While the medical data may say that tampons don't cause period cramps, other conditions might cause tampon insertion to be painful. Molly Green, a 38-year-old in Los Angeles, says tampons definitely cause her pain: I hated using pads because they felt messy, so I accepted the extra pain tampons caused me for years.

Can tampons make your cramps worse?

And, if you've ever found yourself wondering if tampons make menstrual cramps worse, Dr. Melisa Holmes, OB-GYN, shares, “No they don't... tampons have nothing to do with prostaglandin synthesis or the way they're used in the body.” Thank goodness!

Why does my stomach feel weird when I put a tampon in?

Dr. Farah Kroman:It sounds like you had something called a 'vaso-vagal' episode. This leads to symptoms of feeling faint, clammy, nauseated and sometimes even passing out. When you put a tampon into the vagina, it can touch your cervix, which is at the top of the vagina and closes the path to your uterus (womb).