Ever since Kate Downey got her first extremely painful period at age 14, every month feels like playing Russian roulette with her uterus. Will she get “normal” abdominal discomfort — or excruciating, life-disrupting “death cramps”? After decades of not knowing the cause of her pain,  Kate set out to find an answer to her very own medical mystery…and she shares with Anita how what she uncovered has implications for many other menstruating people.Meet the guest:- <a href="https://www.katehelendowney.com/about">Kate Downey</a> is the creator and host of <a href="https://www.katehelendowney.com/cramped">CRAMPED</a>, a podcast investigating period pain<a href="https://www.wunc.org/2025-04-02/decades-of-death-cramps-later-a-search-for-answers-to-period-pain-transcript">Read the transcript</a> | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/embodiedwunc/?hl=en">Instagram </a><a href="https://www.speakpipe.com/msg/s/254474/43/83gu0x074ydhd8wm">Leave a message for Embodied</a>

<description>
 &lt;p&gt;Ever since Kate Downey got her first extremely painful period at age 14, every month feels like playing Russian roulette with her uterus. Will she get “normal” abdominal discomfort — or excruciating, life-disrupting “death cramps”? After decades of not knowing the cause of her pain,  Kate set out to find an answer to her very own medical mystery…and she shares with Anita how what she uncovered has implications for many other menstruating people.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Meet the guest:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;- &lt;a href="https://www.katehelendowney.com/about"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Kate Downey&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; is the creator and host of &lt;a href="https://www.katehelendowney.com/cramped"&gt;CRAMPED&lt;/a&gt;, a podcast investigating period pain&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.wunc.org/2025-04-02/decades-of-death-cramps-later-a-search-for-answers-to-period-pain-transcript"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Read the transcript&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt; | Review the podcast on your preferred platform&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Follow Embodied on &lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/embodiedwunc/?hl=en"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Instagram &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.speakpipe.com/msg/s/254474/43/83gu0x074ydhd8wm"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Leave a message for Embodied&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
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A podcaster talks to Anita about her journey of getting to the bottom of her extreme period cramps.

Ever since Kate Downey got her first extremely painful period at age 14, every month feels like playing Russian roulette with her uterus. Will she get “normal” abdominal discomfort — or excruciating, life-disrupting “death cramps”? After decades of not knowing the cause of her pain,  Kate set out to find an answer to her very own medical mystery…and she shares with Anita how what she uncovered has implications for many other menstruating people.

Meet the guest:

- <a href="https://www.katehelendowney.com/about">Kate Downey</a> is the creator and host of <a href="https://www.katehelendowney.com/cramped">CRAMPED</a>, a podcast investigating period pain

<a href="https://www.wunc.org/2025-04-02/decades-of-death-cramps-later-a-search-for-answers-to-period-pain-transcript">Read the transcript</a> | Review the podcast on your preferred platform

Follow Embodied on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/embodiedwunc/?hl=en">Instagram </a>

<a href="https://www.speakpipe.com/msg/s/254474/43/83gu0x074ydhd8wm">Leave a message for Embodied</a>

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Decades Of ‘Death Cramps’ Later, A Search For Answers To Period Pain

Decades Of ‘Death Cramps’ Later, A Search For Answers To Period Pain

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