I've done searches on pms relief, cures, etc. I don't care that I'm bloated, my biggest concerns are I am absolutely insane for about 4 days a month PLUS I get soooo tired. About a week before my cycle I could sleep 12 hours a night and still wake up exhausted. As soon as my period comes, I'm pretty much OK, but the week before is absolute hell and I'm not kidding. I'd take the tiredness over being crazy. This is beyond moodswings. I've talked to my ob/gyn and he's all too ready to prescribe prozac, which I don't want to take!!! He said I'd only have to take it during the week that's right before my cycle, about 5-7 days, but still.......

Anybody have similar symptoms and what do you take/do?? I am desperate

Thanks

Melissa

Oh seeetie I am there for you girlfriend I know the feeling, I am 45 and am going through it and at this point if I lever experience pms or ever having my period again I would love it. Currently I am under a doctors care he did a bloodtest on me and told me I was 75 percent of the way from it being over, however I get so hot lately and that not me I always was so cold and talk about being emotional I cannot listen to a song or watching a tv program with crying so so much. I am currently on birth control which helps a little, however i am not a big fan of medicine. I rather do something naturally so I have been drinking alot of herbal tea, I try to get alot of rest and sometimes it just feels better to take a nap or walk get outside call a friend watch a funny movie and please hon do not suffer in silence and I wish you to feel better, what are you favorite hobbies do something that can occupy your mind and sincere wishes peace catherine

You have the exact symptoms that I had. I tried everything. I did the diet modification, I tried exercise etc. What was killing me was the mood swings. My doctor prescribed Lexapro for me. I was not so sure that I wanted to be on a prescription, but I was desperate. Wow, what a difference it has made. It does not give me a "drugged" feeling. I take it right before bedtime. Ask your close girlfriends, sisters etc. You'll be surprised to know the different medications out there. Do your research, talk to your doctor (maybe even get 2 opinions) and make your choice from there. Good luck. Hang in there.

HOn i forgot to add have you tired Primrose its a all natural supplement just for pms it has helped me alot hopefully it might bring you some relief , where was I when I was 11 and dying to get my period lol after almost 35 years of it , its time to end can i ask how old you are and also did u experience a bad menstrual cycle plmk cause I did, thank god my my eldest dd she is 23 was good however my younger dd 16 is really starting to suffer they both got it like me at 11, its truly hard being a women sometimes hang there hon and keep us posted feel better. Peace Catherine

I'm 37, will be 38 in December. I never had horrible periods, always normal, etc. I've had friends who had them so heavy they couldn't work, leave the house and such.

I can bawl at the drop of a hat and/or get so enraged at times over the stupidiest things!! But only during the week before the Red Devil (that's what husband calls it) I do exercise (walk or ride my bike every day), I have been caffeine free forever it seems, don't smoke, am a vegetarian, nothing "white", whole grains, fruits veggies, lots and lots of soy. I don't know, seems nothing outside of Rx has helped. Sigh.

Kellyboymom~my dad takes Lexipro (what I wouldn't have gave if this was available 35 years ago when I was being raised, total and complete hell, he was so mean/violent. Now, he's all calm and mild, I think "is this the same man who raised me??" He says they make him sleepy. Not loopy or "drugged" just sleepy all the time, which is what I can't be with 2 kids, husband, house, work, etc. But, maybe they won't make me that way, it may just be his side effect.

I am all for trying the primrose oil if it helped you Catherine. Thank you both for your input and sweet words. I teared up just reading you call me Hon. Everyone around here (home) thinks I choose to be this way, and I could just control it if I tried. Don't I wish.

Thanks again,

Melissa

HOn believe me your not crazy at all pms is all too real . My family knows when I am experiencing pms I am extremely emotional like I said the other day tears for the dying came on the radio while I was driving with my son he was driving and the song is special to me because it by seal and its about people whom have died of aids and of course the song reminds me so much of my brother and I was crying so hard , so i truly feel for you as far as taking something that will make you sleepy and if you have young kids I would not go that route, again getting enough sleep and eating healthy foods try to say away from sweets if you can and taking a hot bath and keeping positive thoughts and like i said watch a real funny movie and laugh laugh hard feel better, we are here for you . Peace Catherine

I had REALLY bad symptoms until I started taking my birth control continuously (don't take the placebo week). An added plus is that I don't have periods, but the best is that I stay at an even keel all the time. No dips in my hormones and no craziness

This may be an option to discuss with your doctor -

__________________
There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every one!
-Harry Chapin

I too have terrible peri-menopausal PMS. Reluctantly I started taking 1/2 dose of Zoloft.. 25mg/day. Wow. What a difference! I still get PMS, but it's SOO much more manageable-- I don't feel like I'm ready for a rubber room anymore. My OBGYN said that Zoloft is one of the few drugs allowed to make the statement that it helps with PMS....
Good Luck!
P.S. The generic form of Zoloft did NOT work for me... FYI

See, if I went on Zoloft, I'd have to take generic (I have no health insurance and could get it for 4.00 at WalMart--if it's on the list, don't know). Anyways, what about it didn't work for you? Was it not strong enough? Thanks.

A low dosage birth control pill usually alleviates or stops all your symptoms. A high dosage birth control pill usually alleviates or stops all your sympptoms and also provides birth control. I'd try The Pill first because it's better to stop what causing the problem instead of just treating the effects of it.

I could be out in left field here.. but could all the soy you ingest be making your PMS worse? I did a search on google about soy making pms worse and found a bunch of links.

Something to think about?

__________________
Support bacteria -- it's the only culture some people have!

If Vegetarians eat Vegetables. Do Humanitarians eat Humans?

'Vegetarian' is an old Native American word for bad hunter.

Andrew Lessman Evening Primrose at HSN.com

I had the exact same problem and my primary doc recommended primrose. This is what I took for 3 years and it changed my life. My gyno wanted to put me on Lexapro but I went with this first.

Hopefully you will find something for relief. Hang in there.

__________________
Mudpuppy

_____________________

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass - it's about learning to dance in the rain

Thanks for the primrose suggestion. I hate going to Drs. I am almost homicidal the week before. Don't worry, only toward DH, slow drivers, and old ppl who park their carts in the middle of the shopping aisle-you all should be safe from my wrath. It has definitely gotten worse with age.

And when I was searching earlier, one website recommended loading up on soymilk!! It read when you feel the early signs of pms, pour yourself a tall glass of soymilk. I get most of my soy from boca and morningstar burgers and when I eat cereal, it sicks me out to drink a glass of milk, soy or cow's, by itself. Anyways, I'm gonna get some primrose oil. I truly appreciate all responses!!!! I am trying to hang in there, it's unbelievable the thoughts one can have during pms. I struggle every day of it to maintain myself. It should be over soon.....til next month anyways.

Is your OB/GYN aware that you are a vegetarian? Maybe s/he can make some dietary recommendations that might help. So sorry for your struggle. That sounds so hard.

That is EXACTLY how I feel too!! It's so funny you said that about the elderly and their STUPID carts. There are just some days I CANNOT go to the store b/c I say VERY nasty things in my head to these ppl and I'm sure it's all over my face!!! LOL Other days it doesn't bother me at all!!! LOL

Melissa

I'm in the same boat with you guys. Up until I had my tubes tied 2 years ago my periods weren't that bad. Now I need a rubber room too! Mine lasts for about 12 days though (the rage) and it seems to be getting worse, periods are worse now too. I don't know if it's age or the tubal, etc. I am literally just full of rage and soooo exhausted I literally can spend the entire day in bed. When I was younger, I had no problems, only a few days of the 'friend' and I was back to normal. I am going to check out the primrose but I have no idea what it is. I'll look into Zoloft too and guess I need to talk to my obgyn about it all. I'm already having all the hot flashes, mood swings, etc. Gotta love whatever it is, NOT. It never really does ever end for us women, does it? Sigh.

Just wanted to add that I'm 37 also. Is this when all of this basically starts? Are there any good books out there on 'aging' for women--regarding when menopause starts, general changes, etc. My mom & sister have both had hysterectomiess (sp) early on so I don't really know what's the norm.

I had identical symptoms for several years after the birth of my last child. I walked around in an indescribable rage for no apparent reason from the minute I woke up. If you could bottle the feeling you have when you're in the middle of an argument and the angry adreneline is raging.... that's how I felt inside. And yes, shopping carts also made me see red!

A friend suggested I try Prolief, which is the name of a product made by Arbonne. It's a lotion that contains progesterone that is absorbed transdermally. Each squirt is a metered dose of 1/4 t and you're supposed to use 1/4 - 1/2 t/daily for 21 days of the month.

I can't begin to tell you what a difference it made for me! She said the first dose would probably tell me whether or not it was going to work for me, and I expected to report back to her that it had no effect whatsoever.

Boy was I wrong.

Literally within half an hour of rubbing it on my arm I noticed that my thinking was very sharp and clear. I had felt dumb as a post for a long time, like I was walking around in a fog. I was extremely clumsy and overwhelmed and just plain angry. I remember telling my husband that I suddenly felt like a bucket had been taken off of my head. It was absolutely bizarre. I had been having only about 5-7 good days a month prior to that, and once I started using it, every day was a good day!

I had several other symptoms that I hadn't associated with a hormone problem until I realized they had disappeared when I began using the progesterone. For instance, my hip went out monthly. It hasn't been out for several years now! Someone asked me about my hip once - if it was better - and that's when a lightbulb went on that in fact it had quit giving me fits about the time I began the cream. It makes sense, I guess - during pregnancy, hormones cause your joints to loosen, and you have surges of similar hormones during PMS time. Usually that's no big deal, but if you have a joint that's a little loose a surge in those hormones can make it a *lot* loose and out of socket it goes!

I bought my Prolief on eBay for $15 - $18ish, which should last 3-4 months. I no longer use it. For me, once things were level, that became self-perpetuating. It's like something just needed kick-started back into normalcy, and from then on it was able to work just fine on its own.

You described me to a T!!! Full of rage and exhausted. I also had my tubes tied, 11 years ago this coming October, but I remember having PMS even on the pill, PMS meaning moodiness/anger/thoughts of murder, but not near as bad as I have now. I wonder, as you do, are we approaching the age where all this crap starts rearing it's ugly head? I will say, it's getting worse with each year.

I'm also gonna look into this Arbonne cream. Anyone else ever use it and what were the results?

TIA!!!

OK, I just went to ebay and bought a bottle, too intrigued not to try it. THANK YOU for the recommendation, I am hopeful it will work for me. I researched on the Arbonne website, doesn't tell too much, but listed all ingredients, and nothing seems harmful whatsoever. If it will do half of what it did for you for me, I already love it. Again, thanks!

I'll look into the Arbonne too. I have a huge Arbonne set in there that my MIL gave me when my last baby was born. There is a face cream so I don't think it contains the right stuff and the rest are baby products. So far I haven't been impressed with the high priced products, but it is not the cream you guys are talking about so I will look into that too. I have heard that there is something to those progesterone creams though.

Edited to say that I used to be a very functional person, highly organized, type A personality. Seems like I can't get anything 'together' or done, organized, finished, started, etc., these days. I just feel totally overwhelmed also; like I walk around in a daze and half asleep. Not sure if I'm having a mid-life crisis or it was the 4th baby putting me over the edge (Lord knows that alone about did me in ha ha). I am having a horrible time falling asleep every night, nigh sweats, etc. Anxiety. The list goes on. Are there any nurses on this board that might be able to pinpoint the problems? I am wondering if my obgyn will think I'm totally losing it and have me committed if I go in with 'all' of my symptoms, ha ha. She's pretty good I'm just kidding... It's just embarrassing I guess. Plus I am in denial that I'm this old already and I can't seem to figure out where in the world the last 10 years went ya know? My parents are up there in age now and having some issues, etc. Maybe it's just all getting to be too much. Anyone else here--please tell me you are so I know I'm not going nutso!

Hey, way to be proactive!

I really hope it works for you! I've read about people having symptoms from the cream that are the opposite of what they wanted, so it's possible that you could be one of them... but if it works, it will have been worth it!

My friend who recommended it had read a book by Dr. John Lee, MD called "What Your Dr. May Not Tell You About Premenopause" or something like that. His assertion is that the body needs both estrogen and progesterone and that one without the other causes trouble because they counteract each other's negative side effects. I think his position would be that you have plenty of estrogen and not enough progesterone to counteract the negative things about that estrogen.

I just know that for whatever was ailing me, using that stuff was a real watershed moment. I do recall that it made me terribly sleepy - just like during the first trimester of a pregnancy - so I began using mine at night only. I got awesome, deep sleep as an unexpected side-effect when I did that!

I tend to be extremely, extremely cynical and skeptical about 'all natural' things that are supposedly going to change my life in a revolutionary way and assume most things are snake oil. This stuff, though, was the real deal for me!

Keep us posted!

Eating foods with lots of protein and iron helps me with pms.I went through pms yesterday and some today.Can you tell?
Eat lots of nuts!

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Ugh, just reading the word and thinking about premenopause......sigh. Not ready for it I guess. Thanks for all the suggestions, I will look into that book also. And a big thank you for the tip on the cream making you drowsy, I will for sure do it at bedtime then. I need NO help in being sleepy, that's for sure. If this works for me, my family and me will be overjoyed.


And, Sadari, PLEASE don't be embarrassed!! Talk to your doctor, trust me, you are soooo not alone, ever since I've been researching/asking around I have come to realize, I am in the majority. 4 kids?? Woman, you aren't losing it, you're a saint!!! Seems like with every birth of my kids, millions of memory cells left me. I was never a type A, ohhhh, if you only knew me, but I could at least remember things within an hour's time, now.....well, that's a different story. I'm exagerating (sp?)a little, but you know what I mean, my memory is NOT what it used to be, no doubt about it.

Anxiously awaitng my Arbonne cream!! YAY!!! And, I did a buy it now for just under 20 bucks, on the Arbonne website it sells for $34.00. I figure 20 bucks for a 3 month's worth is dirt. Thanks again ladies!

Lucky!! I eat almonds and cashews daily. I eat quite a bit of protein as well, perhaps I'm low on iron?? But, I eat dark green veggies, no meat though. I should take a multivitamin if nothing else, hu? 1 and 1/2 days of PMS?? Where's the justice??!!