it’s a mental/emotional addiction. But yeah, totally there.

And forgot to add – really hope you feel better soon!

Does tea itself actually relieve cramping? Or is it just the warm liquid?

Caffeine is not good for cramps. At all… but I think warm liquids like soup and tea help soothe the cramps. After all, a hot water bottle feels good too. I think it’s the same effect.

My doctor told me (years ago) to not use heating pads or the like for cramp relief because the heat can thin your blood in that area or draw more to that area or something and actually make cramps worse. No clue if that is accurate but it scared me enough that I don’t do it. Of course, with that theory, an ice pack would help and I don’t do that either. Mostly, I just whine. And cry.

(All stuff everyone wanted to know, of course).

Aww, poor teaplz, whistles as I don’t have to deal with this.

@Auggy, yep. It definitely draws blood to that area. Just think of your stomach blushing lol.:)

Personally, I can’t survive without the heating pad. I wouldn’t worry about the heat for relief issue.

Warning: Science Nerding Ahead: The pain is caused by the uterine muscle contractions that facilitate the whole thing. Heat on tired, tight muscles is helpful (though heat on sprained and swollen muscles is not); more blood flow to the muscles themselves is good (and the blood that’s problematic isn’t blood you can increase or decrease in amount by application of heat!). In some cases the thickness of the blood can be problematic, in which case taking things that thin it can be additionally helpful. Caffeine causes tension in muscles, hence it’s probably not a good plan, but alcohol (heh) or aspirin may be useful. Raspberries and chocolate are supposed to help naturally. Personally, I always spring for pamprin, because when they’re bad I don’t have time to trifle with homeopathy, I need to be pain-free before I kill someone. ;)

Really sorry to hear you’re under the weather. I hope you’re back on your feet soon!

What happened to my comment?
@sophistre: THANK YOU Seriously. I had always been scared by what my doctor told me so I just sort of suffered through since I hadn’t heard anyone counter it. I’m using this as an okay to give it a shot next week instead of wishing for death. So yeah. THANK YOU.

Hey, anytime! Your mileage may vary and all bodies are different, but if it helps you and doesn’t make things worse, you’re assuredly safe. ^^

Yay! I’ve always used my hot water bottle. I just can’t live without it. It gives me a ton of relief, and Auggers, you had me scared there for a second! D: But I’m happy that maybe you can get some relief as well!

Ibuprofen is very very good for cramps as well (which is why doctors will advise Advil or Motrin). I’ll have to look into Pamprin, because up until now, I hadn’t even heard of it!

Thanks you guys for the well wishes. <3 to all!