To ask for your wisdom re. awful PMT?

[Whitewhine]

Posting here for traffic, I'm at my wits end...

In a nutshell, have a Mirena coil which has been in for almost 5 years and has been fine for periods etc. but I've gained some weight and would also like my libido back. It's due to be removed next month

Had Essure sterilisation performed a few months as family now complete, no issues with it so far - just waiting on scan to give the all-clear.

For the past 6 months or so (possibly longer), I have been an absolute basket case. A bad tempered, impatient, intolerant, hormonal mess. My poor kids bear the brunt of it although I try so, so hard to keep a lid on my moods. My DH who is absolutely fantastic works away for several weeks at a time and I'm all my children have when he's away. I need to be the mum I know I should be. I love them to death and they know this, I think I'm probably being hard on myself. Just day to day moans and groans but I feel I do nothing but moan at them :-(

I'm not sure what to do. Can anyone recommend supplements to take or at least point me in the right direction? I'll try anything..... I'm terrified that removing my coil might make me worse, what if no hormones at all expose my natural cycle and it's even worse?

I sympathise, I can be evil with PMT, I take 1000mg of evening primrose oil daily, this used to be good enough.
Not since I had my son, I had PND and I feel mentally quite unwell in the 10 days before my period.
I saw the GP and have been prescribed: pyridoxine. It's just a B vitamin but it's been a revelation for me. I take two tablets every morning and I'm a new woman, I'm rarely ratty (I can be a little grumpy when AF is due but it's negligible).

I recommend trying it.

Good luck xxx

And there are no side affects, pure brilliance

Thank you! Can I buy it from Boots/Holland & Barratt etc? Willing to give it a go, have also heard Magnesium OK might be worth trying.

I'm off on a shopping trip tomorrow, I need to tackle this.

It's 50mg of B6 daily. Chat to a pharmacist / GP xxxx

I got it on prescription, I don't know if you can buy it over the counter but I'm sure you can buy B6, I know just how awful PMT can be and you are powerless to stop it

The GP who will be removing my coil has a gynae background and a really good listener. It will be about 6 weeks until my appointment so I'll try Vit B6 and possibly starflower oil or Magnesium until then (I'll speak with pharmacist first).

Thank you. I've felt like such a horrible mum over these last few weeks and even writing it down and admitting it is making a difference. I don't want my children to grow up remembering evil PMT mum

My mum had evil PMT for a while when we were little, it was scary. She had a full hysterectomy in the end and as long as she took her HRT she was fine. I don't feel scarred by it, I knew even then it was hormones making mummy mad!

Try not to feel guilty about it, just work through it as best you can, and keep asking GP for help. Hope it gets better for you. I feel very blessed that I didn't inherit the issue.

I felt the same before I saw the GP, I was so shouty and short tempered, mainly with DH but I was called "grumpy mummy" by DS

I'm almost normal the whole month now

Are your periods regular enough that you know when they're coming? My technique at present is to acknowledge they are shit and adapt my life to fit them. E.g. cancel nights out I know I won't enjoy, rent a romcom, lie on sofa watching it, eat chocolate cake, have a good cry if it helps, try really really hard not to start a row with DH, ask him to do a few night wakings, take naps and go to bed really early. I've found getting about ten hours sleep helps a lot!!

TBH, I think a certain amount can be attributed to school holidays and DH working abroad for the past 5 weeks. My kids are at an age where they need supervision but are also fairly independent (4, 6, 7). I've found the holidays hard!
My cycle is just returning after a 4 year absence due to Mirena - I'll be interested to see how things are with sterilisation only as I have either been on the pill, pregnant or with m coil. One of my DC in particular knows how to push my buttons - I need to stop reacting. Agree re sleep, off to bed now! shygirl I'm glad you are none the worse for your hormonal mum.
Roll on schools going back :-) I plan to join the gym to get the endorphins going. For the first time in years, I will have all 3 DC at school and some much needed time on my hands!

I echo the sleep recommendation. I've been a lot better (at any time of the month) when I've had more than 8 hrs sleep. I just seem to be able to handle the stress a little easier and have more energy.
I'm often in bed by 10 and always by 10:30, except today, I've got a lie in tomorrow because Gran is babysitting

I got magnesium-ok today which has decent amount of vit b6 . Here's hoping I see a difference In a few weeks!

Usually I'm in bed by 10pm but had a friend round and a few glasses of vino. Happy days!

Will report back!

Evening Primrose makes a massive difference for me. Ask in H&B, the staff are very helpful and well informed.

I have extremely severe PMS and am on HRT to manage it. Some women are very sensitive to changing hormone levels.

I would recommend a good poke about the National Association for Premenstrual Syndrome website and have a read of papers written by Dr Nick Panay. Supplements do help some people but unfortunately not me!

My GP prescribed citalopram to take in the 2 weeks before my period is due. It works for me! I don't get grumpy, OH doesn't "pick fights" and I don't feel that the world hates me!

I has the cause removed. After 30 years of misery and trying everything I had my ovaries removed. I'm a new woman and life is a lot more peaceful.

It might be worth checking your vit D levels too. My PMS was more physical symptoms but once I started taking a vit D tablet it improved no end. Good luck!

Yes, Magnesium OK will help a bit but there is another tablet in the same range, can't remember what it is called but it has more magnesium in it.

Feel for you as I am terrible for about 10-12 days beforehand. Fortunately I am pretty regular so, as someone else wrote on here, I can 'prepare' a bit for it. I, too have tried everything but seem to be so sensitive to my hormones. Even when I am ovulating, I can get a bit manic and headachey.

I take Spatone iron - 2 sachets instead of 1 and I have more energy than I used to, this helps.

Also, cut sugar out. I find this almost impossible but it will help your moods to stabilise.

Hi
Just wanted to post because I had a tubal sterilization after my twins, I have been an hormonal time bomb ever since. I can only tell you what has made it better for me, AD were a last resort but I got the point where I couldn't go to work when I was due on, which is no good when you need to provide for your kids. Anyway, I was on the AD for about 7 months, I then lost a stone and started exercising all in an attempt to combat the horrendous mood swings. I have changed my diet completely because I was just eating crap to compensate for feeling so bloody awful. I have just started taking B6, zinc and magnesium, so i will wt you know if you like. I also found for me personally if I didn't have sex during the month I was even worse, I know that sounds daft but I felt a good orgasm would clear all the hormones out :)
I wish you the best of luck, I am sure you will find a solution as I have, it is not absolute, but because I feel more positively about my body image, I don't get quite as down, its still rubbish one and a half weeks of every month though.

Hope all works out for you, please don't let it take 7 years to take control like I did, I ended up giving up a job I loved because I couldn't cope x

• Sorry that was meant to say I will come back and post in a month or so if that works if you like...

PPs... regarding the kids I always pretend I am a foster parent when am on, this is quite effective for stopping you being grumpy with them just cos you feel rubbish.., HTH

Yes to everything the first poster said. It really helped me.