I did when I was younger. Unbelievably bad. I read an article in that famous medical journal, The National Enquirer, that said the problem was caused by excess prostaglandins. Prostaglandins have hormone-like actions in the body and they're the natural body substance that starts labor in pregnancy.

If a woman produces excess prostaglandins in the time leading up to her period, she can go into a state akin to labor. Every month.
NSAIDs, like ibuprohen, are prostaglandin inhibitors. They'd just been discovered and were available as the then prescription drug Motrin. You can now get Motrin and several other similar drugs OTC.

The gyno said to take 600 mgs of Motrin twice a day FOR TEN DAYS before my period was due to start.

He said Motrin would help mild cramps if it was taken on the first day of the period, but for the severe kind of cramps that put a woman down in misery, it has to be taken days in advance to lower the body's level of prostaglandins. Generic OTC versions would work just fine, but they come in a dose of 200 mgs.

It worked like a miracle. No cramps at all and no PMS. I wasn't always regular, but if I took Motrin for even a couple days in advance, it helped.

I had missed three days out every month due to my period since I was 12 years old. The ibuprophen (in the form of prescription Motrin) changed things.

That's a high dose and it can cause stomach and intestinal problems in some people. If you want to give it a try, I recommend talking to your doctor, just to be on the safe side. And if you get a bad stomach ache -- not cramps and you'll know the difference -- stop taking it.