I'm starting to notice a pattern. Aside from PMS around TOM, every month, about a day or two before I would ovulate, I get a mini dose of PMS. It usually lasts about a day, maybe a day and a half.

I get tired, increased appetite and cravings (like around TOM) and I even get kind of in a funk, like down in the dumps feeling or emotional.

Does anyone else get this? I've googled it and I have found other women that get a mini PMS when they ovulate. It sucks because I keep eating out of control at that time. Gees, I haven't even figured out how to get through my period unscathed and now this?.... I was in need of a game plan for TOM. Now I need one for twice a month?!?!

I get crampy and really hungry for a day or two mid cycle. Is is a pain in the behind lol. It is especially difficult because I seem to be on a 26 day cycle so I get periods a little more often than usual.

For me, there's only one PMS period, but it can last two weeks (and since it straddles my period, I guess it's more accurately both premenstrual syndrome, and perimenstrul syndrome)


Rather than a distinct pms, I experience an ebb and flow of "control" (over emotions, cravings, physical hunger, and energy level). On birth contrl, I have a 28 day cycle and a 5 day period and 7-14 days of pms (depending on how I control my eating). Without bc, my cycle is 21 days, my period is 8-9 days long, and pms symptoms can last more than 2 weeks.

Without bc, it seems like I have pms almost all month long (I would have been on bc sooner, if doctors hadn't told me I'd probably gain weight on bc. Turns out, it's easier for me to lose weight on bc, because it helps tames the symptoms).


Before the pill, hubby called me "werewolf" because of the severe moodswings and cravings for chocolate, beef (rarer than I normally like it), and carbs.

The more I indulge in the carb cravings, the more intense cthe hunger, cravings and moodswings, and the longer symptoms last.

Noticeable symptoms begin about 10-14 days before my period. It's subtle at this point, and usually hubby notices before I do. It slowly escalates, and is worst during the time just before and after TOM starts. If I'm eating very low-carb symptoms will be worse and will last longer. Usually, even if I'm eating very low-carb, I can count on at least the three days before my period starts and three days after to be pretty tooth-and-nail. If I eat high carb before or during TOM, the danger zone is much worse and lasts much longer.


On my monthly calendar, I've started marking the "danger zone" days in red (four days before and three days after) and "alert zone" days in yellow (four days before and three days after the red zone days). I'm hoping it will remind me to be just asy careful during the yellow zone days as the red zone days (I probably should be just as diligent all month long, but seeing the crisis as "temporary" helps me have a little more motivation and will power on the days that need it the most).

Kaplods, a few years ago after baby #1 I went on birth control after I'd lost the baby weight. And I gained about 25 lbs from none stop eating. I was on Yaz and I was so depressed and just ate and ate. It was like PMSing all month only I didnt realize it was the pill. For 8 months I thought I was depressed for other reasons, but for the life of me I couldnt figure out why I was so depressed.

It just dawned on my one night while I was talking about it to my husband. I stopped the birth control and the cloud lifted. But I had already put on the extra pounds.

But around TOM I get severely depressed. I've been thinking about going on a pill that I would only get my period a few times a year. I'm hoping a different pll would not cause the same issues.

Do you mind if I ask which one you are on?

I don't have pms twice, but the last two weeks of my cycle (from ovulation to TOM) I am ravenous. But it's also when I have the best weight loss if I stick with the program. After my period starts until ovulation, not overly hungry and weight loss is negligible. Which probably means I should drop my calories during that time as obviously, my metabolism is different/lower then.

I just commented on this to DH. I didn't have this problem before, but as my cycle has regulated, I get moody and upset when I ovulate. I joked with him that I'm obviously not meant to have more children since the best time to conceive coincides with me wanting to slap him for all the stupid things he says! Why is he so much dumber when I ovulate/pms?

Oh man, I'm the opposite. When I'm about ready to ovulate, I would jump my husband if he were covered in dog doo... Ok, maybe not, but good thing there is such thing as birth control or I would be in TROUBLE. Of course, when he's not in the mood at that time, man, then I get grumpy!

By "before" do you mean pre baby? Before I had my kids, I didnt have this. I also had lighter, easier periods. After baby #a I think I had this, but I didnt recognize it and I really dont remember. This obviously crumb mid cycle "PMS" has been around since I had baby #2 and TOM just get worse with each child too!

I don't know what to do short of gettin my jaw wired shut.....although I'd probably get desperate and shove food up my nose until it reached the back of my throat. Good grief.

Seems the day after my mini PMS is over, I'm stalking my husband as well.

I don't think it happened until after the first 2 kiddos. With the 3rd - we termed that ovulation cycle "egg with attitude" - my back hurt, and I was cranky, and if I remember correctly we both had a horrible cold, but we were "trying", and my DD is a terror quite often - go figure.

I may be a little moody around ovulation, but I still stalk my DH - he's the one who isn't so sure he likes me enough to let me catch him.

Maybe this has more to do with age and I just notice it more since my cycles have regulated with weight loss?

Not at all,
I'm currenlty on Tri-Sprintec. It's a generic two-phase bc.




but keep in mind that antidepressants and birth control are both notorious for the possibility of oppositional side effects. As I understand it, the Tri-Sprintec tends to result in weight gain more often than loss.

My situation is also somewhat unusual, as my cycle is so extreme and bizarre, (21 day cycle, but with a heavy 8 - 10 day period, with severe cramps, moodswings, cravings, hunger...), that my body may not be reacting the way a "normal" one would. Taking bc to have a more normal cycle and to treat PMDD, may have different effects on a woman who has a relatively normal cycle and is taking bc only for bc.

I am soooo glad you posted this because that must be what is going on with me!! LOL!! I have 21-25 day cycles and I am on day 10 of my cycle (so about another week and a half until TOM), and I was just lying in bed for two hours today just crying, and emotional, and wanting to eat everything in sight, and being super snarky to my husband for no good reason...this really explains a lot. Seriously, thanks for posting this. I had no clue what was going on with me!!

I definately have symptoms when I am ovulating that are like PMS. My doctor actually thinks they come from pre-menopause. He did put me on birth control to help it, but I didn't like how the birth control made me feel, so I stopped taking it. I would much rather suffer a few days then the whole month. To put an age to it I was 30 when this started happening. My mom had the same problems and still managed to have my brother at 36. They say pre-menopause can last a long time.

I have noticed that I have times during or right after ovulation that I have much more anxiety than is normal for me. Also am much morelikely to snap at my husband who really doesn't deverve it. And yes, I find it harder to stay on plan at that time, more so that at my actual TOM. Glad to hear I am not alone!

This sounds silly, but I got an app on my phone where you record your cycle and it shows you when your ovulation will be and such. It has been accurate to the day for every first day of my TOM (I have a 33-day cycle, so once it figured out that average, it's been spot on). I have never really paid attention to my cycle, all I cared was I was either on my period or I wasn't. But now that I have this app (lol), I make a mental note of where I am in my cycle, how it is affecting my weight, my cravings, my mood, etc. And there truly is a remarkably predictable pattern.

I have that "fertile week," with the last day of the week being ovulation and the midpoint of my cycle. For that whole week leading up to it, I feel good and cheerful and beautiful. These are my skinny days, hehe, when I want to bust out the skinny jeans. Then I ovulate and for a day or two after that I do indeed feel bloated (and often I'm up a bit on the scale) and get kind of PMS-y.

So I do get the symptoms of PMS twice a month. I never thought of it as two PMS's, lol, how sad. My PMS cravings are always greasy fast food (which I normally don't have any desire for at all) and chocolatey candy.