How bad?

Everyone always says periods are bad, but I’m curious how bad they should be...

Background:

I’m 24 and my period is fairly regular, a few days sooner or later every once in awhile. But my cramps last for most of my period (4-5 days) and generally they are debilitating. It’s to the point where I have to take ibuprofen before they start, or it won’t be strong enough to make the cramps subside. (Midol makes me vomit, so I avoid it) So basically I take a lot of ibuprofen on my period.. which isn’t idea.

But if I don’t I end up basically being bed bound for the entirety of my period.

They’ve been like this for awhile, but I was wondering if anyone else’s were like this? I don’t have the other symptoms of endometriosis or PCOS. Most things I’ve read say that if OTC meds help then your periods aren’t severe, but I don’t really want to keep taking so many meds every month. Anyone got any tips?

(I know, I should see a doctor, but my budget is a bit tight and I want to be able to justify it to myself that it’ll be worth it. Aka, they won’t just say “your overreacting, drink more water and take a nap”.)