Extremly bad period cramps, is this normal?

Brighton
The last two months when my cycle starts, I've been having extremely bad cramps. They usually only happen for one day, either the first or second day of my period.
The pain will usually start out suttle, then turns into a sharp pain. The pain is so much that it'll affect my whole body. I won't be able to move, when I try to it makes the pain worse. I actually had to leave work because the pain was shutting my body down. 
The last time I had my period, the pain was so bad that I ended up throwing up. Hot baths didn't help, Midal didn't help. It was awful. After that fiasco I went to my bed, popped a Tylenol PM. 
Does anyone else have this problem? Is this normal? Should I contact my doctor?