In August I stopped taking the pill. Not because I want to fall pregnant, but because I felt that I needed to give my body a break and eliminate things that may be having a negative effect on my body. I now have my third period since then, and I am suffering badly from PMS. Much worse than I ever have been before!
It starts with a really fatigued feeling the week or so before my period (have had this for years), and then as the period starts I have been getting bad headaches, feeling very down and unable to cope with things that normally would not be a big deal, irritable and angry, etc, etc. It is so bad that I am thinking stopping taking the pill was a really really bad idea.
Tonight I have been reading a bit about what might help with PMS, and I am going to try out some of the suggestions I have found (information from Better Health Channel and eHealthMD):
- taking calcium and magnesium. It has been found that calcium can reduce PMS symptoms by almost half.
- evening primrose oil is something I used to take but have not been taking for a while - I will start taking that again too. It is supposed to help reduce breast tenderness and bloating. Although these symptoms are annoying and uncomfortable, these are not the things that are getting to me - the completely wiped out feeling as well as feeling so down is what I really hope to find some relief from.
- I may also try St John's Wort. This herb is supposed to help improve mood and our ability to deal with stress, but can also interact with some medications - one of which is the pill - it has been shown to reduce the effect of the pill (sorry, haven't got the reference, this is something I read a long time ago).
- exercise is listed as something that can help, so I will make a point to exercise for 30 minutes a day when I have my period (hopefully more than just those days!)
I am hoping these things will work. I feel terrible and am not nice to be around when these symptoms are here. And it is also causing me more stress because I am not getting anything done!
It starts with a really fatigued feeling the week or so before my period (have had this for years), and then as the period starts I have been getting bad headaches, feeling very down and unable to cope with things that normally would not be a big deal, irritable and angry, etc, etc. It is so bad that I am thinking stopping taking the pill was a really really bad idea.
Tonight I have been reading a bit about what might help with PMS, and I am going to try out some of the suggestions I have found (information from Better Health Channel and eHealthMD):
- taking calcium and magnesium. It has been found that calcium can reduce PMS symptoms by almost half.
- evening primrose oil is something I used to take but have not been taking for a while - I will start taking that again too. It is supposed to help reduce breast tenderness and bloating. Although these symptoms are annoying and uncomfortable, these are not the things that are getting to me - the completely wiped out feeling as well as feeling so down is what I really hope to find some relief from.
- I may also try St John's Wort. This herb is supposed to help improve mood and our ability to deal with stress, but can also interact with some medications - one of which is the pill - it has been shown to reduce the effect of the pill (sorry, haven't got the reference, this is something I read a long time ago).
- exercise is listed as something that can help, so I will make a point to exercise for 30 minutes a day when I have my period (hopefully more than just those days!)
I am hoping these things will work. I feel terrible and am not nice to be around when these symptoms are here. And it is also causing me more stress because I am not getting anything done!
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