**Period Rants**

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This thread is for anyone who is less than periodic about their reasons and feelings, associated with premenstrual or hormonal stress. Including the main monthly tabs, (if you know what I mean).
This thread is obviously for women, but can be open to anyone like parents who need hindsight to cope with a less than scary familiar prospect, to reach out for more info.

Feel free to add support numbers to this thread.

http://www.samaritans.org/branches

Aside from some sensory issues that I experience during my periods and chronic fatigue in the days after menstruation, I cope well. However, I am worried about one of my children who hates the sight of blood and who is on the verge of menarche. Would appreciate feedback from other women who also have significant sensory issues and hate the sight of blood on coping mechanisms during that time of the month.

Thanks.

PMS is the last place on earth anyone wants to be and finds themselves in.
I started beginning of this week, and just when i think its all over, it starts, and wakes me up in the most horrific way. This is what happened a few days ago, and I was like wtf, and it often gets to me.
I usually come over feeling tired and sleep until quite late.
I'm not sure if my periods are going to get lighter or not as i get older, but i'm already nearly thirty in a couple of years, so we'll just have to ride this one out and see.
Each time I have a period that's too heavy, i immediately think, well, it can never be half as bad as when i first started, i mean that was really bad and I rember crying for days maybe weeks at first and thinking nobody has it this bad, surely?
When i think of transfusions, i think of pints of blood loss that a woman has to suffer through either bleeding, haemorraghing, abortion or even death.

I'm sorry I can't give you any advice for your kid. Eventually starting to play around with blood, for example with meat, so that she gets used to it?
And for you, eat iron-rich food during your menstruation! it makes a difference for me. I was also feeling too tired afterwards.

Cheers

There's an old saying about heat that casts light over an emperor. The only one in this case, being periodic stress and present referral to a hypnotist to coax me from the woe of what could only be described as an abortion.
(its not of course) but I don't need one to find out.
You women who lack confidence in yourselves will do well to remember no tampon tax can free the cost of having a child to bear.
Look for ways to cope by ringing action line or sexual charities that issue free advice.

If you live in Northern Ireland don't despair, not yet anyway. The action is still being appealed.

What I find helps is a distraction. At a young age, a girl who's experiencing puberty may need to visually express herself through an outer field like art or music.


(My extra relief for menstruation).


However, not everything is ok in the musical sphere, and although classical is a start, Chillout might be a better relief.


Choice of music is important.

Anything which registers a melodious vibe could counteract more serious side effects which would be the deterrent not the cure.
If you subscribe to anything too over emotional or teary it could cause unwanted blubbing and distress.

I always get quite depressed during my period, which then tie into my depression cycles. Yet when it's over, I ignore my problem because I don't want to bother anyone. I'm hoping to change that soon.

Hello. New to this thread. Not sure f I should be OPEN about my problem.
Since last year october I had periods twice in a month. Then from december till january I had period (no stop in between). From then I am not having periods now. Getting very depressed now since its not normal as people are telling me all the time. Doctors say this is hormonal imbalance. Don't know how long this will go on!

Get a second opinion from a different doctor. Have you seen an actual gynecologist? They may help better than a general practitioner. Unfortunately sometimes you really have to push your doctor to actually get treatment. If you feel there is something wrong you have to make them take it seriously. If the first doc won't listen go to another one. Don't let them fob you off.

I will post this information in case anyone finds it helpful

My menstrual cycle causes me many problems. Less now since I had an IUD inserted.

During the premenstrual and ovulation phases I experience the following symptoms:
- Increased anxiety
- Irritabilty
- Hyperactivity.

During menstruation I experienced debilitating symptoms that would have me bedridden for up to 3 days, including:
- Dysmenorrhoea
- Moderate to severe cramping in the lower abdominal/pelvic region, spreading down through the legs
- Migraines
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Increased emotionality
- Heavy bleeding for 10 days
- Depression
- Increased anxiety
- Suicidal thoughts.

My menstrual periods are irregular.

I have tried the following medications:
- OCPs (significantly decreased severity of physical symptoms but side effects included constant moderate-severe irritability/moodiness, and I went up 2 cup sizes - discontinued use)
- SSRIs (small decrease in anxiety but side effects included nausea, gastrointestinal upset, anorexia, weight loss, excessive sweating and sexual dusfunction - discontinued use)
- IUD (decreased severity of physical symptoms and bleeding is now very light. Slight decrease in severity of psychological symptoms but I still experience moderate to severe anxiety and depression, including suicidal ideation. Still using IUD).

I have seen a gynaecologist and had laparoscopic surgery but no abnormalities were found.

My experience thus far If you experience menstrual abnormalities or debilitating pre-/menstrual symptoms, I recommend seeing a female GP. In my experience they are less likely to be dismissive of your "female complaints" than male GPs

All the best

Taking vitex (chasteberry) and wild yam supplements has helped me tremendously. My periods are lighter than they used to be and my pms symptoms are much better. My cycles are still irregular, but they are gradually evening out.

Magnesium has really helped me with cramping. I take it every day and then increase the dose right before I start my period. Wild yam is also an anti-spasmodic so it helps a lot with cramps.

I think what's helped me the most though, is I switched to using cloth pads. I've been reading for years that other women who switched had lighter bleeding, less cramping and an easier period overall. I never believed it would make that much difference for me, but it has and I wish I had made the change years ago. The chemicals in disposables can wreak havoc with our bodies, there is some speculation that they may cause PCOS and endometriosis.

I'm also being more careful now to buy non-chlorine toilet paper. I switched back to a bleached brand because it was on sale and with my next period I got severe cramping again.

It would be a miracle if this thread decides to work again.

Anyway, I'm (actually hyperventilating) right now as the temperature hasn't dropped all day, and even now, at late night its still 20c. It's humid and hot and I'm tiredly numb as I already have got PMS temp aches and the U.K.. is supposed to be seeing more heatwaves and little air to refuel. I don't want these dry eyes and skin.
Luckily, I'll be getting away and getting some sea air this weekend, to clear my sinuses and take stock.
Somebody nearly passed out in a waiting area on the platform last Friday, and they'd been travelling around without any water. If you're here, you need to rehydrate plenty and get plenty of ice packs and a cooling spray.
Bring your own water, and you won't pass out. (It's really.. common sense).

Glad to hear you're feeling a lot better. I remember reading your posts from a while back when you were suffering badly.

What brands of cloth pads and toilet roll are you using?

I was like woah when I read about the chemicals!

What you are experiencing is dysfunctional utertine bleeding. If this issue still persists, then structural abnormalities should be ruled out before it's decided to be hormonal in origin.

Here is a very good resource on this phenomena, which discusses the causes, pathophysiology, and treatment.

Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding: Causes and treatments.

I just saw this...thank you! Yes I am doing much better...still having some issues trying to get my cycles balanced out but the biggest thing is I'm not having the severe pain like I used to have.

I get cloth pads on etsy...I've tried pads from several different sellers. My favorite seller is Yurtcraft. https://www.etsy.com/shop/yurtcraft

I also like Cloth Dreams - the ones made with OBV (organic bamboo velour) - https://www.etsy.com/shop/ClothDreams These are fluffier and more textured so they work a little better for me at night.

Grayson Street Emporium is good and very similar to Yurtcraft but the seller will only list a big batch all at once and they sell out fast...and you have to be in her FB group to know when, it's just a bother so I gave up on those.

I tried the sample pantyliner from Party In My Pants and thought it was awful...they use PUL on the back with nothing else to help it grip your panties so it just slides around and wads up. Same problem with pads from Korea, sold on Etsy under the name LohanStore and under a different name or two on Amazon, they were too short in the front and just slide around a lot.

Also pads from Sugar Monkies on Etsy are horrible, the seller is nice and refunded me but still, they are just so bad I can only warn people away. She uses quilt batting which is not intended to be absorbent, so they leak like crazy.

I also stay away from pads that are made with Zorb because it can have compression leaks (it's made to be abnormally absorbent so when you sit on it, it can wring out like a sponge).

I use Caboo toilet paper, which is made from bamboo. I had tried two other brands made from bamboo, one was great but they went out of business. The other, sorry I forget the name, I could tell the first time I used it was not going to be septic safe because it clogged up the toilet first thing and did not break down at all. So I think you have to be careful with bamboo paper because some of it does not dissolve well. But the Caboo is septic safe and I've had no problesm with it. Bamboo TP is harder to find, but so much nicer, less dusty and much gentler than the typical TP (gmo cotton??)...fortunately a local grocery store carries it. I have also used the Simple Truth store brand TP from Kroger which is bleach free and it was good too, I had no problems with it, I just prefer the bamboo TP.

I've experimented with different herbs and Vitex helped me a lot...however I don't want anyone else to just start taking it without considering it carefully because it is not for everyone. It is a strong medicine that affects the pituitary. From what I've read it sounds like it works best for women who have irregular periods or have not had a period in awhile, however if you have regular periods it can disrupt your cycle. There is a lot of info on the internet about it, especially on sites where people discuss PCOS or fertility problems, I suggest reading up on it a lot before anyone tries it.

Since I was a teenager I have been prone to heavy bleeding, which has become more gushy in recent years (a fast bleed that would leave me sapped instead of a slower one)...well I am learning to stay away from herbs that are meant to dilate blood vessels, or have warnings about increased risk of bleeding or miscarriage, because these tend to worsen the problems I already have...such as dong quai, peony, turmeric, or ginseng. I was not paying attention and took something with dong quai in it and whoa, that is NOT a good herb for me, I ended up bleeding for 3 weeks straight after taking that.

I suspect my heavy bleeding is caused by adenomyosis. It can be caused by inflammation...and I think the chemicals in those disposable pads might have been triggering an inflammatory, allergic reaction in my body.

I also relate to what it says here:
http://www.drnorthrup.com/heavy-menstru ... norrhagia/

"Chronically heavy periods can be related to chronic stress over second-chakra issues, including creativity, relationships, money, and control of others. Abnormal uterine bleeding is nearly always connected to family issues in some way. Such bleeding can also be a sign that you are leaking your life’s blood into a dead-end job or relationship that doesn’t fully meet your needs. Are you giving more than you are receiving in return? Is someone or something draining your energy by being a kind of energy vampire?"