Do you use heat in the summer?

[Faybee87]

Just wondered, I'm sat here with a wheat bag between my legs as I'm mid flare up but I'm also quite hot! Does anybody have an alternative to heat that they use in the summer to manage pain? I'm allergic to ibuprofen and aspirin, paracetamol doesn't cut it and cocodamol constipates me so is only used in extreme circumstances. I use CBD oil which takes the edge off but heat is what helps the most! However, it's a little impractical in this heat!

[luthien]

Hey, I've been to see an aromatherapist as I couldn't stand the hot water bottles and thought there must be something nature has that we used to use / know about before painkillers! My aromatherapist is a lovely lady and a registered nurse too. I didn't think there would be much she could do regarding my period pains / cramps / bloating, but after talking to her we have a course of massage focussing on the abdomen to get things moving (fluid, intestines, bladder) and massage oil I can take home. The massage she does on me is the day before my period, and the massage oil I take home is part of that package which is tailored to me over two months (two periods) for what I need - I use this on my stomach and lower back 5 days before my period and three days during, three times a day.

We started with warming oils - not sure of the names of the essential oils but ones like sage and black pepper to sort the cramps, that didn't really work for summer and didn't really help much so we moved onto cooling oils like mints and lavender, those really help cool, feels amazing and actually does work! I don't know the latin names of what she's used but I found it definitely helped to see a person that knows about oils, the body; and medical problems. I have lots of essential oils at home but didn't know mixtures, quantities, base oils, effects when combined, how much to use or how often - she's even suggested how to mix the ones I have for my oil diffuser in my home during my period.

It's not an immediate thing sorry, but it could be an idea that you look into for next year!

The monthly cost of my treatment which includes a 2 hour massage, oils and I get a little sniffy stick (like an olbas nasal thingy) to help calm me when I get the pms mood swings costs £65, oil replacements and new mixtures included. Which is actually pretty good considering I go home with a 120ml bottle of essential oil mixture.

There's a new company called BeYou cramp relief period patches (google it!) which uses kind of like an essential oil cooling sticky patch (like a hypoallergenic plaster) which you can place on your stomach and leave there - it lasts 12 hours. I used those before my search for aromatherapy, they really help but do stink, it's fine if you like mint. They now have CBD oil patches too, haven't tried those but there's a woman on here that mentioned them a while back.

xx

[Faybee87 in reply to luthien]

Oh wow thank you so much! This is actually a little bit embarrassing as I actually studied aromatherapy a few years ago 😂 I just didn't think of it! But you've given me loads of ideas so thank you! I'll check out those patches too, I don't mind smelling a bit strange, my colleagues are used to me spraying peppermint on my feet all summer anyway!

[Anastasia17]

I don't know if this can help, but I rub Ibulieve gel on my tummy when in pain, I find that it does help and at least you don't have to ingest it! Like you I react to a lot of oral painkillers. Let me know if it works. Good luck! 😊

[Faybee87 in reply to Anastasia17]

Thank you so much but sadly I made that mistake with Deep Heat and then wondered why I couldn't breathe! With my other reply I sound like a right ditz haha! I blame my hormones 😊