Pre-menstrual Syndrome (PMS) Support Group

I have horrible stomach, and abdominal cramps right now, and they usually last 2 or 3 days. I take Ibuprofen, or Midol. If the cramps get horrible I use my heating pad, or take a hot bath. I also have irritability, and I cry real easily. The emotional part usually starts about a week in advance, the pysical symtoms usually 2 to 3 days before. I usually return to normal once it starts. I hope this info helps.
jmariah001

My symptoms are more of the emotional kind rather than physical.I only have a few days a month that i am not suffering....but the week of/before my period i have so much anxiety,almost panicky,everything seems so hopeless,i hate my life,hate how i look,can't stand anyone around me and literally feel like i will have a nervous breakdown.As soon as(and i mean AS SOON AS)i start,i am totally fine....then a few days later,it allstarts again,it is a slow building thing that peaks the week before.I am supposed to start natural progesterone cream 7 days after i start this time,i am hoping it will help some.I intend to use that until i can quit smoking,then i will start yaz birth control pills,which have been FDA approved to treat pms and pmdd.

I have hesitated to call mine PMS, because it doesn't seem "pre" at all. I have one good week a month and I could never begin to guess which week it will be. I get the usual back cramps and bloating (like crazy). But, the emotional side is a whole lot worse. I cannot be rational, my anger level is over the top.
Like you said (kewl), it is hard to tell between "PMS" and the other issues.
It is kinda like the "chicken and the egg" theory...which comes first?
What causes or exaggerates what?
I wish I knew.

About a week in a half out I start to get emotional. Maybe from a lack of sleep because my back really starts to give me fits about this time too. Then the carnival of emotions begin, first a bit of depression then a couple of days later irritability then a horrible headache anywheres from 2 to 5 days out. Followed by more irritability which lasts until I start. Starting is always announced with cramping. Sometimes their so bad I get physically ill and I almost always have to use a heating pad. They usually last for 3 days, during which time I am enveloped by a total self-loathing (the ugliest creature known to man) and often want to cry, hit, scream, and kick but I behave myself. I bleed for about 5 days. Once done I tell my husband it's safe to come out of hiding and my sense of humor and and mind return.

Do any of you get so emotional that you have to apologize and make amends once you're over your pms....just to have to do the same thing again the next month?It seems like all i do is suffer from pms,apologize,suffer pms,apologize.....and on and on in a never ending cycle.

peridot, i am constantly apologizing for this type of thing. and i like your new profile pic.

This past month,i ate alot of perch,salmon and peanut butter starting 2 weeks beforehand and the pms wasn't bad at all....could the omega 3 from the fish and the magnesium from the peanut butter have helped?...i don't know,but i am gonna try again this month and see.

I can relate to a few others who posted here. I get about 1 week relief (during the start of monthlies) then I become a totally different person. My symptoms are more emotional, I get angry, irratable, little things upset me and annoy me, I'm moody, I take things to heart, I nitpick everything, I'm sensitive, I don't sleep well and i get anxiety!! (Just to name a few!)

I am so messed up right now.I am ready to burst.
I have no emotional skin! Overly sensative crying,lethargic,irrational...
The older I get the more it varies.