until the doctors in boston had discovered , after much trial and error , that taking naprosyn left nita with periods that were only excruciating rather than unbearable , she had spent the onslaught of many menstrual cycles flat in the back seats of friends cars or cabs , crying and whispering hurry on her way to the emergency room of a hospital , university health services , or , if the pain came during the day , one of many gynecologists she had seen over the years .