PMS & PMDD Support Group

ok, so i've been on birth control for a month and a half now to stabilize my moods and i'm feeling crazier than i did before i started taking it! i'm crying nonstop and am irritable beyond belief! i feel like super b*#%@ idk what to do! i know it takes up to 3 months for a new medication to fully get into your system but i don't know how much longer i can take this! so if anyone has any advice, please share! it would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Athena143,

Yes, it takes time for your body to get used to the medication. And I know that whatever I say here might sound contrite, but keep an open mind and hear me out.

First thing, take it all with a pinch of salt. Actively find the funny side of things. "If you can't find the bright side of life, polish the dull side". Aim to find some good humour in each day, be it with a sit-com, or telling jokes, or flicking through some webcomics or videos.

Next, find someone to talk to, a counsellor, therapist, psychologist or even the doctor. Find out if what it is you're feeling relates to your body or with some deeper issue. Physical symptoms settle in three months, yes, but the underlying mental symptoms sometimes never go away until you address them. Talk to your doctor first and ask them if what you're experiencing is normal. Don't be afraid to go into detail; they need to know as much as you can tell them, and as much as they can find out, in order to give an accurate diagnosis.

Be aware that each time you go on the off-week on the contraceptive pill, your body's chemicals will leave you feeling like a yo-yo. You'll bounce down to the bottom before the active pills take effect again. Talk to your doctor about when it's safe to take two or three months concurrently to minimise off-weeks.

Take some time off and have a breather. I find it always helps if I have someone to be around, rather than recuperating by myself. Having someone around gives you an anchor point of reality, and if the person is able to, they can give you reminders of where you are.

I hope this makes sense and that you feel better soon.

--Piper

Thanks Piper! I know I just have to be patient and roll with it, but I feel so frustrated that the situation hasn't been "fixed" yet. I know that most of it is me and that I need to work on myself. It's just I don't know how. I think you're right when you said that seeing someone will help. Thank God I have an amazing family and boyfriend who have been so supportive and understanding,but I think professional help is needed in order for me to really sort things out and change my way of thinking! Thanks again for your advice and support!

Oo and if anyone knows that it's normal to have two periods within less than a one month period please let me know.... idk if it's my birth control trying to regulate things or what but i think that's why my emotional state is so much worse this time...i had my period for september, that lasted for about a week, had a one week break (no bleeding but still an emotional wreck) then got my period again on the 7th of october... like i said only a one week break but i think my hormones were still in menstrual mode... has this ever happened to anyone???? if it has, please let me know how you dealt with it because i'm about to go crazy :/

that's weird that you say you got 2 periods in a month's time. This month is kinda weird for me too. I started a week earlier than I was predicting and if its still going on Saturday, it'll be 2 weeks. ugh! Hang in there, Athena.

Athena,

Since it's in the PMDD section I'm only speaking from PMDD experience, though it didn't ever say PMDD symptoms, etc...

For Women with PMDD, we are super sensitive to most everything and most Women find that the meds don't take any time to kick in. Unlike individuals with depression and/or other disorders where meds take weeks/sometimes months to kick in, 'Most' Women with PMDD don't find this, this is why we are able to take meds just during our 2 wk time and stop/start the way we can. Doctors are unsure why other than the sensitivity aspect.

With all that said, Women with PMDD have also found that most BC put our PMDD into overdrive (Overhell) and make our symptoms so much worse. This is one reason so many doctors are finally figuring out that BCP aren't the answer and they try and use the anti depressants.

PMDD is so frustrating because there really isn't a 'med' for us, BC isn't for us, anti depressants aren't truly for us, there's not one med for us.

I tell a lot of Women to try 5 htp that helps your body increase its own seratonin which is diff than an anti depressant that is adding a fake seratonin up into your body. Don't try 5htp if you are on an anti though since in a sense they are increasing the same thing.

lifewpmdd,

i have to say that i def am frustrated with all of this. when i started taking birth control i felt like i started to see some light at the end of the tunnel but it seemed once i got my period twice within less than a one month period of time and my hormones were everywhere. i haven't had an emotional break for a month and i'm about to go crazy. it seems like right now i can't be happy with anything in my life and i truly don't know what to do about it anymore. i'm at the point where i feel like isolating myself from everybody, including my boyfriend, which breaks my heart because i love him to pieces and he's trying soooo hard to understand what i'm feeling. i'm hoping to see my dr. sometime this week to figure this out, but idk what conclusions she will come to. i know isolating myself is the worst possible thing right now, but idk what else to do to protect everyone else from my insanity. what do you do to help yourself get through it?

Athena,

Personally being by myself sometimes is great, like just sitting upstairs watching tv alone, but I leave the door open so my kids know they are still able to come in and talk to me, etc...

My husband knows my schedule well enough so spending time together for us can be even as little as him on the laptop and me watching tv downstairs, just so we are at least in the same room. We may not be talking, I'm usually not so much chatty during the jist of this time, but we feel each others presence.

As far as friends instead of planning get togethers, my girlfriends in the neighborhood, we just gather for a short time in the front yard while the kids play. This is less stressful to me, doesn't feel like I have to get ready, plan anything, keep activities going, etc...

We can grab a glass of wine, chat while they play and after an hour all go to our own homes.

These sort of little things keep you connected helping you keep from becoming more depressed, but don't cause more stress.

Thank you so much for the advice lifewpmdd! Right now, I'm just soooooo frustrated with this medication that I'm on and, thankfully, I got to see my doctor yesterday. The part that I'm going crazy with is that she now wants to put me on something else. So, it's like I have to wait for this medication to get out of my system and the other one to kick in. It's kind of like I'm starting all over again! I guess I just need to have faith that this will get better eventually and keep pushing through this. I'm a negative person to begin with, so that really doesn't help the depression. Thank God for my amazing family, loving boyfriend, and everyone else I have in my life. I guess I just need to focus on the positives and really take in all that I have to be thankful for. Maybe that's been my problem all along. I have been so negative about everything that I haven't taken time to really appreciate what I do have. I have only been thinking about how horrible my situation is. I think that's where I need to redirect my attention to at least make myself realize how happy I should be that I have all these blessings in my life. Also knowing that I have a place like mdjunction makes me feel like I'm not crazy and that there are people that are going through what I'm going through.

Thanx bearcatmom! Right now I feel like a crazy person lol but I have to have faith that it will be over soon!