I am curious as to what you ended up doing?
I had a ripping headache last night (I have occasional migraines) and decided against taking meds. I personally would not have taken the ibuprofen, side effects are just too scary, and I figure that I'm already taxing my liver/kidneys by detoxing. I would have tried to ease off and then taken the meds, or possibly tried to deal with the pain. Sounds to me though that your cramps might be so intense that the later might not really be an option. I get cysts on my ovaries that hurt soo intensely that I sometimes can't stand.
BTW, have you ever tried essential oils for that problem? I think some of the basic ones such as peppermint and lavender could really help, but I'm sure some of the other ones such as clary sage and jasmine would benefit as well.
Hope everything works out for you