Menstrual like cramps while running

I had cramps during evening runs. There were times where I felt I had to choose between finishing a workout or taking a dump.

Suffice to say I know every hiding place in Central Park.

I went veggie for 3 months (supplement with iron), then started adding meat or fish one at a time. I found I have an intolerance to chicken, which gave me cramps and subsequent diarrhea. No other meat has the same impact, just chicken.

Every time I eat chicken now I have a severe reaction. So you may want to try an elimination diet to see if you have an intolerance to certain foods. I have a friend ho has tomato induced asthma attacks.

jamin is a menstrual-like cramp

This thread is from 2007..............

Are you absolutely certain it is not ovulation? I have seen this on a couple of occasions and on at lease 2 of them it was clearly ovulation. I don't know your age, but if you are fairly young, you will grow out of the ovulation pain. Although it is easy for me to say, but painful ovulation is like groin pain in that you fight through it when competing.

I know this is an old thread, but I wonder if there is inflammation in the pelvic area (could be for any number of reasons) that causes the pain. BTW, I was told by a gyn that Aleve is better for menstrual cramps than ibuprofen. With cysts and fibroids, I found my cramps to be the worst of my life and ibuprofen barely put a dent in the pain (even when taken prior to onset of pain). I had a prescription NSAID for a while, but have found that max allowance of Aleve prior to onset works great.

yes!!!! Oh god I have suffered this for years and no one knows what the hell is wrong with me. It gets so bad I vomit when the cramps are next level. It only happens on weeks 2-3 of my cycle and is unaffected by time of day, water intake etc. I have recently cut sugar (fructose) out of my diet and that seems to have eased the symptoms. I do wonder weather it's due to lower levels of inflammation? I paid through the nose to have every exam undertaken by QLD's top gyno and she couldn't find a damn thing wrong with me. So it's not PCOS, endo, etc. still have no idea what it is. :(

its not ovulation. That's a very different sensation and (for me) is only registered at a resting heart rate. This pain seems to be heart rate related (as other posters have said- it kicks in a few minutes/kms into a run or activity) and goes over weeks rather than the pinpoint nature of ovulation pain. I would be so happy if I knew what it was. But I've already spent best part of $1000 getting a dead end diagnosis. Good news is I still managed to train for and run a marathon last year and am keen to start training for another one. So it is manageable. Just annoying!!!!

i just keep running and they eventually go away. I'll tend to need to hit the bushes once but within 20 mins or so, it's like it never happened.

I'm the original poster, and I know it has been a few years. My doctor put me on birth control pills from 2010-2014. During that time, I never had any pain. In 2014, the hubby and I decided to start trying to have kids. The pain returned, and I was sent for a pelvic ultrasound. They found one cyst and did blood test that showed I'm insulin resistant. They "diagnosed" my with PCOS. One subsequent ultrasounds they haven't found any cysts. However, an off base doctor disagrees with that assessment and believes endometriosis to be the likely cause. I also had an HSG test done; they found one of my tubes blocked. (They were able to get it open with the dye.) We are going on two years of trying to conceive...but that's also with two deployments for him and one for me during that time frame.

I'm sorry this post doesn't really have a solution, but maybe it will give everyone something to ask their doctor about as a starting point.

I just had the same and stopped run and went straight to the toilet!! I believe it's because you run faster than you can take. That is my explanation.

I also get that period pain after running or doing any physical activity that speeds up my heart rate; And it also goes away after 5 minutes. No gyno has been able to find a solution, birth control pills is what's saving my quality of life. The pain is sooooo painful, putting ice on my ovaries/swollen fibroid/cyst right when i feel the pain drops the recovery time to 3 minutes... it seems to be a hormonal release/blood pressure/heart rate that swells up they fibroids/cysts "kind of thing" if that makes sense.

I hear ya and I appreciate this post. I am near 40 and have gotten the same pain you describe, not while on my period-but that feels just like being on my period-with no pattern regarding food/water etc...time of month or anything I can determine. I am not super good at tracking my period but I was an active child, running around playing soccer etc...and swimming a lot and I never got this kind of pain (it is not a side cramp...it is just like menstrual cramps). ...UNTIL after my first period...then, while running and sometimes even after exertion I would get it.

I hear ya. I have been to doctors too...was told I likely had PCOS but, I am wondering if MTHFR has anything to do with it. I am homozygous C677t. I paid out of pocket to be tested.

I have no solution yet... I also feel somewhat nautious with the pain and discomfort, I have to sit down and usually want to go to the bathroom as soon as possible but that does not always mean I can go...it just feels like I want to go...

Yes, it hurts a lot. I am sorry.

Once, I chewed on black Kale before my run and just sucked in the juice and I didn't get cramps that day but I don't know if that is why.

Did you ever find out what was causing your pain? All the doctors I have been to look at me like I am crazy and it has been severe pain for 7 years. When I was about 16 it was pretty random when it would come on, but still very severe. Now it is every single month and every single day about a week after my period. It is disrupting my life. Any solution??

Any luck? I am in the same boat and desperate to have my normal life back.

this is exactly what i have ?? i don’t know what is going on. they always happen 5 days before period and i will run my warm up and about .7 miles in i get cramps and have to stop. once i walk them out i can run for miles after. do you have any update ??? please let me know i am so confused

Hi!

I used to get these cramps when I ran cross country in high school. Then I went on birth control and they disappeared. I recently went off birth control and they have returned. I am also trying to conceive. It has been a year of us trying. Starting to meet with doctors now to look for answers. Did you ever figure out what was wrong? Did you end up pregnant?

I have had this happen to me twice in my 4ish years of running. Once I was on a treadmill and I started to get the crampy pain and really felt like I had to pee. I took care of that and the next thing I know I felt like I was going to pass out. I didn't go to a Dr bc it went away after I sat down for a few minutes That was about 2 years ago. This past week I was doing a speed workout on the track and it hit me again. Same pelvic pain and the feeling of having to pee/possibly pass out. I sat down for about 5 minutes and then was able to get up and finish the workout. I'm so glad to see I'm not alone with this but it certainly seems like no one really knows what's the problem!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Treadmills seem to make period cramp pain worse. I stopped running on the treadmill a few years ago after getting severe abdominal cramps during menstruation. It kept happening every month, so I just stopped treadmill running altogether.

Running on the roads solved my problem, but I seem to have more gas as a result. I do have to pee two or three times during each run. Sometimes I just have to use the bushes like a guy. Eating a little bit 30 minutes prior to my run seems to settle down my stomach during early morning runs.

JackieV,

We ended up having to go the IVF with ICSI route, and I gave birth January 2018. On my ultrasounds the Dr saw several endometriomas that he believed were causing the infertility and running pain. They went away during pregnancy. I've yet to have my first postpartum period (breastfeeding), but the cramps haven't returned while running yet.

Best of luck to you in your fertility journey.