I've had horrible, knock me out cramps since I was 11 years old and now I'm about to turn 38. That is 27 years of pain! Anyway, right before I got married I started the pill and thought for sure it was the answer to all my problems - wrong! It did nothing to help the pain or severity of my period. All it did was give me an idea of when it was coming and even that benefit slowly went away. I tried many different pills and they all made my PMS worse, caused daily headaches and did nothing to ease my period. I finally stopped taking them about 4 years ago and although my pain is still very bad at least I don't have the PMS and headaches.

Anaprox or Naproxen has been the only thing to give me some relief but I have to take heavy doses for a day or two.

I just had to comment that the pill isn't always the answer to the problem.