Dysmenorrhea are painful cramps that occur immediately before or during the menstrual period. They are caused by contractions in the uterus. My friend often has very bad cramps and would feel very restless and lethargic in the first few days of her period. Panadol and hugging a hot water bottle are her favourite weapons of choice. For me, I always get very bad lower back aches, massaging it (usually I use a tennis ball and press my back against the wall with the tennis ball in between) helps for me.
Before pregnant, I get menstrual cramps during my period everytime. What I did was to drink hot beverage and using hot compression pack on my lower tummy to ease the cramp. When the pain is unbearable, I will take pink panadol which is meant for menstrual pain to ease my pain. If it is non-working day, I will just rest and lie on my bed as much as possible. Also, drink alot of warm fluid throughout the day will help too.
I generally do not get any menstrual cramps during my period so I can't speak on any of my own experiences but I have a colleague who gets it really bad each time she has hers. What I noticed she did for herself was to drink lots of warm water, especially hot milo in the morning and she took some Panadol. She also complains of being tired and sleeps early.