i’m starting to regret my belly button piercing

i got my belly button pierced 13 days ago. today i started my period and am having the worst cramps, but apparently i can’t use my heating pad while the piercing is healing. painkillers aren’t cutting it either.

for some reason it didn’t occur to me as i was getting the piercing done that submerging it in water wasn’t the only thing i wouldn’t be able to do. my periods are always painful and i’ve never gone without using a heating pad for cramps.

to any pierced women who have been in similar positions, what did you do?