PMS again....

tango

sugaJen wrote: »

I thought evening primrose wasnt that bad price-wise! it was the nurse that said it was expensive.

Anyway im just gonna try everything all at once, I cant have another pms episode like last week! Plan of action - reduce caffine, vitamin b complex, citalopram, if I put my clothes away I can use my exercise bike again (exercise without having to go out!!)

Also does anyone know, when youre feeling 'down' do you think it helps to force yourself to do something even though you cant be bothered? ie me and a friend taking all the kids to a park 2mora

Thanks again

Jen

Yes try and achieve something every day.however little that is,and build from there,you are the one that can do it no one else;)

crispeater

sugaJen wrote: »

thats good to hear!! mine are 20mg, but seen as i suffer from panic/anxiety issues then its 10mg for that and 10mg for pms lol. Shouldnt even joke about it, its not funny. 'tis abit

Feel better just knowing ive got them and they are gonna help me, and I feel abit silly for all the worrying I went through this morning about seeing the nurse

Got to go see her again in 2 weeks, im assuming to see how im getting on with them.

Jen

thing is if you dont joke about it a little bit you end up crying about it. A LOT!

when i first went to the doctors about it i felt sooo stupid! i felt like they were going to say 'get over it' or something like that but they were really supportive as if its a regular occurance happening nowadays which judging by the threads it is. its just good that there is something out there to help us now.
i too went after 2 weeks just to see how i was getting on and now i get a prescription every month. just to warn you with the tablets in my 1st couple of weeks i had dizzy spells, nausea and felt soo tired. nowadays i just have rather odd dreams which include drugs, violence and sex lol sometimes interesting sometimes disturbing
now on a good note lol have a good day

pavlovs_dog

sugaJen have you thought about getting a notebook and keeping a diary, so that you can track your moods, feelings, symptoms?

a lot of people find writing things down very cathartic, and you dont have to show it to anyone if you dont want to.

in a month or two, you should be able to look back and see pattterns in your behaviour. this in turn should help you break down the negative cycles of behaviour. you'll know what triggers your worst mood swings, or when they happen, so you can try and take a few little steps to minimise the impact perhaps?


sometimes, even knowing that you're being pro-active about a problem can make you feel sooo much better, because it gives you back that little bit of control

i think you're very brave for deciding to face up to this :T

Clive_Woody

sugaJen wrote: »

OK saw the nurse, within 30 seconds of being in the room i was in floods of tears!!! but managed to explain best I could (forgot my paper that I wrote everything down on)

She thinks I have mild depression and I kind of agree but im sure I only feel "down" the rest of the time because of the PMS so I dont know.

So anyway she suggested evening primrose but that can be expensive and I would have a buy a good one (somthing about 'gamma') so thats a no no, so told me to get vitamin B complex, reduce my caffine intake (I do drink alot) and gave me a months supply of Citalopram, which im really worried about taking after reading the leaflet, it says 'used to treat major episodes of depression'

I dunno, gotta be worth a try.

Jen

Hi Jen,

Great news that you went, you have made the first step which is always the hardest.

I work in clinical research for a drug company so can help with a bit of a background on citalopram. This drug is in the anti-depressant class of drug, but it does have much wider uses and is commonly used for PMS (as others on here have already said). The information leaflet in drug packages always sends people into a panic, but companies are required by law to list all potential side effects and list any problems that have occured not matter how rare. Citalopram has been around for a long time and has been taken safely by thousands (if not hundreds of thousands of people).

http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/30003676/

Evening primrose oil (EPO) contains something called gamma linoleic acid (GLA) and is also commonly given to people with PMS. Holland and Barratt often have buy one get one free offers on this so watch out for these then stock up as it has a long shelf life.

http://www.vitaminuk.com/pages/articles/eveningprimroseoil.htm

Caffine, can affect mood, I did a detox diet for a week once, and after only a day or so without my regular cups of tea I was a right miserable sod and the headaches were something else. I still drink lots of tea (and Pepsi) and if it's been a while since I had one I do get cravings.

If you do want any more info send me a PM and I will see what I can find out for you.

Best wishes
Clive

weegie_2

Dunno if my advice will be any good for you....

I've changed my diet over the past year or so - it's more or less GI based (Low Glycemic Index). More beans, pulses, lean meats etc. I try and stay away from stuff that'll raise my blood sugar levels too high and it honestly does work. I've lost weight and found a tremendous difference with my cravings/moods as my period approaches. I used to crave stodgy/sweet stuff and one moment I could be crying, the next swearing and shouting my head off :-) Nice.

always find exercise is fantastic - I rarely suffer from any cramps at all now.

I do believe a lot of people's problems can be solved with what they put into their body. If you fill your body with crap it's gonna work badly.

It works for me, but don't know if you have thought of it? Perhaps you lead a healthy lifestyle already! :-)

And well done for going to the doctors... :-)

donny_osmonds_mad_fan

I had terrible pms for years, the doctor wanted me to go on anti d's to mellow it but i was against it she also wanted me to do this as i got very bad depressive symptoms as pms.

however cut to a few years on and some problems last year i ended up on anti d's and i can honestly say they have mellowed my pms soooo much. I just have a day where i cry a bit but that is not half as bad as before, might seem a big thing to do but just saying what worked for me, it has made me more even tempered throughout the rest of the month too

julbags

I found the Natural Health Advisory service to be very useful, they (and I) believe much of PMS can be alleviated by diet. In my case, like others above, caffeine is my main trigger, even a single cup of coffee a day in the week before can cause problems. I do loads of exercise which also helps. My mood swings were always pretty mild I just felt absolutely exhausted and bloated around that time.

http://www.naturalhealthas.com/wnas/pages/pms.asp

They have an online test that you can take to highlight any areas in your diet that may be contributing to your PMS.

I bought the "No More PMS" book by Maryon Stewart which has lots of case studies and worksheets to look at although for me it was relatively simple in cutting the caffeine down.

Caffeine_buzz

I don't know if this will help but I had terrible PMS ever since my periods started - and always thought there was nothing to be done about it. Between the cramps and the irrational feeling and just being a down-right b***h I must have been hell on earth for 2 weeks of the month!

However a few years ago I was diagnosed with IBS and I really couldn't cope with the pms/cramps and ibs cramps at the same time so I went to the doctor who gave me the contraceptive pill to help with the period problems ... it totally stopped the periods and with it the PMS!!

Looking back I have no idea how anybody put up with me - as I'm sure there were days my head did 360o spins!!

gravitytolls

Jen, nobody wants to take 'stuff'. But after years of struggling with depression and PMS, and finally reaching breaking point, I realised I was just scared.

It was the best thing I ever did. I'd forgotten who I was, and the person I knew a long time ago began to reemerge.
Of course there's no miracle cure, you'll still have days you feel grotty. Why shouldn't you? Life sometimes is grotty, and you don't want to be completely aneasthetised (sp?).

Good luck, stick with it, and be sure to report back within a month.

blue_monkey_2

No one likes taking the drugs - sometimes they are for a reason though.

I have the contraceptive injections (I posted this on the hyterectomy or not thread) because I have cysts growing on my ovaries each month caused through ovulation. If you stop the ovulation you don't get the hormone release and that stops the problems with the PMS so you can either take the contracteptive pill - one that stops ovulation though, not the 'mini pill', the Contraceptive Jab - there is 2, I am taking Deprovera - or the Coil with a hormone in it called Mirena that lasts 5 years (although after 2 years this stopped working for me and it was removed). They work a wonder and no popping pills every day if you have the jab or coil - just once every 3 months with the jab I have now. I get the occassionaly cranky day but I think that is more to do with my kids, I can't even remember when I had my last crying fit and snap over the slightest silly thing - and I used to get these a lot the silliest thing making me well up and have a crying fit. Speak to your GP about it if you are not happy taking the Anti D's - they might end being a reliance for something that can be easily treated another way.

Maybe there is some sort of Family Planning website where you can get more info. I am lucky in finging a good woman GP who could help me out - and I think these are the best to see. A male GP offered me a hysterectomy at the age of 30 before I had kids to 'sort me out' when all I had was problems with the sycysts which can easily be sorted. Another GP sent me off each month with a 'pelvic infection' when I have cystic ovaries so I do not think men have a great deal of understanding when it comes to women stuff and I would choose a woman every time now. I am nt saying they are all the same but.... besides, has a nurse got the same qualifications as a doctor to disgnose depression? I would question that to be honest as it seems to easy that they give you these drugs instead of finding another way around the problem. PMS affects so many people in so many different ways it is just finding your way of treating it. Just my opinion.

Of course, there is always pregnancy, that usually sure the PMS but bring a whole new set of problems!!