chelsea_9

today was and absolutely horrendous experience. i had just been moping about the house all day, with zero contact to.. anyone really. i basically found myself scantily clad, lying sideways in my bed, with 'iron and wine' on full blast and ridiculously crying.
and really, im not sure why i was crying. i just.. could not stop! once i realised the state i was in, i kind of shocked myself.
i've noticed definite mood swings during the pre-menstrual phase. but has anyone ever pulled something like that?

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all good dreamers pass this way some day
hiding behind bottles in dark cafes

Elphaba

Of course. Time to visit your ob/gyn for some good advice.

Sage

^^^

amen to that. GO see your OBGYN, see about getting on some hormones... that sort of thing. As I got older (from the age of about fifteen to twenty three) my PMS got worse, then a lot worse, then better. And everyone bawls for no reason now and then...

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raeanna74

Yup. Been there done that. Recently.

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...78#post2015478

I agree with the others here - we gotta talk to our Docs about it. I had an appointment this month. My Dr's clinic called and he was called away on urgent business and will be out of town on the day I was supposed to have my appointment. They offered to connect me with another Dr at the clinic but I declined because I want to see this particular Dr and there are a couple Dr's at the clinic that I dislike. So here I am waiting through one more period before I see him. I will be careful to observe things this time though so that I can give specific times and duration for the moods that hit me. Maybe it will help.

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"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

Sage

^^^

Good point raeanna- write down how you feel, when you feel it, how long you feel it for! Take this info to your doctor- so you can say "This period, I started feeling weepy six days before I started, rammed my car into a drug store three days before my period, and went batshit and punched someone the day my period started." The more info your doctor has, the better s/he can help!

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astrahl

Its called dysmenorrhea. I have it and many other women have it. I started my period when I was 10 and by 17, I had to see my doctor. I remember the period that sent me over the edge. I was on the ground, crying, rocking back and forth in such pain...

My doctor first tried getting my on 800mg of motrin (didn't work) and then put me on the pill (kinda worked). I was on the pill for more than a decade when I decided that my libido was more important.

My cramps have returned and the only thing that helps me is alternating my months with aspirin with tylenol with ibuprophen. Also, exercize can help. I know it isn't exactly the time you wanna go out there and play soccer, for example, but the activity can REALLY help. With the activity distracting from the pain and the endorphins, it may be a good choice for relief. The only other thing I do is get my favorite comfort food, bundle myself up in sweatpants and robe and re-watch a favorite movie or three.

The only "real" solution I've heard about over and over is giving birth. I have heard from other sufferers and they swear that cramps are never the same after giving birth.

I'm very sorry to hear that you have to suffer the same thing. I hope that you can find something that helps you to get through it. At least there may be comfort in knowing that you aren't alone.

!! I nearly forgot...It is very important that you talk to your doctor about this because, in less common cases, the cramps can be a symptom of something more serious. I'm sure you'll be fine, but please go get checked out.!!

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Maybe it was over when she chucked me out the Rover at full speed.
Maybe Maybe...
~a-Ha

fyrehair

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I do not envy you the headache that you will have in the morning. Until then, sleep well and dream of large women.

Sultana

That's because after the mind-rending pain of giving birth, everything else is a friggin piece of cake!

For the record, I've never personally experienced the "mind-rending pain of giving birth".

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"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
At night, the ice weasels come." -

Matt Groening

My goal? To fulfill my potential.

ShaniFaye

it must work opposite too, cause I NEVER had cramps until I gave birth...what an eye opening experience for me that was lol

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I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

astrahl

There goes MY theory, ShaniFaye!! Dammit!
And that was going to be plus of finally having a kid. I guess I can erase that mark on the "Pro" column.

It is not unusual for me to take a day off of work or, back then, school, because of the pain. It was so bad that I could not focus on anything else...even with the partial soothing of various OTC drugs.

Appropriate timing for this conversation as I am due for Aunt Flow in a week or so.

__________________
Maybe it was over when she chucked me out the Rover at full speed.
Maybe Maybe...
~a-Ha

ShaniFaye

I was the same way...(and your theory may work...read on) When I had my daughter I quit producing progesterone, it took them almost 6 years to figure that out and it was causing multiple cyst formation in my uterus, thus cause cramps so bad I had to call into work (which is embarrassing when you're the only female hehehe)

so maybe your theory works and it was just a "one of" kind of thing with my circumstance hehehe

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I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

raeanna74

Well I never went through 3rd stage labor (Just 1st and 2nd then emergency C-section) but my cramps are much better post-baby. They were so intense before pregnancy that I passed out more than once from the shock to my body or that's what the Dr told me.

Now my cramps aren't so bad. They're bareable at least. The moods don't last all too long either but they're soo terribly intense for about 24 hours at about 2-3 days before my period begins. Even the moodiness is bareable considering I used to have terrible migranes the day before or day I started. I have had much fewer of those.

__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

chelsea_9

wow! thank you for all of the advice!
i did start my period when i was about 10 years old as well. cramps were a bit of a problem for me before i started on birth control, and now that i'm "taking a break"... the symptoms seem to be getting worse.
but i think i will go see my gyno about it.

__________________
all good dreamers pass this way some day
hiding behind bottles in dark cafes

snowy

All I can say is that birth control and prescription pain medication have been a blessing for me. Now that I am older than I once was (a little bit), and know things I didn't know then, I can manage my pain much better--usually without prescription-strength medication, though when it gets bad enough I pop several Aleve per doctor's orders. I am on Nuvaring and deliberately use 2 rings in a row (7 week cycle) so as to cut down on the number of periods I have. Before birth control and getting a prescription pain reliever, I would miss 2-3 days of school a month, basically crippled. I'd throw up and pass out from the pain--not a good combination. Now I don't have nearly so many problems; between meditation, yoga, birth control, and the occasional Aleve it's mostly manageable now. Occasionally I still have days where the Aleve just doesn't work and I just have to ride it out.

As for the more emotional rollercoaster symptoms--most of those evened out when I went on anti-depressants. Furthermore, being on BC makes PMS entirely predictable--which is rather nice.

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

TotalMILF

Many of my bad menstraul cramps are actually WORSE than the worst contraction I experienced during labor, right before the epidural kicked in (I believe I was about 7cm dilated). My period has not yet returned since giving birth, so I hope my cramps lighten up!

I've never had bad PMS, but I did have one particularly bad, very hormonal day when I was about 7 months preggo. I had just gone to Costco to get bottled water and dogfood and diapers, and when I came home hubby was playing World of Warcraft and wouldn't help me unload. Well, I got REALLY REALLY pissed off and proceeded to HURL the giant box of Huggies at the patio door. It was so loud that one of the dogs peed on the carpet, and xepherys just about shit his pants. He came out to unload, without saying a word, very obviously pissed off. Suddenly something snapped and I felt SOOOO sad, so sad that I had to sit on the bumper of my car and SOB like I've never sobbed before. Then I felt embarassed, so I drove off and parked a few blocks away. I cried my eyeballs out for half an hour or so, then decided to come back home. I was perfectly fine within 5 minutes of walking through the door. Kinda freaked hubby out, hehe. Hormones are fun!

Pip

There are so much hormones released in the body during a pregnancy and birth... I've heard of the weirdest changes of the body taking place. Straight hair getting curly and vice versa, cold hand problems dissapearing and so on. And the cramps. My mother points this out every time I moan about cramps. She wants grandkids. Maybe horrible cramps are Nature's way of telling you to get a baby.

Anyways, I have cramps and a nasty cold right now. I don't know what's worse: being me or being around me. *growls*

astrahl

Aww, Pip:

It's ok to be a raging bitch.
I noticed you're in Sweden! I'm actually visiting Norway in August and I'm SO jazzed about it - I'm learning Norwegian too. My Swede friend is making fun of me because she says that Swedes think Norwegians talk funny.
What can you tell me about that area of the world?

...Maybe you should hold off on answering until you are in a better mood.

__________________
Maybe it was over when she chucked me out the Rover at full speed.
Maybe Maybe...
~a-Ha

abaya

Damn, my worst PMS problems are usually cramps (they go away with 2 Advil), even on BC. I would love to chalk up my general weepiness to PMS, but unfortunately I cry at any time of the month, sometimes without warning. Maybe I'm just overly hormonal.

Meanwhile, all of your posts are making me SOOO excited about having children someday. This just after hearing from a pregnant friend who was sick and spotting for her entire first term... YAY.

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

SparklingDot

The thing that prompted my parents to finally listen to me about getting on the pill was me having an absolute fit over a piece of clay. I was taking an art class, and the medium of the week was clay. My boyfriend and I were working on our projects together, and mine kept falling apart. I burst into tears and could not stop for anything. And having someone ( in this case, my parents) tell me that its ridiculous and I'm crying for no reason doesn't help. In fact, it made me cry harder!

Another gem in my PMS horror story collection is the night I stated my period, the same boyfriend left me five minutes into his visit. He and his buddies decided to go to a strip club, which made me completely rage on him, his buddies, and anyone who tried to tell me it was no big deal. After that incident, I now warn him not to do anything stupid the week before I start my period. It has made things much better. To his credit, he is wonderful and understanding. By the same token, he is still a man and can't help himself sometimes.

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17 seconds is all you really need
- Smashing Pumpkins