.
PMT ate my weekend. By this, I don’t mean it made me pig out. Rather, PMT consumed it. Devoured it. Left me without so much as a morsel of my Saturday and Sunday that wasn’t spent in its torturous grasp, being a psychotic cow.
During that fraught 48 hours, here are some of the activities I tried to loosen its grip:
1. Eating handfuls of Choc Bits straight from the packet.
2. Shopping for new jeans (file this also under MASOCHISM and STUPIDITY)
3. Blasting Midnight Oil on my iPod while running on a treadmill.
4. Shouting at my husband.
5. Shouting at my children.
6. Phoning my mother to complain about everything.
7. Shouting at the mirror.
8. Swallowing handfuls of Evening Primrose Oil capsules.
9. Shouting at the TV remote controls for being IMPOSSIBLE to use.
10. Possibly throwing them across the room.
11. Buying the ugliest pair of shoes I’ve ever owned.
12. Cake.
With a special highly commended mention to Choc Bits and Midnight Oil, none of it helped a jot.
So if there’s anything that can combat PMT I’d like to know about it (yes, yes, I know it’s called PMS these days but I haven’t had it for years so I still call it PMT and don’t argue with me because I will hurt you, bitch).
And please don’t tell me to meditate or turn my frown upside down (see above threat to hurt you).
Cake did not help
Having been blissfully free of it for more than a decade, I’d forgotten how insidiously evil PMT can be. Particularly compared to other recurring afflictions.
About 10 years ago, I pulled my hamstring during a bad yoga adjustment – also known as someone pulling-your-right-foot-up-to-the-ceiling-until-you-cry. The injury still flares up regularly but whenever my hamstring is sore, I am alerted to this fact by…my sore hamstring. The location of the pain is always clear (hamstring) as is the cause (Sophie the Yogini). Thus, the moment my leg begins to hurt, I always curse her silently, wince for a few days and move on.
PMT is a duplicitous little bugger because it never announces itself. Instead, each month I’m seized by the unshakable conviction that the world around me has changed overnight. That everyone has suddenly become a complete tool and I missed the memo commanding every living being (and inanimate object) to focus on making my life unpleasant. Eventually, it dawns on me. But each month, I am a goldfish, flailing about in fresh shock as it happens again and again.
My friend Kerri relates: “For four days each month, my marriage is a disaster, my friends turn against me and my career is a failure. Except everything is the same, I just have PMT. A woman in her 50s once said to me, ‘When I have PMT I can’t enjoy anything, I can’t love my children… my husband could drop dead and I wouldn’t care.’” Yikes.
Midnight Oil did help
Then there’s Rebecca who likens her PMT to that feeling you sometimes get lying in bed at 2am when you’re overwhelmed, anxious and enveloped in dread. Except it lasts for days. “I turn into Henny Penny — The Sky is Falling! The Sky is Falling!” she says. “That’s when I sometimes click and check my diary and think ‘Oh – this isn’t me. It’s my period talking.’ So really, my period is a bit like having a rather bleak but shouty Sylvia Plath move in. Obviously, my husband LOVES IT.”
Ah husbands. Fathers. Boyfriends. Brothers. Sons. When PMT smites a household, men tend to be collateral damage. This is why PMT is not just a female problem, it’s a societal one. It is also why my husband buys me keg-sized tubs of Evening Primrose Oil. Optimist.
I think most men do a sterling job of riding the PMT tsunami. Particularly since they’re usually standing haplessly on the beach when it hits. “I speak dreadfully to my boyfriend and I can hear the words coming out like Linda Blair in the Exorcist but I can’t seem to stop” says another friend. “He gives me that patronising smile and says things like “I know you are pre-menstrual but please don’t set fire to the house” and I have to flee to Westfield to stop myself throwing plates. It’s not pretty.“
Disclaimer: not all women suffer from PMT and it is NOT the cause of every negative emotion we express or experience. If you are male, please don’t suggest this because it could lose you a testicle. And that’s just from the women who DON’T have it. Irritability, anger, sadness, impatience, rage, frustration and moodiness are not the sole preserve of PMT. Last time I checked, men experience them too.
It’s also vital to point out that as punishing as PMT can be for by-standers, it’s infinitely worse for the sufferer because it’s like being invaded by a demented despot. Hello Gadaffi, welcome to my mind.
Anyway, next month I’m going to try eating the Choc Bits WHILE listening to Midnight Oil. While wearing my ugly shoes and trying not to shout.
Do you get PMT? How does it manifest in you or someone you know? Any suggestions?
Comments
284 Comments so far
anxiety, anger, blues, tears, irritability, loss of patience and physical stuff too…thought i was losing my mind! BUT…..
i have just started accupuncture for it and, two sessions in, it is AMAZING! totes recommend it!
loading...
Thank you for writing such a great article Mia. As usual on a sunday, i leave the Sunday Life Magazine until last to read, as a treat, and i always love your column, but this weeks column resonated with me like never before.
I read it to myself and chuckled then almost cried at the fact that it is so true, so i called my husband and 12 year old son over and read it to them.
My husband piped up with the typical husband humour of…… “Love, are you sure YOU didn’t write this?”(Ha freaking Ha). Lucky for him, i am in my “release” stage, and didn’t take offence.
But they both went “oh, so its not just you”. So thank you for writing about the hell we have for a week per month, that affects the whole family.
I get menstrual migraines, that causes dizziness and vertigo. I have seen numerous specialists and they all tell me different things, from taking anti depressants(even tho im not depressed its the fact that my life is on hold by my body being taken over by hormones for 10 days per month, yet they still want to prescirbe anti depressants), to having a hysterectomy, which i consider radical seeing i am only 35, and dont see how going on HRT will make my life better??? Why do we have to put up with it? But it seems trying to control the beast within is the safest and least invasive procedure until some wonderful person comes up with a cure……….PLEASE HURRY!!!!!
loading...
Hi Sarah
One of the classes of antidepressants, SSRIs (which includes most of the common ones eg zoloft, cipramil) seems to work for pre-menstrual symptoms in a way that doesn’t seem to relate to its antidepressant role – ie it is not being prescribed to treat depression. This is not my area, so I don’t know all the details, but perhaps you could ask your dr to explain and see if it gels for you.
loading...
It sure sounds like depression to me, even if its a couple of days a month.
loading...
SSRI – serotonin reuptake inhibitors. not sure what the other s stands for. basically, serotonin is one of the “happy” neurochemicals that neurons release within your brain. SSRIs prevent the re-uptake of serotonin into the neurons after it’s been released (as it only hangs around in the synapse between the neurons for a short amount of time). this means that the “happy” pathways in your brain are activated for longer and hence your mood is better
generally, people who are clinically depressed have actual neuroanatomical problems where their serotonin reuptake system is overactive, or their serotonin receptors are inefficent, and that’s how it works on them.
hence, it’d just increase the activity of your “normal” person’s “happy” pathways, and improve their moods!
loading...
The other S stands for Selective, as that’s the only neurotransmitter thatthe drugs work on.
Cheers,
C
loading...
Certain antidepressants are also prescribed for migraine prevention so it may be that this is the reason you were prescribed rather than them thinking you were depressed? I have been on an anti-d for migraines for years but I have never had depression – the drug is the first one in a very long line that I have tried that have given me long term relief.
loading...
I take verapamil for headaches, but please, please get them checked out properly. I had brain surgery last year after letting myself get fobbed off by multiple drs for my monthly, slowly worsening headaches. You probably won’t have my scenario, but at least you can rule it (a brain tumor) out.
The main drugs for migraine prevention are: anti depressants, anti hypertensives (verapamil etc) and a specific drug for migraines (forgotten the name). Talk to your gp about them.
loading...
Your piece describes 2-4 days of every one of my months to a T. I have damaged perfectly good friendships out of PMS paranoia, felt miserable and useless and acted on it, yelled, raged, sworn, wept, uncontrollably wept, despaired. Then miraculously recovered in 5 minutes flat, only to set eyes on the devastation I have to then attempt to repair.
It’s not that every issue is due to PMS, it’s just that PMS magnifies them all to utter crisis point, then vanishes, leaving me to clean up in its wake.
The worst part is when you want to say to people, um, you know when I said that work I did was useless and I don’t know how to go on, well, that was PMS… And I hate the way it can happen every month and somehow you can’t put the feelings down to chemicals, they are too REAL and must undeniably be acted on.
I haven’t found solutions beyond constant self-reminders (sometimes even written) not to yell at people, not to have a haircut, not to buy cosmetics and not to go shopping for clothes). Chocolate helps. I have found that regular exercise really does help, as does a great routine that you just have to keep up with, even if you have the worst pre-menstrual spotty chin ever. And when there is an over-riding and pressingly urgent purpose in your life, PMS seems to have loads less impact. But not always. It’s cruel that way.
If I was allowed to just take to my bed and sleep, eat chocolate, read trashy novels and watch sad movies for 2 days per month, I am convinced my life would have gone alot more smoothly.
loading...
This is why they won’t give us the keys to the kingdom.
loading...
I have no advice to contribute…I just enjoyed the laugh…thanks Mia!
loading...
I don’t recall getting PMT, and the fact that I’ve either been pregnant or breastfeeding for the last two years means I really just don’t remember it at all…
loading...
Oh God – I thought I was the only one that turned into a complete fruit cake once a month. My usually confident self comes crashing down and every little thing becomes a mountain of trouble. Ugh ! If only I could run away for 3-4 days of every month and hide. You’d think at 41 I would have mapped it by now (years of being on the Pill had it hidden but now I’m on Mirena I’m “normal” – ha ha – fooled).
loading...
I thought the Mirena was supposed to balance out your hormones? I have been contemplating it to try and avoid (or alleviate) the whole PMT thing?
loading...
I also was recommended Mirena for helping manage hormones but then another dr said it wont resolve menstrual migraines which was one of the reasons I looked at it as an option.
loading...
I think because it’s hormonal it effects different women in individual ways, what helps one, wont work for another. It’s certainly at least worth considering I think, I’m very happy with mine, though I’d hoped to be rid of my lower back pain each month, I still get that, but there are lots of other benefits that still make it by far the best option for me
loading...
I don’t get it. I don’t think I have ever had it. I am a bitch for no good reason sometimes. But I don’t think it’s to do with my period.
loading...
Mia, I just wanted to say that I love your new pics in Sunday Life. Dont know whether this will make you feel better, but they are really flattering and great to look at.
loading...
Ugh. PMS. Hate it! Often don’t realise that I’ve had and then looking back at it I do and see… Chocolate is usually of great comfort and being left alone.
loading...
Hey Mia, kind of off topic-ish but i thought your outfit in today’s paper was absolutely stellar! My favourite of all the column’s outfits!
loading...
Pathetic
Monstrous
Time
I had it.
I turned into all of your descriptions above.
Not being bright about it, I forgot what it was EVERY month…. like Bec & Kerri ..negative to the MAX
BUT hub never “understood” PMT ( I always think of it as TENSION) & would say, in the most patronizing way …..grrrr at the memory …”you are too irrational” WTF ( I don’t swear & WTF hadnt been invented then!)
Whilst I didn’t have a hysterectomy at 38 to minimize PMT ( other physical reasons) it was a blessing…… Note – root word (not rude) HYSTERIA … Mmmm
loading...
apparently thats why it is called hysteria because they thought our wombs detached from their proper places and roamed about our bodies causing us to become nuts. Always amused me intensely
loading...
I’d never really experienced PMS until this last year or so (I’m 29)…now I get lower back pain, HUGE appetite the day of and various other symptoms others have described…(my life is crap! etc etc)
Haven’t found a cure yet…yoga helps me with back pain but have found that I don’t often feel like doing yoga when I’d rather be hiding in bed, eating chocolate and throwing things at people who dare enter the room.
loading...
I used to get it terribly but it has eased as I’ve gotten older. I’m aware that I do tend to get a bit over-emotional and weepy around that time of the month but not so much cranky anymore. I tell you what does turn me into a psychopath- the pill.
I’m yet to find a contraception method other than condoms that doesn’t turn me into a mental case.
loading...
Me too!
loading...
I’ve found that a vasectomy works really well ; )
loading...
The copper iud? It can make your periods heavier but might be worthwhile? I’ve got mirena (with hormones) and I adore it! I also am kiddy free so regardless of whether you have kids it could be worth looking into. Copper ones last 10 years too which is a bonus!
loading...
oh yep,full on life altering,for 2 weeks of every month. Lucky me-get my period back about 2 weeks after birth of each of my 3 children,along with full blown PMT. My endocrinologist suggested low dose antidepressants/anti anxilytics for 2 wks/month but have been pregnant and b/f for years so have never tried this. 2 months ago after throwing the whole cold chook on the floor (deboned it nicely!) I took myself off to see the naturopath again and have found her foul herbal concoction(passionflower,crampbark,chaste tree and witharia) most helpful,along with mega dosing of B and Mg.Still managed to put away 12 honeyjoys today though….
loading...
Yay to honey joys!
loading...
What’s a honeyjoy? Sounds delightful…
loading...
you know-corflakes,melted butter,sugar and honey,bang them in the oven for 10 mins-yum. My 3 year old wanted “a party” so we made them and popcorn,blew up some balloons and everyone was happy!
loading...
I have the worst PMS and it has become more severe as I have got older and have had kids. The only thing that has worked is taking half an antidepressant for 4 days before my period is due ( recommended to me by my female GP) and it works. No more anxiety, mood swings, screaming, and hideous arguments because my husband looked the wrong way at me or because the kids won’t put their shoes on. Brilliant.
loading...
Wow Mia, sounds just like I used to be. BUT, ifyou think PMT is bad just wait for menopause….. All of the above, just as bad and sometimes worse AND hot flushes and night sweats…… Loving every moment of it…..NOT!
loading...
Ah Mia, I do hope that our menstrual cyles never coincide as I fear the combined energy of our current PMT symptoms could unleash a cataclysmic force that could devastate the Eastern Suburbs! Thanks for sharing and making me fee slightly better about my inner monster… and also for clearing up why evening primrose oil supplies have been hard to track down
loading...
As I get older, I find that I get grouchier and grouchier before and during my period. I turn into this horrible person that snaps at everyone and anything.
I had no idea that Evening Primrose Oil helped! What does it do?
loading...
I have had terrible PMT … and I really have found the solution. It’s not a quack remedy but a recognized medication which has had many books written about it and is prescribed by (some) doctors and dispensed by (some) chemists. My husband believes it has saved our marriage … and so do I! The only reason we don’t all know about it is because the drug companies are desperately trying to keep it a secret because it can’t be patented (ie – they can’t make money from it) and they would prefer to sell anti-depressants and HRT (it’s also fantastic for menopause symptoms). It’s natural progesterone. Because it can be hard to get and there is trial-and-error in taking it properly, I would be happy to advise people who wish to take it … I have no vested interest at all and work in a completely unrelated field, but it continually upsets me that there is a cheap, easy solution to what can be a terrible problem (beautifully described, Mia) yet it is not widely known.
loading...
my aunt told me about natural hormone therapy & the drug company conspiracy to keep them unknown. Do you just take it at a certain time each month?
loading...
OMG my friend used to be like a lunatic for a week before her period and a few days after. She used to be such a cow that she actually wrecked friendships and those people have never spoken to her again.
She used to try every herbal/conventional medication under the sun and in the end it was fixed by her having a hysterectomy. Some might say radical but she was done with having kids and her behaviour and actions were off the chart and wrecking her life!
loading...
Fab piece Mia but I winced at the tsunami reference…
I’m probably just being a sensitive soul but I’m still too sad about it, can’t see the t word written flippantly like that (not that you would ever be flippant about the event, don’t mean that for a second).
Anyway PMT/PMS….I honestly don’t know if I’ve had it or not. The only thing I can relate to is eating A LOT MORE two days prior – every month like clockwork, I turn into an eating machine. Annoying but at least I’m used to it…
loading...
I feel so much better now knowing that I am not the only one who turns foul with PMT. It doesn’t surface every month, just when I least expect it and unfortunately my partner cops the brunt. The feeling I have with PMT can best be described as tetchy – a combination of feeling irritable, hostile, short tempered and anxious. I eat sweet (yes many choc bits) and savioury snacks in unison, hurl abuse (usually absurd statements) at my partner and want to throw plates. I am on the pill and still get it sadly. I won’t try an IUD as I heard it makes your hair fall out!!! The best cure for me is often the least appealing – exercise. The more the better.
Thank you for raising what seems to be for women such a common issue.
loading...
How does an IUD make your hair fall out???? That isn’t how they work, if I understand them correctly…
loading...
I had an IUD and it didn’t make my hair fall out at all! It was one of the new-fangled ones. However, it did make me hugely emotional and slightly depressed, while also giving me constant thrush. Happy days!
loading...
Have found solution in the last 2 months – I don’t cry before my period anymore.
Take 1 Nature’s Own Zinc +B6 + Magnesium 3 times per day in the 2 weeks before period plus 2000 mg Primrose Oil at night.
Works wonders.
loading...
Please don’t hate me . . . I don’t get PMS/PMT. Never have.
loading...
Me neither, particularly. Maybe a couple of times a year I’ll get period pain or something, but otherwise, nothing. Never even really know when my periods are even coming until they actually start. Drives me nuts when people use it as an excuse for being a cow and everyone else is just expected to deal too. Thankfully I haven’t been affected by preggo hormones either.
loading...
I used to work with a woman who used to upset a lot of people but would then tell them she “just had PMT and just ignore me”…nope she was just a bitch. Big difference!
loading...
Yeah, that’s what I mean! Everyone has good and bad days, but don’t go all out then go “Ooops, my bad, that time of the month”. If I’m in a bad mood, I acknowledge it and deal with it. Not anyone else’s fault your hormones do it!
loading...
Absolutely, PMS is a totally legitimate condition but not when you use it as an excuse every time you make a mistake or act like a cow.
loading...
The same thing pisses me off about some people and their ‘morning coffee’. I don’t care if you haven’t had your shot of caffeine yet; it’s no excuse to treat people like crap.
loading...
Yes that pisses me off too. So get a coffee!
loading...
Me neither. No mood swings, sometimes a dull draggy ache the day before my period arrives but that’s it. I thought I was just lucky, but I’m wondering now if it’s just because I’ve been on the pill for my entire adult life…
loading...
Off to the chemist to buy primrose oil and vitamin B!
I would also recommend a book “The Female Brain”. No solutions in it but a very readable book about female hormones from birth to menopause. Sometimes (only sometimes) it helps to understand the why.
loading...
After having two children I have had an IUD put in, which means I no longer get any periods. I never had very bad PMS before, so I can’t say for sure that the IUD prevents all the symptoms…but for those of you who seem to be having such an awful time with PMS I would highly recommend the IUD – talk to your GP. Even if you don’t get PMS, it’s lovely not to get periods.
loading...
I had an IUD too but one without hormones as personally I am way too cranky already without more reasons to become unbalanced. It did lessen periods but that could Lso have been from heaps of sport instead. They work wonders but after 10 years and two changes of device, I fell pregnant! Luckily it was a happy surprise…sport is a great pmt reliever for me. Sex…yeah right. No man in his right mind would brave that.
loading...
i resorted to anti-depressants before kids and i felt like a million dollars.
life is too short to spend one week a month feeling like crap and then the rest of the month feeling guilty about what you have said or done and also dreading the next month.
talk to your GP if it is bad enough.
loading...
All I can say is “Thank God I’m not the only one”……….:o)
loading...
I used to be the most evil creature on the face of the earth…for sometimes ten days prior…get an IUD it worked for me…I don’t even get periods anymore…. apparantly not harmful just cuts them down or cuts them out…do it for yourself, do it for the people around you, seriously it has worked wonders for me… good luck with it all!
loading...
Before my wife went through menopause, we BOTH suffered from Pmt. Now ,she just gets the shits with me. I can’t tell the difference, which is why I’m a mere male, I guess……..
loading...
I probably only feel good for about a week out of each four-week cycle.
I can’t take the Pill (it doesn’t agree with me), and even though I ply myself with Evening Primrose Oil every day, about ten days before my period, my boobs start getting sore. By the time it’s a week before my period, they’re killing me and I can’t even sleep without a bra on. Then, there’s the period itself (period pain hell, and my boobs stop hurting but they’re still inflated). About a week after I get my period, my boobs start to deflate. I like this week. Then, mid-cycle, I ovulate, which is also sometimes painful, not to mention icky in your knickers, and away we go again… it’s so much fun being a woman (not).
Technically, I don’t actually get PMS, but the breast and tummy pain is enough to put me in a grumpy mood.
loading...
Womanly,
Pill didn’t agree with me either and then I found gold – Nuva Ring. WOW. Do yourself a favour. All the benefits of contraception along with shorter regular periods, less pain, less PMT if any, and you only need to worry about it twice a month – Once to insert once to remove !!!!!
They even send you a SMS reminder so you don’t have to worry about remembering.
It’s saved my life and those around me – I don’t yell and scream at the carpet anymore – I am a huge fan
loading...
I loved the nuva ring too, till I got pregnant using it!
loading...
I too used the Nuvaring and loved it – until I came off it.
Truly hellish to come off…I was crook for months. Phantom pregnancy symptoms, weight gain, nasty PMS, and the more I read about it, the more I’m not so sure it’s the holy grail the prescribing doctor purported it to be. Hormones delivered into your ‘ahem’…I don’t know. My new doc is very anti for this reason. But I guess it’s about finding what works for you.
loading...
Hey, anon for this, Kris2040 and Eloise S,
Thanks so much for your feedback but… I’ve tried Nuva Ring and hated it. Hormonally, it was just as bad as the Pill. And physically, having the ring inside me was annoying. Double bummer.
No, triple bummer, as I still have to use condoms for birth control. (Actually, it has its advantages… but that’s a whole other blog post!)
After reading these comments, it’s amazing how one device can have such different affects on different people. Weird.
loading...
I got morning sickness on the triphasil pill, every different colour tablet, sick for a couple of days, then changed to monophasil and was fine. It is strange how they affect everyone differently!
loading...
I used Triphasil for years, it was the first one I ever used and was fabulous. My period pain stopped and it felt like a miracle. But after about 5 years I started to get migranes and whole body aches for the first full day of my period so I switched to microgynon 20 and it’s now stopped.
Period pains and migranes stopped on both but the PMS has always still been there
loading...
Oh Mia I hear you… I was in a such a foul mood the other day and I was cursing EVERYTHING and how much my life sucks, change sucks, job sucks, friends suck…. wah wah freakin’ wah…
then I looked at my calendar and saw the date. I had an ‘ah ha’ moment… period is due and I thought ok cool, I’m not a crazy bitch* after all… this is normal
*I still may be a crazy bitch at anytime of the month but I just blame PMT or hormones leading up to my period, or surviving the days afterwards
loading...
Haven’t had PMS for a while – have been either pregnant or breastfeeding for the last 4 years!
I used to get it, though. You could set your calendar by my mood swings. On Wednesday, I would be HUNGRY. If it wasn’t nailed to the desk, I ate it. Never satisfied. On Thursday, I would be ANGRY. I once punched a dent into a solid wood door at the office. On Friday, my period would arrive, and suddenly Wednesday and Thursday all made sense.
I have also had to coach P-Daddy on how to deal with the above scenario. My favourites were “I’m angry, but I don’t need you to fix it I just need you to listen” and “I’m not angry AT you, I’m angry NEAR you”.
Mia, you could try combining numbers 3 and 6 on your list next time. I always found it very therapeutic to go for a very stompy walk, complaining the whole time. By the end of the walk, my walking speed had slowed down considerably, as I had left all the anger behind in my smoking footsteps.
loading...
haha this made me laugh
loading...
Oh yes to stompy walking! When I lived with mum and dad I used to go out and mow the lawn when I had PMS, and yes, complained the whole time while listening to the Violent Femmes on my walkman (yes, I’m old). It helped to have something physical to do.
loading...
“I’m not angry at you, I’m angry near you”.
That is gold. Thank you.
loading...
I found what really worked for me to avoid bad PMS was tracking my cycle in my diary so that I knew when I was about to enter my ‘danger’ phase – usually days 17-19. I made sure on those days to do the minimum, just work and no extra social events so as to not get overwhelmed. Vitamin B really worked for me too ( I love the tip about the oats for breakfast – must try that). I preferred to not be on the Pill because even though it made my PMS easier – it also knocked out my natural highs and increased libido at ovulation – and I didn’t want to miss that! Now I’m nearly finished menopause, I find a diet high in Vit B also really helps with menopause symptoms. And I also know that all my issues that came up at PMS – if I didn’t deal with them then – they returned with a vengence at menopause! http://www.facebook.com/TheMidlifeMidwife
loading...
Funnily enough I never it got it that badly, but now I am pregnant – WATCH OUT! I was warned about this but am positively blown away by how bad-tempered I am with no ability to reign it in!
loading...
My PMS manifest itself in the most pathetic, clingy way. I become extremely fond of my BF’s personal space, and he can’t even sit down on the couch without me gluing myself to his chest, trying to burrow into his collarbone like a wretched little rabbit.
I also get very frustrated at little things. It’s like the whole world is trying to make it HARD for me to do all the little tasks that are supposed to be easy. This usually results in some chin-wobbling and biting back tears, so BF has to sacrifice his personal space again.
He really is fantastic at handling me and giving me hugs during this phase, but I’m pretty sure he wishes his week-on-week-off FIFO roster was scheduled so he’d be away for my PMS.
Sometimes I wonder if I just use PMS as an excuse to get all histrionic and dramatic for a few days. But then that frustrated, downer mood hits, and I know it’s not a farce. But I take great comfort in the fact that it will be over in just a few days.
loading...
For the last 18 months I’ve been on a new contraception (for me), a Mirena. (An IUD impregnated with progestrone – a tiny amount)It’s wonderful! Not only has it caused my periods to cease except for a bit of spotting, I feel hormonally zen. After years of suffering PMT – I feel liberated!
loading...
yes! Hormonally zen is exactly it! I just don’t notice my hormones. So good.
loading...
The Mirena had the opposite effect on me! My PMS went through the roof, which was strange as it had never been bad before. It was so bad I had the IUD removed!
loading...
Sorry to hear that it hasn’t been a great experience for you. I’ve had so much relief from it.
loading...
I haven’t had PMT since I had an IUD (Mirena) put in (about 9 months ago). It’s brilliant – lasts for 5 years, local release of hormone so no feeling of being under the chemical spell like I always felt on the pill, and best of all my periods come every 6-8 weeks for about half an hour. Total.
Also, I quit sugar a while ago, and while it sounds counter-intuitive, I have noticed that if I eat sugar I DO get PMT, albeit less intensely than before the Mirena. Sugar picks me up and dumps me on the shores of regret. Sometimes I have to sit on my hands and chant “Sugar is not my friend” to stop myself reaching for the chocolate, but it’s always worth it if I can resist…
loading...
Mia, I think you have read my mind! The last few days I have had a fight with my bf, wanted to drop uni classes, yelled at my brother, chucked a wobbly about the in laws, insulted my parents,bit the head off the lady in the bra shop who told me I really don’t need the B cup and should go back to an A and ny list goes on and on.
However while lying in bed at the moment with the bucket beside me waiting for me to puke for the billionth time today and the hot water bottle for my back, this post has been very enjoyable reading. Thank you Mia and all the other reader’s comments for making me feel normal.
loading...
I get teary [I cried during Glee the other night!] & v emotional. On the plus side I get all ‘nesty’ ie i need to purge & clean the house. My local poor box collectors could probably chart my cycles by the enormous bags of clothes I bin each month during PMT time…
loading...
It used to be that I would wake up in the morning and think “I wish I woke up dead today”, then not long after I’d realise I’m getting my period and I’d be ok. Then I had kids and for three blissful years of pregancy and breastfeeding I got to forget about periods. And then they started again. I wish I was back at the whole “I wish I woke up dead” thing, because now I am just completely psychotic! I behave in exactly the same way Mia described and I am not pleasant to be around. It’s been a year since I finished breastfeeding and I’m only just starting to get used to the horror of PMS. Last month I was a total bitch, this month (as in today!!!) I have made an effort to be more aware of it.
To help I have been more organised leading up to the days of hell so that there is as little to go wrong around me as possible. The last couple of days I have been taking this Blackmores PMT pill (has B vitamins in it) that is maybe helping though I can’t accurately tell because I’ve only been taking it for a couple days and the bottle says to take it all month. I have snapped at my husband a couple of times, but apologised when I realised I was out of line, but I haven’t yelled yet. I am feeling a bit rotten towards the world, but haven’t really taken it out on others. So far an improvement on last month. Might try a B vitamin complex next month though.
loading...
My periods send me into horrible depression for 2 weeks out of the month and I have recently discovered that taking Vitamin B on a daily basis is magic! Since I have started taking them (3 months) I do not even notice when they are coming! This is a miracle because I could always tell my period was coming by how sad/cranky/teary/psychotic/short tempered/incapable of being near my mother/interested in strangling my hubby I was. I highly recommend it!
loading...
I am nodding my head vigorously to ALLLL of this!
Having recently come off birth control for the first time in about 13 years, I had never really experienced the horror of the pre-menstrual tsunami. When I’m in the throes, it actually makes me question whether I want kids. Linda Blair in the Exorcist – that’s exactly who I am when I’m pre-menstrual, but so, so much worse.
I’m thinking maybe some traditional Chinese medicine will help in the future. Has anyone tried this?
loading...
I tried acupuncture once. Got so pissed off with the slow therapist I pulled the needles out 5 mins early while she was faffing around in the room next door.
loading...
Hahaha!
loading...
I am still breastfeeding my nearly seven month old so am happily having no periods for the moment. I expect them to return with a vengeance when I stop breastfeeding.
I’m usually incredibly angry when pre menstrual, e.g. filled with rage over any little thing. And then *snap* I’m so so so sad. Awful.
Has St. Johns Wort worked for anyone?
loading...
I just ruined my wedding anniversay – my poor husband thinks his flowers were not enough.
Unfortunately his birthday is due to land right on PMT time next month….better luck next year you lovely patient man
loading...
I am one of the lucky ones – I don’t get it too badly. Things have changed though. I used to get no PMS whatsoever, but had the worst, cant-leave-the-house periods with horrendous cramps etc. So I had an endometrial ablation. Hellllloo, what a change! Now I only have about 3 days worth of very light period and no cramps, but I do have PMS and my skin is bad. It’s like now that my body doesn’t have all that period to channel my hormones into, they have to come out other ways. I don’t know if that’s even possible, but it’s what it feels like! Still, my PMS is only general weepiness and low tolerance for, well, everybody, so I can’t complain too much. Also I think my skin is clearing up with my sugar-free change.
loading...
I recently had to come off the pill and had forgotten how ghastly the whole non pill system is- I had a big dose of post menstraul over emotionalness… On international women’s day – played helen reddy all day and made myself cry!!! And must stay away from babies on such days … Cluck cluck
loading...
I have really bad PMS issues. At the time it just seems like Every. Single. Person. is going out of their way to piss me off, which they obviously succeed in doing. In my rage it also seems that NO ONE IS LISTENING TO ME, when in reality no matter how they do something or how quick it will still inevitably piss me off. I just get so restless and I have been known to slam inanimate objects for pissing me off and swearing at said inaminate objects.
For those three days just agree with me and do what I say and I will try and bite my tongue, between all the choc bits (I thought I was the only one?)
loading...
Vitamin B6 (250-300mg)daily from mid cycle to start of period is the only thing that helps me… i.e. start approximately 2 weeks prior to period and stop for 2 weeks etc.
loading...
Vitmain B sounds good. But personally I use chocolate
loading...