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Culture May 1, 2020
How I overcame my chronic menstrual cramps in college.
Image via Unsplash/@dboBefore I started treating my menstrual cramps with marijuana, every period was torture.
From a young age, I’ve struggled with intense menstrual cramps that were so severe that I was constantly on bed rest for the first few days after my period started.
It was terrible, I couldn’t even utter words. I would spend long nights crying in the bathroom after throwing up up my insides into the toilet. My parents didn’t know what to do since I was so young and experiencing cramps as painful as pregnancy contractions. I felt helpless.
Every month, whenever my period rolled around I would mentally prepare myself for the pain.
I had wild hormonal reactions and would often start unnecessary fights with people. I had to keep a lookout for symptoms like my behavior towards my friends and family to help me know that Mother Nature was about to knock on my uterus’s door.
At one point, I was taking up to six Advil a day to relieve the pain, and the side effects impacted me negatively. Taking that much Advil can cause gastrointestinal problems like nausea, heartburn, and diarrhea. It can also cause or exacerbate abdominal pain.
Unlike many freshmen in college, I wasn’t afraid of the 6,000+ mile move from home. However, I was afraid of dealing with my period cramps while being far away.
I spoke honestly with my gynecologist who prescribed me more hormone-regulating drugs. Originally, I am from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates where cannabis had not been legalized or even socially accepted yet.
Up until college, I hadn’t done any kind of “recreational” drugs. I’ve always believed in natural ways to relieve pain and stress. Like many college students, I started smoking weed as a freshman going to frat parties and social events.
During my first 6 months in college, I handled my cramps alone and would barricade myself in my dorm room. But one day, I started researching the correlation between the cannabis plant and instantaneous pain relief. I decided to smoke instead of taking the usual handful of Advil gel pills to overcome the pain I was suffering from.
Instantly, I felt the pain start to leave my body. As time passed, I was energetic and my mood improved. Soon after, nobody could convince me not to use marijuana recreationally to beat my cramps. The instant pain relief was too good. I wasn’t throwing up anymore and I could crave food and actually keep it down.
It was like a miracle for me. Before this, I thought that I would have to suffer from chronic cramps for the rest of my life.
I had become a regular user of cannabis and educated myself about the different types of strains and products that fit my body best.
There isn’t much scientific research to back up how marijuana has helped me overcome my cramps. Since it has only just begun to become legalized and less stigmatized in modern society, we haven’t gathered much information regarding the nature of this plant on its effect on human anatomies.
An article on verywellhealth.com delves into the effects of using marijuana for period cramps. It states that there is some research to back up the theory that marijuana can beat chronic pain. However, scientists haven’t done many studies to support the validity of cannabis as a treatment for period cramps.
I would suggest educating yourself through various professional medical resources, preferably ones that are well-versed with cannabis as a medical agent. I would also suggest you look at your medical history before attempting to deal with cramps in this way.
If you’re still not convinced, take Whoopi Goldberg’s word for it. In 2016, she launched her medical cannabis products to specifically help with menstrual cramps with Maya Elisabeth of OM Edibles. Sadly, the company shut down in February 2020 due to disputes between the co-founders.
In an interview with Goldberg about the company in The Cannabist, she explained that they wanted to push back against a comment made by the governor of New Jersey:
“They wanted to include menstrual cramps in the list of things you can prescribe medical marijuana for,” Goldberg said, “but the governor said that will never happen in New Jersey because our doctors only prescribe marijuana for ‘real’ pain.”
In case you were wondering, yes, that senator was a cisgender man.
“The fact that people think of (women’s health) as a niche market — that he didn’t think of menstrual cramps as ‘real’ pain — tells me that there’s a lot of education to do on this subject,” Goldberg said.
It is possible that the brand will be revived and that they will get back into the market soon, but they will be doing so without Goldberg’s name attached.
I haven’t dealt with my period cramps the same ever since I’ve discovered this method. It’s all-natural and it’s definitely worth trying out.
