PMS symptoms are worse this month

Day 26 of my cycle

Today is day 26 of my cycle, which means I should get my periods in about two days or slightly later than that. Hopefully it will not be too much longer, because I can really feel the PMS more strongly this month than in a long time.

I felt very hungry today, which is normal for me during the last week before I get my periods. I need to eat it seems every few hours and if I don't eat properly, my blood sugar levels go down too much and I feel dizzy and light headed, as well as anxious and jittery. Once I eat, all of that goes away and I feel calm again.

I also have an extremely sweet tooth during PMS, when I crave and eat, quite a bit of sweet food. About the only sweet thing I eat is chocolate. I buy organic or European, so it means it has a low glycemic index (GI) and helps with the blood sugar level problems.

I had some organic chicken soup with organic chicken wings earlier and afterward I felt really satisfied with the meal. I added a little balsamic vinegar to it, as I was craving something sour. It was absolutely delicious. But you know, it's been a few hours and I am hungry again. It's almost like I haven't eaten anything even though I have! That is part of how PMS affects me in terms of my blood sugar levels and hunger levels.

The level of PMS symptoms I have right is just like what I used to have a few years ago - really severe, really bad and more like PMDD - and it's all because of the major stress in my life, which has not yet been removed. It has been mediated a little, but not removed and that is the priority for me.

I think my last post may have been too much for some people, because I described some of my symptoms quite descriptively. I do so, because I know it helps other girls/women know that they are not alone in their suffering. It was about fluid retention in my breasts and nipples - damn annoying that it even happened this month (the bloating and pain, that is)!

PMS bloating symptoms here in full force

It is now day 23 of my menstrual cycle.

The PMS fluid retention symptoms are here in full force.

I also feel rather emotional, more so than normal. Like if I see anything emotional on television (someone crying), it makes me feel too much empathy for them and I want to cry too.

Yesterday and the day before my breasts were so painful, bloated and spilling out of my bra, like I needed to go up a cup size. In addition to this, my nipples were completely painful and quite enlarged (as if I was breastfeeding and needed them to be that big)! Even when I had a shower yesterday and my arm accidentally moved past my nipples (say if I was reaching over to get the soap, or moving around washing myself), it hurt so bad the pain was almost unbearable. It must have been because they were so bloated and abnormally large and that is why it hurt so much.

I haven't had this kind of pain in my breasts/nipples for well over a year, maybe two years, ever since I started eating better, exercising, massaging and meditating. It must be because of the intense emotionally charged and stressful situation I am currently in (but trying to extricate myself from and it's taking longer than I anticipated), which is bringing on these PMS symptoms so strongly.

Weird thing is, today the bloating in my breasts and pain in the nipples is no longer there, so maybe the prawns and rice I had yesterday with the spices helped. Or, maybe it was the Scheussler tissue salt, General Tonic, which as all the 12 tissue salts, in homeopathic form that I had last night which did the trick to help tone down the bloating. It's the formula that is for the "temporary relief of overall fatigue and exhaustion", which work on the whole body, especially the nervous system, to help support it and that's obviously what I need right now. Will have some more today.

I highly recommend tissue salts for use - they generally don't interact with medications (but check with your doctor to make sure) and do help:
Search Amazon.com for tissue salts.

Fluid retention all over right now

Well I have some fluid retention most noticeably in my breasts and stomach. I can tell because my stomach is a bit more bloated and less flat (which is how it normally is) and my bra feels like it's too small for my breasts, whereas a few days ago, it was okay.

I haven't got much pain in my breasts from the fluid retention, which is good. Today I noticed that my bra feels quite small, like I need to get a bigger bra to accommodate my breasts, whereas yesterday, it didn't feel that way. My breasts also feel really heavy, much heavier than they did yesterday - as if the fluid has added a few grams of weight to them.

I have been doing a little exercise most day, but not very much at all.

I have been taking a liquid iron supplement (to build up my iron stores), some psyillium fibre and acidophilus probiotic powder. I think the iron is helping quite a lot. I don't feel as tired as I normally feel and it may be helping in other ways too - by topping up the iron in my body, I get more oxygen flowing around in my blood and this gets to my cells and helps to give me more energy. I no long feel like totally lethargic and sleepy every day, I have a bit more energy. That is something positive. I guess it means I need to finish this bottle of iron and maybe buy another one to take after my next cycle has ended.  I really don't eat much meat and don't eat enough other foods rich in iron and then I bleed heavily during my monthly flow, so it means my iron stores get a bit low.  I have to review the foods I eat and start eating an egg and some spinach every day, both of which have high levels of iron.

I have also been eating organic chocolate every day - some days more than others. If I get upset, I tend to eat more chocolate.