Menstuation, moods and meltdowns (women only, please)

Post Reply New Topic

I would like to know from AS women who struggle with emotional outbusts/meltdowns whether you have noticed any connection between this and your menstrual cycle.

I experience typical AS meltdowns sometimes. It happened very seldom when I was a child, teenager and young adult, and probably during my 17 years of marriage I internalised a lot of my feelings or had outbursts which were usually more like hysterical unhappiness than like hysterical anger.

During the past 10 years or so there weren't that many, but when it did happen it caused damage to my relationship with my best friend.

Over the past year my meltdowns became more frequent and this was one of the things which led me to seek assistance from a psychiatrist, and to my AS diagnosis at the age of 43.

Before I knew I was an Aspie, I thought I was perhaps premenstrual and tried researching all the different forms of PMT to see if one of them fitted me. I had not taken note of whether my menstural cycle was regular and how many days it comprised, because I haven't been sexually active for many years, so there was no other need to keep such a record. I tried to determine sometimes if I had a meltdown/rage outburst whether my breasts were feeling firm and sore, because that would indicate a connection between my outbursts and my menstrual cycle, but I was not sure whether there was a pattern.

During the past week I have had three meltdowns, and today my breasts and body feel like I may menstruate in the next day or so.

Do you think this could be influencing my vulnerability to meltdowns?

I have to say, it's not a pleasant time so it might make existing things harder to deal with if you're in pain etc. Look after yourself and keep up rest breaks and the pain relief.

I can definitely relate to what you're saying as I feel it's a lot harder for me to exercise my much practiced control at this time. I am quick to anger over the silliest of things at this time. As an example I had a full scale meltdown when I found that my husband had tidied up but put everything in the wrong place. At any other time I would have just started to put things back and probably muttered to myself while my husband shook his head and giggled at me for being so anal. On this occasion I screamed (like a little girl)and stamped my feet before putting things in the correct place. It was shocking and disgusting behaviour and I'm not proud of it.

It's hard for anyone to be on there best behavoir when they aren't feeling well. I found adding soy to my diet help a ton with the mood swings from that time of the month. I might also help to give yourself a break if you know you coming up on that time don't put yourself in situations that normal cause you stress if you can avoid them. I never call my sister when "aunt flow" is in town we drive each other batty on good day. Being in your mid40s you might be having early parimenaspause <my mother is going threw that for the last 10 yrs it started at about your age> so seeing a gino might be in order as well the cause very well might be more about your hormon levels then your mental state. Hang in there

The thing is, I don't know if it could be related, I am just wondering. I amm not feeling physically bad.

I very seldom have physical pain.
But moods: Quite often I am differing in mood a week or so from the bleeding. Not always. But when I do it's always one out of three or some of them one by one:
- Niagara: being sad and down, (not very common for me)
- The nuke: p****d at everyone, looking for quarrels, cross, everything and everyone is annoying (I get this quite often)
- The black hole: Constantly hungry, even after meals and constantly wanting chocolate (I get this quite often)

Yes, and I really HATE it! My sister wants to believe it's "part of my personality".

I saw my psychiatrist yesterday and I mentioned this to him too. He's discontinuing my Strattera, keeping me on Ritalin and starting me on a Selective Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitor (for the anxiety; I don't have depression).

This is what I look like on Ritalin: Hahaha!

I doubt I'd be classed as having actual meltdowns. I am a pretty explosive person though.

During one of my *whatever you want to call them*, I yelled at my mother and asked why she didn't abort me.

Another time, I punched a hole in my computer screen...still saving up for a new one...

Then there was the time I started a period and was so enraged at my body for being female, being a baby machine...I flipped out completely...I grabbed my small lock knife and for a split second I was seriously going to try and cut off my boobs, erase some of my femaleness...I got control of myself, and settled for slashing X's in them instead.

(I am not entirely comfortable with being female...sometimes I like my female morphology....other times I feel reduced to being a baby making machine...which makes me angry...)

I don't enjoy being female. I see myself as inferior to men, so I am an anti-feminist. I want to be made into somebody's sex slave one day.

Oh, may I mention I get beaten up for it? My sister horribly disfigured my eye by punching it and yelling at me that I was a b***h. I also have broken a door in my house from the mood swings. No one respects my feelings, but say that I don't respect theirs, but why should I, if they don't respect MINE in the first place. Yup, I wan't a hysterectomy with NO aneshtesia whatsoever.

I sure know how to kill a thread.

I still can't help but thinking hormons might be the cause of the trouble because it happens mostly at that time of the month. I'd still talk to my gyno and see if she might have some ideas that might help you with diet or something along those lines. I would realy lose it that time of the month with my husband,kids, the cats, random peaple in the store and the tv news <yes I was even yelling at talk shows> I added soy to my diet and it helped tons I also took up yoga and that helps keep me even as well. As for Fickel_Pickle I got nothing other then you might need to see your psychiatrist and if your real sure you hate being a women that you might consiter an elective historectomey to end the hormonal ups and downs.