Period pain that forces you to stay home, take medication every month, or disrupts your daily life is not normal — even if everyone around you says it is. Most significant period pain has a diagnosable cause. At Mascot Healthcare, Akoka, we find it and treat it.
Knowing which type you have determines the right treatment — and whether a structural cause needs to be found.
Period pain with no underlying structural cause. Caused by prostaglandins — chemicals that trigger uterine contractions to shed the lining. Typically starts 1–2 years after periods begin and improves with age or after a first pregnancy.
Period pain caused by an underlying condition — fibroids, endometriosis, adenomyosis, or ovarian cysts. Typically worsens over time, starts later in life, and is often associated with other symptoms. Requires investigation and targeted treatment.
Uterine lining tissue grows outside the uterus — on ovaries, tubes, bladder, and bowel. Causes severe, progressive period pain, deep pelvic pain, pain during sex, and fertility problems. Very common but significantly under-diagnosed in Nigeria.
The uterine lining grows into the muscular wall of the uterus — causing a heavy, tender, bulky uterus with severe cramping. Often associated with heavy bleeding. More common after 30 and after having children.
Submucosal fibroids that distort the uterine cavity cause heavy, prolonged, and painful periods. The degree of pain correlates with fibroid location and size.
Chronic PID causes a dull, persistent pelvic ache that worsens during menstruation. Often a consequence of untreated chlamydia, gonorrhoea, or BV. Can cause irreversible tubal damage if left untreated.
In Lagos and across Nigeria, period pain is frequently normalised — by family members, by pharmacists dispensing pain relief without examination, and even sometimes by healthcare workers. The phrase "it's normal for women to suffer during their period" has caused enormous harm by delaying diagnosis of treatable and sometimes fertility-threatening conditions.
Period pain becomes clinically significant when it: requires regular analgesia (painkillers) to function; causes you to miss school, work, or social activities; is severe enough to cause vomiting, diarrhoea, or fainting; has worsened progressively over months or years; or is accompanied by heavy bleeding, pain during sex, or pelvic pain between periods.
Endometriosis affects approximately 1 in 10 women of reproductive age globally — and the figure in Nigeria is similar, though dramatically under-reported. The average time from symptom onset to diagnosis of endometriosis in Nigeria is 7–10 years — a decade of unnecessary suffering, often complicated by fertility damage that might have been prevented.
At Mascot Healthcare, our approach to significant period pain always includes a pelvic scan to look for structural causes, and an STI screen where relevant, before attributing pain to primary dysmenorrhoea.
Depending on the diagnosis, management options include: NSAIDs (ibuprofen, mefenamic acid) — most effective when started 1–2 days before the period begins; hormonal contraceptives (combined pill, Depo-Provera, Mirena IUD) that reduce endometrial build-up; progesterone-only treatments for adenomyosis; antibiotic treatment for PID; and onward referral for surgical treatment of endometriosis, fibroid removal, or hysteroscopy.
A proper diagnosis changes everything. Consultation available at Mascot Healthcare, Akoka. Walk-in, same day.