The Pill really helped me.
During my Teens I was on Dianette to clear up my skin, it helped with my period pain but like someone else pointed out killed my sex drive and well when I look back I was like a walking zombie.
In my 20's I changed to Celeste, best thing ever!!!!!!!!
My sex drive returned, I feel normal, regular periods, no PMS, no period pains, no weight gain at all, if I roll my pill and choose to miss a period I get no spotting either, I love being on this Pill!
I think getting the type of Pill that's right for you is the Key thing.
Another method that helped me was using a Mooncup:
Mooncup Menstrual Cup
I will share my experiences with the Mooncup (Diva cup is similar I think).
Before buying one of these I was mainly using Sanitary Towels and on the Odd occasion Tampons, however I found I was suffering from regular bouts of Thrush and Cystitis, I have used a Mooncup for about 3 years now and in that time have never suffered from either of these conditions.
To insert the cup, I press it flat, then scrunch the sides together and insert, there is a nice diagram on the Mooncup website, like a tampon I push it up as far as it will go, it should pop open and stay in place.
Don't worry about the air holes around the egde of the cup, they act as a suction device and no blood will seep through.
The stem on the cup can be cut to any size, I actually cut mine off as I found it more comfortable this way.
To remove the cup you either pull the stem down or gently squeaze the bottom of the cup to release the grip and gently pull downwards, keeping upright simply remove and empty.
You should find there is no smell, where as with towels air and bacteria mix with the blood creating that awful cloying smell.
I empty my cup in the morning and last thing at night, I normally give it a quick rinse before re-inserting. During the day I just forget about it so no need to worry about it when at work. If you are worried about overspill, I have only ever filled just over half a cup on my heaviest day.
Another worry I used to have is if I went for a 'number 2' and the pushing motion might push out the cup, this has never happened, the air holes should keep the cup locked firmly in place, your cup may get pushed further down the vagina, simply push it back up, no blood will spill out.
At night I have never had any leaks, even though I tend to mover around a lot and suffer from a restless sleep, I have never even had what I call 'strawberry jam' streaks, unlike sanitary towels that strayed.
The cup even holds up in exercise, you could stand on your head and not get any leaks, I have also been on holiday and worn a bikini, gone swimming with my mooncup in place with no leaks.
To clean I use a jar, pour in Milton/Steralising Fluid and boiling water, pop the cup in and leave overnight.
I normally clean before and after my period and just rinse throughout when I empty it.
A reason I hate towels and tampons is that they soak up natural vaginal cleansing and lubricating juices as well as blood and this can lead to a 'dehydrated vagina' which can cause cramps and more period pains.
The only side effect you may experience is the cup massaging your walls so you end up ahem horny as hell.! lol
Also i find that a nice hot bath really helps, or maybe sleeping through it
