A question about P.M.T, sorry!
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Hi,
I just wondered if any other women have the same problem i am having?
Bit embaressed but seems trivial to go to the doctors (if you can get in), and i maybe worrying about something that is more common than i think.
For the last 2 years i have been experiencing all the pre-menstrul stuff 14 days before my period is due. I know you get the bloated stomach, tender boobs, stomach cramps, headaches, weight gain (of upto 4lbs!) etc a few days before your period, but now i am entering my late 30's i am getting all these two weeks before i am due. To be honest it is pretty grim because i have 2 weeks of pre-menstrual and one week of period, then just one week "respite" before it starts all over again. My periods are pretty regular so that isn't the problem, but it is impacting on certain areas of my life and getting me a bit down to be honest:(
Is this normal, or should i say, do other women have this problem? I would feel a bit better knowing it isn't just me, beginning to worry.
Thanks for any replies:o
I just wondered if any other women have the same problem i am having?
Bit embaressed but seems trivial to go to the doctors (if you can get in), and i maybe worrying about something that is more common than i think.
For the last 2 years i have been experiencing all the pre-menstrul stuff 14 days before my period is due. I know you get the bloated stomach, tender boobs, stomach cramps, headaches, weight gain (of upto 4lbs!) etc a few days before your period, but now i am entering my late 30's i am getting all these two weeks before i am due. To be honest it is pretty grim because i have 2 weeks of pre-menstrual and one week of period, then just one week "respite" before it starts all over again. My periods are pretty regular so that isn't the problem, but it is impacting on certain areas of my life and getting me a bit down to be honest:(
Is this normal, or should i say, do other women have this problem? I would feel a bit better knowing it isn't just me, beginning to worry.
Thanks for any replies:o
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i thinkit's more normal as you get older
and i think it increases after each pregnancy too, dont know if that applies to you
i can remember a friend's mum warning us of this, and it's come true
this is a good site:
http://www.pms.org.uk/
there's a forum with good advice and sympathy
have you tried agnus castus, that's a good one
i find that if you use a different remedy each cycle, it stops your body getting so resistant to it:
so it's agnus castus one month, evening primrose the next etcetc
hth
<<hugs>> and sympathy, it's not much fun when the pmt weeks start to join up together is it,lol
You could try starflower oil if you're not already (like evening primrose but a much higher dose). Take one 500 mg every day and up it to 2 the week before your period and see if it does any good. I find that after 3 months I build up a form of 'immunity' and have to come off it for a month in order for it to work again.
A doctor once told me that most women have their period without knowing (she was trying to get me to go on the pill and I refused because I'm overweight and there's a lot of cancer in my family) but anecdotally that isn't the case. My sister is as affected as me and she hasn't got anything medically wrong with her so I think what you're experiencing comes well within the range of 'normal'.
If you're getting migraine (headaches + nausea) then migraleve is good. I usually take two pink towards the eveing and then paracetamol during the day and don't bother with the yellow as they're no better than normal paracetamol and a waste of money.
Thank you for your replies, nextloislane and skyl1ght. I clicked on the site you quoted and realise a lot of my other problems (short temper, crying, sleeplesness etc) are tied in with this too. Its reassuring that it isn't anything unusual, and i will certainly try some of the supplements suggested, first i have to check with my psychiatrist as i know some supplements can't be taken with the medications i am on, but i will definitely try if he says it is okay.
I feel terrible because when i was younger my sister would have a terrible time with PMT and i used to think "Oh she's milking it, its only 3 or 4 days beforehand". Now as i have got older i realise what she was going through, perhaps it is *in the family* so to speak.
Thanks again, much appreciated
My "monthlies" are getting worse as I get older too, particularly in the last few months.
Mine are mainly only getting worse in the pain department though, last month I thought I was seriously ill
I am becoming increasingly up/down during the week before a period though
Ibuprofen was recommended for the pains but didn't make much difference, apparently there are some herbal remedies to help but I haven't looked into them yet.
Sorry - not much help to you, but I think it's similar for all women as they get a little bit older. Will post back if I get any further with the herbal/homeopathic remedies
But yeah, all the symptoms you list are totally 'normal'. You probably do this already but if you don't, make a note in your diary of when you're due and then if you start getting symptoms you can check how close you are. It sounds odd but I find that knowing I'm overreacting to things or feeling like shite or being tired all the time because my period is due can actually be reassuring. I'm no medic but experience has lead me to think that hormones are a lot more powerful than a lot of people realise.
Isn't that the truth!!
Josie sparrow, how about looking up PMDD (Pre-menstrual Dysphoric Disorder) - it's a more severe form of PMT.
I know I am such a liability on the road at that time, so try to plan in advance, car shares at work and with friends at home for shopping etc.
I still find it incredible that we are able to put people on the moon, but can't deal with PMT in this day and age:(
tulaballoolla, I know just what you mean. It's been a life sentence for me and I'm not exagerating (sp). It's gotten so bad where I've not been able to trust my own judgement.......I can't wait for it all to end.
OMG! It's me!!:eek:
I fell like I'm climbing a huge mountain and then when my period starts I slide all the way back to the bottom ready to start again ... aaaaaaaaarrrrrrhhh
Me too, all the good work I achieved in the few days I was ok was soon destroyed. It's bloody awful. And I'm furious too, that the medical profession still have no idea why some women are hypersensitive to hormones...........:mad: And there is no treatment.
He came home tonight and notice my eyes had dark circles, so I suppose at least he noticed I was feeling crap! ah well 24hours or so and I shall be fine - oh what joy
Hi
Not trying to minimise your suffering. But what do you suffer from exactly, and for how long each month?
Is it just sore breasts and fatigue? (Bad enough I know) but do you get the terrible mood swings and depression and the feeling that you're completely out of synch for 2 weeks out of every month? That you feel like you're going completely bloody mad? That for only perhaps a week you actually feel 'normal' and yourself?
That's PMDD.
The rest is PMT. A massive difference. MASSIVE.
Mine started going all haywire in my early 30's and has steadily become more troublesome over the years...all the stuff you mentioned plus a 21 day cycle now and bloomin night sweats if you did.......and I ain't that old....just well prepared it would seem! :eek:
If it gets too inconvenient go and see the doc......mine was most unhelpful but you may do better!
*Edit* Found a link for all those ladies suffering at the mo.
http://www.webmd.com/menopause/guide/guide-perimenopause
It's horrendous, I understand about the judgement (just a quick correction about using the words PMT- reason I use this is because GP's/ nurses I have seen in the past have been 'so knowledgeable about this field,' that this is what I have - PMT, and fobbed off that it's normal in most women. I feel that this is how it must feel to be on strong illegal drugs during this time. I have never touched these, but the symptoms I have read about, just sound like how I act and feel at the time - putting coffee in the fridge and milk in the cupboard, pouring orange juice into my coffee.. Can't function, to the point where I can't even make a simple decision, like which choice of apples I buy and the forgetfullness of why I'm out shopping in the first place, never mind being in control of a car.. It happens 2 weeks before my period and then I'm fine. I sleep 15 hours a day, a week before, and still can't even open my eyes when I have to get up for work. I have read that Brewers Yeast is good for fatigue, so am going to give this a go, as it's really affecting my job. I can cope with the pain once I'm on, that's the least of my problems compared to the way I feel when I am out of control. Has anyone had any experience of the effects of Brewers Yeast?
I've asked my doctor if I can have something to stop the bloody periods for good, but she says nothing can be done. I just have to suffer every month. She obviously doesn't suffer the monthly woes those of us with PCOS, endometriosis and hormone imbalances etc have to put up with. :sleep:
PS Sorry, need to make it clear -The symptoms I have, has affected my relationship with my partner so much it's an impossibility to concieve. If I had have been taken seriously in the first place we could have had the child we both wanted. I am now 40, so too late:mad:
I suffer sleeplessness, bad balance, violent outburts (where i hurt myself nobody else), crying, bad memory, terrible co-ordination, swollen boobs where even running downstairs hurts them so much, swollen stomache, cramps, constipation....it all goes on and on, this for 14 days before my period, then a week heavy bleeding, then the week after that i feel better, start my exerciseing, wearing my fave clothes, get on top of things...then Bang, it hits me again a week later and the whole bloody thing starts again.
Something i have noticed, i do have a psychotic illness which i can control with medication most the time, but during the PMT stage i have upto 5 or 6 attacks. I told my psychiatrist this and he just said it was "coincidence", rubbish, i think if i could find something to help with the PMT then it would definitely reduce.
I can't help feeling that doctors don't see it as very serious. I get the feeling as soon as you mention PMT they tend to think "Oh here we go". I have been about mine and sadly was told it was life, i even had one doctor (no word of a lie) who suggested i "Get out and have a drink or a game of pool like men do when feeling stressed". This was a couple of years ago but shocked me:eek:
I am thinking of maybe trying the mini-pill? The normal pill is a no no with me, but i have heard there are better ones now, the mini-pill, which can help, or does that just regulate periods?
I remember it well as the pattern it went that way for me in my thirties. I used to drink very little fluid in those premenstral weeks and I used to practice dipping. Dipping is filling the sink with cold water, standing over it and dipping your boobs into it. It help reduce the fluid retention which causes the pain.
As for the rest, I sympathise with you enormously.
I reached an early menopause and it's bliss not having the cycle.
Could you have a Mirana coil fitted? You don't have periods with those.
Yeah when your body starts to get ready for menopause you hormones fluctuate like nobodies business....you can be Ok for ages then all of a sudden it all goes to pot again.
I never had any PMT symptoms til my 30's after my kids....having kids is supposed to help with all that stuff. :rolleyes:
My Mum had her menopause at 40 (same age I am now)...when the doc actually bothered to take her seriously enough to do a blood test....coz she was too young! But she was right.
So I'd still say that if you've never suffered with PMT before your 30's it is most likely a natural occurance and that occurance is called peri-menopause. After all you don't know you are menopausal til 12 months after your last ever period......menopause diagnoses is all in retrospect.
Oh and it can last as long as 15 years for some before you get your official retrospect diagnoses!
I went to the doctor, and my options were the mini pill or the injection. I decided against both of these, as I don't believe in messing with my hormones, and the injection also thins your bones and takes at least a year for fertility to get back to normal.
So I then, as a last resort, went to the DR Herbs chinese medicine place. I described my symptoms, and the cause and I was given 3 bottles of herbal pills. They stink! But Since December 2006 when I first took them, I've not had a day off sick. I still get mild symptoms, but not to the point where I'm throwing up, or have to lie down cos I'm gonna pass out.
Hope this helps anyone reading with similar symptoms.
Yes it can help josie and so can just taking a very small amount of progesterone from day 19 of your cycle for 10 days.
The progesterone I had for a short while to try to regulate everything and combat the symptoms was Utovlan. I found this was a better option for me as you take it for a shorter time each month......I don't like the idea of messing with my hormones....but had no choice it was all too much.
You don't necessarily need HRT as such go and ask for some progesterone it maybe enough to help and you can still hope for your baby one day.
I was recommended natural progesterone cream and it worked absolute wonders. I only used a tiny bit and all those exact symptoms disappeared after just using it for a week. That was 4 months ago and my periods have been so easy! I have not needed it since.
I didn't like the idea of messing with hormones either so I did a lot of research beforehand. I would recommend the natural stuff as opposed to the synthetic as from what I have read the body can handle it better and it is safer. You don't need a prescription either, you can get it online. The original is called Pro-gest by Emerita and it has been available for about 30 years.
Good luck