How do you deal with PMS?

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I hate posting this kind of stuff. I understand the following will sound annoyingly whiny. Sorry

Look, I REALLY feel like I'm about to die right now. My stomach is cramping like hell, my head hurts and I feel sick to my stomach. And my stapdad is always making fun of me too, so that's no help. All I want to do is get a bowl of mash potatoes and eiter sleep or play Worold of WarCraft for the next week or so. I don't really crave food other than the usual (pineapples), but most food other than steak, pineapple or potatoes makes me feel worse. Chocolate makes me want to throw up. Plus I feel like crying and I have no idea why. I'm kinda freaking out right now. Is this even normal? I'd ask my mom but I can't trust her to not tell everyone I'm having monthly problems. She wouldn't believe me anyway.

Even worse, I'm also dealing with withdrawl because of my recent quitting of caffiene. I didn't even like the buzz of caffiene; I just love the taste of black coffee and Code Red Mountain Dew. It wasn't until I stopped that I realized I had an addiction. AND I have exams that I need to pass if I want to go to college. Thank God I just have Algebra II Honors today, which will be as easy as toast to deal with, and I'm in homeschooling so there goes the emotional stress of going into a public place for 6 hours. And all of a sudden I'm self conscious: I went to the dermatologist today and there was this REALLY cute guy sitting across from me and I almost lost it with anxiety (yet I didn't and managed to keep my remaining sliver of dignity). I am NEVER like that; usually it's attractive males I can talk to best and females make me anxious. AGH.

But still! Every month is hell and I hate taking ibprofen because it makes me act all loopy and whatnot so I can only take it on the days when it hurts to stand up. Walking and exercise is helpful, but usually I'm too exhausted to do even that. I will admit I have 0 pain tolerance, but seriously every month feels like it's my last because I feel like I'm dying. The only thing thats lessened it was sleeping.

Will birth control help? I went to a dermatologist and I'm getting started on it for acne purposes.

So anyway, how do you deal with this? Are there any remedies or some at home treatment thing I can do to make this all stop?

Sorry for ranting and rambling.

Yes, its quite normal to feel like this, hopefully if you are starting on the pill it will help with it all, if it doesn't then ask to try a different brand. Can you try paracetamol instead of ibuprofen? Hope you feel better soon.

Oh and Evening Primrose Oil helps a lot as well. It takes a while to build up in your system, it might not help straight away.

Hot water bottle or stick on heat patches for the cramping.

My first defense against PMS is knowing when it is coming, expecting all the "joys" that come with it, and adapting my life to fit my true needs. I will get stressed if I expect NOT to be the way I am during PMS, if I just accept it and alter my expectations for my life in those days, I am pretty fine.

I kind of feel like this is the accepting thing to do, the supportive thing to do for my body. I feel to do otherwise would be to be at "odds" with my body instead of in sync with it, accepting and supporting what it is to do. I don't like PMS any better than the next gal, but it is going to happen and I may as well treat myself right to get through it well. It teaches me patience, self love and acceptance, limits and boundaries of my own capabilities, I find this to be the reward of a woman and enduring it all! If my body wants mashed potato, then that is what it would get (within healthy reason). I do what works until I've seen it through.

It has taken me a long time to come to this place and I understand when you are young you really don't have a handle on it all. It feels more like it's got a handle on you! I remember being younger and feeling some of the ways you describe. I didn't even know enough to see the association in what I was going through and my cycle at times. I kind of wish I'd started charting young, maybe that would have helped arm me to deal with some of the pitfalls. Maybe it would for you? Give yourself time to get to know what works for you and maybe try to not eliminate caffine all at once, but only cut down so your body isn't going through so much at once? Hope things get better for you soon.

Caffeine - how are you quitting?
Bear in mind that you can't go 'cold-turkey' from caffeine because you will suffer problems, such as KILLER migraines. It may or may not also effect menstruation, for some people caffeine can add to menstrual cramps, but a sudden drop may effect menstrual cramps too. Basically what I'm saying is that if quitting caffeine wean yourself off slowly.

Birth control may or may not help - however I would say that birth control should never be used as a quick-fix, by suppressing your menstrual cycles it may also suppress any symptoms you have so get rid of the problem for as long as you're taking the birth control, but this is no guarantee that it will help as it's not dealing with the underlying cause of the problem. Given it's effect on the body and risks it's really it's an extreme way of dealing with the problem, it's best to try to prevent these issues.

Rather than Ibuprofen try alternative pain relief;
- Cell salts - take every 5-10 minutes until the pain stops (try searching for these in health stores).
- Clary Sage Oil - dilute in carrier oil if you have sensitive skin, otherwise as long as it doesn't irritate using it neat is best, you then massage it into your tummy, this helps ease pain and also supports estrogen production and acts on the pituitary gland to prevent cramps. (try searching for this in health stores or anywhere that sells essential oils).

Heat or cold pack may give some relief too - some people do react better to cold rather than heat, but heat does tend to work better for most, get yourself something like a Cosy Cuddles Animal Heat Pack - easy to reuse, and cute ^_^

If willing to look into alternative treatments I've known a fair few women who have gotten help with PMS from going for acupuncture or chiropractic care, there's also a few acupressure points you can use yourself as a form of pain relief at home (see this video).

Progesterone therapy may also be beneficial to you - get a natural progesterone cream like this one - start it the second week into your cycle, rub it into either your chest, abdomen, inner arms, or thighs once or twice a day.

Diet is a big deal, get a balanced diet with foods rich in essential fatty acids and low in refined sugars, refined carbohydrates and hydrogenated fats, avoid foods that make you bloated such as salty foods, and some find dairy and soy cause problems. You also want to be increasing certain vitamin intake, in particular look at taking omega 3, flaxseed oil (approx. 500Mg 2-4 times a day), B vitamin complex with 100mg of vitamin B6, Magnesium (100mg every 2 hours during menstruation), and vitamin E in d-alpha tocopherol form (50mg 3 times a day) - also increase calcium, iron, potassium and zinc. If that's all too much to take on just try a good multi-vitamin and some flax-seed, that's better than nothing

To ease the pain you may also want to exercise, you don't need to use anything too exhausting, anything that stretches your abdomen and improves breathing will help (breathing exercises in general will help too - remind yourself whenever you can to take deep controlled breaths, this will help you relax). Yoga is particularly good for this (Yoga postures for menstrual pain). Things like masturbation which will improve circulation and relax, or if too tired for any sort of activity having a nice bath with some nice smelling bath stuffs like lavender will also help.

Try herbal treatments - if you're not drinking caffeine then it's a perfect opportunity to try herbal teas, in particular for cramps try; yarrow, lemon balm, black haw, chamomile, red raspberry, wild strawberry, valerian, and raspberry leaf - I recommend raspberry leaf, nice and fruity, it can help relieve cramps as it helps tone and relax the muscles of the uterus. Try the Chinese medicine Bupleurum (xiao yao wan) you take 3-4 tablets 4 times a day a few weeks periods. Also take Evening Primrose oil or Black Cohosh capsules or Chaste Tree tincture daily to regulate hormones to help prevent cramps and mood swings. Personally I recommend Chaste Tree tincture over all else to regulate hormones and lessen menstrual problems, it does take a few months to see an improvement but when it comes to menstrual problems you want to be looking more at the long-term goal of prevention rather than just focusing on short-term methods of easing the discomfort - prevention is better than cure. Any health store will be able to help you with all this stuff.

Avoid tampons, they cause vaginal health problems which can also contribute to menstrual health problems, particularly if using commercial tampons which contain chemicals you may be sensitive to, tampons also tug on the vaginal walls while absorbing fluids and can expand into the cervix which will add to cramps. Ideally use pads or menstrual cups - menstrual cups are known to lessen or even stop cramps, you also have the advantage of them being more convenient, comfortable and reliable so you don't have to stress so much about feeling of tampons or pads, and no worry about leaking, which will in turn make menstruation easier on you.

Improve your attitude towards menstruation, women are constantly bombarded with negative messages about menstruation and rarely hear about the positives of menstruation. It's like how seeing nothing but size zero models makes women feel negative about their own bodies and it effects our self-esteem, if you're constantly thinking that menstruation is a negative then this will effect your mood and your moods in turn effect menstruation - the two are very much intertwined. Research shows if you have a positive attitude not only are you more likely to learn more thus be able to deal better with menstruation, but that menstrual problems are greatly reduced.

Thus why many gyno's will start an appointment asking how things are in your life, if you're stressed this will effect menstruation, anxiety will have an effect. Anything you do to help with anxiety will help with PMS - obviously it all depends on what, if anything, you're already doing to help with anxiety. If not taking anything it may be worth trying over-the-counter treatments like 5HTP (Hydroxy Tryptophan) and using emotional freedom techniques to help yourself, or hell try meditation to help balance your moods out and help with anxiety.

I'm also a strong believer in the idea of menstrual problems coming as a result of not knowing what is happening, which means you're not equipped to know what to do if something is going wrong, and the sense of not being in control adds to emotional aspects of menstrual problems. I thus think it's beneficial for women to get more in touch with their bodies so learning Fertility Awareness Method (FAM), charting your cycles will let you know if anything is wrong and let you know what to expect and when so you can make adjustments.

If all else fails see a doctor, get tests to see if there is an underlying cause such as hormonal imbalance, as well as investigating yourself possible causes and treatments - because god knows doctors are often less than willing to help with these sort of problems, many still believe cramps and PMS is just 'part of being a woman' with is total BS. If everything seems okay then ask for an anti-inflammatory drug such as Mefenamic acid to block the the synthesis of prostaglandin F2 alpha, a hormone responsible for cramps, you take these 3 times a day for the first 4 days of your period and they will help cramps better than any other anti-inflammatory like Ibprofen.

Since becoming a full vegan,I don't really have PMS at all.Just minor bloating,back aches,and my period is super light.Give it a shot! bye bye PMS!

Ever since my hystorectomy, I don't get it anymore.