(sorry if this kind of topic isn't allowed... you can delete it if it's not. But I figured we're mostly women here so it would probably apply to a lot of us.)

I'm one of those "I'll start tomorrow!" types. I've been about to start tomorrow for a year now. (That's why I was here for a bit, then dropped off the face of the boards for quite some time. )

Right now, though, I'm saying "I'll start Sunday!" Why Sunday? That's when I start the new pack of pills. It's PMS week right now and I'm on the pill to manage my severe PMS symptoms (it's actually called PMDD, in my case).

When I'm cramping and I'm feeling depressed and craving sugar like OhMyGodINeedToHaveItNow... it's like I watch myself walk to the freezer and pull out the package of peanut butter cups that DH-to-be put in there for himself and I see myself unwrapping them and devouring them all. And then I watch myself pour bowl after bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, followed by a popsicle, followed by a glass of orange juice.

And then I go and cry because [cue evil uterus voice] oh my God, I cannot BELIEVE what a horrible person you are. Look what you just ate! How disgusting. DH-to-be reassures me all the time that he still loves me no matter what I look like (and he did love me just as much when I was 30 pounds heavier) and that eating "bad" food does not make me a horrible person and that I'm going to get through this.

I know he's right. But when it's THAT time of the month it's so hard to listen to him. I guess this post didn't really have a point.. I'm just wondering if maybe someone out there knows how it feels.

So what part of the cornfield are you in?

Miss Chris

Navi,
Oh i do understand. my body has been ****ered since my daugher was born.. but my dr seems to think all is well. like i don't know when my uterus is acting funky. but last month i was up at 3 am eating pretzels and bark choc squares. and i need that sugar. gotta have it. give it to me.

Navi - don't beat yourself up about it - it is not your fault.

Most women go through that kind of thing during pms - for me it is salt cravings

Your case sounds pretty extreme maybe you should consult your doctor or a dietician to find a healthy alternative for your sugar cravings?

Not keeping sugary treats and cereals in the house and replacing them with sweet things like green grapes, bananas, tangerines or mandarin oranges may help or you or some other treats like sugar free candy, diabetic chocolate etc. might be an alternative.

I can't resist salty stuff like chips and pretzels so I just don't have them in the house -my DH knows that this is my downfall so he has quit eating them too in order to help me.

rochemist- I'm in Omaha, but I'm planning to move to Oregon this summer.

blugirrl- A lot of doctors seem to dismiss feminine problems. Like they don't really bother us and that we should just get used to it. *rolls eyes* If men suffered from PMS I guarantee ya they'd have found a cure by now. Maybe find a doctor who will listen to you? No one knows what causes PMS/PMDD and the medications out there are really just a temporary kind of thing that treat symptoms for a while but not the underlying cause, but there are options.

mauvais- I have seen a doctor about the Evil Uterus. Most treatments involve Prozac or bc pills. I refuse to take anti-depressants (I was on them as a teenager... *shudder*) so I'm on the pills for several months. A more long term solution involves regular exercise and avoiding salt, sugar, caffeine, and a lot of fat. I'm uh... I'm doing good on avoiding caffeine! I'm actually quite amazed that not drinking caffeine has made it SO much better.

I don't even know if not having sugar in the house is an option. DH-to-be is a sugar junkie and he just can't go without it. We both know it would be healthier not to have candy and ice cream around, and if it were up to me I'd get rid of it. But I can't make him. I'm not his mommy. To his credit, though, he's gone from regular to diet soda (which I don't drink... caffeine=evil)... maybe I could ask him to gradually cut out the candy?

Whew! /ramble

maybe if you explain the situation to him he would be willing to compromise and just eat sweet treats outside of the house?

Hi Navi...

Here are a few of my tricks:

1. Is to have DH and the kids put it away in the basement where only they know where it is, and they don't eat it in front of me... Because a clean food environment is a safe one... And if it was put far away enough, maybe your DH-to-be wouldn't be reaching out for it as often either...

2. Eat often, every 2 or 3 hours... this prevents the insulin ups and downs... and have a healthy, unprocessed carb like oatmeal or fruit or brown rice even, ALONG WITH a healthy protein like cottage cheese, chicken what the heck anything, LF cheese ...

3. Drink plenty of water...

4. Take your multi vitamin...

5. Exercise "regularly", just get your booty moving...

I am 47 and have a double whamy of PMS and peri-menopause... No, it's not all in your head but you must change your lifestyle to accomodate your hormones...

Oops, my turn to ramble... sorry... Hope this helps and I didn't sound like a know it all, because I'm NOT!!!

Later...

Oh Ilene, I'm 44 and in the midst of it all also. For me salty and sweet. But started SB
this month and beleive or not it helped. I got thru it with fruit and wheat pita chips.
It's not chocolate & lays potato chips but it go me thru.

Shall we say Donna it's a VERY interesting time of our lives... Have you read The Wisdom of Menopause by Christiane Northrup, M.D.... Great read!

I hear ya, Navi. There's a real bitter-sweetness to being a woman.
Hang in there... better times are ahead. I think.

Ilene and Donna, I started peri-menopause last year. The night sweats...... aaaaaargh!!! I wake up DRENCHED! I have to change my clothes and lie on a towel. What a life. I always tell my DH that in his next life he'll be a woman. It's man's destiny.

Wait! I have a uterus?

oh yes the sweet irony.

I think in a previous life I was the man and DH-to-be was the woman and I'm wondering what I did to deserve this.

He's agreed to hide the candy, or to just eat it before work or whatever when I'm not around to see him. We're still trying to come up with a way to keep the cheese away from me. So far the only thing I can come up with is putting a lock box in the fridge-- since you can't really hide cheese anywhere else. He seems kind of skeptical about it, but next time it comes up I'm going to say "So would you rather have to unlock a box to get to your cheese, or deal with Navi-the-monster every month or two?" I think that will convince him.

(I turned into the monster today. Uh, yesterday. And I made him cry. Like a typical man, he never cries. He said I scared him. I don't get that mean unless I'm about to have my period. I was very close to throwing all my breakable dishes onto the kitchen floor and walking on them barefoot.)

Yes, I'm aware that it's severe and that I need help. And I'm working on it. Diet and exercise is really the best long-term solution, though. Anti-depressants and birth control pills are just short term band-aids.

I wish there was a special "menstrual retreat" that I could go to when this happens, where they make me all sorts of yummy food and let me sit in the hot tub all day and I can sleep in a hammock. That way I wouldn't hurt everyone like I do. *sigh*

Navi...I'm with you. We need a "red tent" society...that was a good book.

I too am on BC....for the first time since I was a late teen...Jeez. The hope is to control the great deluges I've been experiencing. If it doesn't then the offending organ is coming out! Fibroids run in the family and enough is enough!

However, these mood swings are unbelievable...and I wasn't getting them until 1 1/2 weeks ago when I started the pill.

God help our families

Ceara

A friend of mine gets her hubby to lock all his goodies in a storage cabinet that only he has the key to - she has no idea what is even in there...and it is in the basement out of sight- it seems extreme but it has worked-that and the fat that she has a cupboard in the kitchen where she keeps her healthy treats

Someone at my ww meetings gets her husband to keep his junk food in a cabinet in the garage so she can't see it or have access to it.

I am fortunate that my DH is OP with me and his favorite treats are tostitos with salsa, almonds, and dark chocolate, which I seem to be able to ignore or only eat in small quantities and still stay OP.