Stress Center Peer Support

Hi everyone, just wanted to know if PMS makes your anxiety worse? My heart beat gets funny, I get more dizziness, my anxiety is through the roof and gernerally I am just a nervous wreck. Lots of shakiness and feeling funny in the head kinda thing. After I start my period I am fine but for a couple days before it I'm pretty bad. Thank you for any help!

i had that also but now i am in menopause and it stilll happens it has to do with your hormones my dr said i get more irritable and anxious wastold the b complex vutamin is good for that but ask your dr to make sure with you

I'm having the same problem. My nutritionist/herbalist is working with me on this.

Hey Medgrl. I have my worst panic attacks about a week before I start my monthly cycle =P All the hormones raging just makes me super anxious and it's pretty bad for about a few days then finally dissipates. I would say pms definately can make it worse for some of us, plus it doesn't help that is just can make us feel icky too.

Absolutely. It's not as bad as it used to be, but I have a few days before when my anxiety is so awful, I feel like I'm living on Mars. I get incredibly emotional and spacey. I got so spacey once at work for a few hours that I was worried I wouldn't be able to drive home if I needed to, of course this was all just my anxious thinking. I ALMOST went home, but I let it pass and it did finally and I felt much better after. When my actual period starts, I get more physical symptoms. Stomach aches, leg aches, and just a general, overall sick feeling. I find that stress only adds to it. If I'm stressed about something, it becomes nearly unbearable. I actually was at work the night before I got my period and I ended up going home, because I was CRYING and feeling just awful. (they must have thought I was a loon) The truth is, my period just really amplifies EVERYTHING I usually feel to a point where I feel as though I am insane. My exboyfriend called it 'the storm' because that is basically what it is. Honestly, I wish that for that week, I could just spend the entire time in bed with movies. You are not alone in this at all! I've heard exercise can help and also vitamins. Try to eat healthy, no caffeine or sugar, and get plenty of sleep. I notice that days when I don't get enough sleep, things are A LOT worse.

Yeah I agree, seems to have an effect.

Yes I can totally relate to all your symptoms. And it is very true about the hormones being out of whack. I also have started a new vitamin regimen from womentowomen.com that focuses on getting your hormones back to a more normal state. They also have herbal supplements that can really help with bad pms and the like symptoms, like the ones you desrcibed. I also am getting back into a exercise routine and watching my diet more closley.

Hi medgrl, Sometimes I feel I am the "poster-child" for PMS I get symptoms so bad it feels like it will never end, but it always does.

All your symptoms are due to increasing estrogen and progesterone, I get the dizziness, headaches, bloat, very very impatient, if it doesnt move I want to eat it and I pre-cramp and get nausea. Once I start most symptoms go away quickly, I get a second bout of nausea midway through but have learned to live with it, and my flow is very very heavy also.

I found that a few things help somewhat, first rest and nap when you can before you start, progesterone is very sedating, its seven times more potent than sleeping pills believe it or not, I read that in a GYN book, try to sleep more and rest, drink more water to flush out toxins, not alot of water just a little more than usual, and taking little walks, praying, reading and just saying to yourself "its my hormones, it happens to all women it will pass" helps the most, eating more protein helps me even thru I crave carbs and if everything else fails CHOCOLATE!! one candy bar will increase serotonin and boy does it taste good, candy IS dandy :p You are going to be fine, I have gone thru hell with my periods and I am still here, hang in there, its gonna get better! Debbie.

Yes that time is a bump in the road for me.

Can totally relate. Has birth control pills helped anyone. There's one called Yaz that's being touted for helping with pms symptoms. I wonder if it's any good. Also, I went to that woment to women website that was mentioned a couple of years back and did the survey and received vitamins in the mail, and it seems it was geared towards women who are in menopause..I was only 37 then. I felt like the vitamins and literature they gave were meant for meanopausal women, and they just kind of throw anyone that takes the survey in with them. I have no problem with being menopausal, if that's what I am, but I kind of doubt it at 37. (at the time)