Question For The Other Ladies

[strawbabies]

Does anyone have any suggestions for combating the mood swings I get with my PMS?

I was so sad this morning that I wanted to leave work so I could go home and cry. And I have no idea why I'm upset.

[the_std]

Going on the pill (Linessa) reduced my mood-swings and PMS symptoms drastically, but that's the only advice I have.

[strawbabies]

I probably should have mentioned that I'm already on the pill, Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo.

[crazylegs]

(not a girl)

St Johns Wort (sp?) can alleviate some mood patterns, however it WILL affect any oral contraception you may be taking and could have some interactions with any other meds, consult your Dr./Pharmacist first.

[strawbabies]

Thanks for the suggestion. I just remembered that I'm due soon for my annual exam at my OB/GYN. Maybe I should just bring it up then.

[crazylegs]

Depends on how soon 'soon' is, I'd politely suggest you make a specific appointment to see your Dr. about his, they may have some other suggestions.

[Aethian]

I was told that some of the contracepties affect people different. You could always ask to be put on another type of the pill...one of the others might not give you such symptoms.

[strawbabies]

Depends on how soon 'soon' is, I'd politely suggest you make a specific appointment to see your Dr. about his, they may have some other suggestions.

I'll be calling first thing tomorrow to get an appointment for the week after my period ends. They're good about not making people wait too long to come in.

[Nashida]

I'm gonna second the "try another pill" movement here. I've been taking Necon 1/35 for about half a year and love what it does. I had been taking Yasmin before but it did little to nothing.

Of course, I have PMDD, so super-strength is almost a necessity.

[AccountingDrone]

Thanks for the suggestion. I just remembered that I'm due soon for my annual exam at my OB/GYN. Maybe I should just bring it up then.

Are you bound and determined to bleed every month?

Reason I ask is I have PCOS, and am on norethindrone which harmlessly suppresses my menses entirely. No mood swings, no acne cycle, no bleeding, nada. It has been heavenly.

[Bright_Star]

Midol. Works for me.

[blas]

The Depo shot has gotten rid of my periods completely, but I still get slight cramps and mood swings a couple of days a month (but it beats the heck out of several days a month!) and I bloat a little as well those couple of days.

I'd suggest a different pill or form of BC that supresses symptoms of PMS or PMDD.

[Evil Queen]

(not a girl)

St Johns Wort (sp?) can alleviate some mood patterns, however it WILL affect any oral contraception you may be taking and could have some interactions with any other meds, consult your Dr./Pharmacist first.

I was told by my Dr. that taking St. John's Wort will cancel out the effects of birth control. So I wouldn't reccomend taking it. At all.

But fixing your mood swings? I don't know; maybe you need to be on a different birth control? I'm on Ortho Try-Cyclen too, but not the "Lo" one.

[KiaKat]

St. John's Wort is actually terrible for mood swings. It may seem like it is balancing you out in the beginning, but it can throw off your brain chemistry and cause more problems than it solves (as well as interacting badly with many medications, not just BC).

Before starting any self-treatment with supplements, do the research and be sure to consult with any and all doctors. If you have one specific pharmacist, you can also get their advice as to drug interactions. A lot of supplements are contraindicated with prescriptions.

One thing I find that works well is exercise. I step up my morning run by an extra 15-25 minutes during my PMS week, and that seems to help burn off the emotional energy. I also keep high-quality dark chocolate around - it *is* a mood stabilizer, and there is a reason we crave it for a week (or two, at least) a month.

And I'm on the bandwagon for trying different forms of hormonal BC. Each of us reacts differently, and it's up to you and your doctor to find the right one. I personally have found that Yasmin is great, but I'm not on it because of the regular liver-function tests (extreme needle phobia).

(disclaimer: I am not a doctor, although my sister is a doc-in-training and I've done a lot of research due to my personal physical and mental issues)

[ArcticChicken]

I'm currently on one of the pills that only gives you four periods a year, and it's fantastic. I used to get crippling back cramps, and very heavy bleeding, now I don't feel it at all and practically don't need a pad.

Before I was on the pill, I combated my pain and mood swings with caffeine, dark chocolate, naproxen sodium, and calcium pills. I don't know why, but the calcium helps the painkillers function, before I started the calcium the naproxen would dull the pain, but wouldn't alleviate it completely, and the calcium by itself did nothing.

[edible_hat]

Three people who I thought were male have posted about their periods in this thread.

[Parrothead]

Maybe someone can answer me on this: Caffeine supposedly makes you more bloated & crampy, right? So why is there caffeine in Midol?? :confused:

I think it speeds up how fast the medicine part hits your system. It's usually only a bit of caffeine in the pills. (doctor was explaining about excedrin, which also has caffeine, but it was many years ago.)

[blas]

Edible hat, men have periods, too. They just don't bleed or bloat.

Have you ever heard of a Merculian boyfriend? I have one of those. Mood swingy....though never to an angry or violent extreme, he just has these moods where he barely says two words and is just down on himself and everything around him....it's worse than when I used to get a period and would cry at the slighest thing.

[AdminAssistant]

Serious answer: I try to avoid caffeine..

One of my docs told me that caffeine would aggravate my fibro-cystic-boob-thingys (what I affectionately refer to as 'frozen pea' syndrome :rolleyes:). But it doesn't bother me.

I mostly just get depressed (like now, dear GOURD) and a bit tempermental, and I have one day of moderate pain - for which I take naproxen. Other than that, it's fairly unevental. I've been on the same pill (a generic desogen) for.....8 years now. I guess I just got lucky.

The no period/fewer period pills make me a bit nervous. I'm glad they've developed the technology and that they work wonders for people, but I don't think I could ever take them...

[Evil Queen]

Three people who I thought were male have posted about their periods in this thread.

Oh, I hope I'm one of them! :lol: :lol: :lol: