Raging PMT I feel utterly crap :( what will help?

[HepburnKNotA]

I’ve literally just gone and bought evening primrose capsules as my friend said they helped her but short of taking all 60 at once I need a fast fix.

My boobs are swollen and they HURT SO MUCH.

I am irritable and bloated and bloated and irritable. I hate everyone that moves. Or talks.

I am knackered and sleepy.

My diet is good, I exercise a bit, walk a lot. Why oh why oh why do I feel so rubbish from days 23-27?????

I’m 43. Does it just get worse?

I lost my temper with DH yday and in fairness He’d Done nothing wrong.

My mum was foul with PMT all during her 40s and by god I don’t want to turn into her.

What can i do? Quick fix and long term???

Please help!!

The rage I felt was almost murderous. I am generally not easily angry but in the 10 days before my period started I was like a different person entirely. I would pick arguments deliberately with my ex (we didn’t split up over my periods btw) and I was extra sensitive to noise, bright lights and taste. It literally affected everything.

Thanks v much for advice and support everyone.

I’ve eaten some nice dark chocolate and talked to my DH about it and we’ve agreed it’s worth a trip to the GP.

Will get an appointment with my nice GP for Jan and see what she suggests.

In meantime I might wear a sports bra all day tomorrow and luckily I have a calm day work wise so fingers crossed it’ll be a less bad day. Still 3 whole more full days to go until my period is due (and I’m like clockwork) so I will just have to take each as it comes. Day 26/27 tends to be the flu-feeling one...

I have been put on 50mg of sertraline and it completely removed all pmt symptoms. It also stopped me from being able to orgasm so I come off them from when this annoys me.
In these winter months my PMT is shockingly bad so I may go back on them again soon. Hope this helps.

I have this.
The rage, the tears, the fog and the bone aching exhaustion.

Sometimes I feel like everyone will be better off without me, others I'm so fucking angry, then I'm forgetful and so clumsy.

I've had blood tests which were abnormal so I'm at GPs this week to discuss. I'm hoping for a magic cure because I feel like I'm going crazy and I'm only 40.

Some really helpful advice here , I find a multi vit helps slightly.
I get three or four days of terrible rage and feel terrible for it but I found I’ve really upped my exercise, everyday doing something to get the heart rate up for at least 30mins and getting a good night sleep. No tv, a few pages of my book before bed. I’ve noticed from doing this the past six months my cycle has become more regular as well and not as long and painful.
We don’t take care of ourselves very well I don’t think & we carry all our stress in our stomachs /abdominal area. We need to make ourselves a priority. MUCH EASIER SAID THAN DONE!

Does anyone whose taken SSRIs know: are they helpful for combatting specifically anger/irritation or are they more for if you’re feeling low/depressed or anxious through PMS?

I only very very rarely feel depressed in the run up to my period, about twice a year I have a day of feeling despairing and really sad.

The anger is EVERY time!!

I’m probably being ignorant but I’m not sure how anti depressants would help with PMS anger rather than PMS depression?

That’s good advice Sauvignon about the exercise... though I’m just about to cancel my exercise class tomorrow as I feel too bloated to move easily and my blooming breasts will just hurt too much!!

Should I go anyway? Or try a different, lower-impact class, or just a long walk...?

Depends on the class- there’s some good information online about what type of exercise intensity is good for which part of your cycle.
I would go- you’ll feel better but don’t push yourself too hard if you don’t feel like you can. Doing some movement will help alleviate the bloat and help the cramps as well.

And it lifts your mood no end as well

It’s Zumba, Sauvignon 😃

So extremely bouncy (bad for boobs snd bloat) BUT mood-enhancing as I love the music

I will try to go, on balance

Oh god. I could’ve written this. Am also 43. It seems to be getting worse as I age. Couldn’t even hug DD last week because my boobs were agony. Walking down stairs nearly destroyed me. And the rage — the utter rage. I’m already on a low dose of SSRI so that’s clearly no help.

Evening Primrose Oil is good.

I've also had some success with Seed Cycling last month. www.healthline.com/nutrition/seed-cycling

I didn't notice my period coming last week, it just arrived. Oh for it to be like that every month!

@HepburnKNotA Re: SSRIs Sertraline took away the irritation -murderous rage- completely for me.
I was actually doing high intensity cardio work outs three to four days a week and it made me even more angry and tense I now get a lot for a low carb high fat diet.

I had a hard time in my mid forties and really only felt normal for a week a month. My periods went from every 28 days at 42 to once or twice a year till I was 48 then they stopped completely. For me going low carb helped enormously. For some reason it just seemed to keep me more balanced and less ragey. I still had bouts of anxiety, low mood and irritability but for shorter periods and not as extreme. I also found not wanting to stuff my face constantly helped.

Now 2 years on I’m pretty ok, no HRT but still low carb.

My mum had PCOS and an early hysterectomy so I don’t know what her menopause would have been like but I suspect it would have been horrendous. For me sugar etc really didn’t help and I feel much better without it.

For me the SSRIs help hugely with the rage which is probably my worst symptom.

Absopugginglutely THANK YOU that’s so incredibly helpful to hear. I get scared sometimes that my occasional outbursts of rage will affect my daughter the way my mums affected me. I’m not as bad as she was by a long shot but I fear it going that way. This weekend was a real eye opener for me because I just lost it with my husband in full earshot of our 7 yo I still feel so awful and it’s what has now prompted me to think I need to do something.

Should I persist with the Evening Primrose, try Agnus castus etc (and I even might try that seed cycling idea, why the hell not??!) and only after that go to the GP? So I know what I’ve tried so far? I just don’t want to waste her time if I’ve not really tried anything else yet. OTOH it sounds as if some of these remedies just aren’t that effective for some people!

I'd go to the gp to be honest and start the discussion at least.

I heartily recommend a Mirena coil, it totally levels out the hormonal fluctuations and in most cases it all but stops your actual periods too.

Yes it's a little unpleasant having it put in or changed, and it is a hormonal contraceptive, but the levels are very low as it's localised and it honestly makes me the most even tempered and reasonable person going.

Mirena Coil did nothing for me, constant break through pain, depression and permanent sore boobs...

Are you on the pill op? I am and my pmt has improved since being on it

I’m not on the pill, PrincessHoneysuckle: it never worked for me as a younger woman as there is high blood pressure/stroke in my family so was advised against it.

I’m also not keen to try Mirena as I have had acute cases of adult acne a few times in my life and I have read that Mirena isn’t advised for acne sufferers?

Really appreciate everyone posting, I’m feeling quite stressed about it all at the moment and it’s helped to hear other people have the same issue (though obv I am sorry for those who have suffered!!)

I think I always assume feeling this rubbish with PMS is the norm? So not really appropriate to make a big thing about it? Maybe my own experience with my mum has just made me wrongly assume intense anger/irritability are completely normal 10 days a month??!

This sounds like PMDD. Google it.

Agnus castus / Vitex has massively improved my PMT. It did take 2 cycles, but I really didn’t notice the lead-up to my period this month & my normally very sore boobs were fine. I take the Gaia capsules.

The magnesium/taurine/B6 I'm On is treatment for PMDD although the real gem is NATURAL oestrogen (NOT synthetic as you get in hormonal contraceptives) but that is £100 per month!

Anyway I tried the combo and it really helped enough for me.

I'd not heard that about acne and Mirena. My skin has been great as there's not the same hormonal fluctuations that used to break me out.
Maybe just a topic to discuss with your GP then, put as many suggestions on the table as possible.