Medications

• If a woman with menstrual cramps is not already taking an anti-inflammatory medicine, the health care provider may advise her to take one of the over-the-counter pain relievers or prescribe an anti-inflammatory drug.
  
  
• Starting some form of hormonal birth control is another option to control or stop menstrual cramps. This can be a pill, an injection, a transdermal patch, or a combination ring. All these methods stop or reduce ovulation and the midcycle pain that may occur with it.