Help with stress

retro:electro

Hello ladies, was wondering if you'd be able to help me. I have been feeling very irritated as of late. I think I've pin pointed it down to maybe having pmt. it's the same pattern for me every month, two weeks before my period I am the most irritable, unlikable, stressed out person. I take my moods out on everyone, esp my poor boyfriend. I literally hate every human around me, I only have tolerance for my lovely dog. I cannot help this even though I know when it's coming. Then as soon as I get my period, I'm normal again! I see the blue skies and butterflies and feel the breeze on my skin! I'm a nice person. I laugh and have fun. Hold hands with my boyfriend, tell him I love him and I like being that person. It only lasts about a week and a half though and it's not long before I feel the dark clouds cover me again. I should add I'm not taking any form of contraception now for over a year.

I'm not looking for medical advice either, but if anyone knows of any natural supplements to take that help with moods I would appreciate it! Am I the only one who feels like this? I hate myself and everyone else for those two weeks. If I could spend them in silence and not speak to anyone I would. I try to really enjoy the time when I feel good again but it's bitter sweet as I know the red mist shall descend again soon! Please say I'm not the only one who gets like this?! I never used to be this bad and it has only been noticeable to me maybe in the last 18 months. Any advice? Help a sister out!

skallywag

I'm not female myself but I have heard many say that Cinnamon can really help.

Piglet85

I'm on the pill now so don't suffer any more, but I used to have the most awful PMT. More depression and paranoia than irritability, but it was horrific. I know exactly what you mean about being unable to help it even though you know what's going on. Mine used to last a week at most, and it felt like forever, so I really sympathise with you!

I was on a cocktail of different supplements to try and combat it before I went on the pill: Evening Primrose Oil, Magnesium, Vitamin B12, Agnus Castus and more that I can't remember now. I think the one that made the biggest impact, though, was the Agnus Castus. Just to warn you, if you do decide to try it, read up a little bit about it first. It's a herb that can interfere with some prescription meds, so talk to your doctor if you're on any medication.

Second best was the Evening Primrose Oil I think, but I felt that its effectiveness wore off over time.

If the pill isn't an option, try some high strength Starflower Oil. It's got more of the active ingredient that Evening Primrose Oil contains and I find it very effective in regulating PMS mood symptoms. You'll have to take it continuously, not just before lift-off. It takes a couple of weeks to kick it, but it's a life changer if it works for you. I take a capsule daily and increase it to two daily in the 7 days before it's due.

The added bonus is an improvement in skin quality from the EFAs.

pwurple

Evening primrose, agnus castus and b vitamins are all supposed to affect hormones levels and effects. Agnus castus is one I (stupidly) took once on the advice of a friend, without looking into it properly, and ended up with my cycle gone to shambles, and very heavy bleeding.

Some of these things are just unregulated medicines, of varying strengths and dosages, possibly contaminated with other off-label products, that you are self-prescribing.

Go to a GP and get some professional advice.

retro:electro

Thanks guys. Am definitely going to try the starflower oil as I did a bit of research on it and it's what I'm after. Hope it helps me. I'm gone very bad with anxiety, I used to be the most chilled out, laid back person; now I feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done, even when I know there are! I feel constantly on edge and in a rush about everything. I've also developed silly routines about everything and if something gets left out all hell breaks loose! Really need to just calm down a bit, but that's easy to say now when I'm on a good day! Thanks for the helpful responses x

anna080

anna080 wrote: »

Thanks guys. Am definitely going to try the starflower oil as I did a bit of research on it and it's what I'm after. Hope it helps me. I'm gone very bad with anxiety, I used to be the most chilled out, laid back person; now I feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done, even when I know there are! I feel constantly on edge and in a rush about everything. I've also developed silly routines about everything and if something gets left out all hell breaks loose! Really need to just calm down a bit, but that's easy to say now when I'm on a good day! Thanks for the helpful responses x

Be careful of assuming that it's PMS. Maybe talk to your doc about how you're feeling generally and let them help you sort it out in case it's a bigger picture issue.

Good luck!

retro:electro

Candie wrote: »

Be careful of assuming that it's PMS. Maybe talk to your doc about how you're feeling generally and let them help you sort it out in case it's a bigger picture issue.

Good luck!

Thanks ya I'm not even 100% sure if that is what it is. It's just the release and relief I get when I get my period is making me think that it might be. Will try the supplements anyway and see do I feel any better before I speak to a gp.

Lyaiera

This is just an aside, because I wouldn't recommend this type of self-medication, but I am studying this at the moment. Cannabis apparently has significant effects on regulating oestrogen. It's pretty typical of the world that when talking about cannabis and legalisation that there's lots of emphasis put on the many medicinal effects, but very little emphasis put on one of the most well documented effects of cannabis, purely because it's of benefit to women. Going back to the 20s lots of counter-culture groups reported that cannabis had significant easing on the effects of menopause. The first research started on it in the 70s (post-hippy culture saw an increase in studies on cannabis.) Most of the research was done on rats: with their ovaries removed, dosed with oestrogen, and rats without any changes put on them. Pretty much every study saw that there were effects on regulating the higher and lower levels of oestrogen the rats experienced and some of the more recent studies have looked at behavioural changes in the rats with altered ovaries and oestrogen and found that they were calmer, more adapted, and performed better in behavioural tests.

If you go to scholar.google.com and search for this type of thing there is bucketloads of research done on this, but it very rarely gets mentioned outside of scientific circles, and certain circles of women who use cannabis to regulate the effects of menopause.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0041008X75901453
http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/21069097
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J175v02n03_02#.VGLGuxYYt8E
http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=690073072161457;res=IELHEA

sunshine and showers

Something different again, but I recently did a course in mindfulness and meditation with the Dublin Buddhist Centre that was really helpful for stress. If you're not near there or don't want to to do a course, the whole thing was an eight week plan based on the book Life With Full Attention: a Practical Course in Mindfulness by Maitreyabandhu.

I can't recommend the book highly enough! Very easy to follow with week by week guides.

Tabitharose

[QUOTE=Piglet85;92992657 I think the one that made the biggest impact, though, was the Agnus Castus. [/QUOTE]

I found Agnus Castus amazing, but if I remember correctly, it has to be taken for a while before you get the benefits from it.

YFlyer

Transcendental meditation is what you need.

shalalala

sunshine and showers wrote: »

Something different again, but I recently did a course in mindfulness and meditation with the Dublin Buddhist Centre that was really helpful for stress. If you're not near there or don't want to to do a course, the whole thing was an eight week plan based on the book Life With Full Attention: a Practical Course in Mindfulness by Maitreyabandhu.

I can't recommend the book highly enough! Very easy to follow with week by week guides.

So glad to here this. I got flyers into work about these workshops and was wondering how people found them

m'lady

I suffer very bad pmt every second month, will be a bad bitch while ovulating and then a week or before it arrives, I'm lucky that my period only last under two days but my mood does be awful. I've tried everything, and the only thing I think has anyway helped is B12, but only a bit.

How Strange

I'd recommend going to your gp and getting your bloods done for hormonal imbalances and vitamin/mineral deficiencies. If it's happening every month at the sane time it suggests that something is off balance.

Gongoozler

I looked up starflower oil there, as I would consider something that might generally help with my mood, but apparently the gla that starflower oil would cause the production of is sufficiently supplied in most of our diets. Further to this, I found something that says there's no proof that the supplement does any good. Interesting.