Ponstel for Period Pain User Reviews

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• June 8, 2012

"As a 17 year old I have taken these pills sparingly during the beginning of my most painful cycles. Depending on the severity of the pain the medicine can take from 15 minutes to an hour to take effect (the longer time for the more painful cycles). Also severe cramps may still be felt when the medicine is in full swing although it feels like a minor cramp."

• Anonymous
• February 4, 2012

"I have endometriosis and I have been suffering from serious period pain since I was 11 when I started having my period. I have been on a list of birth control pills that have not worked properly with my body. I asked about Ponstel after I had my surgery and he prescribed it right away. I have pain in between and during my period (so basically all the time) so he said take it as needed. It only takes a few pills and I will feel absolutely wonderful like I'm living on a cloud when it kicks in. I don't think it takes more than 20 minutes for it to start working. "

• Anonymous
• April 28, 2008

"Ponstel was prescribed for severe period pain due to Fibroids and ovarian cysts. It was very effetive and I would definitely reccomend it! But just a cautionary note, this is a costly medication! I had to pay the highest copay on my prescription insurance. Get samples from your Doctor if at all possible!"

• Jandy...
• March 30, 2011

"I, too, have experienced such extreme menstrual pain. This has been going on since I was 14 (1979). I actually have a very high pain level tolerance and rarely use any medications for pain, with the exception of my dysmenorrhea. (I didn't even use pain medicines when I had surgery on my elbow to repair tendons on each side and to move my ulnar nerve). I have been taking Ponstel since 1999 and have found it is the ONLY medication so far to relieve my pain during menstruation. I do take it more often than others have listed before me. I am prescribed 2 caps at onset of pain and 1 cap every 5-6 hrs until all symptoms have ended (usually 4 days). Takes 45 mins to work on me. (Also prescribed for my occasional migraines.)"

• Anonymous
• September 23, 2011

"About 16 years ago I began having severe vomiting and some abdominal pain with my period. My symptoms were debilitating monthly for 3-5 days and greatly limited my daily activities. I tried over the counter remedies such as Advil, Tylenol, Naproxen and Pamprin none of which did anything to alleviate my symptoms. Then I tried Ponstel. My mother had been taking Ponstel for years for the same problems so we thought it was worth a try. What a difference it made! It took the edge off the pain and totally relieved the vomiting. To be the most effective, it does have to be taken at the onset or just before the onset of symptoms. The only down side to it is that insurance companies don't want to cover it, and it isn't cheap."

• Anonymous
• October 9, 2008

"After many years of severe menstrual cramps and using just about every other NSAID on the market, my doctor prescribed me Ponstel and it was a God-send. It was well worth the extra copay. It was the only NSAID I took, with which I did not have to extra Tylenol with codeine or Vicodin to get relief."

• pmccall
• March 23, 2009

"I've been suffering from severe dysmenohrea (menstrual pain) since I was 14 years old. Every month I experienced nauseating pain from uterine contractions. Over the counter medications never helped me. I used Buscopan for 10 years and it completely stopped working for me. My physician recommended Ponstel (Mefenamic Acid) and ever since I've been walking on clouds. It works wonders and COMPLETELY relieves my pain within 30 minutes. It works all day so I only have to take one pill in the morning. This medication saved me."

• Anonymous
• July 31, 2010

"My doctor prescribed me Ponstel recently. I suffer from endometriosis, and am in pain 3 weeks a month. I took the first pill, fell asleep shortly afterwards. When I woke up, I had horrible pains shooting through my stomach. I was told to stop taking it, and got prescribed good old Vicodin. I realize I'm in a small percentage of people who have had problems with this medicine, but since the other reviews have been good, I wanted to let people know that it does have side effects."

• Mitte...
• October 19, 2015

"I have been suffering from endometriosis since I was 12. Unbelievable pain, heavy bleeding, vomiting, the works. Most of the time, I could barely walk during my menstrual sycle. My old ob doc recommended this medicine when I was 18 and she gave me a sample. It relieved my cramping so much and helped with my other symptoms. The only downside to this medication is that it is very expensive and most insurance companies only approve the generic, which I cannot take."

• Katriel
• September 6, 2019

"I used ponstan for a while. once I stopped because it just stopped working after about 2 weeks, I gave up. Well I then started to get cramps from eating gluten products so ponstan brought up an allergy and since then almost 2 years ago I've had to eat gluten free cardboard-like food. , I was FINE before this tablet."

• Anonymous
• January 19, 2010

"Works very fast (10-15 minutes) and helped where others didn't without the loopy feeling of Vicodin. I only need a few pills a month for those first couple of days when it's bad so just had doctor write what I needed and pick up at pharmacy paying cash price. I used to miss work a lot but now it doesn't even bother me. Love it."

• Anonymous
• May 27, 2009

"I found it to be very effective in the first 6 months of use. My period pain would start to subside within the first 15 minutes after taking it and it lasted for about 12 hours. Now it takes at least 1.50 hours for the pain to even start to subside and it only lasts for about 6 hours. It makes me so tired to the point where I have to take a nap and when I get up from my nap I feel extremely tired and "out of sorts". This feeling usually lasts the rest of the day no matter if I take a nap at 11:00 AM or 4:00 PM. So I only take Ponstel now when it is absolutely necessary."

• Friend
• Taken for 10 years or more
• October 3, 2022

"Ponstall has been a life changer for me. I’ve been experiencing very intense periods for a long time and nothing has helped. I couldn’t believe the difference when I first took Panstale. My doctor said to make sure I took two capsules immediately at the start of my period and not to forget to take another one for six hours later. I remember thinking it wasn’t working, and realized it had been 10 hours! I tell all my friends about this medication suggest you’re diligent about taking it. It also reduce my blood flow, headaches, and stomach issues I get with my period. I love it!"

• Anonymous
• November 15, 2010

"I have had severe menstrual pain since I was 13 yrs old. Nothing has ever worked except when I was on the birth control pill. Doctor put me on Ponstel and it only worked for the first day. On day 2, 3 and 4 of my period it didn't work at all. Doctor is going to keep me on Ponstel and also added Vicodin for the couple of "bad days". We will see if it works. It did work better then Celebrex (faster) that is."

• Kat
• November 1, 2017

"This did not work at all. Not only did it not touch my severe menstrual cramps, but I experienced side effects from the drug - muscle weakness in my legs. My obgyn and I tried everything. Now, I take meloxicam every 24 hrs for first 1-3 days of period and take 2.5mg - 5mg hydrocodone acetaminophen on day 2 and 3 for breakthrough pain. It works very well."

• Willow
• February 12, 2016

"Does not work at all; on the top of all regular symptoms I got the significant side effects of a drug. Going back to Tylenol at least has no problem with side effects, works for pain a little."