You're listening to Life Kit from NPR.
Hey everybody, it's Marielle.
For a decade plus,
when I would get my period, I would have terrible cramps the first day,
and I would just ride it out.
Like I'd be doubled over, unable to leave the house, really.
I tried heating pads, which do help,
but for some reason, I didn't think I should take a painkiller.
I don't know, I guess I just thought it was safer to go natural.
But then one day when I was maybe 25, I popped an ibuprofen
and then a short time later, the pain was gone.
It would start to creep back up again a little later.
And then I took another.
And after that, I was over the hump.
My cramps were manageable at that point.
I kind of regretted waiting that long.
I went through so much unnecessary pain.
Pain is a part of the human experience.
We get cramps and aches and migraines.
We burn our hands cooking or trip and sprain an ankle.