Yeah, that sounds familiar. (That's what lasted months for me.)

The initial intense pain, from dilating the opening and inserting it, or the crampy stuff afterward? (If the initial pain, holy _shit_, how did you cope?!)

I note that "Fucking. Ow." was mostly my reaction to the initial intense pain, not so much the (gradually decreasing) major cramps afterward. The cramps afterward, while highly unpleasant, are pretty much what my cramps were like before I was on the pill.

I'm now very fond of the heating pad I got at lunch. :)

And thanks!