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PMS

It's been a doozy of a week. But, what I want to write about today feels a little off the beaten path. I've had three children and one who is with the Lord (3 full-term pregnancies and 1 miscarriage). After the birth of each of my children, my post partum depression was a little more. The first two times I didn't recognize it as that, but now I would say that I did struggle. The third time I struggled even more. I never took medication, but I wish I had the third time around. After I weaned Eli, I noticed a huge improvement in my moods.

But, now, one full week a month (9 days really), I have noticed that I become very weepy. Most times it's only a day or even a few days that I feel really weepy. But, this past week, I was weepy the whole week. I think it was because I was under so much stress. The week started off stressful and only progressed upward from there with my basement.

Monday morning when my time of the month was over, I noticed a huge (!) improvement and the tears subsided. I am thankful for this. But, it made me aware that I need to pursue how to even out my moods.

Sugar/Caffeine abstinence has been one suggestion from my OB as well as taking a B complex vitamin. Another suggestion was to take a low dose birth control pill. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'd rather not. My PC doctor suggested prozac two weeks of the month. I don't want to do that. There's other side effects of pursuing that route. So, I'm investigating and trying to find some solutions to this.

This is one of those situations where I never had PMS before I had children and I really didn't believe it was real. God, like the good Father that He is, has allowed me to see now how real it is. I am now in the shoes that I didn't understand before.

If anyone has any suggestions or things that they have found that have helped them as they've walked through this, I'd love it if you'd share your thoughts with me as a comment.
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Comments

Kim said…
PMS is a tricky thing. What works for one might not work for another. For me, the first thing I have to do is realize what it going on. I will often forget/not realize my period is on the way. So paying attention to those signs helps me be prepared for sudden weepiness/crabbiness. Exercise! It is the last thing I want to do, but I never regret doing it. Particularly yoga/pilates type exercises. I also tend to indulge in the caffeine (it helps with my headaches). Not too much, but more than I normally consume. Shhhh..don't tell your doctor. ;) And I make sure I'm getting enough sleep. I seem to need more for that 7-10 days.

Don't know if any of that will help you, but that is how I deal with PMS. It's not much, and some days it doesn't help much, but I'm not comfortable with hormones/drugs. I did the BC pill to treat symptoms, but didn't notice any real improvement. BUT...that was just me.

Good luck!
March 2, 2010 at 2:52 PM
becky.onelittle said…
Well, Ian noticed my 'PMS' long before I did. I'm not weepy, but I'm cranky, exacting, exhausted, and sometimes downright mean- sorry kids! I have to be very aware of my emotions and not let my feelings dictate my responses to my kids- or to anyone who pushes my buttons (like Ian :)

Also, I HAVE to eat better on my period- richer I guess. I consume more fats like beef, butter, ice cream and such and it really does help. I have no idea why. Normally we eat meat 2-3 times a week, and I rarely if ever eat sweets. On that week, I eat meat almost daily, sometimes several times a day and indulge in more fatty foods. It helps! And I'm pretty sure it's the fat content of the food- I'll spread thick butter on my homemade bread, and I make my own ice cream, so it's got way less sugar than normal ice creams. I don't know about caffeine because I only consume it through chocolate- and not much of it. I've not noticed it affecting me at all.

Naps help! :) I lay all the kids down when Elizabeth takes a nap and tell them it's quiet time. Then I sleep on the couch where I can hear them if they get up and be near the front door if someone comes. When I'm nursing or pregnant, we always nap- now it's only about one week a month that I make everyone nap.

I know some people use herbs successfully for stuff like that. I don't really know what because so far meat takes care of me :)
March 5, 2010 at 4:23 PM
Anne said…
Thanks for sharing =) I realized that this month was worse than usual. I'm going to try a B complex vitamin next month and Becky--I will definitely keep the meat and other foods in mind!

Kim--I was just reading your comment again and I'm glad you mentioned the BC pill. That was one thing my midwife suggested and I wasn't sure I wanted to go that route. If anything, when I took them years ago, they made me super weepy! =)
March 5, 2010 at 10:13 PM
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