What is the best way to deal with PMS?

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I was angry at my mom last time I had PMS, she pissed me off (the reason is private). She and I did make up after. But my point is, how should aspie women deal with PMS? I'm a sensitive woman, and I sometimes get really upset like other people do during PMS. Please give me some advise ladies.

Hi

I think it's the same for autistic and non-autistic women. Go to the doctor and talk about some of the options. One is hormonal birth control, it can really help with PMS for some women (but for some women it makes it worse). Another is an anti-depressant like Prozac.

I've heard about calcium supplements and herbal remedies, but I'm not sure about the effectiveness of those options.

That's good advice.
Dietary changes might help also.
Try reducing sugar intake (because sugar is notorious for its destabilising effect on mood).
And eat cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower and cabbage, these seem to help keep mood stable, in my experience.

It depends on what your symptoms are. Since all you mentioned is being extra emotionally sensitive, you don't seem to have much to deal with: maybe you should just avoid people or avoid stressful situations/conversations during your period.

Avoid meds and birth control. They can have bad side effects, sometimes stuff doctors can't even predict if you're on them for years (because the drug trials used to test them don't last that long). My ex-girlfriend had thinning of her vaginal walls because of birth control.

First try exercise, over-the-counter meds, and other non-invasive interventions if you have bothersome physical symptoms.

Avoid other people and drink relaxing herbal tea. I was hopping mad last cycle because someone called me late in the evening. Everybody who knew me well know not to call me. I will call them when I'm prepared and ready to talk. Unexpected socialization is trouble, not fun.

If there's nothing else wrong with your cycle I'd just accept being moody for a while. If you have serious trouble during PMS or have heavy periods, I suggest taking supplement called "chastetree vitex". It improves hormones gradually.

Generally pre-menstrual for me makes me very emotional. It passes after a few days, though.

A great remedy for PMS is pregnancy, lol

I am afraid to admit how true that is! In fact, I finally realized how serious my over-the-top PMS emotionality was only after getting pregnant and nursing for over a year. I had 2 years of sweet relief from the monthly fights and crying fests! Once my period came back and brought all the madness and tears along, I finally realized (thanks to my husband's urging) that what I was experiencing was not normal, and I really needed to do something. Since I was still nursing I was reluctant to take any medication, so I looked for natural alternatives. Chasteberry/Vitex was really well recommended everywhere I looked, but I worried about taking even that while nursing....and then I found a recommendation to take a calcium supplement, which seemed safe enough, so I did that.

And wowza! It really helped a lot. It didn't make it all go away, but it made the monthly emotional tirades less fierce. They say it can take up to 3 months to notice a difference; I was lucky and notice a change the first month.

Now 11 years later, I am going through perimenopause, and it seems I need something stronger... but I will save that for another thread.

Wishing you the best as you find the right thing that works for you! I second the recommendation on healthy diet and exercise being essential, if you are not already doing that. And yes to trying out natural supplements first.

Well not sure if it will be effective, but I am going to try to start tracking like when it happens. I mean I already know generally it can be near the end or beginning of a month but maybe if I actually write down like exact dates I could have a more concrete idea of when it will happen so I can be prepared for it.

Because I think sometimes it just kinda hits me as a surprise like I might feel kinda moody a couple days before it starts, but I don't realize that might be the reason I feel like that. So in keeping track maybe I could be better able to realize what is going on instead of getting upset because of being more sensitive because of PMS and maybe even getting in an argument with my boyfriend and then realizing the next day or day after that, because my period starts that, 'that' is what was going on. I also have mental health issues so when PMS stuff kinda hits it can also be a little hard to distinguish from those issues so like I might mistake it for like my depression, anxiety or PTSD acting up. And that doesn't help because for instance if I mistake it for PTSD issues then I'll be stuck looking for the non-existent trigger that set it off. As you can probably imagine that does not actually help me deal with the PMS.

But other then that raspberry leaf tea is good, it does seem to kinda relax things and seems kinda calming to drink. And chamomile tea would probably be good to, maybe even a mix of both of those. I also get herbal tinctures for the period cramps that said not so sure if they are actually effective of if it's more of a placebo either way those do seem to help. Of course a lot of times I forget about using those or like if I don't realize its the time of PMS I just don't think to try those.

But yeah if you can't just find raspberry leaf tea any supplement tea that is for the menstrual cycle probably has that in it, but may also have some other calming/relaxing herbs. And then well if your in a relationship and your partner is ok with it turns out having sex during your period can be helpful, it does almost seem to be the opposite of what you'd want to during a period perhaps, but I can say when me and my boyfriend have done that it does seem to provide some relief from the cramps at least and well I guess it is nice feeling like they aren't grossed out by it so it makes me feel less self conscious about it.

Also agree, pregnancy is great for stopping PMS. But I'm done having kids
Can you tell me what calcium supplement you took -- how much every day and so on? I have heard about calcium supplements but you're the first person I know who says it worked for them

1. chocolate
2. booze
3. bed rest

Lower sugar, salt, and caffeine (experiment with this)

Vitamin B-6 and Magnesium

Sensory shutdown (if and when possible)

If you have PMDD and it's really interfering with life, I'd consider Zoloft or Buspar for anxiety.

In Australia, I was given a high dose of B6 via the Doc, prescription only, which helped hugely. Moved to England, then a new type of birth control helped(via injection). No-one should have to suffer in an on-going manner with PMS. It can really effect your quality of life and those around you. In extreme cases, anti-depressants are prescribed as others have mentioned.