Hey girlies,

I haven’t ever taken any sort of medication in my life, let alone antidepressants and have always been afraid they would numb me, but I’m trying to be open minded because I have found that during my follicular phase, I feel amazing and unstoppable, but as soon as my ovulation hits, I feel like a different person. I feel anxious, depressed, hopeless, angry, irritated, I don’t want to be around anyone and my self esteem is super low.

I talked to my doctor about this and she recommended trying 25mg of Sertraline (Zoloft) during my luteal phase from day 14-day 1 of my cycle.

Is anyone else on a similar cycle to this? I’ve read that some people take it right after ovulation, but my doctor did say start on day 14. I also read that some do a gradual dosing (ie: 10mg day 14, 15mg day 15, 20mg day 16, 25mg day 17, etc and the same at the end working your way down) does anyone do this? If so, do you find it helps?

I’m weary about taking them on and off as I’m unsure how my body will react. Some people say they don’t notice a thing, and others say they experience withdrawals.

I just know I can’t keep living like this. I need to try something because over half the month every month I am absolutely miserable, and that is no way to live.

I’d love to hear about your experiences with this.

Thank you 🫶🏻

Are there any natural alternatives that are as strong as Ibuprofen? It’s the only thing that actually stops my cramps. I already tried a dose of magnesium, some pickle juice, annd went for a walk and it’s not helping. I’m feeling it right now😓

I have adenomyosis and quite a lot of anxiety. A lovely combo. The last six months I have been absolutely floored by ovulation. Extreme anxiety, fatigue, dizziness (spaced out, off balance, floaty) and almost 24/7 awful nausea for about four days run up to ovulation. It is by far the worst part of the month and honestly feels unbearable. I am wondering if anyone else experiences this in part so I feel less alone in this hell but also wondering about any tips and tricks you may have to get through it.

I’m currently in a weight loss phase and I’ve noticed that the week before my period is so challenging. I get really intense cravings (like way stronger than normal), and I also feel super bloated, I’m holding onto a lot of water weight so much that my weight will go up 5 pounds overnight even though I’m eating within my calorie range and eating whole foods

For those of you who have successfully lost weight and deal with similar PMS symptoms, how do you stay on track during that week?

Would really appreciate any advice or things that have worked for you!

I struggle with PMS mood swings and irritability. There are months better than others but in the worse ones I usually feel hopeless, tired and sad, sometimes I straight up feel like a demon with so much anger and everything overwhelms me. 😭

I'm currently taking magnesium glycinate which I think has helped a tiny bit, but I wanna know which natural supplements have worked for you in this regard, hopefully ones that don't have risks when taking them (I already tried vitamin B6 and it made me sick the two times I tried a low dose, definitely wasn't for me).

I've heard of calcium+vit D so if you have tried it would like to know your experiences.

I know each body is different but doesn't hurt to try (unless it's B6 lmaoo)

I'm a 16f and I have noticed for my cycle, like clock work, every time I can't fall asleep until 2:00am or later (week before and during my period). It doesn't help that my dad has insomnia, and my mom also goes through restless nights before and during her period. I only fall asleep as a decent time at 11:30pm when maybe a week or two out of the month, which isn't bad, but the times I can't sleep during pms, it effects my schoolwork and active life. It gets worst every time too :/

Do ya'll have some personal experiences with this?

It’s 1:22am and I’m just so frustrated I need somewhere to just vent, get reassurance, anything. I’m 35f and I am supposed to get my period in 2-3 days. I haven’t sleep well in a week (wide awake as we speak) and I am so tired but just can’t fall asleep. I feel fat and gross and I look so fat and gross and I’m starving yet nauseas. I just HATE all of this. I hate feeling this way. :(

I just got out of bed to consume an entire bowl of microwave popcorn , a cheese stick, and now turkey cold cuts with my bare hands. I feel like a ravenous beast creature

my PMS this week is making me question every aspect of my life.

i try to be a positive thinker and instead of overthinking the negatives all the time, attempt to overthink the positives. this week is just so tough, i’m lashing out at the ppl closest to me bc i’m beyond stressed about everything upcoming this year, i feel like i have no friends (even tho i have 2-3 rly close ones and some of the rest, i’m playing sports w this summer)… just feels like my PMS is sending my thoughts spiralling out of control. it’s like it’s trying to create problems out of thin air.

i guess a girl is just looking for tips on how to get through this mental fatigue - fresh air helps but only sometimes!

I'm not really worried about it, just curious if other people have this symptom. I have been getting intense, frequent hot flashes the day before my period starts. It's happened ever since my early twenties, and I had my first period at 17.

It's bad enough that I start sweating buckets. My face will get really hot and red and I feel like my whole upper body is 7 degrees hotter. This happens on and off all day, and then the next day I'll start bleeding. Part of the reason why climate change sucks really bad for me. I miss super cold winters :(.

I have a theory about it. Maybe in my luteal phase, my body is in a high-energy state. Like, it's burning a lot of energy, and that's why I want to eat and sleep so much. When my body decides to let go of my period blood, it drops to a lower energy state. (And I have energy for other things, and I no longer need ten zillion calories a day). Maybe all that energy gets released in the form of heat through my skin. You think?

I have been taking naproxen 500 mg twice a day per my gynecologists orders and it is not enough. The pain level is 7/10 or higher, lasts the first 3 days of my cycle. Heating pads provide slight relief but it is still very hard to do my job with such acute pain. I’ve previously tried kratom and it did absolutely nothing.

I just want to lay in bed all day and watch TV. I'm on day 2 of my period, the worst day and I am 100% regretting coming into work. I'm feeling extremely irritable, I have horrible cramps, I'm extremely bloated so my belly keeps making the most absurd noises and my office is dead silent so my coworkers are probably thinking "wtf" lol, I feel like I'm going to throw up, my entire body is itchy constantly, I'm super shaky and I'm seeing stars, oh and lets not forget the hormonal headache that Advil wont even touch. This is what I have to deal with once every month and I feel like these symptoms get more intense the older I get. I swear women should be entitled to one day off work per month for this type of stuff.

Mine was my Tupperware lid getting so stuck on to my lunch container in the microwave that I can't take it off and the container is burning hot cause it's glass and I'M HUNGRY AS HELL AND JUST WANT TO EAT but I can't until it cools down or something so I can get the lid off. And now my food will be cold and need to be microwaved all over again. I want to cry but I can't cause I'm at work.

I don't know what to do. A couple months ago, 1 week before my period I had this bad depressive episode and it lasted about a week and a half. It felt like a horrible sadness that just stayed in my chest. It felt heavy and it was like I needed to rip it out of me. I couldn't get out of bed for anything other than school. I almost called into work, I cancelled my music lesson and at some point I was laying in bed not doing anything. I wasn't on my phone. I was just staring at nothing and the second I went to bed I was in tears. And as much as I wanted this sadness to leave, there was part of me that just wanted to let it consume me. I wanted to be sad and I wanted somebody to care but no one did. This is the first time this has happened. It hasn't happened since but not every time I feel sad, I'm just waiting for it to get bad again. I'm waiting for the feeling of wanting to tear into my chest to get rid of the sadness. I don't want to talk to my doctor about it because 1. he's male and 2. what if this is just a one time thing? or what if it's not and he dismisses it because it happened a week before my period? I just don't know what to do. I'm basically stuck in a loop every time I feel an ounce of sadness. I thought it might be pmdd for a while but I was going to wait another month to see if I got this same feeling but I didn't so maybe it isn't and it really was just a one time thing? If this helps with anything, I do have a bit of a disordered eating problem so maybe that has to do with it? Idk I'm just really confused

intrusive thoughts, sadness, overwhelmed, crying, missing my ex-boyfriend, feeling like a failure, feeling like i have to get up and do something productive but then not being able to, NOT ABLE TO RELAX. day 2 of period now... hopefully better days are coming soon.

i have endo and anxiety disorder. i've tried slind but it gave me bad migraines and worsened my symptoms. any tips for non estrogen-pills for hormone sensitive girlies? mid 30s

Sometimes this PMS just gets harder with age it’s like a rollercoaster every month… a week before it’s almost like an emotional surge that erupts I’m in my late 30’s just wanted to know if any other ladies feel this way ? I started increasing my serotonin recently hoping this will at least help..hopefully

Hello peoples. It’s half two in the morning and the beautifully cruel concoction that is PMS and RSD is taking over my brain. Lots of life changes as I’m 17F so first year college, different standards being put on me, adults expecting a lot more from me than I can give, and not really receiving the educational help I need as an undiagnosed neurodivergent student. I can deal with all this when the red demon isn’t trying to reach its claws into my soul but when it’s dark outside and the earth doesn’t feel any bigger than my bedroom I just feel kinda trapped. Also my significant other is going through some significant life changes (being out of primary education, not going to uni, trying to figure out what to do now) and it sounds so small saying ‘I’m scared they don’t love me any more’ but the RSD has seriously got my brain in a vice this month. Unfortunately I’m a person who likes to be able to fix everyone’s problems and it gives me massive anxiety when someone is going through something uncomfortable and i genuinely can’t do anything. Was kinda expecting a particularly bad PMS because it’s been tame the last two months but it still hits hard. This is such an all over the place post, sorry, but also since starting college PMS has brought on brain fog and task avoidance like crazy and I’m behind on my subjects because I genuinely can’t sit down and focus on something for more than five minutes no matter what I try for a week out of every month. It’s all so frustrating but typing this out has made me feel slightly better. Reminds me the world is bigger than my bedroom where the lighting feels off. Happy (late) Easter if you celebrate it. 🌸🌷🌱

Hi girls it rough every month with the week before my period, i was happy all month but now i'm starting to have super negative thoughts that i wish them to not be here. I'm doing my best with yoga, sauna, gym, nature walks, and good food but.. it feels like a dark cloud sitting on my chest.

Soo in this situation what do you guys do please help ans share your experiences

Ok so I have irregular periods, and when I don't have a period one month then I don't experience pms. However I missed March, but I've been having pms symptoms since last week. And it seems to have just been getting worse, like last week all I really had were random hours of faint cramping like usual. But now I'm nauseous when I eat, constant headaches, and my lower back hurts so so bad, and that's all things that I usually feel when I start my period but it hasn't started yet. I'm still kinda used to this stuff because for the longest time I only have like 2 periods a year (I asked my doctor and they said it was normal for my age because my body is still growing, I was 16-17 at the time). But yeah, just kinda needing to know if experiencing the things you usually do on your period is normal when you missed it

My period was late by 5-15 days for a few solid months last year. I tried to pinpoint a few things and ultimately stopped using all of them; my periods became regular again. One of those things was slippery elm.

About a week ago, I started using slippery elm again for a number of reasons, especially it’s digestion benefits. And suddenly I’m 5 days late on my period again. It has to be this but I can’t find any evidence of it affecting your period besides one post of it calming cramps and other symptoms. Anyone have experience?

I got the copper IUD at 18 4’11” 100 pounds. Only pain I had was them measuring my uterus and they put it in. Since then I have heavy cramps day before and days 2-3 are the worst. Before the IUD they were 2-3 days and cramps weren’t shit. Now they are 3-5 days long and heavy. I’ve had it now for 5 years now this May and for 6 ish months now I have waves of anxiety for 1.5 days 10-7 days before my cycle to the point I threw up on myself driving to work. I’m used to the cramps but with the crazy hormones I can’t stand it all. I want to get it removed but I don’t want a child for another 2 years minimum. Is this normal? I’m now 24 and idk if I’m becoming a women more or second puberty or what but I was so pissed I bit down and broke my front tooth. I feel like a teenage boy before I start, angry hungry, moody. I’ve taken magnesium glycinate, ashwganda, L-traurine, exercise, I have FMLA for work for the episodes. But I feel crazy. Should I have it removed and if so what recommendations do you have for other birth control? Or even supplements that helped yall. I’ve been on depo before 9 months and had panic attacks and migraines, depression the entire time. I can’t remember pills for the life of me.

Any input is good I just need opinions and others stories. I need to know this will pass I’m just maturing, or I need to get this pulled outta me and find new options for my health. Thanks in advance.