Update & PMS question

[sweetest-sin-78.livejournal.com]

How bad would your PMS symptoms need to be before you were concerned? My period has changed GREATLY in the last year. I was previously taking Seasoniqu (sp) until I had a horrible 3 month long period. That was July last year. Since then my menstrual cycle has not been the same. Before it was normal, moderate cramps, headaches, and crankiness.

Now it's escalated to: 
Horrible Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Migraines
EXTREME cramps
EXTREME depression (Like... I feel suicidal, and really, really don't like myself)
Fatigue
Pains in my back/sides (during ovulation maybe? Not during my period so much)

On the note of the suicidal thoughts: I've suffered from depression/Anxiety since I was like 12. In my world there is a difference between FEELING suicidal and BEING suicidal. I'm not scared I'm going to hurt myself, but the thought of "I cannot do this anymore. I don't want to be alive. Life would be better without me," but I've not ever felt the urge to actually hurt myself during this.

I moved about 3 or 4 months ago so I currently do not have a doctor here. I missed work today because I was having diarrhea, nausea, and a migraine. Yesterday at work I had a breakdown because of the depression. It's starting to effect my everyday life. 

I have other girl issues (vaginismus/spasmed vaginal walls... I don't know anything about either of them but that's what the last Dr I saw said I had in April....).

Right now I feel helpless. I wouldn't even know where to start telling a doctor about this. How do I start? Is there even anything they can do it help me or am I destined to have these horrible periods until I his menopause? 



Update from (http://vaginapagina.livejournal.com/21070144.html#cutid1)

The rash is clearing up. I've just been using the antibiotic cream on it because I am broke until payday. I've just kept it dry and exposed to the air (the most you can your under-boob). It hurts to raise my arm above my head from it pulling, but it's not as bad as it was Sunday.

Comments

[archangelbeth]

I hope you can find a doctor -- just print out this page, I'd say, and hand it to the doctor, if you can't think of a way to tell them that you are having REALLY BAD "PMS." (For the vaginismus, you probably want a Pelvic Pain Specialist, or a Physiotherapist specializing in the pelvic floor.)

I would suggest getting tested for your vitamin levels. B and D, ferritin while they're doing it (get the numbers; low normal can use more iron!), and thyroid because it's my pet hobby-horse and because thyroid problems can cause depression. (For thyroid, also get the numbers; some labs use out-of-date values. Your TSH should be between .4 and 4, and ideally no higher than around 2-ish.)

If your B is low, taking extra B might help, albeit slowly. (It helped my PMS depression a lot, though mine wasn't as bad as yours sounds.) It might not fix everything, but if your B is low, getting that up would likely at least help.

It's also possible that going back on some form of HBC would help ameliorate the progesterone-crash effects. You might consider trying the mini-pill, even, which is progesterone-only. That's potentially a stop-gap measure, but being able to function is important, and makes it easier to plan the next step -- especially if you don't get a good doctor right off the bat, who wants to Solve The Problem instead of just do some tests, go "it isn't that," and forget that the goal is Solve Problem and not "Do Tests."

*offers hugs and luck-wishing* I hope others will post with better ideas! (And I'm glad the rash seems to be clearing up!)

[princessselene.livejournal.com]

to add on to Beth's comment, your vitamin D level should be a minimum of 30. Low vitamin D is connected to anxiety and depression, since low numbers inhibit serotonin production. Hematacrit for iron/ferritin should be about 35 or so, hemoglobin about 17. When my vitamin D level came up to normal after being treated for a severe deficiency for it, I noticed I didn't need to take Lexapro like I had before. I'm not saying this will work for you, but it's something to at least get checked.

[dkwgdk.livejournal.com]

I sympathize a lot with this -- I have a sort of unusual variety of depression where my mood swings from "okay" to "let's drive off a bridge" in the space of hours. When I'm having a bad episode, these switches can happen repeatedly for days. The rapid shifts are at their worst when I ovulate and before my period. I also had severe PMS/period symptoms that included what one could politely label "GI distress" along with heavy periods and incapacitating cramps.

So. I think that Beth and Princess have good ideas about tests. I also think that it might be worth exploring being on an antidepressant for a few months until you get the problems sorted out. I've had a litany of problems with ADs, but they usually work at least for a few months before they stop working, AND many folks have way better luck with them than I did.

At the moment I have a Mirena that helps out my severe period symptoms and I take a slightly higher dose of Pristiq (an antidepressant, among other purposes) immediately before and during my period. I've also started taking a B supplement that improves my mind-numbing fatigue. It seems to help a great deal.

TL, DR: I think it's worth getting tested for a variety of deficiencies. It might also be worth investigating a short course of antidepressants until the other issues can get sorted.