Do you get it? If you get it how do you deal with it? Does your wife or SO? Do you think it is an excuse?
I want to know how other people view or deal with PMS. Personally, I got it really bad before I was on the pill. Cramps, bloating, crying, the whole 9 yards. My poor BF. He used to feel so helpless and was such a sweetie to put up with me. He would run hot baths for me when I had cramps or be a little more understanding when I was irritable.
So what about the rest of the Dopers out there?
I’ve been off the pill for about a year, and I’d say I definitely notice a difference, too. Before, I’d maybe be a bit tense for a day–nothing a Pamprin couldn’t handle. Now, I really have to pay attention to my moods, and I get really bad cravings for salty, greasy food.
UGh ugh ugh! My psych professor told me that doctors are saying it doesn’t exist again. Yeah, right.
I get water retention in my SINUSES-actually, in my ears.
Instead of feeling bloated and fat, I have fluid in my ears and it hurts like a bastard. I get horrible headaches where I have to lie down and I also feel like I have a fever.
Midol is a godsend, but only the Teen formula-no aspirin or caffeine. The aspirin stuff hurts my tummy and the regular stuff puts me on the fucking moon. The last time I took it I went to bed at 6 pm.
I get sort of exhausted, sometimes. And cramps- god those seem to get worse w/ every cycle. Sometimes they’re not so bad, but other times (at their peak) they’re so bad I just wanna double over in pain and start dying. Usually with a lot of advil and time they’ll be gone, and after that one day i won’t get really bad cramps until my next one…still. And the mood thing, I feel really on edge, like the slightest thing could push me off the edge…
Sigh and i haven’t even been on the Pill or anything like that…
I am the same way. If I take the regular Midol, I fall asleep. I took it one day at work and had to have someone drive me home because I couldn’t stay awake.
Zoggie I have found that the pill helps a lot with cramps. If you have a gyn you should ask him/her about going on it.
[homer voice on] Ummm, PMS cravings… [homer voice off]
Well, I am currently suffering through horrid PMS. Mine did get worse after I went off the pill-to the point that I am thinking about going back on.
Remedies? well, most months it’s not that bad, so when I do have it bad, I generally just get through it.
And anyone who tells me it’s all in my head is going to die tonight, I swear.
Blue Thanks…don’t yet have a gyn, and the cramps I have aren’t really as bad as I make them out to be…probably I was exagerating. They just really suck, as most females can probably attest to.
Lsra- I know, I don’t think its in your head, because a lot of the time I’ll just be in a really screwed up mood, before I even realize it’s that time of the month. Not in your head at all, i don’t think…
Yeah, it’s in my HEAD all right…like a fucking bullet it’s in my head.
I ALWAYS know when I’m due for my period-not just by the date, but by how I feel…moody, cranky, and my OCD cranks up a notch.
I too get horrid cramps. I hate it when my period arrives on a day I have to work and I can’t afford to call off. Standing in just one spot without being able to move around is awful. I have to do leg bends just to stay on my feet.
Since I am currently suffering a case of PMS from hell I can say yes Virginia it does indeed exist! Nothing is worse than finding yourself very grouchy and short tempered, your pants are too tight and your thinking the worst…I’ve gained weight, your depressed then you see your husband’s smug face and he says the words…That time of the month baby? I just want to rip his face off and shove it up his ass until he bleeds for a week. They never get the hint that even if they think it is “that time of the month” NOT to mention it! I’ve had hard painful periods since I first got them. In school I popped Midol like they were candy. They barely helped me make it through the day. I started the pill and my periods regulated but I still had PMS. The pill didn’t even keep me from getting pregnant. Dang thing was only good for making me look at the clock all day to make sure I was taking it at the right time.
I had a female doctor tell me once that PMS didn’t really exist. I had to see her every month for a year. Imagine my thrill when she came in the room and said no jokes today I have PMS and will not take any shit!
My husband just came up behind me and asked what I was doing. I said writing about PMS…he said what do you know about PMS? He’s taking his own life in his hands tonight…he’s feeling brave…what a stupid man. I’ll wait til he goes to sleep, sit on him and slowly and painfully start pulling his chest hair out.
Now excuse me while I go sit across from my husband and glare at him.
I never used to get hit with it badly (I was bitchy all the time), but the last few months have been hell. But the emotional roller-coaster for me tends to be during, not pre. And of course 5 lbs of water retention has always been standard.
I don’t get real cranky, but my boobs hurt really bad. Like right now. I have to sleep with a bra on because I can’t even roll over without being in excruciating pain. Owwww.
Suffered from it for years, would go into inexplicable rages, cry at the drop of a hat.
My mom’s been using this cream called ProgestaCare for her menopausal symptoms, I read that it’s also supposed to work for PMS, decided to give it a try. Aunt Flo is due to visit in a day or so, so far no symptoms.
I’m also dosing myself with evening primrose oil and dong quai. So far, the triple-pronged attack seems to be working, and I’ve been under a lot of stress lately.
Might want to try this stuff instead of the pill or synthetic hormones. It ain’t cheap, but so far, it seems to be working for me.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Oh, I need a man to live with so I can take out my PMS on him. Chest hair pulling sounds like a fantastic stress reliever.
Now I’m off to work, where I am the only woman in the department. And they wouldn’t dare suggest PMS. snicker Wonder how I can make them miserable today? Hmmmmm…
It’s funny - I almost started a thread about this yesterday. Um, mine has gotten so bad that it’s become an issue monstrously screwing up my quality of life. I’m going to the Dr. again today. Unfortunately, I’m way too uninformed to know what to ask, to do, anything, and right now, I’m sitting at my desk just about in tears, feeling about as helpless as I ever have in my life. Reality right now sucks. It sucks. And on top of it, my SO is not really the “rock of Gibraltar” when it comes to being supportive. Not that he should have to be…it’s all my fault and my problem. Anyway, my mom, Ms. Let’shelpM2Ufeelbetteraboutyherself, suggested I was going through “the change”. I’m thirty f-ing four. How CAN I be? Anyway, I just hope there’s some way to medicate and control and STOP this, and some way I can get through this - it gets worse every month, and frankly, I don’t know how I’m going to deal anymore. It’s getting to the point where I’m just about to give up. I don’t know what else to do.
Thank you from your More Info Than I Ever Wanted Sponsor.
The best cure for PMS is sex. Be careful how you approach her, however.
[gloat]
Nope, never had it.
[/gloat]
Damnit, are you male, or just warped? Sigh I wish I didn’t have it, its just a pain in the ass.
For me, it’s like what’s the point, I’m never going to contribute to the world’s growing population…
Missy, i know the feeling, hope u feel better…
have you ever tried PMS escape or one of those type things?
Suo Na I am soooo jealous. I have had pms since I started! You are so lucky!
handy
Actually, there is some truth to that. When I am sexaully active on a regular basis, like I am now, the cramps are a little bit better.
Posted with all due sympathy…
This thread gives me the same feeling I had learning about menstruation and such in 6th grade sex ed: “Man am I happy I’m a guy.”
Again, don’t kill me. Sympathies all around.
I know I have PMS when the slightest little thing that goes wrong makes me burst into tears. I’ll be surprised at myself, then think “Oh yeah, it’s almost that time of the month.” I retain water, cramp for a couple of days and have nasty back pain. Most months I’m just bitchy but, every third month or so, I get really weepy. The weepy months are the worst because they are accompanied by INCREDIBLE depression. PMS will often trigger the panic attacks I suffer from, as well.
But all hope is not lost (for me, at least). I read an article 8-10 months ago about the affect of calcium on PMS symptoms and I’ve been taking 1200 mg a day ever since. It has CHANGED MY LIFE!! It has drastically reduced my symptoms as far as moodiness. Doesn’t do much for cramps or backache (I can handle those with Tylenol) but, the relief from the depression has been significant.