[EmileeVanderd]

So I find, that a few days before I get my period (which is right now) I get really blue and can't concentrate properly on my uni studies. I just want to sit around in my pyjamas all day and eat junk and watch TV and generally just be lazy. I feel like my friends don't like me at all and I question why my boyfriend even goes out with me. I basically feel like crap and unmotivated.

I know that most women get moody and irritable when they get PMS, but I don't. I just get flat and horrible.

Anyway, I was wondering whether anyone else felt like this, or whether I'm the only one. And does anyone have anyway I can stop feeling like this once a month? Because its getting bloody annoying.

[Rhapsody]

You are not alone.... as many of the females on here have written with similar complaints during their period, my self included.

My doctor suggested that I purchase a jumbo "Dark Chocolate" bar and eat two pieces of it daily during my period.... and it works.

[EmileeVanderd]

ok, I'll try it...any excuse to eat chocolate!

(but can milk chocolate work as well? I'm not really a fan of the dark stuff)

[Rhapsody]

NOPE - as it is the DARK CHOCOLATE that has the active ingredients in it that helps when our hormones / chemical drop low during our period.

[marriedwithacause]

LOL.....It sounds kind of funny, and my husband and friends think it's weired, but when that time of month is coming for me, I tend to cry like a baby!! really, like the other day, I was at the store, and this little old man was helping me with my groceries (he works there) And all I kept thinking was "aww, this old cute guy should be retired, not doing this.' And it made me tear up and I had to hurry out of the store and get in my car so I could cry, I am a Pisces, and we are naturally emotional people, and I actually am like this when it is not that time, but when it is that time of month, I cry about everything, I just get really emotional, and cannot control it. Will dark chocolate work for that?? or am I on my own? lol

It's so complicated being a woman.

[happysappy]

Hi Emilee,

It is pretty common and if you find it last longer, like 1-2 weeks before your period, and interferes with your functioning in life, including relationships, you could have pmdd. One treatment is with sarafem (prozac) that you take 2 weeks before your period and it works, I have PMDD.
But from what you have wrote it seems like PMS for you now. I like the idea of dark chocolate. remember you can put it in a shake or something if you don't like it much. Good luck

[AAAAA]

Don't like dark chocolate? Try Godiva Almond bark, yum! I've discussed this very issue with my doctor recently because my meds work wonderfully the rest of the month but the week before and during my period I'm very blue. He suggested a few different options. Talk to your doctor or gyn.

is it the cocoa solids content that is related to the efficacy of chocolate?

i'm wondering because while some chocolate doesn't contain much in the way of cocoa solids (hersheys, for example) others contain a much higher percentage (lindt is a particular favourite of mine).

alternatively, i don't see how disolving a piece of dark chocolate would make it less effective (you could make hot chocolate and add your own sugar and cream). you can even buy cocoa powder with a high percentage of cocoa solids and make yourself a hot chocolate with as much sugar and cream as you like...

one thing that is reputed to help (though i've never managed it) is keeping a track of where you are at with respect to your cycle. if you can tell from your diary that you are in your 'flat time' and can attribute the crummy feelings to that and really know that it will pass in a couple days then sometimes that helps things seem much more manageable.

another thing is that going on the contreceptive pill could help prevent that... or could help minimize that. or at least... help you track where you are at with that... Thats the one that helps me the most.

[Razzleberry]

You might want to read up about PMDD - Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. It's fairly common, and usually means you get really depressed right before your period, almost every month.

And I think that our natural hormone fluctuations can make ANY existing mental health issue worse. Maybe one reason why more women are diagnosed with mental illnesses? (and the fact that women are more apt to seek help...men just hide it...)

There is a new birth control pill that supposedly helps with PMDD. Talk to your gyno doc about it.

And...uhm....no offense, dark chocolate is wonderful, but in some cases it can sure cause more harm than good!!

[LEXXX]

I do believe there is a strong link with PMS and depression.........I never realized this about myself until the past 4 yrs - I am 45 almost 46 now.......and it's very notable on my calendar when my MOODS shifts to HIGH AND UGLY and low and dark .....nothing seems 'right'......everything aggravates me, and food? Carb out, sugar out......let me at a buffet pronto for 5 days in a row. Then only to have much regret later adding to the depression and weigh gain - add that to the PMS list. I wish I was 'fixed' like a cat.......I don't have any human children and don't want any either. I enjoy my 3-kitty cat children, they are my children, my lifeline.
Oh yes do I relate to all of you !
Most men don't realize what a woman goes through prior to period. They just think you are simply nuts a ***** - along that vein.....add being Bipolar in there and wheeeeeeeeeeweeeeeee you are a labelled a bonified nutbar, speaking about myself here.
BTW - PMS'g right now.......the countdown is on.

[StarPonysMama]

WOW what a great thread.....I thought I was the only one who just out of nowhere teared up before that time.

I get VERY EMOTIONAL right before and during that time of the month. WOW

Have to look into that PMDD thing as sometimes it starts AT LEAST a week before.

[Frozen_Heart]

Personally, I don't just call it getting depressed! I feel nearly certifiably insane. I'm extra moody, my joints hurt, I'm 100% hopeless! I feel like only have one normal week out of the month. You know what is really strange, is when I take a look at my statistics on my profile, I find that I post more when I'm getting ready to start and just after I start.. .weird!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!