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Bookswithtea
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I turned 35 in July. I just got my cycles back 2 months ago after an 18 mo. span with a happy nurser. I have never had pms before. Here's what I'm noticing the last two cycles:
My anxiety is through the roof from about the end of phase 1 through most of phase 2. Every little thing there is to worry about I am making a *mountain* out of. I can't sleep I'm so worried. I didn't realize it was cyclical till one day I woke up and just felt 'normal' and then realized that I was well into phase 3 (not charting...just generally observing).
I'm also feeling hurt about little things that usually I would let roll off without a second thought.
My weight normally fluctuates about 5 lbs. Last month I noticed that I was 3 lbs over that 5 lb range and then it miraculously dropped in phase 3.
Am I developing PMS after all these years, and if so, what do I do to get rid of it?
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Marybeth
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Exercise---yoga is great
Learn relaxation techniqures and breathing exercises
Increase calcium magnesium
Eat more fiber
Avoid alcohol at least one week before period is due
Limit salt--huge culprit!!!
Limit fatty foods and sugar--hard with cravings 
Try to go to bed and get up at the same time daily
Journaling before bed
Try not to discuss with your dh about any "problems" in your bedroom...it helps to not take negative energy into the sleeping area
Warm baths and lavendar drops
I would also get my thyroid checked and have them do a horomone work-up...just to be certain you thyroid isn't causing an imbalance.
I don't mean to sound new-agey, but the woman in my family have been dealing with PMS and such since the 1920s. We all a bad history with insomnia so we are experts and don't want to be.
My two aunts swear by not discussing anything with their husbands in the bedroom. They are happily married for 35 or 40 + years.
Mb
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JennGM
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You are not alone. PMS -- it's real and a cross we bear. All of Marybeth's advice is great. As we get older our hormones become imbalanced, and our adrenals are exhausted, and we wear our bodies out.
Diet and exercise and sleep help a lot. PMS feeds off simple carbs, white sugar, caffeine and salt.  We crave them, but it makes the lion even worse.
Marilyn Shannon's book "Fertility Cycles and Nutrition" has a great PMS diet, and supplement ideas. Also "Prescription for Nutritional Remedies" has some suggestions, and if you want to go way back, Adelle Davis had sound advice.
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Cay Gibson
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JennGM wrote:
Marilyn Shannon's book "Fertility Cycles and Nutrition" has a great PMS diet, and supplement ideas. |
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Oh, wow! I don't remember the last time I pulled this book off my shelf.  Thanks for the heads-up, Jenn.
I just had a wicked irregular cycle that left me cranky and very anxious as to what my body was trying to tell me. My mom's side is known for going into early menopause. 
I'm going to check out my book right now.
Does it matter if it's an older version?
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JennGM
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Oh, one more thing. Racing mind...Mb's suggestion of journaling really does help. Making lists and just getting it out on paper, so you don't have the mental list in your head. Do I practice this on a regular basis? No...but when I do it really helps. That's where I need to start writing things in a planner!
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JennGM
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Cay Gibson wrote:
JennGM wrote:
Marilyn Shannon's book "Fertility Cycles and Nutrition" has a great PMS diet, and supplement ideas. |
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I'm going to check out my book right now.
Does it matter if it's an older version? |
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No...her diet and supplement plan stayed the same. The later editions added information about PCOS and some other added chapters, but the meat was about the same.
Magnesium is key...
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Marybeth
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Also, I think holy water on the tummy daily helps.
My dr. says when you crave chocolate eat a little bit of "good chocolate" not Hersheys something like Fannie May, Godiva...seriously! 
It means our bodies are trying to get minerals found in chocolate but not a heavily processed kind.
Pineapple helps cut down the craving for sweets. It really does work. My Mom and I get heavy sweet cravings and pineapple after dinner alleviates it.
Good foods for your uterine health are asparagus and sweet potatoes. My dh knows it is coming down to my cycle because we eat asparagus for about a week each month!!!! 
Mb
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Natalia
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Books,
I was having some problem with really bad PMS last year. Of course I am older that you and was having really irregular cycles but vitamin B and Evening Primrose Oil capsules really helped.
Natalia
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A chocolate craving is a sign of a magnesium deficiency. Try to supplement magnesium 1:1 with calcium. That is 1200 mg of both cal and mag a day. And don't take them together. Magnesium can cause loose stools.
Fresh pineapple has an enzyme that really helps with digestion in general.
Supplement with a good B complex that has at least 100%of the RDA of biotin and get at least 800mcg of folic acid. I'd make sure it was a yeast-free B complex.
Make an herbal tea of equal parts nettle, red raspberry, lemon balm (a great calming herb), and lady's mantle. Add some lavender and cinnamon for flavor. Brew an ounce of the tea with a quart of hot water for at least 15 minutes. Drink it throughout the day.
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Lisbet
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While I don't suffer from PMS (maybe I do, but I just don't know it b/c I so rarely cycle! ) But I do know that I need to take a real good B-complex to help keep me on a somewhat even keel. Also, those first few cycles while nursing can be wicked. They are not usually the 'normal' course.
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mathmama
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Elizabeth wrote:
| A chocolate craving is a sign of a magnesium deficiency. |
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I never knew that. I used to have an *uncontrollable* craving for chocolate (and that is an understatement). For a while I have been taking a good prenatal and extra mg so that supplemented mg and cal are 1:1 (maybe higher on the mg end). Now, I don't have that uncontrollable craving anymore. I never realized the connection.
Beth
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Bookswithtea
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Well, I guess that settles it...I officially have PMS now? Sigh...Is there any way to look at this positively? You know...maybe its part of the hard side that goes along with the joy of childbearing? I dunno...seems like we could have had that *without* pms.
I own the Marilyn Shannon book, but I think its in a dusty corner on a shelf. I'll find it. And I'm printing out all the recommendations.
I know Shannon recommends Optivite, which is very high in the B vitamins, particularly B6, but its a very different recommendation on the Cal/Mag scale than what's been recommended here. Does anyone know enough about vitamins to explain to me why there is a difference of opinion?
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Elizabeth
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I think that one vitamin can't meet everyone's needs, necessarily. We are all different, eat differently, and metabolize differently. I can't take Optivite. That much B makes me shake and makes my heart race. I KNOW I need 1200 mg of magnesium because I know what happens to ME when I don't get it. So...some of this will be trial and error.
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Bookswithtea
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Elizabeth wrote:
| I think that one vitamin can't meet everyone's needs, necessarily. We are all different, eat differently, and metabolize differently. I can't take Optivite. That much B makes me shake and makes my heart race. I KNOW I need 1200 mg of magnesium because I know what happens to ME when I don't get it. So...some of this will be trial and error. |
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Well that makes sense. I know that when I'm faithful with taking B, I am a much more cheerful person to be around. I guess I've got some reading and research to do.
Thanks everyone. I appreciate the help.
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JennGM
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Bookswithtea wrote:
| I know Shannon recommends Optivite, which is very high in the B vitamins, particularly B6, but its a very different recommendation on the Cal/Mag scale than what's been recommended here. Does anyone know enough about vitamins to explain to me why there is a difference of opinion? |
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Shannon recommends lower doses of calcium, but also recommends supplementing the Optivite with Magnesium.
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~Rachel~
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Bookswithtea wrote:
Well, I guess that settles it...I officially have PMS now? Sigh...Is there any way to look at this positively? You know...maybe its part of the hard side that goes along with the joy of childbearing? I dunno...seems like we could have had that *without* pms.
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Truthfully, not necessarily. Most PMS is easily controlled with proper diet and careful cycle observation... chances are you always had it, but now you are have more hormonal fluctuations (which incidentally means definitely get your thyroid checked if it persists).
I found that simply switching to a diet with wholegrain foods really lessened my incidences of PMS. And if I was observing my cycle properly, I could stave it off completely by avoiding the 'bad' foods just one week before.
Of course, it is much easier to just adjust the diet as a whole and eat better... but coming up to Christmas, this is a tough one
FWIW though, my weight fluctuates HUGELY at that time of month. I really find that drinking MORE WATER helps... I don't drink nearly enough!
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Bookswithtea
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~Rachel~ wrote:
Truthfully, not necessarily. Most PMS is easily controlled with proper diet and careful cycle observation... chances are you always had it, but now you are have more hormonal fluctuations (which incidentally means definitely get your thyroid checked if it persists).
I found that simply switching to a diet with wholegrain foods really lessened my incidences of PMS. And if I was observing my cycle properly, I could stave it off completely by avoiding the 'bad' foods just one week before.
Of course, it is much easier to just adjust the diet as a whole and eat better... but coming up to Christmas, this is a tough one
FWIW though, my weight fluctuates HUGELY at that time of month. I really find that drinking MORE WATER helps... I don't drink nearly enough! |
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Well, there's a lot to think about here. I do eat a decent diet, high in whole grains and fruits and veggies. But I have not been careful about sweets lately. From Halloween through Christmas really does me in.
Fwiw, I do have a low thyroid, and it has been monitored for years. I take Armour rather than the synthetics, which seems to work better for me. It was checked about 6 months ago and all was ok.
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Books,
You might also look into using natural progesterone during phase 3...you'll need to check out What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause by John Lee. The title makes it sound like it's all about menopause, but there's a lot in that book that's helpful even if you're nowhere near menopause. The book is actually mostly about how natural progesterone can help women with cycle problems.
Also, don't women usually experience PMS after ovulation? You say you have symptoms during phase 2 and feel better in phase 3...I thought that PMS symptoms manifested themselves mostly in phase 3 and resolved once menstruation started.
Dawn
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Bookswithtea
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Dawnie wrote:
Books,
You might also look into using natural progesterone during phase 3...you'll need to check out What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause by John Lee. The title makes it sound like it's all about menopause, but there's a lot in that book that's helpful even if you're nowhere near menopause. The book is actually mostly about how natural progesterone can help women with cycle problems. |
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I've been following the other thread on the cream and will see if I can get the book at the library.
Dawnie wrote:
| Also, don't women usually experience PMS after ovulation? You say you have symptoms during phase 2 and feel better in phase 3...I thought that PMS symptoms manifested themselves mostly in phase 3 and resolved once menstruation started. |
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See, this is the part I'm not sure of. It seems like once I notice the signs of fertility I also notice the anxiety, and when the fertility signs disappeared, the anxiety dissipated. Is this the wrong time for PMS? Maybe its just a weird coincidence, timing wise?
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fsuadamson
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Dawnie wrote:
| I thought that PMS symptoms manifested themselves mostly in phase 3 and resolved once menstruation started. |
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Yes, this has usually been the case for me. I have suffered from PMS pretty much all my life. As I have gotten older the symptoms seem to have become more pronounced.
My PMS symptoms will fluctuate from month to month.
For a more balanced approach I personally have found using a combination of Dr. Gittleman's peri-zappers most helpful. 
I have linked her book that you may be able to find at the library here.
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4Real Forums : Our Lady of Good Remedy and Care
Topic: late onset PMS?
