“If you take menstrual pain pills every month, will you develop a tolerance?” the pharmacist replied

One in two women suffer from menstrual cramps once a month. There is a fast-acting menstrual pain medicine called painkiller, but I have to endure the burden of taking it for a long time every month for about a week. However, experts recommend that you do not put up with the pain and discomfort of menstrual cramps and just take painkillers. Pharmacist Kim Ji-young set out to clear up misunderstandings about her menstrual pain medication.

Menstrual pain medicine is a drug that does not develop toleranceㅣSource: Getty Image Bank
Are you developing a tolerance to menstrual cramps?
There are not a few women who think that it is not good to take medicine and put up with it blindly, even though menstrual cramps are so severe that they cannot go about their daily lives. Pharmacist Kim Ji-young replied, “We usually take antipyretic analgesics or anti-inflammatory analgesics for menstrual pain, but they are all medicines that do not cause tolerance or addiction.”

He continued, “The medicine worked well before, but if you don’t want to take it this time, it’s because the degree of pain, that is, the progress of the disease, has worsened, so you need to find the cause of the worsening menstrual cramps.” Depending on the condition of the month or the stressful situation, there may be a difference in the degree of pain. However, in the case of severe pain, it may be secondary dysmenorrhea caused by a pathological source inside the pelvis. Causes of secondary dysmenorrhea include endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease and infection, adenomyosis, fibroids and polyps and adhesions, and ovarian cysts. If severe pain is repeated, it is recommended to find a hospital and see a doctor to determine the cause of the disease.

Is it good to take menstrual pain medicine in advance?
The main culprit of primary dysmenorrhea that occurs without stunning lesions is a hormone called prostaglandin (PG). Therefore, if you want to take painkillers for menstrual cramps, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that block this hormone are most useful.

If you have severe premenstrual syndrome (PMS), it is natural to take painkillers before your period starts. However, pharmacist Kim Ji-young replied that if you have pain after starting your period, you do not need to take it in advance. It’s not that menstrual cramps are bad, but there’s no need to take excessive doses when you don’t need them.

Pharmacist Kim Ji-young explained, “A painkiller in a soft capsule formulation that is quickly absorbed can be effective immediately even if you take it when the pain starts.” In that respect, she recommended a product that is easy to carry. He added, “These days, products that come in large quantities are being released, so they are convenient even when going out.”