I don’t know about you, but I hate having my period every month. It’s a disgusting, messy process that hits every single woman in the world – from the most desolate village in Africa to bustling New York City. But it is the one thing that unites all of us together. That’s kinda nifty when you think about.
Gross, but interesting.
What I hate more than bleeding for five to seven days each month is PMS (premenstrual syndrome). I have the worst PMS symptoms in the world. I probably experience every single symptom imaginable.
According to the Mayo Clinic, common symptoms of premenstrual syndrome include:
- Anxiety *
- Sadness or a depressed mood *
- Crying spells *
- Mood swings, irritability, anger *
- Appetite changes *
- Insomnia
- Poor concentration *
- Joint or muscle pain *
- Headache *
- Fatigue *
- Bloating *
- Breast tenderness *
- Acne *
- Constipation or Diarrhea
I’ve put a star next to the symptoms that I experience.
As you can see, I experience a majority of these common symptoms of PMS. My symptoms can range from mild to severe, depending on the month. For example, in February, I had extreme fatigue, but in March, my fatigue is tolerable but instead, I experience the need to eat . . . and eat.
Sometimes my PMS is accompanied with restless leg syndrome – this tingling sensation in my legs. I have to massage my legs to get relief. One PMS symptom that I have each month is breast tenderness or soreness.
On average, PMS can start two weeks before your period – right around the time that you’re ovulating (when you are most fertile) and can last until you start your period (aka Menstrual Cycle for the medical term). Some women experience PMS symptoms several days before they start, while others experience symptoms for 14 days prior to the menstrual cycle starting.
Sometimes I wonder if I have premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) – which is a technical term for very severe PMS. I’ll discuss PMDD in another post. But PMDD affects up to 10 percent of all menstruating women. That’s one in ten!
So what’s your PMS story? How bad are your symptoms? Tell us!
You May Also Enjoy:
PMS or Pregnancy
PMDD is something really important that I hope you do blog about soon! I experienced it and can honestly say it is like a hurricane if PMS is like a like light drizzle.
Anxiety was one of the worst ones for me – oddly it started with depression then I became more anxious and less listless towards the start of my period – then it all melted away.
I look forward to seeing more posts on this subject!
PMS ruins my life – and that is no understatement. I have suffered since in my late twenties. I have had so much time off work with it, but having to lie and say I had the flu or something, as no employee is overly sympathetic when PMS is the reason. Every week and a bit I have the symptoms, it is hell! I have my extreme fatigue, I can’t get out of bed, and can hardly climb the stairs to go to the loo. I have greasy hair and look awful! Probably the most unpleasant thing is the swollen breasts – which are incredibly painful, and if even one of the cats brush on them it is agony! I have period pain (which is the least of the symptoms, but still unpleasant). Some months the pain is intense and I have to use heat-pads and take ‘Feminex Extra’. I will then settle down ‘a bit’ a day before my period starts and then it will last 2-3 days, quite heavy and then I’ll have about a week where I feel almost human and can actually get out of bed and have some sort of life and routine, before I am starting the symptoms all over again! So basically I have one good week a month! I have sought advice on a hysterectomy but my doctor says it wouldn’t solve the symptoms as I would still ovulate and having to be on HRT would probably be worse for me. This has taken over my life and as a nurse affected my job. I have extreme anxiety and mood-swings when I start the PMS symptoms. I am now 38 and my children are 18 and 20 and so my life is somewhat easier on that part, but I still feel like exhausted most of the time. Yes every woman feels great to have bigger boobs every month, especially when I am a small 34A, and a little bit more is nice, but this is not worth the horrid time I have! Perhaps the worst is knowing there is nothing I or any one can do about this, I just have to live with it. I have tried evening primrose, and other types of ‘well-being remedies’ all with no results. I have to say I don’t eat too much, I tend to live on 1300-1400 calories a day, but as I have been off work for months after a 4th knee operation, and am not able to exercise as I did once, I try to eat less.
Does this sounds familiar to any other woman, do you share my suffering?
Hi DP Nguyen,
Happy to find your blog….
I’m a mom, who stays at home full time, looking after my kid and my family…
I followed you… I love to connect with simillar minded people like you…
Catch you soon….
Thank you!
But that does suck about PMDD 🙁 I will definitely need to blog about that sometime soon. It’s an important topic.
I find this blog AWESOME! I am so glad you found my new blog and now I can follow this! I suffer from sever depression with bi-polar so when i get my cycle it isnt just pms it is PMDD its terrible…