I have been having similar pain that is being described here since spring of 2021 and have not been able to figure out a solution to it despite going to multiple doctors in the US. I am glad to have least found some people with similar symptoms and will share my story as perhaps it will help others.

I am 36 years old and every month after I ovulate and before I menstruate I get daily recurring bouts of intense pain across my lower abdomen lasting anywhere from 15 minutes to a few hours. It is debilitating and costs me sleep for at least a week each month. I have even thrown up and almost fainted from the pain. At first I thought these were some type of period cramp triggered during my luteal phase and that I might have endometriosis since the pain is located around where my ovaries are. I do not have pain like this when I menstruate, however.

I saw an endometriosis specialist and after two TVUs, an MRI, and a discussion of my symptoms, we all but ruled out endometriosis. In particular I was put on a progesterone birth control that immediately stimulated my pain during a time in my cycle that I normally would never have pain. Stopping the BC after a week immediately stopped the pain. I had already suspected that progesterone might be triggering my pain and this made me feel fairly certain of it. Notably, progesterone slows down motility in the intestines and increased levels during pregnancy can be why pregnant women have digestive issues. I also have IBS-D and have been seeing a gastroenterologist for these same symptoms to see if they are gastro related. I have done multiple gastro tests including an endoscopy and colonoscopy and nothing looks amiss. After shifting my perspective to thinking about these cramps as a potential gastro issue I realized that they commonly came after eating and that going to the bathroom or at least trying to go to the bathroom could relieve them somewhat. I am now considering that it might be severe gas pain from trapped gas in my lower intestine that is somehow being generated during the luteal phase.

As for what I have tried as a solution. No OTC pain medication has helped me. Dicyclomine is an anticholinergic that is used for IBS and slows motility in the lower intestines and has helped me somewhat but it is not a great solution. Heating pads help a little as does exercise and stretching but not enough to stop the issue. The pain is the worst at night when I am trying to sleep and cannot move around. I am currently trying to increase fiber intake via psyllium to see if that helps and I am also going to try taking simethicone before each meal and before bed to see if my gas pain hypothesis is possibly correct.

Ultimately, I feel like this is an issue that would require multiple doctors to collaborate (ie endocrine, gastro, gyn) and it feels like each field is siloed in western medicine so it has been impossible to find a solution.