fwiw in addition to general "omg pms is awful" shit I have, my cramps range from "ow it hurts to move too much" to "take a deep breath, grit teeth together, pretend nothing is happening because I'm in public" to (more recently) "load up on muscle relaxants and Tylenol and ice packs and then just try not to move and maybe get through two days."
apparently *none of the above* is considered "normal", although for me I always considered the first two "normal."
when my surgeon asked me how long I've had painful periods I was like, "..." because I really couldn't figure out exactly what he meant by painful. but "at least a decade" seemed to raise some flags, even though tbh they have apparently ~always~ been painful by "most peoples' definitions."
ETA: also i have fibromyalgia so i'm used to tuning out a certain level of pain so I can get through my day. the only times I've ever hit a 10 (which for me is "hurts too much to breathe"), it's been abdominal pain that was ~mysterious~ and didn't show up on any scans and now if I go to the ER I get side-eyed even though *no one even looked at my reproductive system*.
note: following possibly triggery because cancer & death & fucking dr's being dismissive:
also also my aunt-by-marriage had two years of abdominal pain. her doctor sent her to therapy. she was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer, which might have been treatable if someone fucking took her seriously.
i have many feelz about this
apparently *none of the above* is considered "normal", although for me I always considered the first two "normal."
when my surgeon asked me how long I've had painful periods I was like, "..." because I really couldn't figure out exactly what he meant by painful. but "at least a decade" seemed to raise some flags, even though tbh they have apparently ~always~ been painful by "most peoples' definitions."
ETA: also i have fibromyalgia so i'm used to tuning out a certain level of pain so I can get through my day. the only times I've ever hit a 10 (which for me is "hurts too much to breathe"), it's been abdominal pain that was ~mysterious~ and didn't show up on any scans and now if I go to the ER I get side-eyed even though *no one even looked at my reproductive system*.
note: following possibly triggery because cancer & death & fucking dr's being dismissive:
also also my aunt-by-marriage had two years of abdominal pain. her doctor sent her to therapy. she was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer, which might have been treatable if someone fucking took her seriously.