DORÉ

I would suggest seeking out a Naturopathic doctor for hormone testing. Also the herb vitex (chaste tree) is really good for hormone management. Good luck!

Geranium essential oil is an incredibly effective regulator for mood PMS swings. You can dab a little of it neat on your skin (do a patch test first) or on a handkerchief and sniff it now and then. It provides an immediate sense of calm (as much as that is possible during PMS!) and really works. Or put a few drops in a bath and enjoy a good soak with your favourite book or magazine. Aromatherapy Associates also do a blend, called Support Equilibrium, which includes geranium, and it’s wonderful. Their Inner Strength bland is also fantastic.

Yes! I have advice that has worked great for me. I told my doctor how depressed I get during ovulation and during my period and she suggested that I start taking the pill to keep my hormones steady. She said I’d have to meet with my obgyn to get the prescription. Once I did and explained the reason why I was interested in getting on the pill she said “well, I’m going to make those periods disappear !” What a relief it has been. She advised me to continue to take the active pills straight through to skip my periods and it has been a blessing. I feel normal for a change. I will have to take the non-active pills four times a year to have my period so we will see how that goes.

See your gynecologist. There is special treatment for PMS, some includes your birth control. I’ve been insufferable myself. The worst part is apologizing for being an emotional wreck.

Clue c’est genial! Surtout quand on a des cycles un peu différent de 30 jours et que du coup ca tombe jamais au même moment dans le mois!

I work a lot all month. I take the time out and relax for the 3 days of the month. Make sure I dont stress myself more. Helps.

I love Clue! That app becomes more accurate as you use it. As for the PMS, I mostly get weepy and introspective which I welcome with as much grace as I can muster. Sometimes that stuff really just needs to get out. Plus I feel a lot better afterwards.

I second the recommendation of raspberry leaf tea. I just started drinking it, so can’t say if it has truly had any effect, but I like it; I usually am wary of any possible hormone disruptors, but enjoy drinking it for it’s mild flavor a la black tea, without the caffeine.

Also, in general, I’ve been much happier since listening to my body and avoiding certain foods that make me feel like garbage. I’m severely allergic to dairy, so the hardest elimination is actually necessary for me, but I also cut out most grains and all nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, white potatoes — anything with a little “elf hat” on the top of it). Sounds crazy, I know, but after just two weeks of cleaner eating, I felt psychotically good. Like, unshakably positive and full of energy. Whenever I forget why I’m avoiding my beloved chips and salsa and stray, I get noticeably bloaty, moody, and sick, so much so that I remember it’s just not worth it. I still enjoy steel cut oats in the AM, and the occasional piece of really good bread or beer, but I’m not making a habit of eating what I know makes me a less fun, healthy person.

Granted, I’m more sensitive to environmental factors that others, for sure, but food and how you fuel your body is important every day of the month, no matter who you are. Just listen to your body and eat accordingly. Getting tired after a meal does not have to be the norm!

that Ted Talk that says it’s not physical…hmmmm not buying it either. I am a wreck while PMSing and I used to be so confused before recognizing it was that…now whenever tears are streaming I ask myself why and if I can’t come up with an answer in one brief sentence and in less than 3 seconds (and rather i come up with 1001 answers all very questionable) I know it’s PMS and I stop myself and tell myself “this is not you, chill” so at least I feel more in control about it now. I also the first day of my period, could fall flat asleep anywhere, my hair and skin lose all glow and every feeling is multiplied by 1000, even tweezing my eyebrows is out of the question – so painful!
Thank you for bringing this up and thanks to the ladies for the recommendations!

Chinese medicine. Thats it, go see your acupuncturist. Its the best medicine for women, effective, non invasive and beautiful! Go!

Just drink through it.

If you are taking contraceptives, and you´ve been taking the same for too long that could also be worsening your pms. Hormones are the worst to mess up with your mood swings. Natural stuff may help and yoga, etc., but sometimes it is something else that worsens your pms. You could always do a check up.

I have been using Clue for about 6 months now and really love it, it lets me know exactly where I am in my cycle. As for PMS, I find fish oils help, as do herbal combinations for balancing hormones.

what about seed cycling?
http://www.creativesimplelife.com/balancing-hormones-naturally-with-seed-cycling/
on the first day of your cycle you start taking pumpkin and flax, 1-2 tablespoons each, do this
for 14 days.
on day 15 you hop over to sesame and sunflower.
that’s it.

(I’m trying this at the moment, but I’m on day 3, so no long term results yet)

Je suis passée par là et j’en arrivais à appréhender cette période quelque jours avant. Au final ça faisait beaucoup de jours de prise de tête où je te passe les détails de mes humeurs venues droit de l’espace. Et j’ai entendu parler des gélules d’huile d’onagre à prendre 10 jours avant les r et je ne sais pas si c’est ça mais je n’ai plus de pms. Au pire so ça ne dégomme pas ton pms c’est bon pour la peau ;)

OMG, this is so funny, i’m with my pms too!, and yesss, sometimes my period are so normal and not painful but this is not the case. I’m feeling very support with this post, your cycle are synchronized with your readers hahaha

Powered magnesium twice a day. And get yourself into Chinese medicine. I had the worst PMS for years – crying, bloated (I felt like I was 5 months pregnant every month), emotional psycho and earlier this year I decided it needed to stop. I went to see a Chinese medicine specialist who gave me herbs for three months and it has changed my life! No more crazy bloating and my emotions are more balanced. I could not recommend it more.

Eh eh! Moi je dirais NE CHANGE RIEN. En tout cas c’est ce que je fais… C’est pénible ces journées d’avant (brr surtout quand on a une forte poitrine) mais j’ai réalisé que c’était comme un “temps mort”. En tout cas pour mon amoureux et mes proches. Une sorte de période où mes crises comptent moitié (comme le scrabble mais à l’envers) et comme j’ai l’excuse parfaite, je peux vivre mon hystérie à fond.
Ca me soulage et mon chéri trouve que ça rajoute à ma weirdness (d’après lui, un des socles de nos 6 ans de vie commune quand même lol); bref tout le monde est gagnant. Sauf mes seins. Pour ça j’ai pas encore trouvé :/

I’m moving to the other side – menopause – and the women’s health “bible” (The Wisdom of Menopause/Christine Northrop) recommends acupuncture, REST, Dong Quai, soy products (women from Japan have few to no symptoms of PMS or menopause).
This bible also says that learning to care for your PMS will help you LOTS when entering menopause. And with all physical symptoms, it is directly correlated to how deal with your emotional life. Wish I been willing to look at all this in my early 40’s. By the way, menopause is a gift to every woman if she’s willing to take it…PMS is the precursor.

Yes to all this! Brilliant. Cutting out gluten and sugar really helped relieve my physical symptoms. When I just learned to honor myself and go with it, it all evened out. The ridiculous pressure we put on ourselves to be sweet and docile and happy and likeable all the goddamn time is when it goes wrong :-)

A trip to a naturopathic doctor might be a really good idea. DIM (Diindolylmethane) was recommended to me by my ND to help with my absurdly terrible PMS which I’ve been dealing with since my teen years. I’m now 43. It has been more helpful than anything any gynecologist, endocrinologist, or MD has ever suggested.

Regular exercise is key. My emotions are still up and down but the physical symptoms (sore boobs, cramps) are gone.

Oh Garance, I’ve been experiencing this since the beginning of this week. Real bad moods. I still don’t know how to deal with it. My back hurts, too. I’m glad you brought it up.

Je n’ai jamais eu de PMS grave dans mes plus jeunes années, mais je suis en PMS permanent depuis l’arrivée de ma préménopause, pour cause d’effondrement de la progestérone, ce qui est exactement ce qui se passe pendant le PMS, n’en déplaise à cet im…cile de “docteur” qui dit que le PMS n’existe pas sur le plan physique (ça, ça donne des envies de meurtre !).

Depuis que je prends de la progestérone, qui sert de contraceptif en plus, finis les soucis, j’ai toujours mon caractère “fort” mais plus de crises d’énervement, plus de fatigue, plus de jambes lourdes, de fourmillements, de kystes ovariens ou de douleurs au sein, toutes choses qui sont causées par un trop plein d’oestrogènes. Même mon mari, quand je suis un peu énervée, me demande si je n’ai pas oublié ma progestérone ! :D
Donc voilà, ce n’est pas naturel à proprement parler comme solution, mais ça a changé ma vie ! C’est aussi utilisé pour les PMS handicapants.

(j’ai essayé tout un tas de trucs “naturels” avant ça, rien n’a marché, parfois la chimie a du bon)

GLA (which can be found in e.g. borage oil, evening primrose oil and starflower oil). Take one capsule the first two weeks of your cysclus and two capsules the last two weeks. Scientifiy proven method and also prescribed by holistic therapists.

Une proche est suivie par cette gynécologue et en 1 mois, son PMS ultra douloureux a changé du tout ou tout.
Bref, tu devrais lire ce livre: http://www.berengere-arnal.fr/actualite/mon-nouveau-livre-sur-le-syndrome-premenstruel/

hello

bon c’est sûr c’est pas hyper naturel mais depuis que je me suis fait poser un implant je n’ai plus mes règles. donc plus de pms. bon ça n’évite pas TOUS les sautes d’humeur ;-) mais ça a changé ma vie!!!

bisous

I was nagging to my boyfriend almost all night long, for reasons I do not remember and I hope he will soon forget. It’s crazy and creepy and I hate it. Taking the pill has helped a lot but I am afraid it took it some time to work and -let’s face it- it is better to not stuff yourself with chemicals, even prescribed. Working out regularly and doing cardio exercise to release tension I think helps, running, dancing, but then, when you’re PMSing you just want to curl in your bed for ever. Vicious circle girls…

I just downloaded Clue…as I’d been meaning to get an app to track mine too. My naturopath just put me on a supplement called Premular. Each tablet has vitex angnus-castus fruit 180mg. I’m going to see how that goes. My main issue is that every time I get my period, just before, during and after, my immune system plummets. It’s so annoying. It’s like my whole body goes into trauma.

As much clean food as possible, no alcohol and no sleepless nights before and during the bad week!..
And magnesium, and b6 vitamins a few days before…
And green smoothies before and during as well. Works wonders for me when i really stick to it.

Mon truc qui marche super mais qui nécessite un vrai coup de pied au cul mental : le sport ! Moi je me branche sur ballet beautiful et j’en fait au moins quinze minutes. De toute façon active ou pas tu souffres et tu es de mauvaise humeur alors autant se bouger ;-)
Et franchement après ça va super tu seras pleine d’énergie et en plus tu seras vachement fière de toi ! Courage !

J’ai le même souci et c’est parfois très difficile pour mon entourage et pour moi…
Sautes d’humeur, fatigue, énervement, changement d’avis, prise de décision précipitée (qui n’est pas toujours justifiée et qui peut avoir de grosses conséquences), et j’en passe !
Très honnêtement, il m’est parfois arrivé d’avoir des idées noires pendant ce foutu SPM…
Donc je doute qu’une appli me fera du bien, je pense même que ça risque de m’alarmer et de m’angoisser encore plus.
Pour moi qui suis d’un naturel calme, optimiste et souriante, cette période du mois est vraiment un supplice car j’ai l’impression de ne pas être moi ;)

Mais bon, on fait avec et dans ces cas-là, merci les glaces et les films à la Bridget Jones !

Manon

A Y U R V E D A
An Ayurvedic doctor will check your pulse and for any imbalances. Using natural/herbal remedies and healing practices, he/she will help you find balance in a way that helps nurture and promote physical, emotional, spiritual, and psychological well being.

If your over 40, you are now in Peri-menopause, that is often when PMS get’s really nasty and/or it is the first time PMS show’s up in your life… Please Google the 35 symptoms of Peri-menopause and read. I have ridden this roller coaster for over 10 years now, and the only thing that has helped me is the health forums I go on to get support from other women..I know that some take HRT, or Bio-identicals… It is a very difficult time to get thru, but reading about the symptoms and getting on those health boards has really helped me more than every thing, else including all that that has been listed by others here…. good luck, and know if you ever want to talk in private please feel free to e-mail me…….. Melissa Lee

MAGNESIUM! Drink it every night for a week leading up to your period and once a twice a week per month. It changes lives. Not only for PMS sufferers but for all of us. It is called the ‘miracle mineral’ and most of us are completely depleted of it, which is NOT good as it controls over 300 processes in our body!!!! Most notably it relaxes muscles, reduces and even eliminates anxiety, promotes peaceful sleep, increases energy, etc, etc…. It changed my life really and when I get clients on it they noticed after just one cycle a major difference in their week leading up to their periods and the period itself. CALM by Natural Vitality is the best brand out there! It’s also a lovely nightly ritual. Run a bath, sip some magnesium, light a candle and read a good book. SELF-LOVE during this period is just as important. We have to love our bodies and not rebel against PMS. Thank it for all that it can and has done! love & light x Lisa

Acupuncture, herbs, energy work, exercise, meditation.

I’m partial because I am months away for sitting for my acupuncture license, but in working with mainly women in clinic I see a lot of patterns. One, I feel women are deeply feeling and emotionally responsive beings. We take A LOT in every month and depending on what your lifestyle is, the monthly cycle is like a big purge of whatever you have accumulated in the month. The bi product of living in a highly charged and active world where settling down, tuning in and going at your own pace are not necessarily encouraged, but critical to living sustainably is sometimes dealing with the discomfort of the alarm systems (i.e pain and discomfort) that go off in your being physically, emotionally, psychologically, etc.
I often find whatever people have been ignoring whether its their emotions, diet, something not quite right in the life, etc. comes out in the cycle. And it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing anything ” wrong” per say, just that the demands placed on us in daily living can be a lot and the body releases accordingly.
All that being said, getting regular energy work, acupuncture, massage, meditation, along with good herbal supplementation can all but totally eradicate your symptoms. Also, the above treatments and practices are really a way for us (women and men!) to get in touch with the subtler aspects of our systems and help inform on an individual level what will keep you more in alignment generally. I liken it to doing daily cleaning versus a big, exhaustive clean that takes two days ( or in this case 5-7) once a month. Overall you get to live in a tidier and more pleasant space, aka your body and life! :)
Good luck and enjoy the process of discovery…

Hello,

Apparement l’huile de primevere marche bien. Serrer les dents et attendre que la journée passe?
Je note mon cycle pour pas avoir de surprises mais parfois je me dis que c’est encore pire, la date fatidique se rapprochant, je deviens obséde et commence a tout a analyser. La par exemple tout va bien, je suis au boulo, fait pas beau mais pas de quoi en faire un drame, et bien je vais bientôt me mettre a sangloter… Oui mes règles commencent demain.

Bourgeons de framboisier du 10e au 24e jour du cycle (Gemmotherapie) ou gélules de Gattilier (Vitex Agnus Castus) + exercice physique doux régulier et rythme de vie le plus régulier possible (le plus difficile!!)

Well said!

Vivement la ménopause ! :-)))

I take chaste tree, as recommended by my naturopath, too! I find it helps me to balance it out.

The most important thing that helps me was realizing that PMS or my period wasn’t a burden, but an opportunity to let the Little Girl within me have her voice. We are capable, independent, strong women for so much of the month that that week is a way for ourselves to acknowledge that something about that month was maybe a bit harder to swallow. Some months, my little girl is really sad and some months she is angry– usually corresponds to what I’ve had to be brave or strong or grown up about. Tell her it’s going to be ok, and it’s ok to express herself!

And! Don’t succumb too much to emotional eating!