Serious PMS - Help Me

[june'smom]

I get PMS bad every month. I get cramps during ovulation and at the beginning of my period every time. Sometimes they are unbearable, sometimes not.

I also have bad mood swings. I know that they affect the rest of my family, and dh is just not sympathetic. He just can't seem to man up and take on more when I am not up to it, no matter how many times we talk about it.

So I need to do something. We don't eat much canned food, don't use much plastic, no microwave, etc. I have tried to cut out much of the hormone crap but we can't afford to eat only organic fruits and veggies. I am hoping that there is something out there (tea, supplement) that can help me.

[EdnaMarie]

What helped me:

1. Cramps: You know how hypnobabies works? Well, basically, before I even knew about that, I once got stuck with cramps, like pass-out, pale-as-death, people-think-you're-dying, worse-than-labor cramps in a place where there were no painkillers for hours and hours and hours around. I started visualizing the pain like a slow burning fire, kind of re-processing it as heat. I did that because I had to as I didn't want to pass out. After about three months of practicing, I can say that I haven't found cramps too bad since.

2. PMS emotional symptoms: Someone on here once mentioned calcium and magnesium, so I tried magnesium. WOW! I take it orally as I haven't time for baths. I highly suggest it. The doses aren't enormous so go for it. Apparently magnesium oxide is the most easily absorbed oral supplement.

3. How's your iron? Nettle tea, using iron pots and pans, can help iron, and you can probably afford organic nettle tea if you can afford any at all.

Good luck. I know exactly how you feel.

[june'smom]

Thanks. I will try the calcium and magnesium. I also find that I do better when I exercise a lot. I used to run 5x/week and my symptoms weren't nearly this bad.

I have a health food sludge drink (for lack of a more precise term. lol.) that is supposed to clear out the excess hormones in your system that you ingest in your food, but it tastes bad and so it is hard to make myself drink it. Yuck. But I need to give it another try.

[MAMom]

I've done a few things over the past 18 months or so that has significantly helped my PMS & period symptoms. First and foremost, I clear my calendar as much as possible for the week before my period and focus on myself. I write "lay low" in my dayplanner as a reminder to myself, and try to stick to that. No playdates for my kids, no planned socializing for me, limited errands, getting to bed by 10pm, eating healthfully (and I now plan vacations/trips around this time as well).

I also have a regular, monthly acupuncture appointment during that week to help stabilize things, which helps a lot.

A day or 2 before my period arrives, I lay in bed (as much as possible with 2 kids), don't do much, and nap if I feel like it.

I love what Christiane Northrup has to say about the wisdom of the menstrual cycle. Her teachings, along with others, have made me slow down and honor this time. Probably reading the book The Red Tent several years ago first brought my attention to how we can honor our cycles.

Also the book "Self-Nurture: Learning to Care for Youself as Effectively as You Care for Everyone Else" was very helpful to me in this journey.

More than anything, I try not to feel bad/guilty about taking this time for myself. It is needed, and it has helped me significantly, and in turn, my family as well, because my moods are much more even. I live my life in a much more cyclical way, taking advantage of the weeks before ovulation to do most socializing and things that require more of my energy, and focusing on more quiet and self-nurturing activities after ovulation though my period.

[Ravenlunatic]

drink ZERO coffee

eat a lot less carbs (grains, beans, starchy veggies)

eat a lot of healthy fat

[bean-e]

Have you thought about trying evening primrose oil? I have been taking it for just over a month and my ovulation cramps/discomfort reduced to the point where I wasn't sure if I was ovulating that day. It's not too expensive, so it might be worth a try.

[june'smom]

Thanks again. Such good advice.

I have been talking to dh about needing to do less when I have pms, but he can't seem to remember. Also, I tend to talk less and be more introverted, which dh interprets as me being angry with him (normally, I talk a lot). That makes him tense and kinda angry, which then *actually* makes me angry. Bad cycle.

As far as giving up coffee, I don't know if that is possible I am in the process of cutting back to one cup a day, but I love it.

MAMom, I also read The Red Tent years ago (more than once) and I loved it. Perhaps it is time for another read. The book Cunt also really opened my eyes to accepting my cycle as something not to be fought, but embraced. It is hard to implement that, though.

[babygrant]

There's a really great thread in in the Mental Health subforum called "Life with PMS/PMDD". It's super helpful and really shines a ray of light on the subject!