Anonymous
Post 05/19/2026 15:15     Subject: Were our foremothers just uncomfortable all the time??
Anonymous wrote:
The reality is that yes, our ancestors lived with pain.

I have ovarian cysts. When a largish one bursts, there is nothing I can take to alleviate the sudden and blinding pain. I lie down wherever I am, and cannot move for 2 hours. I can't talk or scream. My doctor asked innocently why I didn't go to the ER, and I told her I can't get to my phone to call 911, because I can't move. I can move a bit after 2hrs, and the pain leaves me after 48hrs.

Only opioids would relieve that type of pain, and I don't have them on hand, nor do I want to. Thank God I've only had two episodes in my life. Worse than natural childbirth, of which I've had two as well.



I had an office mate that happened to and it was super scary. She collapsed on the ground moaning and unable to move and I didn’t know what to do. I called Hr and we called 911. She wanted HR to give her morphine — she was from China and said they would do that there when it happened. The EMS folks also were not willing to give her a morphine shot and put her back to work, which is what she wanted. I think it was the first time it had happened to her in the U.S. and she didn’t understand the restrictions around opioids.
Anonymous
Post 05/19/2026 15:11     Subject: Were our foremothers just uncomfortable all the time??
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Does all that stuff actually make you feel better?


I take it to address a problem, and yes, it alleviates the discomfort. My sleep was shit, with night sweats and frequent waking and frequent need to pee. My joints ached. I had brain fog. The hormones reduced those symptoms by 80%. Did my great grandmother wake up drenched twice a night, and sit staring for an hour at a pile of green beans needing to be canned? I assume she did...?


She probably had a lot of that, but attitudes around menopause apparently significantly change how your subjective experience of the symptoms. If she didn't see it as a medical problem (which is less likely in a time when there's not any way of treating it), she probably experienced the symptoms as less significant than you did.


Theres's plant medicinal that help with symptoms and women knew about them or shared them.


Absolutely. My grandmother was born in the 19th century. She took aspirin for fever or aches. Whiskey, honey and lemon for sore throat (works better than most cough syrups). Hot steam for congestion. Her great grandmother was a herbalist and midwife born in about 1820. When she came to this country, she supported herself by helojmg with deliveries and selling (or bartering) herbal medicines for illnesses. My grandmother said she once shared the recipe for some of those remedies with a 20th century pharmacist and he was very impressed and said it was basically the same as what he was selling.
Anonymous
Post 05/19/2026 15:08     Subject: Re:Were our foremothers just uncomfortable all the time??
I agree it’s a mix of people possibly being more stoic because there were less interventions, maybe even having certain less stresses in their life because they weren’t bombarded with more information that most people can digest in a year every day on their phones, and other problems of modern life that we have.

I also think people used to self medicate a lot more. My grandparents and great grandparents etc were big smokers and drinkers and I don’t do either of those.
Anonymous
Post 05/19/2026 14:54     Subject: Were our foremothers just uncomfortable all the time??
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I wonder this too. I don’t know what my grandmothers were like in their 50s.

Surely they pushed through menopause. Women of that generation were stoic and they didn’t discuss their misery. I don’t think allergies were as bad then. Anxiety was pretty common for some. That was the generation who took Benzos.

However women did not eat heavy back then. Canned peaches, whipped cream, small amounts meat and potatoes, small egg salad or tuna sandwiches on white bread, that sort of thing.

They would never eat pizza or anything to cause heartburn.


What a dumb and unrealistic generalization.

My grandmother took Paregoric regularly for stomach issues which is essentially opium. But yes, I think there was a lot more discomfort in earlier generations. I also know a lot of older people who are overly stoic about pain and refuse to take advil or tylenol for everyday aches and pains for some reason.


James Joyce and Rudyard Kipling both died of a perforated ulcers. I'm sure we could dig up other historical examples.
Anonymous
Post 05/19/2026 14:51     Subject: Re:Were our foremothers just uncomfortable all the time??
Anonymous wrote:Wow, this is a fun rabbit hole to wander down. Thanks for the inspiration OP.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/opium-soaked-tampons-were-the-midol-of-ancient-rome


Realized this sounds spammy, the article talks about ancient Romans using opium soaked tampons to alleviate menstrual pain and other things.
Anonymous
Post 05/19/2026 14:27     Subject: Were our foremothers just uncomfortable all the time??
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Does all that stuff actually make you feel better?


I take it to address a problem, and yes, it alleviates the discomfort. My sleep was shit, with night sweats and frequent waking and frequent need to pee. My joints ached. I had brain fog. The hormones reduced those symptoms by 80%. Did my great grandmother wake up drenched twice a night, and sit staring for an hour at a pile of green beans needing to be canned? I assume she did...?


She probably had a lot of that, but attitudes around menopause apparently significantly change how your subjective experience of the symptoms. If she didn't see it as a medical problem (which is less likely in a time when there's not any way of treating it), she probably experienced the symptoms as less significant than you did.


Theres's plant medicinal that help with symptoms and women knew about them or shared them.


Yes, or people drank a lot of alcohol or used morphine.
Anonymous
Post 05/19/2026 14:22     Subject: Re:Were our foremothers just uncomfortable all the time??
Wow, this is a fun rabbit hole to wander down. Thanks for the inspiration OP.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/opium-soaked-tampons-were-the-midol-of-ancient-rome
Anonymous
Post 05/19/2026 14:18     Subject: Were our foremothers just uncomfortable all the time??
IDK, I'm 65 and take a daily multivitamin
Anonymous
Post 05/19/2026 14:15     Subject: Were our foremothers just uncomfortable all the time??
Anonymous wrote:I wonder this too. I don’t know what my grandmothers were like in their 50s.

Surely they pushed through menopause. Women of that generation were stoic and they didn’t discuss their misery. I don’t think allergies were as bad then. Anxiety was pretty common for some. That was the generation who took Benzos.

However women did not eat heavy back then. Canned peaches, whipped cream, small amounts meat and potatoes, small egg salad or tuna sandwiches on white bread, that sort of thing.

They would never eat pizza or anything to cause heartburn.


What a dumb and unrealistic generalization.

My grandmother took Paregoric regularly for stomach issues which is essentially opium. But yes, I think there was a lot more discomfort in earlier generations. I also know a lot of older people who are overly stoic about pain and refuse to take advil or tylenol for everyday aches and pains for some reason.
Anonymous
Post 05/19/2026 13:18     Subject: Were our foremothers just uncomfortable all the time??

The reality is that yes, our ancestors lived with pain.

I have ovarian cysts. When a largish one bursts, there is nothing I can take to alleviate the sudden and blinding pain. I lie down wherever I am, and cannot move for 2 hours. I can't talk or scream. My doctor asked innocently why I didn't go to the ER, and I told her I can't get to my phone to call 911, because I can't move. I can move a bit after 2hrs, and the pain leaves me after 48hrs.

Only opioids would relieve that type of pain, and I don't have them on hand, nor do I want to. Thank God I've only had two episodes in my life. Worse than natural childbirth, of which I've had two as well.

Anonymous
Post 05/19/2026 13:15     Subject: Re:Were our foremothers just uncomfortable all the time??
My grandmother who was born in 1932 in a third world country (where she also died), definitely took plenty of medications. She was diabetic and also had asthma. Both of those require a lot of medications. Her diabetes was definitely not managed well and she died of cirrhosis of the liver, even though she almost never drank.
Anonymous
Post 05/19/2026 13:11     Subject: Were our foremothers just uncomfortable all the time??
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Does all that stuff actually make you feel better?


I take it to address a problem, and yes, it alleviates the discomfort. My sleep was shit, with night sweats and frequent waking and frequent need to pee. My joints ached. I had brain fog. The hormones reduced those symptoms by 80%. Did my great grandmother wake up drenched twice a night, and sit staring for an hour at a pile of green beans needing to be canned? I assume she did...?


She probably had a lot of that, but attitudes around menopause apparently significantly change how your subjective experience of the symptoms. If she didn't see it as a medical problem (which is less likely in a time when there's not any way of treating it), she probably experienced the symptoms as less significant than you did.


Theres's plant medicinal that help with symptoms and women knew about them or shared them.
Anonymous
Post 05/19/2026 11:08     Subject: Were our foremothers just uncomfortable all the time??
Anonymous wrote:I wonder this too. I don’t know what my grandmothers were like in their 50s.

Surely they pushed through menopause. Women of that generation were stoic and they didn’t discuss their misery. I don’t think allergies were as bad then. Anxiety was pretty common for some. That was the generation who took Benzos.

However women did not eat heavy back then. Canned peaches, whipped cream, small amounts meat and potatoes, small egg salad or tuna sandwiches on white bread, that sort of thing.

They would never eat pizza or anything to cause heartburn.


My aunt died of esophageal cancer so women back then definitely had heartburn.

Heck you can find People throughout the ages writing about indigestion and heartburn. Canterbury Tales has tons of fart jokes. There are tons of medieval texts on herbal "cures" for heartburnm

The idea that people didn't have heartburn back in the day is easily disproven.
Anonymous
Post 05/19/2026 11:02     Subject: Were our foremothers just uncomfortable all the time??
I wonder this too. I don’t know what my grandmothers were like in their 50s.

Surely they pushed through menopause. Women of that generation were stoic and they didn’t discuss their misery. I don’t think allergies were as bad then. Anxiety was pretty common for some. That was the generation who took Benzos.

However women did not eat heavy back then. Canned peaches, whipped cream, small amounts meat and potatoes, small egg salad or tuna sandwiches on white bread, that sort of thing.

They would never eat pizza or anything to cause heartburn.
Anonymous
Post 05/19/2026 10:51     Subject: Were our foremothers just uncomfortable all the time??
Yes. They died earlier. Were in a lot of pain. Prolapsed uteruses, terrible hot flashes etc etc. They had no choice. They also probably fell down sleeping as soon as the work was done exhausted.