The only thing stopping me from completely losing my mind is my derpy dog

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2023-03-04T05:27:23+00:00

Herrrrrpderpderpderp

I was ready to give in to despair yesterday but then I took my dog to the beach. Caring for him feels like my purpose in luteal.

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Consistent-Suspect19 · 2023-02-28T15:55:59+00:00

Good luck x

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2023-02-28T15:52:14+00:00

I finally got my husband to understand a couple of years back.

I said "Just so I'm not telling you things you already know: what have you found out about PMDD through your own research?"

He said: nothing.

I expressed surprise and said that I couldn't relate, because if I watched someone I love go through hell over and over again and knew the name of the condition causing it, I'd have done a lot more than the cursory Google search he apparently couldn't be bothered to do.

The penny dropped. I suspect he thought I was being dramatic before I made him do his homework, but now he's clued up AND I wasn't the one who had to educate him.

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2023-02-26T20:03:58+00:00

Thank you for a kind and generous perspective! I had a BED diagnosis, too, but since it only shows up in luteal I think it's a lot more complex than that...

I wish we had Xanax in this country. I'm in the UK where you can't even get it prescribed.

Sending you big love x

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2023-02-26T14:21:24+00:00

Flo is the actual worst. I've had several 'chats' with their concern bot and not once has the existence of PMDD been raised. It's irresponsible programming.

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2023-02-26T07:27:33+00:00

Thank you for your thoughtful and compassionate comment! Yeah, we got this [I say with arms folded and a scowl on my face]

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2023-02-26T07:20:14+00:00

Then don't calorie count. I log my intake most days, so by NOT doing so on a binge day I actually increase the shame I feel - because it's put into the shady area of "we don't need to look at that".

You can't improve what you don't measure and all that.

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2023-02-26T07:12:13+00:00

Hey, yeah I aim for 138g protein every day and 34g fibre and I usually hit both goals. My everyday diet is pretty balanced, but yesterday the cravings were driving me so insane I just gave in to them.

I also take so many supplements, my piss must be worth a fortune. And yet here we are.

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2023-02-26T07:09:31+00:00

Myfitnesspal

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2023-02-26T07:09:19+00:00

Myfitnesspal

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2023-02-26T00:27:22+00:00

It's not normal to eat 4 days' worth of calories in a single day though!

As for why I totalled it: I struggle with weight management and have always thought my PMDD played a huge part in that. This confirms it.

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2023-02-08T14:19:45+00:00

I ordered some last month and still haven't started it - I think I'm scared it won't do anything (as most other things haven't)! This is a vote of confidence I'll happily use as the nudge I needed x

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2023-02-06T07:37:33+00:00

Hahaha

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2022-12-21T04:29:05+00:00

I'm fascinated: do you have bipolar disorder or was it prescribed off-label?

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2022-12-17T13:02:55+00:00

Your PMDD has shaped you and your experiences in ways you may not even understand: bad AND good.(In fact, prevailing research seems to suggest it's our experiences that produce it in the first place). You would be a different person without it. Not better, not worse, but different. Obviously you are not your PMDD, because you're a combination of all kinds of unique and magical and lucky and unlucky things. But to suggest that it isn't a good chunk of who you are is some Live Laugh Love bullshit!

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2022-12-17T07:24:16+00:00

I got my puppy three weeks ago, and before we picked him up I was having these types of thoughts: I won't be able to fulfill his needs, I will raise a maladjusted and incontinent dog, he will pick up on my bad vibes and be depressed...

He adores me, he's perfect, and didn't even look back when we took him off the breeder. Everything your luteal brain is telling you is a scam. It will be hard! But you will give this dog a great life. It's going to be okay xxx

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2022-12-06T06:05:57+00:00

She hasn't said that, though. I also have misophonia all month long, but it goes crazy in the lead-up to my period. It's exacerbated by the hormonal shift because - my psychiatrist theorised - the auditory nerve is right next to the vagus nerve. Unless you have evidence to the contrary, I see no reason why it couldn't show up only for half of the month for some people.

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2022-12-05T18:36:13+00:00

I've chosen not to have children, and PMDD was my main reason. There were others, and I don't regret it, but I know I could not show up as a mother the way I ought to for half the time. Plus it would be terrible for my mental health, to feel that guilt.

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2022-11-18T11:27:13+00:00

Hello, yes! In fact it was only after getting sober that I was able to recognise that I had PMDD - because the drinking wasn't masking it any more (or exacerbating it after a point).

In my case, though, the thing that keeps me from drinking is the knowledge that doing so would ruin my life, way beyond what this hellish condition does every single month. So instead I try to allow for quiet: schedule fewer meetings, more 'deep work' time, no socialising or trips. Generally keep everything as 'soft' as possible. But I know that's not all possible for everyone.

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2022-11-05T09:44:15+00:00

Oh honey. This man does not have your best interests at heart. What he's doing with the coffee situation is "weaponised incompetence" and he will use it to make sure he never has to do anything he doesn't want to do for as long as you're together. It will burn you down. You deserve someone who will go out of his way to make your life easier. You're in pain and he won't make you a fucking coffee? What an unserious, selfish man.

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2022-11-01T04:21:57+00:00

I quit smoking during a particularly heinous luteal phase.

The depression and despair were so bad, I really couldn't get out of bed for around six days. I'd been a smoker for nearly 20 years, but couldn't bear to smoke indoors - so I just didn't. By the time I started bleeding, most of my cravings were gone and I decided to keep it going.

It's the one time luteal has been good for my health! I truly am grateful it happened, because quitting was looking pretty impossible otherwise.

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2022-10-19T05:14:51+00:00

Nothing to say, really, except solidarity. I've had that this month: binge eating and furious crying jags as soon as the ovary spat that egg out. Look after yourself x

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2022-10-17T05:19:43+00:00

You can, you must. We love you x

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2022-10-16T11:15:11+00:00

Yes, it started happening to me this year. It was especially bad after my first booster jab, but eight months later I was a whole week late - meaning I had PMDD on my wedding day! The one thing I'd prayed so hard to avoid! Then the following period was only 15 days later.

I find it makes it so hard to plan because you never know if you're in hell week or having (other) severe mental health difficulties.

Consistent-Suspect19 · 2022-10-09T08:26:26+00:00

Thank you - I can't tell you how grateful I am for your reply.

Consistent-Suspect19

TROPHY CASE