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Boys, this may be a bit TMI. You have been warned.
My periods and the PMS has been getting worse as I age. (I blame this on Miss Alpha Pheromones btw... yes, you know who you are) About two weeks before my periods I go through a time of major fatigue. It is all I can do to stay awake sometimes and drowning myself with caffeine doesn't seem to help at all.
Right after that (with some overlap most of the time) I go through The Big Dumb. About 7-10 days of difficulty with word finding, concentration and general attention.
Then the period starts.
Pretty horrible cramping for 3-4 days. My best drug combo is 2 Aleve every 12 hours, and on top of that 800mg of Ibuprofen every 3-4 hours. Vicodin does nothing, percocet does nothing.
Since I am a professional and concentration and holding intelligent conversations is part of my job, and I would also like to NOT burn a hold in my gut, I thought I would do something about it. So off to the OBG-YN I go.
He decided to try me on birth control for the hormones. I explained that I did not react well the last time I was on it, but he assured me that BC has come a long way (baby) and the dose is so small that I shouldn't have the same reaction.
Nope, didn't get the same reaction at all. It was worse.
It started with irritability, moved up to bitchiness, and then jumped to downright hostile. I hated my life, I hated my job, I hated my house, I hated Minnesota, I hated my husband... you get the picture. Seriously. I hated everything. My mantra was "I hate my life, I hate my life, I hate my FUCKING life". After three months I decided enough was enough and got the fuck off the pill.
Things smoothed out a bit, life got livable, and I was generally a happy person again.
But then the PMS and period crap came back and I remembered why I put myself through that hell in the first place. (oh... btw, the pill DID help the PMS and cramps!)
So back to the OBG-YN I go.
This time he put my on an estrogen patch. 14 days after the first day of my period I put a little tiny patch on my body, kinda like I am trying to kick the PMS habit.
First came the irritability, then came the bitchiness. It hasn't descended into full out hatred yet, but I am watching out for it. Oh... and to add to the fun, I am feeling totally overwhelmed, my memory is for shit, and my trigger point in my back is starting to flare up again.
Yeah, I know... cry me a river.
So I am wondering if anyone else has ideas. I figure I will stick with this patch for another month (unless I become homicidal, then someone please knock me down and rip this thing from my body. Currently it is on the right side close to my belly button), but if the symptoms don't ease then I need to figure out something else. I keep having hopes for my OBG-YN, that it will suddenly hit him that "AH! This is what you need!" and hand me the perfect pill, but I am beginning to loose confidence.
If I had the guts, and the money, I would have them rip this useless piece of crap uterus and ovaries from my body, but since I have neither, it is a moot point. (not to mention I would be adding even MORE hormone hell, but it seems like such a good idea...)
So what now?
My periods and the PMS has been getting worse as I age. (I blame this on Miss Alpha Pheromones btw... yes, you know who you are) About two weeks before my periods I go through a time of major fatigue. It is all I can do to stay awake sometimes and drowning myself with caffeine doesn't seem to help at all.
Right after that (with some overlap most of the time) I go through The Big Dumb. About 7-10 days of difficulty with word finding, concentration and general attention.
Then the period starts.
Pretty horrible cramping for 3-4 days. My best drug combo is 2 Aleve every 12 hours, and on top of that 800mg of Ibuprofen every 3-4 hours. Vicodin does nothing, percocet does nothing.
Since I am a professional and concentration and holding intelligent conversations is part of my job, and I would also like to NOT burn a hold in my gut, I thought I would do something about it. So off to the OBG-YN I go.
He decided to try me on birth control for the hormones. I explained that I did not react well the last time I was on it, but he assured me that BC has come a long way (baby) and the dose is so small that I shouldn't have the same reaction.
Nope, didn't get the same reaction at all. It was worse.
It started with irritability, moved up to bitchiness, and then jumped to downright hostile. I hated my life, I hated my job, I hated my house, I hated Minnesota, I hated my husband... you get the picture. Seriously. I hated everything. My mantra was "I hate my life, I hate my life, I hate my FUCKING life". After three months I decided enough was enough and got the fuck off the pill.
Things smoothed out a bit, life got livable, and I was generally a happy person again.
But then the PMS and period crap came back and I remembered why I put myself through that hell in the first place. (oh... btw, the pill DID help the PMS and cramps!)
So back to the OBG-YN I go.
This time he put my on an estrogen patch. 14 days after the first day of my period I put a little tiny patch on my body, kinda like I am trying to kick the PMS habit.
First came the irritability, then came the bitchiness. It hasn't descended into full out hatred yet, but I am watching out for it. Oh... and to add to the fun, I am feeling totally overwhelmed, my memory is for shit, and my trigger point in my back is starting to flare up again.
Yeah, I know... cry me a river.
So I am wondering if anyone else has ideas. I figure I will stick with this patch for another month (unless I become homicidal, then someone please knock me down and rip this thing from my body. Currently it is on the right side close to my belly button), but if the symptoms don't ease then I need to figure out something else. I keep having hopes for my OBG-YN, that it will suddenly hit him that "AH! This is what you need!" and hand me the perfect pill, but I am beginning to loose confidence.
If I had the guts, and the money, I would have them rip this useless piece of crap uterus and ovaries from my body, but since I have neither, it is a moot point. (not to mention I would be adding even MORE hormone hell, but it seems like such a good idea...)
So what now?