I noticed that after I hit age 30, my premenstrual symptoms slowly started to get much worse then they had ever been in my life. I actually wasn't the one who noticed it first. It was a co-worker friend of mine who said something to me one day. She asked me what was wrong. I didn't understand what she meant. She commented that I was extremely quiet (which was very unlike me). It was the first day of my period I think, or the day before, and I thought about it and realized that I was 'feeling' very quiet and subdued. I'm not sure how else to describe it. I wasn't angry. I just felt like being completely left alone and not speaking. This was one of my 'new symptoms'. Another one happened another month when I was walking to the bus one day, again, right around beginning of my period. Out of nowhere I was suddenly overcome with nausea, dizziness, weakness, achiness, and a major 'hot flash'. As I boarded the bus I was seriously wondering if I would even make it the three stops to Lexington Ave. The feeling went away almost as fast as it came, about twenty minutes later. Over time, my symptoms increased, and got much worse. It seems to be random each month just exactly which symptoms will hit me. Here is a general overall list of what I've experienced:
- Night sweats (strong enough to wake me up and keep my awake for hours).
- Rashes in my armpit areas.
- Hot flashes followed by cold spells (usually within same hour). I sometimes find that parts of my skin feel like it's on fire while at the same time I have goosebumps and parts of me (extremities usually) are icy cold.
- Uncontrollable crying fits, over anything and everything.
- Feeling 'quiet', withdrawn.. Disengaged /dissociated from everything around me.
- Extreme depression, occasionally with suicidal thoughts.
- Emotional/psychological insecurity - ex: feeling suddenly insecure that my fiance doesn't love me, think I'm pretty, or really want to marry me, etc.
- Sudden flashes of extreme anger. Not just 'PMS bitchy' feelings. I'm talking about going from fairly calm to violently angry and wanting to gouge someone's eyes out in ten seconds. And those hostile feelings linger around for a while.
- Horrible, almost unbearable cramps and nausea. Aleve makes the pain level manageable but nothing seems to make it stop.
- The usual stomach bloating, water retention, occasional pimple, back pain, tender and/or painful breasts, all over achiness and headaches.
- Mental confusion, inability to make decisions.
- Listlessness, lethargy. Disinterested in participating in normal activities.
- Constant agitation and verbal aggression towards people.
- Physically restless, feeling 'unsettled', jumpy and physically overly sensitive to things.
- The worst symptom - Being fully aware that you do not feel like 'yourself and are not behaving like your regular self, but having absolutely no control to do anything about it.
I'm sure I'm missing a few symptoms, but those are the ones that immediately come to mind.
I've discussed this with three gynocologists. No one has been able to give me a solution. My current gyno suggested I try taking Yaz, the birth control pill. She said it was the only birth control pill approved to treat some of the symptoms of PMS. I asked her how well it worked for that and she said 'so-so'. After reading all the side effects of Yaz and many user reviews, I decided against it. I also do not think I can take birth control pills anyway, because of a small hormone producing tumor I have on my pituitary gland that I have to take a weekly medication to keep in check, for the rest of my life. Anything that messes with my hormonal levels is ..not good.
I just keep thinking that if my period/PMS is this bad now, what is Menopause going to be like ? Yikes. I shudder to think about it. I have been trying to do meditation and some light exercise (at my poor fiance's urging) ... I think it helps a little, but with all the emotional stuff, nothing seems to help except time.
I only have my actual period for three-four days. The first two are usually extremely heavy and very painful. The third day, and for the next few days, I'm just sort of 'spotting'. Most of the symptoms subside by day three. The PMS stuff seems to start 1-2 WEEKS before my period. It never used to be that way for me. It used to be more like 2-3 days beforehand. However, after 30, everything changed....for the worse.
I'm 34. 5'5", 116 lbs, fairly healthy & happy.. Just wondering if anyone else has had similar experiences with their period/PMS changing significantly after they reached 30.
Thanks, Vesper.
