“Girl math is not taking pain meds when you have cramps to see how long you can take the pain for and if you take the meds it means you’re weak,” penned one X user.

A second confessed: “Not taking anything for my severe debilitating period cramps as a form of self harm because I am a masochistic freak who thrives on pain.”

“My cramps are killing me but I choose to deal with it and not take anything lol I hate medicine,” a third chimed in.

Another mused: “Bruh some women are strong as hell. They’ll be writhing in pains because of period cramps but they won’t take pain meds. They’ll chest the pain for days!”

“Women be on here like you supposed to fight through the cramps and not take pain meds. Soon as I feel a slight cramp and check I’m taking four to the head,” echoed a final X user.

I myself, as well as my friends, am very much so guilty of doing this and – to my memory – we’ve been doing this for years now.

And why?

If I’ve got a headache, toothache, hangover or just about anything else that can be relieved by popping a couple paracetamols? I’ll do it in a heartbeat. But horrendous period cramps that wake me up from my sleep, make me feel physically sick and make me keel over in pain?

There’s a serious reluctance.

So, in order to find out more about this seriously perplexing health trend, Tyla spoke to a women’s health GP to learn a little more about why women and people who menstruate may do this in the first place, if withholding from taking painkillers ‘until the very last moment’ actually impacts your tolerance to cramps and if any of this can affect your health in the long run?

According to Dr Farah Ahmed, this particular issue is a very ‘important and nuanced topic’.

“As a GP with a focus on women’s health, I often see this very scenario play out, patients who tell me they ‘wait as long as they can’ before taking pain relief for period cramps,” she continues.

“There are a number of layers to this, from cultural messaging to misconceptions about medication and pain itself.”

Why might women and people who menstruate delay taking painkillers?

The expert tells Tyla: “There’s a strong psychological and social component to this behaviour.”

Farah claims that some common themes that come up in consultations include:

Normalisation of pain

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