If I get my period while I am asleep, I get extremely severe cramps with diarrhea, cold sweats and vomiting. The pain goes down my legs and back, and the only relief I get is after the Advil kicks in and I fall back to sleep. That usually happens after about two hours of major suffering. I don't get these types of cramps if my period starts during the day. Is there any reason they would be much worse at night?

L.R.

The only reason I can think of for more severe pain if your period starts at night is that during the day you are more likely to take medication such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) at the first hint of a cramp. At night, while you are sleeping, the cramps probably build up to a much more intense level before they wakes you up, and it therefore takes longer to get the pain under control. Severe pain can be accompanied by other symptoms like nausea, dizziness and diarrhea.

If your cycles are pretty regular, you should be able to predict when your period is about to begin. If you think it will begin by the next morning, or if you are having hints such as a heavy, full sensation, take ibuprofen before you go to bed.

If you typically have cramps throughout your period, you can start ibuprofen at the first sign of problems and continue to take it every four hours throughout the days when cramps usually strike. This approach is very effective at keeping horrible cramps at bay.