Cramps, feminine 'protection': a rebuttal and some advice

[Flidais]

{17 and counting}

{{Enter heavy sarcasm mode}}

Oh my; it appears that I am the only woman in North America to not
have cramps every 28 days or so. Or at least that is the idea I get
from all the letters I have received on my article on cramp
relievers in the past few days.

{{Exit sarcasm, enter gentle explanation}}

If you (plural) would look at my posting again, you might notice
that I am not flaming the fact that women have cramps, or that women
take anti-spasmodics and anti-inflammatory agents for cramps; I am
flaming at the media which advertises these products. I think the
commercials for these products are just as silly as the commercials
for feminine hygiene products. I am not anti-analgesic, nor do I
have any half-baked ideas about women having to "suffer" with
cramps, labour pains, or anything else to complete the experience of
being female.

{and boy, will I probably get flamed for this....}

A general query to those who have written to me with tales of
massive cramps, and secondary effects {headaches, nausea, diarrhea};
have you talked to your physician about a mild preparation of
acetylsalicylic acid, acetminophen, or ibuprofen, with codeine {oh,
please don't let the feds see this!!}? Although codeine has a rather
nasty reputation, it does work wonders with the secondary and
primary effects of cramps in some cases.

--
Laurie Sefton
{harpo,ihnp4,allegra,decvax}!pur-ee!pucc-h!afo

~As he lay out the tarot, the devil and death, two old and very dear
friends of mine, appeared.~

[Barry Gold]

For the record, I'm 42 (and female) and have never had menstrual cramps.
I did take ibuprofen once for some temporary arthritis back when it was
called Motrin. A few months ago, I had some pains in my hands, try buying
some of the now non-prescription ibuprofen and taking it -- and noticed
that even with the same dosage (two pills, four times a day) I wasn't
getting the same effects. Switched to aspirin and had the pains/swelling
go away. Could Motrin have been slightly souped up?

--Lee Gold