My PMS weepy days of the month are getting bad enough that they are almost completely debilitating. I find that I am actually bawling over the smallest things and then turning all the wrongs against myself.

I am currently on:
Ritalin 20mg x 4
Wellbutrin 200mg x 2
Cymbalta 30mg x 1

Does anyone else have this same issue? What do you do? :confused:

Honestly, my PMS is f**king god awful. I seriously feel like I'm completely off my meds. My moods are nutty, I cry a lot, I feel sick, I can't sleep, break out, etc. Not only do I feel like crap, I look like it too. Ovaries are over rated.

I dealt with it by taking birth control pills. I had problems with spotting though, so after trying two different bc pills, I was put on another. Little did I know that these pills decrease Lamictal levels by up to 50%, but I soon discovered that. So I ended up going off of them a few months ago and haven't been back on b.c. since. But I'm going to try one of the first prescriptions again pretty soon, because I can't tolerate the misery anymore! I'll gladly take a little spotting over the torture of PMS. :p

Anyways, you're not alone! If it's an option, and one that you'd feel comfortable trying, you may find that birth control will help with your PMS.

I get very sick. It's not as bad right now, still nursing...but it did kick in immediately after the baby again and started in my teens, sick 1/2 the time.
BC pills made me sick, though if I were to try again I've heard that Yaz helps some people more than the old ones- as does taking it continuously.
My helps was a combo of lamictal and progesterone (compounded=natural, but prescription). Progesterone for 2nd 1/2 of cycle. There is a study starting on lamictal for PMDD incidentally...and as far as I know PMDD just means 'completely awful PMS'.
I also make sure to take enough calcium (like 1000-1500 mg /day) as there is research on that...I take it w/ magnesium... and enough vitamin D.

and be kind to myself :); and chart my cycle so I know when it's going on.
Exercise on top of meds helps w/ coping quite a bit, but not as a fix-it-all.

hang in there!

It was horrible. Started at the age of 9 and lasted for the next 40 years.

Even though I had heard all the crazy stories about menopause I was looking forward to it long before it arrived. However - I still get PMS 2 or 3 times a year - I guess there are still a few stray hormones left over.

I found it really helpful to read Sari Solden's book "Women with Attention Deficit Disorder: Embrace Your Differences and Transform Your Life (http://www.amazon.com/Women-Attention-Deficit-Disorder-Differences/dp/1887424970/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232130110&sr=8-1)", there was a chapter that dealt with the complexity of having both ADHD and PMS.

I found it really helpful to read Sari Solden's book "Women with Attention Deficit Disorder: Embrace Your Differences and Transform Your Life (http://www.amazon.com/Women-Attention-Deficit-Disorder-Differences/dp/1887424970/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232130110&sr=8-1)", there was a chapter that dealt with the complexity of having both ADHD and PMS.[/quote]

I have this book and I haven't opened it up for a while. Thanks for the reminder. :)

Marnie

I've never heard of Lamictal. What's it's purpose?

Also, I have been on bc for years, I think it's Trisprintec (?). My other meds are Ritalin 20mg x 4, Wellbutrin 200mg x 2, and Cymbalta 30mg x 1. When I can't sleep I take 50mg trazodone.

I have always been overly emotional, however my PMS is making my life disfunctional once a month. I have a severly distorted sense of self-worth, my sense of perception goes down the tube as well. Once there, it's all down hill, and fast.

Marnie

Lamictal is a mood stabilizer, my husband uses it for major depression; but it's on label use is for bipolar. I think it has some others too.

Lamictal (lamotrigine is the drug name) is an anticonvulsant medication, in other words, its first use was for epilepsy / seizures, and it is still a commonly used medication for those purposes. It has now been approved for use in bipolar disorder as a mood stabilizer. The dosing seems to be very different for the two. I've heard of its use for depression for people who don't respond to other meds, as well, but that's not what it is labelled/approved for (neither is is approved for PMS.)

PMS makes me a horrible person :(. I get really anxious and irritable and prone to snapping at my friends.

BC pills help a bit, but I feel like concerta makes it worse.

Plus all the girls in my hallway PMS at the same time. It's not a fun week.

Even though I had heard all the crazy stories about menopause I was looking forward to it long before it arrived. However - I still get PMS 2 or 3 times a year - I guess there are still a few stray hormones left over.


Geez - I never considered this before - all this time I was dreading menopause - man what a totally rad concept -http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s206/tlr823/borrowed%20small%20pics/thsong6.gif no more hormones means less hormonal fluctuations

Presently mine are horrible as I enter into this perimenopause crapola where my body resembles my confused brain which causes more confusion - bla


Finally some thing to look forward to along with adjusting to bifocals!:cool:



My helps was a combo of lamictal and progesterone

Honestly I am unsure why any one would consider upping their progesterone as it is the increase of progesterone that causes ovulation hence premenstrual bloating cramps followed by the hormonal drop that causes the I know I have been a complete baitch but sleep with me any way syndrome that occurs just before the wonderful monthly onslaught of gross.

I am open to explanation and not trying to be difficult. . . .I really do not understand how an increase in progesterone would help it seem like an increase in estrogen would be more logical.

In my family, menopause is something to look forward to- it seems to simply mean that PMS and cramps stop.

I'm not sure I can explain why progesterone works, but it does for me, and for some other people. I think it depends on what is going wrong in your body that makes the pms so bad- and that can be different in different people. It seems like in my family our estrogen levels are high and progesterone levels low (I just tested low in bloodwork for progesterone after ovulation; someone else in my family only had menopausal symptoms after having a hysterectomy, and not for the years of menopause before that...). Progesterone is calming to the brain and body generally.

The neurologist who prescribes for me does a lot of work and research with women with epilepsy- specifically, women who have seizures related to their menstrual cycles. In other words, premenstrual seizures. (it's called Catamenial Epilepsy) It turns out that for many of these women, progesterone is key to reducing these seizures - even when all kinds of anticonvulsants don't work adequately.

Again, It think bodies are different; I ended up with this doctor because none of the "usual" solutions worked and some unusual ones did; ssri's like prozac and celexa make me agitated; I've been on about a dozen (no kidding) types of birth control pill since age 11 when the mess started, without success (and/or with many side effects).
I do think that for many women, the trouble seems to be a reaction to the fluctuation in hormones as much as the specific hormones; almost like our bodies and brains over-react to this shift. My lay-person understanding of how lamictal might work is that it calms the brain's (spastic) reactions to these fluctuations.
Another example is that it seems to be (I can't cite anything here right now w/out doing research but I've read about it...) that it is said that it is when your estrogen levels are dropping that you get a lot of cognitive effects during pms-- (forgetfulness etc)-- and that it may be the drop rather than the level specifically that is the problem.

And again, what works for people varies.... but I don't think the endocrine system is all that easy to understand with logic! Hope this is in some way helpful to you. Hopefully more research will be done and women will be treated with the importance and respect necessary to get us feeling better...




Geez - I never considered this before - all this time I was dreading menopause - man what a totally rad concept -http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s206/tlr823/borrowed%20small%20pics/thsong6.gif no more hormones means less hormonal fluctuations

....
Honestly I am unsure why any one would consider upping their progesterone as it is the increase of progesterone that causes ovulation hence premenstrual bloating cramps followed by the hormonal drop that causes the I know I have been a complete baitch but sleep with me any way syndrome that occurs just before the wonderful monthly onslaught of gross.

I am open to explanation and not trying to be difficult. . . .I really do not understand how an increase in progesterone would help it seem like an increase in estrogen would be more logical.

I'm hoping perimenopause is starting. My PMS this month was sooooooo bad. I was so angry I was slamming the vacuum cleaner all over the place when I was trying to clean because my coordination was off and it was making me even madder! I'm normally a non-violent person, but I can have violent thoughts. I just started on lexapro and hope that helps. I didn't have it this bad when I was on other ssri's.

I'm hoping perimenopause is starting. My PMS this month was sooooooo bad. I was so angry I was slamming the vacuum cleaner all over the place when I was trying to clean because my coordination was off and it was making me even madder! I'm normally a non-violent person, but I can have violent thoughts. I just started on lexapro and hope that helps. I didn't have it this bad when I was on other ssri's.

My coordination has never been very good, and it was always much much worse at that time of month. I'd go along normally (for me) for a couple of weeks and then drop a couple of things in a row and I'd KNOW it was time for my period to start. I'd get really frustrated and angry too.

And to top it off it seemed my migraines were sometimes linked to my PMS hormonal surges. We ended up with some things broken and a hole or two in the walls during those times. This is something it doesn't seem like science and medicine have really addressed yet.

The best I can tell you is that if you take a stimulant, estrogen is your friend. Unfortunately, PMS is estrogen out of whack. A low level birth control pill will help some but if you are a smoker it could be a bad plan.

I'm in the magical zone between perimenopause and menopause. The mood swings and lack of coordination can keep me hiding in the house until they subside. I am finding that increasing my calcium and magnesium along with B Complex is helpful. Making sure I get my meds on time helps too.

A friend suggested that Estroven (herbal OTC to relieve symptoms of menopause) might also help. I plan to try that soon. I can do without the symptoms.

One thing that I have found really essential is to try and take some "cave time". Recognize that you aren't at your best and that's okay.

PMS is NOT my friend. It affects me in so many different ways. Not only do I look like sh*t but I get extremely irritable and anxious. My ADD symptoms worsen to the point it's hard for me to carry on a conversation. It's like I develop this "thick-tongue" syndrome .. combine that with a mushy brain (sigh).

I've tried the pill but it had its own set of unpleasant side-effects so I had to stop it. It took almost a year for my cycles to go back to normal.

Cave time? That's very true .. unless of course you're a parent .. a single parent, at that. It becomes very hard to do. :S

PMS is NOT my friend. It affects me in so many different ways. Not only do I look like sh*t but I get extremely irritable and anxious. My ADD symptoms worsen to the point it's hard for me to carry on a conversation. It's like I develop this "thick-tongue" syndrome .. combine that with a mushy brain (sigh).
Same here. The week before PMS, I am on top of everything, I sound intelligent, I'm pulling out big words... but the week of, I can't even figure out what the word is for the furry thing with whiskers, pointy ears, needs to be fed, keeps meowing...

Same here. The week before PMS, I am on top of everything, I sound intelligent, I'm pulling out big words... but the week of, I can't even figure out what the word is for the furry thing with whiskers, pointy ears, needs to be fed, keeps meowing...

I can SO relate to that. I tell people that my Alzheimers is acting up. So far, so good, no one apparently has figured out that I don't HAVE Alzheimers!

Off topic note- I live with three cats. They are all named some variant of Kitty. Brilliant, right?

Same here. The week before PMS, I am on top of everything, I sound intelligent, I'm pulling out big words... but the week of, I can't even figure out what the word is for the furry thing with whiskers, pointy ears, needs to be fed, keeps meowing... :D ROFL, this is SO me!

PMS is a nightmare. I get the butterfingers (I break at least one glass or dish each month), anxious, moody, emotional, crying, irritable, hypersensitive to everything, and my brain feels like it is wearing a sweater.

Plus I am bad about keeping track of my cycle, so it always takes me by surprise.

The odd thing is that I have never had "physical" PMS symptoms (cramps, bloating, etc..). Just mental ones. And when I was pregnant it was like 40 weeks of PMS.