Once a month mess

[http://users.livejournal.com/_last_serenade_/]

Hey there ladies. I have a problem. I love my period for the most part...the cramps and the blood aren't really a problem for me...I actually kind of like it as it feels to me like a cleansing process. And my new divacup is fantastic. :D

My problem is for a week every month (during my period), I am a weepy, emotional mess. The slightest thing at work will set me off crying (or tearing up really, not sobbing) and then I CANNOT get it under control. I usually end up having to take 10-20 minutes to sit in the bathroom and just let the tears roll down and that doesn't even always help. Its getting really frustrating and detrimental to my career. I work with all guys and I feel like I'm perpetrating some lame stereotype of the over-emotional female, but I REALLY have trouble controlling my emotions once one (usually small) thing goes wrong. I'm usually not even really sad or upset about anything, just overwhelmed.

I am currently on Ortho-tri-cyclen lo, I work out regularly, take a multivitamin and meditate. I don't drink soda or have alot of caffiene in my diet and I try to drink alot of water. This may have been going on for years but I've just noticed recently because of the uptight corportate and mostly male environment I've worked in for the last 6 months. It wasn't really a problem when I was in college. And it's certainly not a problem at any other time during the month...I'm usually a tough cookie. :D

Any advice? Should I ask my gyno about changing BC? Will that even help? Does anyone else have this problem?

Comments

[delicata77.livejournal.com]

It sounds as though it is work stress that is exacerbated by hormones.

If you have the option of seeing a therapist for a bit to talk out your issues, try that before changing up the BCP.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_last_serenade_/]

i don't really have issues at work except for this week during the month...if this was an ongoing issue, i'd have seen a therapist long ago. i'll keep it in mind though, if it gets really bad.

[jaipur.livejournal.com]

making sure you're getting the full 1200 mg of Calcium daily is reported to help with mood swings, too (and cramping)...

[http://users.livejournal.com/_last_serenade_/]

i know there are various issues with calcium absorption...do you know of a good supplement? or what other minerals aide in absorption? i've heard alot of calcium supplements just made expensive, calcium fortified urine. :)

[ladieophilia.livejournal.com]

Most people can get thier alloted about of calcium in thier diet. There are a lot of things that are fortified with calcium that mmake it easier for you body to absorb. If you do take a suppliment, try to find one that has citric acid in it. Citrus is really good at making it easier on the body to take calcium in. Also, most Soy milks have just as much calcium in them now that cow milk does, so if you are vegi or lactos issued, you can still get calcium that way. There are a lot of veggis that have calcium in them.
Other things to look into for mood swings is St John's Wort tea, b12, and Omega fats. The Tea is a great thing to sup while you are on your period, and it will help with mood swings. It has been used in Europe for well over a thousand years. There is new reseach about b12 and Omega fatty acids that have shown that it helps with the brain in the production of balancing chemicals in the brain, and mylianation of the dendrite (aka greesing the wheels of the neurons) making it easier for the body to stay well balanced and keeping hormonal changes down to a minimum.
Hope that helps.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_last_serenade_/]

it does! thanks for the info...i'll start shopping around. :D

[jaipur.livejournal.com]

Well, according to this review
Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2004 Apr;39(2):67-80.
Multiple sources of dietary calcium-some aspects of its essentiality. by Fishbein, L.

Calcium and vit D together is the best way to go. Magnesium etc. which are commonly packaged with calcium don't seem to do much, but Vit D definitely helps. Basically, up to 2000 mg/day you will absorb more and more calcium (though as a percentage you don't absorb as much--you'll get 45% of 200 mg and only 15% of 2000 mg, but that's 90 mg and 300 mg respectively, so you're better off with the 2000 mg dose); after 2000 mg/day there's not so much of a benefit.

Good luck. :)

[lunaesia.livejournal.com]

If you're taking Vitamin D and Calcium, be sure to get enough sunlight exposure as well. 30 minutes a day if you're a pasty European type, up to 3 hours a day if you're really dark. The pre-Vitamin D your body makes only gets transformed into Vitamin D with sun exposure, so getting outdoors for at least a little bit is essential.

[barefootmomma.livejournal.com]

I take a homeopathic to help with mood swings because I have pretty nasty ones too, except I don't get weepy I get angry. It's helped me alot.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_last_serenade_/]

is it store bought or do you make it? details please! :D

[barefootmomma.livejournal.com]

it's store bought. It's by Boiron, and it's called Sepia. It's specifically for general mood swings but they also make one for mood swings brought on by periods. I got mine at the health food store and it cost about 6.00.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_last_serenade_/]

fantastic! i think i'll give that a try before i go switching medication. plus $6 isn't bad at all.

thank you!

[kaonamai.livejournal.com]

i take Evening Primrose Oil capsules everyday and that REALLY helped with mood swings.

[plymouth.livejournal.com]

How long have you been on the BCPs? When I started on Ovcon35 I made me into a mood-swingy mess. After a month of this I was NOT willing to wait the requisite 3 months for the hormones to stabalize. I had never had mood problems associated with bleeding before and was not going to stand for it. I made my gynecologist switch me to a different formulation of BCP (Yasmin) and never had emotional side-effects from that one. In fact the only time I have emotional reactions like you describe now is when I am sleep deprived and have low-blood sugar, though for some reason both of those things are more likely to occurr when I am bleeding. Making sure you're getting good sleep and eating on time will probably help. Changing your BCP *could* help but it's definitely not a guarantee.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_last_serenade_/]

i've been on OTC in one form or another (i started on lo 2 years ago) for about 6 and a half years now.

like i said, i didn't notice it before, but that could have been because i wasn't adhering to a strict schedule. i think i'll ask my gyno how it might be affecting my moods.

it always seems to be worse in the morning too, so you may be onto something with the low blood sugar thing...i'll bring some fruit in tomorrow and see if that helps my mid-morning breakdown. :D

thanks!

[lilirishgirl.livejournal.com]

You praruuu...switch to the nuvaring! ;) Less hormones! But yeah. You've already heard all that from me. Emily's going to get BC today so yay for that.

See you this weekend :)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_last_serenade_/]

actually that might be a good idea.

i'll talk to you about it this weekend.

gep gep! <3

[http://users.livejournal.com/_last_serenade_/]

yah, that's what i was wondering...i could see how it would affect your mood the rest of the month, but i'm not sure about the week you're actually on placebos. i would think it would be about how you'd naturally be.

[ladieophilia.livejournal.com]

It would effect you because your hormonal levels are going funky during the week off. See the rest of the time the birthcontrol is controling your hormonal levels, raising them a bit, where as the reason that you have your period is because of the lack of helper chemicals in the pill are gone during placebo week, things go wacky.
I have heard that this is the reason that women have pms because of the change in hormonal levels before their period. So it is like a shift because the changes are prolonged until you don't have those helpers.

[skeptictank.livejournal.com]

It might just be a culmination of stressors from work and whatnot. I was on Ortho Evra (the patch) for about 6 or 7 months and I was getting mood swings. Not awful ones, but I usually never get them, so I eventually switched to the generic version of Mircette and I'm not noticing the mood swings anymore. I don't know if I'd switch without talking to your doc about it, but if you ask, he/she might have some insight into this particular b/c that the pamphlet doesn't offer.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_last_serenade_/]

that's kind of what i'm hoping. i don't know if OTC-lo has a tendancy towards mood swings, but it'd be good to hear one way or another from the gyno.

in the meantime, i'll probably try a homeopathic formula recommended.

thanks for the insight!

[skeptictank.livejournal.com]

No problem.

What my gyno lead me to believe is that while some pills are more likely than others to have certain side effects, a lot of it has to do with how your body reacts to things. So what that means is that you may have real major mood swings from OTC-lo, while some girls may take it because it makes their mood swings LESS severe.

It sorta works like perfume. It may smell good on one person, but due to different people having different body chemistry, it may smell heinous on another person.