PMS mood swings, real or fake?

Okay, I'm just curious how many of you ladies actually have the mood swings commonly associated with PMS. I'm wondering because I've never in my life experienced a day during my period when I've been more bitchy or irritable than any other day of the month. In fact, I usually get really mellow during the time.


I hear so many women admit to mood swings, but are they really as prominent as we claim them to be? And is it more commonly used as an excuse to be doted on, or get sympathy, or just just plain be a bitch?

I ask for myself and another male forum member who didn't want to be identified (I guess he wanted to keep his organs... just in case any women are currently PMSing).

 

i get it sometimes its ok but other times i lock myself in room or i might kill sumone lol.

 

Oh, I've had times I've blamed it on that sometimes just as an excuse... when I snapped on my mom....

But when I actually do get them... Trusssssst me, it's QUITE real.. ahhahahah

 

I believe my PMS is real. Especially when I fall into a depression that has no real cause. Or when I just feel so irritated that I want to explode. But I've seen other women who will just say 'Oh I'M PMSing right now' and most likely they really aren't.

 

oh, it's real. i don't go nutsoid or anything though; i never start bawling someone out then blame it on pms. i just notice that, a few days before i get my monthly, i feel noticeably, and unreasonably, depressed. for those few days i feel a bit closer to crying over small things which i would usually never get upset about. i always think, god i'm unreasonably emotional right now! my period must be on its way.'

on another note, it really pisses me off when you're getting into an argument with someone (at any time), and they blow you off with "what are you pmsing?".

 

Me too.

 

Yeah, what I love is that I ONLY get that line when I'm NOT having my period. ...go figure. Of course, I don't think I've heard that since sophmore year of high school probably.

 

I think that it's somewhat an individual thing & possibly can vary differently at different times. It is caused (like duh) from the hormonal imbalance as the levels of estrogen & such makes it's sudden change. As I understand it that is different in different women & on top of that different women can handle it differently. Of course that changes too as a woman ages.

 

there are times when im on my period that the cramps are so killer i dont want to talk to ANYONE, but usually when that happens I just start feeling extremely sorry for myself and emotional, not really all that bitchy. but most of the time (cuz i dont get cramps all that often) i am exactly how i usually am. most ppl cant even tell when im on my period. but thats just me.

 

As someone who is incredibly sensitive to hormone balances, particularly noticeable with certain bc pills, let me tell you that it can be incredibly real.

Naturally, I don't get much in terms of emotional symptoms related to my period. I'll get a bit more irritable, but that's only really noticeable when I'm trying to do some intricate craft, like beadwork. On the down side, my periods are irregular and I have killer cramps -- like it's a good month when I am able to stand up on the first day I'm actually bleeding.

Now, on the pill is another story all together. Ortho Tricyclen, one of the more commonly prescribed pills, made me pretty much insane all month. I was an absolute wreck. So, the next time I went on the pill, I tried a monophasic pill with a relatively low hormone dose... That made me cry for like a week straight each month. I went thru several pills before finding one that didn't basically emotionally incapacitate me on a monthly basis.

But you're asking about PMS, not pill side effects, right? The fact that different pills -- so different levels of hormones -- had such a huge effect on my emotional state shows that you can't deny the fact that PMS is a real problem for some women.

The fact that you have never had any symptoms means nothing more than that you are a lucky lucky woman.

As for how common this problem is, I don't know. I don't know any women who use it as an excuse, but then the women I know tend to be old enuf to know how to handle it, even if that means avoiding people for a few days each month.

 

I think it does exist. I tend to get really, really p-ed off over really small things, which I wouldn't usually do.

 

my pms mood swings are incredibly real, but fortunately, i've discovered evening primrose oil. if i remember to take it during the second half of my cycle, my moods level right out, and i dont get cramps.

 

pms is not during your period. it's before. and it varies from woman to women when that will happen. i'll have a day or two where i'm unable to cope with stress at all, and i get really weepy and unreasonable. during my period i'm just tired and react the same way i do when i get the flu.

 

my mother truly lost her mind once a month. craziness would ensue. it was all pretty terrifying. i was THRILLED when she hit menopause and got through that. she's pretty normal now. my little sister goes semi-psycho for about 12 hours once a month. for a little while i'd literally sit on her until she chilled.

 

You'd be pissed too, if you were bloated and had bloody cramps It's a hormonal thing but also basic human nature to winge when needed. Warranted of course. On the plus side for us chicks, men get impotence and go bald so who really wins here. Toss up?

 

My hormones definitely go haywire that time of month, and I'm far from seeking sympathy or desiring to be doted on because as a full-time mother and wife, I don't have that luxury. *lol*

My PMS symptoms are severe, the worst being a few hours before the bleeding actually takes place. Might sound crazy, but I'm serious. Every single month, it's the same thing.

My entire frame of mind, mood and thought process chang during PMS. Normally, I am a very friendly, sweet, caring person, but during PMS, I turn into a horrible witch. I am quick to be a critic, I avoid interaction with other people for the most part, and I become, well, obnoxiously irritable.

 

..maybe that's it. I rarely feel bloated and I almost never get cramps. Maybe there is something wrong with me?! haha, who knows. My sympathy extends to all of you.

..and KC, I kind of lump all of the pre-menstrual and post-menstrual stuff into "the period." Just to explain why I kind of spoke of the two things together.

 

its is real, oh yeah.
My last period was the worst ever. I gave up smoking recently, good, yeah, but i found out that if you add hormonal imbalance you get super bitch....the pain was really bad, i was really surprised, i never had it so bad, but it seems to be that way when you stop smoking, as i dont have cigarretes to help me "cope" with the mood changes and all the yabba dabba.

 

yup[, definitely real.

I can literally feel waves of irritation washing over me when i'm PMSing, i'm all scratchy and the slightest thing will set me off.

It's ridiculous, things that normally wouldn't even blink at at make me so pissy. like if i'm doing the dishes and there's soggy teabags left in cups...normally i just fish them out, throw them away, wouldn't think twice about it. but the other day when I went to do the dishes an I was PMSing, my god it made me so enraged!