PMS depression

[faetal.livejournal.com]

I seriously get depressed durring the week before/of my period.
My entire world falls apart, I cry.. and I have a tendancy to push people away and do self sabotaging things.
About a year ago, one PMS was so bad I found myself cutting tons of tiny razor blade cuts up and down my legs and arms.
Granted, I am not the sanest person at all.. but when I can keep it together most of the time.. it just all falls apart durring this horrid week.
I deliberately picked a fight with my boyfriend this morning.. wanting badly to break up so i could have something to be as manic and sad about as I feel... Logic fortunately kicked in and reminded me that I really have no desire to be without him.
It just doesnt make sense.
I have been taking Ortho for about... 5 months I belive.. and cramping has gone down.. and even the PMS depression has lessoned... but its still not gone.
I suppose I should just be greatful that its lessoning, be glad i have someone hugely supportive in my life, and hide myself from people and sharp objects durring this time of the month.

Comments

[areyouapothead.livejournal.com]

I've chugged Tylenol three times and I do cut occasionally. But with yours, do you feel depressed and how much during other times of the month? I hardly feel depressed when not menstruating.

Re:

[faetal.livejournal.com]

i do have some depression problems, but they seem undercontroll unless i am pmsing.

[prettynpink106.livejournal.com]

i too suffer from depression. with meds i keep it under control but i do tend to lose it before/on my period. once i stopped taking my meds and had a complete breakdown right before/start of my period that i almost killed myself. i made a promise to myself that i would take my meds so the side effects of depression wouldn't be terrible. i don't know now im rambling...

[ailbhe]

You might want to try taking Evening Primrose Oil or Starflower Oil a week before your PMS is due; this changed my life when I was a teen. Or you could try St John's Wort, which I'm told works, but have never personally tried.

If you are persistently depressed, really do try to talk to someone about it, and if at all possible, speak to a professional; even your GP can help, to start with. If you leave depression alone, it can sneakily get worse for no good reason.

Re:

[faetal.livejournal.com]

how would you ingest the oil?
I dont have health insurance, and am very interested in herbalism... so maybe i will give this a shot.

[ailbhe]

They usually come in little gelatin capsules. They're not prescription medication.

[urania.livejournal.com]

i've dealt with the depression thing too, though mine was never strongly linked to my cycle; but i did the crying bouts, the feeling worthless, the self-mutilation bit (it's a downward spiral. try to stay out of it! yeech. not fun), etc... it's easing up somewhat now *fingers crossed* but i'm also on meds.

so my advice: since yours is so strongly linked to PMS, look up some info on PMDD. There's medicine for that (i think called serafem?) which is very similar to paxil, a classic antidepressant, which is prescribed basically to even out your moods some. If you're not already on something like that, talk to your doc and consider trying this to see if it works for you--it doesn't for everyone (some people it just makes feel numb, some people it doesn't work for at all, etc, etc) but it does for others. there are also other antidepressants out there, if the paxil/prozac (same family) kind don't work for you.. serzone, etc. talk to your doctor! this is a "real" problem, it sounds like it's getting in the way of your life, therefore you deserve to have it addressed, treated if possible, and for many people a combination of medical therapy and counseling (if you can find a conselor you get along with--sometimes takes a few tries!) works real well.

anyhow, nuff soapboxing for me... g'luck! :)

[amylynn.livejournal.com]

Serafem (not sure on the spelling, on that one) is the exact same drug as Prozac.
just thought you should know.
-amy

Re:

[urania.livejournal.com]

thought it was paxil but i think you're right--my bad!
-becca

ps--both are same drug class anyhow.. i want to say SSRI's but woulnd't swear to it by any means.

[sadhe-sati.livejournal.com]

hey, I get the same thing too. Right now I am on Celexa, which I believe is an SSRI... I still find myself getting extremely depressed though right before and during my period. Almost every month I end up hacking up my arms with a razor blade, but I never seem to do that at any other time of the month. I've heard of people taking Antidepressants 2 weeks before their period, and it's helped them a lot, but I don't know how true it is since most SSRI's take at least three weeks to work. You might want to go to a doctor, and tell him/her about being depressed during PMS, and they may prescribe something for you to go along with the pill that will help you feel better during the hellish week of and before your period