My dear, I truly sympathise! Menopause was SUCH a welcome to me, after a life-time of severe menstrual pain! Babies did NOT solve the problem! A hot-water bottle (wrapped to prevent burning) applied to the tummy offers great relief. And try not to double-over - keep straight and the pain passes more quickly. If you are passing large clots you need to have a thorough check-up with your doctor. (Calendula, Amaranth and Raspberry can help with that.) Also remember that some of the herbs mentioned below may also produce unwanted side-effects - herbs are drugs, too. Try one remedy at a time to see which suits you best - don't mix and match.

Drink a tea of Red Raspberry leaves daily to prevent and reduce the severity of menstrual cramps.

Take a cup of Black Cohosh tea.

Drink double-strength Chamomile tea, with 3-4 Cloves or a little Ginger added if needed. This tea can also be used as a bath or as a compress applied to the lower abdomen.

Eat 2-3 leaves of Feverfew between bread, or make a tea of the leaves and drink it to reduce pain.

Drink a cup or two of Chickweed leaf tea a day to ease pain and cramping.

Eat Blueberries.

The following herbs alleviate the symptoms of cramps, leg, back, and headaches: Hops, False Unicorn, Blessed Thistle, and Blue Cohosh.

Drink a tea made from the leaves, seeds or roots of Lovage.

Drink a tea made from any of the following: Meadowsweet leaf, Motherwort leaf, Oregano leaf, Pineapple leaf, Rasperry leaf, Sage leaf, Sweet Joe Pye root, Valerian root, Vervain leaf or Wild Yam root.

Drink 2-3 cups of Lemon Balm tea during the day, or put a few Lemon Balm leaves into a cup of ordinary tea.

Soak 30g crushed Caraway seeds in 600ml cold water and leave overnight. Take 2 tablespoons of the strained water as required.

Boil 2 teaspoons dried Cramp Bark in a cup of water for 10-15 minutes. Add a little grated or powdered Ginger if desired. Drink 1-2 cups per day. A few Angelica leaves and/or Chamomile flowers may also be added.

Combine 4 drops Clary Sage oil with 2 teaspoons of a carrier oil (eg Almond oil) and use to massage the lower abdomen, directly above the pubic hair line.

Take a cup of Hops tea.

Take a cup of Valerian tea.

Combine equal parts of Ginger, Valerian, and Cramp Bark tinctures, to be taken in half-teaspoon doses every twenty minutes until the symptoms subside.

Add 1-2 teaspoons powdered Raspberry leaves and 1 teaspoon powdered Meadowsweet leaves to 1 cup boiling water. Steep for 10-20 minutes and strain. Add honey or Lemon juice to taste. Take up to 3 cups per day.

Drink Calendula, Chamomile or Peppermint tea regularly for two weeks before menstruation to avoid tension building up.

Wow... vicodin! wow... a little over medicating! Uh ... well, daisy said pretty much everything.... except willow bark and meadowsweet, which are both non-steroidal anti-inflammatories. BUT, and I hate to say this ONCE MORE.... being a serious PCOS sufferer, exercise is the best thing for cramps... though you probably don't feel like it... maybe start BEFORE the cramps. Really... I can't stress it more... EXERCISE. or maybe take some hormones...but I hate that, I swell up like a tomato.

Don't use meadowsweet or willow if you are allergic to aspirin.

I would be ready for the undertaker if I tried even 10% of all that junk! Just take an Aleve, or ASA unless you can't handle them, then try Tylenol. Also get your MD to check you for endometriosis, a sometimes 'neglected' cause of menstrual pain, but common enough and treatable.

Sorry, if you feel that herbs are junk, why are you in this forum? None of those herbs were junk, they help balance hormones and other nice stuff. She asked for HERBS... oh and by the way, Tylenol is more likely to make you ready for the undertaker, as it is very hard on the liver.

Only if you take it without a break. I'm here I think because just once in a while I feel the voice of reason needs to be heard - not that I am it, but occasionally get some inspiration from it. This place is scary sometimes!

I thought that Eric Oh was our voice of reason... I find pill poppers just as scary as people who believe everything that's said about herbs, and I dont find pill poppers to be the voice of reason. No... if you have Hep C, please don't take tylenol... it IS very hard on the liver. Sorry, personally, I think that I am the voice of reason! :D

Where is the reason in your comments, Lucy?

Large, frequent or excessive doses of Tylenol can be fatal.

And that goes for just about anything you ingest!

Herbs have been healing people (and killing them, when abused) for millenia. Without them, we wouldn't be around today to argue the point. Tylenol's only been around since 1955. The worst thing about it is that is disguises Nature's Warning Signal - pain. It doesn't fix much.

Herbs have their place and their uses - plenty of uses - in medical treatment. They can and do go very well alongside modern medicine, which hasn't been around for nearly as long, and which frequently gets things very wrong. Take the Celebrex debacle as just one recent example.

If you find herbs scary, but still of interest, then do something about learning about them. Don't knock it until you've tried it!

Didn't you know that most of the modern medicines available today are either derived from plants (herbs), or synthesised copies of the active principles in plants?

I was not advocating 'large, frequent or excessive' doses of anything (Tylenol taken that way also GIVES you headaches). I just suggested she consider something other than the whole pharmacopeia of stuff laid out in the previous posting. Besides a couple of Tylenol on the first or second day of your period will not give you fatal liver disease, or hepatitis or anything else... have a little perspective people.

Okay... since I never said that tylenol GIVES hepatitis... I HAVE hepatitis C and my docs have always told me not to take it, PERIOD. But as most people don't have hepatitis, one or two probably wouldn't be bad, but since there are other NSAIDS out there that aren't as dangerous, why not try those instead? To me, that sounds like a good perspective...or common sense. Herbs are medicine, and should be treated AS medicine. Some people have a hard time seeing this, but Lucy, you seem a little on the closeminded prejudiced side. Because Daisy, who I have seen from experience REALIZES FULLY that herbs are medicines, listed a whole list of herbs to TRY... what's wrong with that? I can list a whole lot of NSAIDS to take, but that doesn't mean you have to take them all at once. I think you've let your fears take over and not let you read the intention of that post.

Thank you all very much for the suggestions! I grow several of those herbs already, so I am glad know they may help.

Mik'Ta

Thank you for the support, Heathen.

Lucy, think of my original post like a chemist-shop. You have shelf after shelf of assorted remedies, and you have the opportunity to select the one which suits you best. You don't rush in and buy one of each and try them all at once! I did state that in my post, as a warning. If one remedy doesn't work for you, you can always come back and try another. Individuals respond differently to different treatments. What works for one, won't necessarily work for another. There's that old saying: 'One man's meat is another man's poison'.

People are fortunate in this day and age to have choices. If you are happiest with the modern, conventional medicines, then go for it. If you are happiest with the herbs, go for them instead. I prefer to take the middle road, depending on what condition I have which needs treatment. For urgent, serious treatment requiring expert intervention, I'll do whatever the modern doctors prescribe. (I'm seriously allergic to pain and suffering!) For simpler things, I prefer the 'natural' alternatives. Of course, I've studied herbs for long enough to know what I'm doing (I've done my homework), and I'm not narrow-minded enough about herbs to discount modern medicines. I'm lucky to have a doctor who is also open-minded about alternatives, and we find that the two regimes can and do work well together.

To close your mind against alternatives is to reduce your choices, and your freedom of choice. I am just as wary of people who opt for the 'herb or nothing' approach, as I am of those who opt for the 'modern science or nothing' approach.

Mikta asked for herbal remedies, and that's what she got. Whether she chooses any of them is entirely up to her. Ideally, she will have the opportunity of discussing the remedies offered with a herb-knowledgeable doctor, and have the benefits of the best advice for her particular needs.

It's nice to be able to choose between 'the best of two worlds', you know.

My mind's not closed, but I couldn't tell from the long list of stuff in the post prior to mine if she was thinking it all should be taken at once, or one at a time, and the diff. between some of those and trad. meds is that trad ones are tested rigidly under very controlled conditions in many situations, using consistent measurements, same-batch ingredients, etc., whereas many herbals are not, and even those that may be are not yet proven under wide scale trials on thousands of people, but often tend to be sold by accolade. I'm more than well aware that trad. meds can also have serious consequences (worked for a major Rx co. in the past, and many yrs in teaching hosp. research depts.) for some people, but if given the choice when it comes to a relatively serious illness or malady of any kind, I'll take the trad. FIRST, and only if MD's have come to a consensus that I'm a lost cause will I try others. Which is not to say I don't think St. J's W. can help in mild depression, or that a whole bunch of others aren't worth a try IF what's wrong with you is not life threatening to begin with (and has been so diagnosed by MD's). I took acunpuncture way back when many people were still sceptical of it - and that on referral of a trad. neurologist who also happened to be Chinese. I honestly don't think it helped very much, but then both kinds of meds often don't. Anyhow... that's all, but it just gives me the crazies to hear people asking strangers on the net about 'natural' cures for e.g. their children who have been diagnosed with serious illnesses (tho' not necessarily written off).

Well, I agree, with herbalism, there's a lot of Snake Oil salesmen out there waiting to take advantage of desperate people. But still... my opinion is that having a Doctor who knows about holistic medicine and herbs would be my preference.
Remember, in here, there are a lot of people who think the drug industry is almost as bad as Big Oil. I mean, the fact that they charge SO MUCH here in the US, that you can get the same meds in Europe for half the cost..... just goes to show that the Drug Industry is out to make money off of death as well..... for example, it was on the news, drug companies would rather discover more viagra type drugs than new antibiotics... more money in it. Doesn't sound like they have MY best interests at heart.

I'll tell you a secret - straight from the medical community (of which I am no longer a member) - MD's WILL prescribe herbals, or magnets or meditation if they a) believe not a whole lot is wrong with you to begin with, b) what they're 'prescribing' won't hurt you, and c) they can tell you're hot to trot with those things. It gets you out of their hair, there's a chance the 'meds' will work, there's a bigger chance they'll 'work' if you believe they will...ahem, and you'll tell all your friends how progressive your MD is! Is this really news to anyone?

Wow... Lucy, are you really this arrogant? Why are you in here? to rile people up? I KNOW that medical doctors aren't taught to think much in medical school, hence one intern telling me that there are NO nerves in the cervix... so, you prove it... good for you. Actually, I know some doctors who DO think that alternative therapies do work... my clinic offers massage therapy AND acupuncture, and if you feel they don't work, I can give you the number to the physician head of the clinic, so that you can inform him of that fact. Sorry, you are like this deeply southern man the other day telling me that going organic is a waste of time... and me informing him that it's a multi-billion dollar business in California... yeah... It sounds like you have a problem and something has made you angry... Also, there's another MD in here who also does believe that alternative therapies work... Eric? Speak up now! Maybe,Lucy, instead of speaking up before you think a little bit, you could pause, and wonder what is driving you to say the things you do.

Oh Lucy! It's very sad that you are so cynical.

I can't speak for doctors in your part of the world, but in my part of the world they do actually have some training in alternative therapies, including the use of herbs. I have one specialist who is a world-renowned authority in his field and he has given me a list of herbs to use as supplements. My problem is purely physical, not psychological, and the herbs have been of great help to me in drastically reducing my symptoms - with no unwanted side-effects, which is nice.

I daresay there are unethical, incompetent doctors everywhere, but I'm fortunate in never having encountered one (and I'm no spring chicken), and if you suspect that a doctor offers a herbal or other alternative treatment just to hurry you out the door, that's a terrible thing. Maybe I'm extraordinarily lucky, but my doctor, although very busy, treats me as a whole person, gives me time and goes to a lot of trouble to seek out the best treatments. I've had similar doctors before, too - he isn't an exception to the rule.

Further, our local hospitals are fully aware of the benefits (and otherwise) of herbs and supplements. Each time I've been admitted for surgery (at 3 of the major hospitals in my area) I have been presented with a list of herbs to avoid, and the reasons for discontinuing them before surgery. These little booklets have been put together by the health department of our state government, and are handed out free to all surgery patients, and to anyone else who wants one. They are very informative.

Even my dentist is in on the 'herbal' act. I didn't hunt any of these experts out because of their knowledge of alternative treatments - in the case of my GP, I just went to the one nearest to my home when I moved here!

None of this is new. Twenty years or so ago, when my son was seriously ill and spent 6 months in hospital, he also was prescribed herbs when conventional treatments didn't work. He is now well and truly adult and in excellent health. (Well, he would be if he hadn't been involved in a serious traffic accident a couple of months ago, resulting in multiple fractures! And yes, he's been using herbal preparations on the advice of his orthopaedic surgeon and his physiotherapist, and they have been helping his recovery. He lives some distance from me, so we don't have the same doctors.)

Please note: all of the professionals I've mentioned in this post are fully-trained in 'modern medicine'. They have also had some training in the alternatives - and they DO work well together. Even the nurses in attendance in the hospitals have some knowledge of these alternatives. Also the nurses at the local pathology rooms, which are not attached to the hospitals or to the doctor's surgeries. And when I go to the chemist to have prescriptions filled, I'm also given advice on certain herbs to avoid while using this or that conventional medication.

I don't feel fobbed off, and I'm far from being gullible. I'm not the sort of person who would sit back and do nothing if I didn't get the very best of treatment!!

I think it's good that you've come into this forum, Lucy. You can learn a lot here, but first you need to remove your blinkers, and be prepared to learn. We do get cranks, weirdos and fanatics from time to time - but they're easily spotted. The majority of us are just ordinary people who prefer to think outside the square and broaden our horizons.

Now let me give you something else to think about. If you didn't use herbs every day of your life, you'd be dead. TRUE! Whenever you eat a piece of fruit, or a serving of vegetables, or a slice of bread or a bowl of pasta - anything that came from a plant of some kind - you're using herbs. All plant foods have some nutritional and medicinal benefits to the human body. I have an elderly aunt whose jaw dropped to the floor when I told her this - she was 86 or so at the time, and still going strong several years later. She'd been adamant that she'd never used herbs in her life - but she's sadly addicted to her cups of tea and her veges! She thought about it for a few minutes, then conceded that I was right - she said she WAS a Herby after all! Even her coffee is a herb. If you don't believe me, do some research of your own to try and prove me wrong. It all boils down to your definition of 'herbs', I suppose.

Here's a place to start:

Here is a link that might be useful: search results 'medicinal uses vegetables'

My problem is not with someone using 'herbs' for a chronic or non-life threatening problem, nor one for which an M.D. has prescribed something. It is with people (unqualified) who are looking for something here on an internet forum prescribed by strangers, to give to either children with what seem to be serious symptoms, or relatives in the same boat. If you personally want to take something yourself, that's your business (whatever I might think of it), but I believe it's criminal to give these things to children, or others maybe desperate, certainly uneducated, who are willing to 'try anything', and very likely will either get worse, or at least neutralize (or stop taking altogether) their prescribed traditional medicines, sometimes with terrible results. It's not arrogance, it's education - 30 yrs of it!

(1) Some of us here are highly qualified to give advice about alternative medicines such as herbs.

(2) I agree entirely that herbal medications should not be given to children except under the strict supervision of a professionally qualified doctor or herbalist. If you hunt back over my posts of the last several years, you'll see that I've given warnings time and time again regarding children.

(3) I also agree that alternative treatments are not always the much sought-after Magic Wand - any more than conventional treatments are. I agree that in desperate situations, some people are prepared to do ANYTHING to achieve a cure for an incurable disease. This is why the more responsible contributors to this forum invariably recommend that people discuss alternatives with their doctors before attempting them. You are quite correct - there are inherent dangers in self-diagnosing and self-treatment.

(4) The provision of information regarding alternative treatments, when asked for, is NOT the same as handing out a prescription.

Daisy, just for the sake of argument, can I ask what makes someone 'highly qualified' to give advice? A degree from a naturopathic college, or years of reading or experimenting? And, "The provision of information regarding alternative treatments, when asked for, is NOT the same as handing out a prescription" - to you, maybe, but others see it as a go ahead sign to use it (after all, if it's on the shelf, no script needed, and someone sounding confident on the forum says it's great, what's to stop them from taking it - even if they've badly misinterpreted the info. on the posting? I'm well aware there are lots of people out there who've made themselves very knowledgable about these things, and I think it's great, but in passing on a snippet of info. to a stranger (who no one has otherwise talked to or examined or gotten a history from) it is more than likely that ALL their knowledge of the herbal med. has not been passed along, and won't necessarily be understood in context by the person asking about it. As I said before, if someone wants to drink herbal tea for an enhanced 'tea' experience of wellbeing, why not (I certainly have), but that's very different from otherwise ingesting who knows what concentration of a possibly unpurified exotic plant with who knows what side effects in certain people.

I take calcium and magnesium for mine. This mineral combination relaxes the muscles, so it is best taken when you aren't doing a lot. 6 grams calcium citrate plus 3 grams of magnesium citrate. The dose can be varied for you. I stopped eating sugar and foods with added sugar in them for three months a few years ago and my cramps were gone for the whole next year.

People, could you lighten up? Kiss a dead rat I get so tired of the sermons on this forum. I believe in experimentation to find what works. You people go on so many sactimonious rants here it is a wonder anyone presumes to call this a herb forum. I am old school hippie and I try all kinds of things. The great majority of them are harmless. No matter what it is, dose makes the poison. Excess of anything is wrong, including lifestyles that have no exercise and improper diet. Herbs are a short term measure to help re-balance an out of balance body. But neither they, nor pills are a substitute for proper living.

Why is anyone even arguing with Lucy or trying to placate her? Obviously she doesn't belong on a forum like this and obviously has serious psychological issues. I suggest that evferyone just ignore her posts and maybe we'll be4 lucky and she'll go away. Has anyone noticed that many knowledgeble people who had been here before have left? There are other forums where you are not beaten up for giving herbal or other holistic advice. Thsi forum has become laughable as an "herbal" forum thatnks to people like Lucy and Eric. Notice that Eric did not come to anyone's defense. Unless you want advice on some innocuous subjects like getting rid of blackheads or other ridiculous subjects go to another forum where people really are into herbs and other holistic remedies. Lose this forum. It has be4come a medical head forum and is usless. Not only that it appears to have become a forum where unstable people seek to displace their anger onto others who are seriously seeking advice, Move on!

Excuse me, but while I would value your opinion on the subject based on the issues, I also expect the same from you KFGESQ. You don't go around tearing apart another member's character because you disagree with an opinion, and I would definitely like an apology! Slander is not going to get you many friends here, and you need to think carefully before you sign yourself into print.

I would suggest noni fruit leather. I have a piece a day and it has really cut down on my cramps. I got it at kauaigoods.com

I have a Castus tree that they say is good for cramps... as well as other things... Google it or whatever and let me know if you would like some seeds.
Tink62

Red Raspberry tea is a great help after onset. To help keep the hormones balanced and prevent the problem, try taking soy daily.

This has really worked for me: Daily take don quai, chastetree berry, red clover extract and evening primrose oil. One day before expected mense, begin taking cramp bark and red raspberry leaves as needed. After about 8-12 weeks of taking the daily doses of herbs (don quai, chastetree, red clover and evening primrose oil) your cycle should become very regular and also no more cramping.

I am always amazed when people turn so...hateful and angry when someone says "be careful" or disagrees with them. Lucy isn't welcome here? She should be shunned? What happened to educating and enlightening people who may or may not be aware of all the facts? Or for that matter how about excepting that other people have differences of opinion? No instead we get nasty comments about her being a nut. Of course if she WERE mentally ill, which I doubt, that means that we should lock her up so we don't have to see her. Wait that's to expensive better put her down, for good! Come this way, time for your shower... kfgesq you really are a moron.

Having worked in the pharmaceutical industry I can tell you the drugs you are taking, no matter what they are, have risks. The same is true of herbs. No one would argue that strong mint tea will help soothe a head cold. However I have seen studies that are done by third parties who do NOT have an agenda pro or con that show that some of the herbs that people recommend for weight loss, depression etc have absolutely zero effect on these issues and in some cases they actually ARE quite dangerous. I know people like to believe that herbs=natural=good, but they don't. Neither does medication=scientific=good. Arguing about ALL herbs or ALL medications is not sensible. Even things which are now widely demonized like celebrex have there place. I used celebrex and nothing since has worked as well. I never had any side effects or problems with it. Ibuprofen doesn't work nearly as well and frankly even having tried them long term NO herb helped even a little. Other people have found Ibuprofen worked just as well for them and still other have the best results from herbs. My two cents.

Try having bananas and chamomile tea 2-3 weeks before mensturation. Dont have them everyday, probably 3-5 times a week is enough. It always helps me alot. Last month i had very few chamomile probably once or twice in a month and alot of junk food and had painful menstrual cramp.

Organic farmer bob said "I am always amazed when people turn so...hateful and angry when someone says "be careful" or disagrees with them."
Lucy didn't simply say "be careful" or disagree with anything specific. She refered to all Daisy's suggestions as JUNK, went on to recommend a non-herbal pill. This is not what the original poster asked for. Mikta requested suggestions for herbal remedies she could try. Daisy gave her a wonderful list of possibilities, along with cautions NOT TO MIX AND MATCH and stated that some herbs can cause side-effects as well.
When I post here, seeking information about HERBALISM, I do not appreciate someone replying the way Lucy did. Nothing she said was helpful. In my opinion, she is coming from a place of fear. If she had had some specific experience with one of the herbs Daisy mentioned and replied with a caution, her answer would have been helpful and appreciated. A blanket statement that all those herbs are JUNK certainly diminishes her credibility in my mind.

Here's my two cents:

I hate pills, i much prefer something natural, plus i enjoy the process of making them, infusions, decotions, oils and creams. just kinda a hobby i guess.

Thanks for all the tips everyone. I will be trying some of these as I have some awful cramps lately along with other pre-menopausal symptoms.

(It looks like the heated discussion above was over a year ago....!)

A study last year found that an aromatherapy oil can give decent results. They used "two drops of lavender (Lavandula officinalis), one drop of clary sage (Salvia sclarea), and one drop of rose (Rosa centifolia) in 5 cc of almond oil."

In addition to that, omega-3 oils, magnesium, and a daily vitamin with plenty of the B group might be helpful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pubmed Study on Aromatherapy and Menstrual Cramps

I am 52 years old now. I have endometriosis. My pain would be so bad that I could not walk. I woul dbe woken up in the middle of the night when i got my period with excruciating pain in my lower back and legs. It was horrible. about 15 or so years ago I read I believe on IVillage of woman taking 3 extra strength tums every day and how their pains reduced if not disappeared. I tried it. I was amazed. I never had a pain again from my menstrual cycle. I am now going through menopause and even now, nothing. after abuot 2 years of taking the tums I stopped to see how I was on my own. My cramps never came back. I did see a doctor when my cramping was bad. he recommended surgery or pain pills. I was not interested in either which is why i searched on the internet for an alternative answer. the 3 extra strength is 1600mg calcium. I highly recommend it. my 2 cents.

Sue-ann, i'm very glad you bumped this thread up. It was very informative in more ways than one. I had endometriosis also. It had spread everywhere even into my stomach cavity so i had the surgery. Very painful. There are apparently 2 kinds of cramps. one that movement helps and another that movement causes spasms. I had the latter. Sure wish i'd known about herbal tea back then. My aunt gave me elderberry wine once for it. The only thing it did beside make me sick as a horse was to make me vow never to drink alcoholic drinks and i did'nt.

St John's Wort helps with cramps you can easily grow this and make tea from it.

Taking Chasteberry helps as well and is used widely in Germany for menstral problems(sold under the Latin name vitex)

Drinking dandilion root tea daily before your help cleanse your liver and helps you body get rid of excess hormones.

I have found that these three work well for me. I had been dealing with severe PMS, cramps and flooding before trying these remedies and they really helped me.
Larissa

While these are not herbs I've heard that vitamins B1 & B6, magnesium, and vitamin E are recommended for dysmenorrhea. Perhaps some of the helpful herbs have those nutrients.