Battling with PMS Issues Keeps a Mother Crying Each Month

If you have never vomited, cramped for hours, yelled or cried in front of others for what some would say, "no good reason," then you may not be able to relate to what I am about to tell you especially if you know nothing about PMS or PMDD.  Take a moment to read up on these conditions.  Here's my story...

As a child, I was told very often to "stop playing" and "go get my pills," by my mom.  She took Trendar, a pill that has ibuprofen, this was before Advil, Midol, and other brand names.  The pill was supposed to help the pain in her stomach.  I didn't know the specifics of her condition.  I just heard her periodically vomit in the bathroom.  I remember being yelled at, "Do not to get on my nerves...go play...don't bother me!"  Her face was scary and I didn't back talk, because I knew if I didn't do as I was told I would be threatened and dad was going to hear about it, well let's just say,
My sister and I (there were only two of us children) tried very hard to behave.

What I didn't know back then as a little girl (no more than six years old) that I would also experience what my mother was going through starting at age nine.  The pains were intense by eleven until I became an adult and had my third child in my thirties!!  That was an understatement I suffered for half a day at times with everything from stomach and leg cramps to throwing up--nothing would stay down!!  The heavy blood flow was terrible and I often messed up my clothes.  The feminine napkins were uncomfortable and sometimes would shift while rolling over in a bed or walking which would cause messes.  I tried to keep my condition from school friends, but they were curious.  They would peek in the trash can after I left the bathroom.  Looking back, they were a nasty bunch of girls!  Most of them didn't start their cycles until a couple years later or longer.  They announced to others (mainly boys) that I was on my period.  Thank goodness the boys didn't say too much.

I remember experiencing achy body parts from my breasts to my legs and some parts in between as a young girl and older.  These pains felt like having the flu.  I would get hot and cold as well which meant sometimes those hot water bottles (I use to use long ago) I would take off my legs only to put right back on again because the pain was throbbing so bad to the point that I couldn't walk especially the first day of my period.  I recall the ups and downs in my moods and at times no desire to concentrate sometimes on schoolwork.  My dad use to lose his cool with me and blamed my lack of concentration on everything but being a girl who was experiencing her menstrual cycle.  Sometimes I heard my mom remind him.  So in between his frustration with trying to help me with my homework, he would just say, "Go do it yourself!" while mom had pity on me and sometimes needed Grandma to come out to our house to help her with me.  What did my dad know anyway, he was a man!?

As I write, I remember having to walk up hills in the cold, rain and snow from school with terrible cramps.  I can count on one hand how many times someone came to get me from school when I felt bad.  When I turned 15, I started getting rides from neighbors and people from school especially when I felt really bad.  The blood clots caused so much pain.  Sometimes my friends could tell I was feeling bad, because I would get a little snappy with them and there were times that I just wanted to break up with my high school sweetheart for no apparent reason.  I didn't like to be touched during that time of the month if I could help it.

My mom had taken me to the doctor, but there wasn't really anything they could do for a child other than tell my mother to have me use a heating pad, give me Tylenol, and try to get me to move around.  They also suggested birth control.  Of course, the doctors were male.  My pains were too bad to even think about moving around.  Supposedly this advice would help the cramps pass, but it never did for me.  Besides I was already exercising five days a week when I walked to and from school on most days and that was almost a two mile walk!

There were many times that I cried out to grandma's God and all I kept thinking about was that woman in the Holy Bible named Eve and her experience in the garden.  I pleaded with God if I ever had children, I never wanted daughters.  Why should they have to go through this too?  The doctor's said it was hereditary.  The church said it was a generational curse.

Looking back as a teen, I always had two bad weeks where I felt bad.  Sometimes the poetry and stories I wrote back then reflected my condition.  I would be depressed on some days and really didn't want to go to school, but in my childhood home you didn't breathe a word about not feeling well unless every sign on your face, body and in the toilet was evident. 

I eventually went on to college with the same issues and to add more drama to my life back in the mid-nineties I met an abusive man (you can get my book at Amazon.com-Laboring to Love an Abusive Mate by Nicholl McGuire or visit this site.)  With all the problems mentally and physically, I just couldn't take going to college anymore and left after six years.  Instead, I drew near to my Lord and haven't looked back since with regret.

When I grew older, I was told that once I had children the pain wouldn't be as bad--they were right about the cramps, but to date, I still have my moments. It is more of a mental challenge with some days out of the month being attacked with various PMDD related symptoms.  I believe my move from the east coast to a warmer climate on the west coast helped me some during my mid-twenties. However, I didn't anticipate that I would later face various mental conditions each month as well.

In my mid-twenties, I had child number one (God did deliver on that prayer of not having girls.) But, my happiness was short-lived about childbirth because I was wishing back then at least half of the month for baby and man to go away.  Between my menstrual issues and their needs, it was too much!  Then the next child came along and I was ready to get rid of the man, but keep the children part-time.  It didn't help that he had his share of issues too.  During this time birth control was supposed to help with my symptoms like cramping, but it did nothing more than give me more issues to deal with like crazy mood swings, hair falling out, weight gain and the looming threat of cancer in my future if I kept taking them--no thanks!  By baby three (I am divorced and with someone different,) I just wanted to know when God planned on taking me off the face of the earth.  A woman who just couldn't fight all these PMS related symptoms, as far as I was concerned, needed a resting place.  In time, the pain wasn't as intense each month, but all the PMS symptoms experienced for the two weeks leading up to the cycle was enough to wish I were dead.  When I took notice of the mental changes two weeks out of the month on a consistent basis began in 1999 and still have been consistent presently.

Finally after years of listening to some men call me crazy and others just pity me, I had learned that what I was suffering from was PMDD which is worse than PMS--mind you I had to find this out on my own!!!  There are 150 symptoms related to a woman's menstrual cycle!  As if all this wasn't enough, baby boy four shows up during those PMDD highs where all seems to be alright with the world back in 2007 and there I was in the doctor's office getting a precription for antidepressants when I finally came down and was no longer pregnant.  I seem to be in better spirits while pregnant.

At first I thought I was on my way to living a life where I didn't feel bad half the time while on those pills, but oh no!  I tried three different ones and every one had side effects that either made me more weird, hyper, sick feeling, or tired.  Oh and might I add, gain some weight.  I gave them all up after hearing a voice awake me one morning with, "You are going to die."  What the...!?  I thought.  So I'm hearing an evil voice while on the pills?  So the old song goes, " I could do bad all by myself."  I weened myself off of those pills after alerting my doctor.

A couple of years ago I returned to my old roots and went to see someone who sold natural medicines.  My experience has been okay, but still I have my moments.  I have learned to shut people out when I feel my symptoms coming on which means no serious conversations in-person, chatting unnecessarily on social networking sites, inviting people over my home, and no music or TV that glorify evil, relationship dramas, etc. and definitely no depressing TV news!  I don't need the added stress.  I am also tired of apologizing to others for my alters.  Oh, I didn't mention that having serious PMDD issues makes you feel like you have separate personalities.  Who knows, with all the pain I suffered with as a child, I could have created separate personalities to deal with the pain?

In closing, I just wanted to share my personal experience with PMDD related symptoms with those mothers who find themselves going out of their minds sometimes, you aren't alone.  I just pray that you will get all the help you can before it's too late.  As for those of us who have found a way to cope like:  personal faith, herbal medicines, prescription medicines, support groups and/or rehab, if you recognize a mother who is falling apart, try to lead her to some help.  I think of all the people who witnessed moms "lose it," so they say. Yet, they never bothered to give her a phone number to some help, a website, offer to drive her to see a doctor, or give her money to help with buying medicine.  In my opinion, if she should snap out and kill some folks, those insensitive partners and busybodies around her who "always knew she was crazy" ought to be locked up too!  Rather than call her "crazy, mental" or some other insulting word, find some help for these moms.

Nicholl McGuire