We Tried A Device To Get Rid Of Our Period Cramps And It Kind Of Worked

It's time to Liv-ia our best lives while on our periods.

Periods. They're the worst. You bloat, you break out, and you're in pain. Oh, and it happens every freaking month. But what if there was a device that turned off your period cramps? That's what Livia is trying to do.

Livia / Via indiegogo.com

The device, which will be available worldwide in October, was created with help from Chen Nachum, the co-founder and CEO, who was inspired by his father's medical research into bedsores.

Livia / Via youtube.com

Nachum told BuzzFeed that Livia started when his father found a frequency that helped with pain from bedsores and it evolved from there. When asked what he wants to accomplish with this device, Nachum told BuzzFeed that he hopes Livia generates conversation around periods and the pain women face, and helps every woman have a more comfortable period.

So how does Livia work?

BuzzFeed talked to Dr. Jen Gunter, OB/GYN and pain specialist, who gave us the rundown. Gunter explained that Livia seems to work as a Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation unit (TENS unit), which does work for pain management. The idea is that the vibration from the device travels faster than pain, and the brain likes the signal it gets first. If you get a vibration signal, that will then shut the door to pain.

We were curious if this device would work for us, so we tried it out.

BuzzFeedYellow / Via youtube.com

There's Ali, who barely has cramps, but sometimes they can get a little annoying.

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Ali's thoughts before: I've seen products like this advertised so many times, either on crowdsourcing sites or infomercials, so I was definitely skeptical. What made this one different and how/why would it work? I was excited to try it out and see for myself, but I had a lot of doubts.

Sheridan, who has intense cramps, and heavy bleeding.

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Sheridan's thoughts before: This must be some kind of sorcery. This thing is saying that my cramps, which feel like a group of baby eels having a rave in my uterus, will magically go all gone girl? Yeah, right.

And Lara, who has endometriosis, and can't leave bed during her period.

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Lara's thoughts before: I think if there was a device out there that would magically take my pain away, I would have discovered it by now. But with that being said, I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a little part of me that is praying that this device actually works. It would give me my life back.

Going into this, none of us were quite sure how the device worked. But once we figured it out, we all had some thoughts about this little device.

Ali wasn't impressed.

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Ali's thoughts during: I was the first person to use it, and I don't think it was charged enough to work at full capacity. I felt some light vibrations and a little bit of heat, which were distracting and made me feel better... But I could never tell if it was just psychological or if the device was actually doing anything. I kept trying to increase the intensity, but it never felt stronger. I liked using it at my desk at work like a futuristic robot woman. It felt like a little secret I had and it helped me feel better, but when I was home using it I got frustrated that it wasn't doing more, and felt like I'd rather just take Advil, use a heating pad, and eat an entire box of chocolate.

Lara was shocked when it seemed to help her pain.

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Lara's thoughts during: It's weird how it actually DOES work...to a point. I mean, I didn't vomit while using it, and only took one dose of painkillers, so that's pretty remarkable compared to what I usually am doing. It definitely lessened my pain and made me feel a little more relaxed.

And Sheridan was Team Livia all the way.

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Sheridan's thoughts during: Once I got used to the vibrations, it was easy AF. I found myself turning up the levels higher and higher to help dissipate my pain. And man, it really helped distract me from my cramps.

Final thoughts:

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Ali's final thoughts: I would definitely give this another shot next time I have cramps. I'll try anything twice.

Sheridan's final thoughts: I would definitely use this again. I'm not sure if it was just psychological but I really did feel better during this period. Plus, it made me feel like a cool robot every time I put it on.

Lara's final thoughts: I would use this again, but my expectations would be much lower. It's not a miracle like they say it is, at least not for someone like me. But it's a great step in the right direction, and I look forward to the day when they create a device that will help all women with endometriosis, PCOS, etc. But until then, I won't throw away my heating pad.