If you and your doctor talk about your symptoms and medical history, and your doc decides that you belong to this 8% group of women targeted by such a drug, then potentially eliminating your period altogether may be *one* option. That is up to you and your doctor to jointly decide.

On the other hand, you said you have never taken birth control pills (BCP) before, and my question is, “would it make sense to first consider traditional birth control pills as a therapy for extremely painful periods?” Again that is for you and your doctor to decide – but if you’ve never taken even taken BCP before, then this may also be an option that you can discuss with your doctor.

Speaking from personal experience (and as you’ve read from my article), the pain I experienced was alleviated in part by BCP. While I would still need to take an analgesic (ibuprofen or acetaminophen) the first day, I have found that while on the pill, my periods were shorter and less painful.

My main concern with stopping periods altogether, as I’ve alluded to in my article, is that we don’t know what the long term side effects are of doing this. Side effects may not only be childbearing, but may include a host of other health issues in women.