Shitty month

After a great month after my holidays and a quiet period at work, where i had hardly any PMDD symptoms. I then had a really really shitty month - a week of anxiety, followed by a week of mood swings and tearfulness, starting every morning at work (only for 4 days though). This last week has been a bit better though. I've been taking tryptophan when needed, although it interferes with sleep if i take it in the evening, and so iv'e switched to a small dose - 250mg max! 

I also had my blood test results back and they indicated Stage 1 - 2 CKD - chronic kidney disease. :( This panicked me quite a bit as it's not treatable. I'm going to have the test done the same time as last month, to check it's not a PMDD anomoly.

I think the food intolerance diet is working now but i can't do the reintroducton yet as keep eating foods by mistake. Hopefully this week though as i can't bear it any longer... and it will take 2 months to reintroduce all the foods. I'm thinking progesterone does cause me to bloat but some foods may aggravate it. I suspect onion or garlic but i'm really hoping not. Even if it's just one of them, that will rule out 99% of what i can buy in the supermarket. :( Which i wont cope with.

I've decided to get a dishwasher in January as i dont have enough time to wash up so much. I create a lot as i'm always cooking. 

Quick Update

I saw the dietician again. We both agreed the FODMAP diet hasn't worked particularly well. Although i decided the week before that magnesium citrate might be having a laxative effect. So i've ordered a different type of magnesium - magnesium glycinate which is better on the stomach and also some more Better You magnesium oil to rub on my skin. Unfortunately the brand i ordered, didn't seem to help me sleep - i'm not convinced it has magnesium in it as it isn't chalky when i run it under the tap. The Solgar magnesium would get stuck to my skin. So i've sent that one back and found a few good vitamin companies:
metabolics
terranova
together

Went on a course with work and colleagues were ok with me. But i'm finding work relationships much much harder off the HRT and i also made a mistake on Friday, i think because of tiredness. I need to get proper blackout for my bedroom so i can sleep as i have achieved very little in the last 8 months. Hopefully my friend will help me sort this out tomorrow. 

I've decided to start a month long diary also, to describe my feelings and symptoms in detail on each day and see how it compares each month, whether each symptom follows an exact pattern? Then maybe i will try to correlate it with temperature which sort of follows progesterone... I'm about to come on so i will start today...

Yay there's hope!!!

Finally they are starting to take women's hormonal challenges seriously!!!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2708901/Revealed-The-hormone-gel-banish-depression-women-Its-revolutionary-discovery-lives-countless-women-currently-given-antidepressants-transformed-using-simple-rub-gel-instead.html

"To investigate why this is happening and what is the best treatment, Dr Michael Craig, a psychiatrist, has opened the first female hormone clinic at the Maudsley, a psychiatric hospital in South London and the largest mental health training institution in the UK.  "

Day 8 and Calm!

Still a bit stressed/anxious today but finding it much easier to rise above the work issues. Definately calmness has returned. And i got through another month without killing anyone ;-) 

Just realised i only had 3 bad migraines last month, 2 of which were during my period. The other was day 24, a few days after ovulation. So seems my migraines have returned to menstrual migraine, rather than chronic migraine (16 a month!). This happened when i stopped taking nurofen. But also could be because i came off HRT. However that was 2 years ago, and the timing coincided with me deciding to swap Nurofen for triptans, as my only treatment! Hmmm i am starting to agree with the camp who believe medication does more harm than good! In my case, it seems to have done the exact opposite of what i wanted - caused my migraines!!!

Still sleeping well on magensium citrate during my luteal phase. But my new flat is both noisy and bright which interferes with sleep during follicular. My sleep pattern follows progesterone levels exactly, when progesterone is low, i can't fall asleep easily and i wake up early. If i wasn't sensitive to my hormones before, i definately am now!! 

Stomach issues were insane over my period. Had heartburn at 1am one night and couldn't sleep. And following night stomach cramps all evening. And pretty much had stomach cramps for the next 3 days. I'm hoping they calm down now period is finished... 

As for the next month. I hope i can resolve my issues with my work colleagues. But find it hard to trust people again, once i've had PMDD rage at them! It's certainly true that PMDD damages relationships. And after my moods this month, i'm considering low dose Prozac again! :(

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Worst PMDD month so far. First argued with colleagues. Then following week couldn't stop crying for 4 days. For NO reason. Started feeling a little bored/unsettled Sunday night, after my parents left. Then this turned into slight tears, when trying to go to sleep. Spent the next 4 days crying. Through training sessions at work and pub lunch with the whole office today, outside in the sunshine! I've just come on, at 9.30pm. Want this shit to stop. Definately didn't feel this bad on HRT. Feel sooo depressed :(

Feeling a bit better but completely gone off pharmaceuticals!!

I've had more success lately by being pro-active in finding ways to help myself, GP's have never been any use at all. Apart from to direct me to the AllergyUK website which was helpful for my ailments. I've pretty much had enough of Western 'medicines'. Except for HRT, well the oestrogen part of it, the progesterone never did me any good. And the specialists know that progesterone is bad for women with PMDD :(

Insomnia: sleep much better on magnesium citrate - had it for over 8 years. Cured for the last 2 years on magnesium citrate 400mg. Although lately, i still struggle to sleep during follicular phase of cycle, esp if work stress.

Migraine: I haven't had a migraine at all this month! These got better when i stopped taking nurofen. I think it was giving me migraines!! I also came off HRT, however it was when i stopped taking nurofen that the migraines gradually disappeared. I'm on day 18 and still haven't had one this month! Although may get one during my period.

PMDD: moods are a lot better, I'm happier since moving into my own place. The fatigue is a massive problem - i can't motivate myself to do any of the hobbies i used to do on HRT. And the insomnia when progesterone is low often drives me insane as i feel like shit for a couple of weeks if i dont sleep. Have to remember to take 600mg magnesium at this time but I am forgetful when i'm tired!

IBS: FOODMAP diet - apparently cures 80% of IBS sufferers who try the diet. Discovered on allergyUK website. Fairly complicated/restrictive though and giving me headache trying to find foods i can actually eat on a vegetarian diet. Would be much easier if i was a meat eater. I do eat a little meat now but i don't want to eat it more than twice a week.

Allergies - dustmite allergy seems a little better. I've been adding tea tree oil on cotton pads to my clothes drawers. And washing sheets every fortnight. And also windows open all the time in my flat. And damp dust once a week. Does seem to help.

Day 37 and no sign of period

But this month is going well. My migraines are a lot better, reduced in frequency anyway. I only get 4-5 a month now. And take 25mg sumatriptan which works better than Nurofen ever did. I seem to have reduced stress in my life effectively - no stressful friends anymore, and have put my manager back in his box and he appears to be being consistently nice to me now :D Havent been exercising enough lately though, and have developed joint stiffness&pain in my knees and occasionally feet and arms. Doc is testing me for ANA (autoimmune diseases :( ).

PMDD also seems easier this month but perhaps thats coz not near period yet... coming off HRT/progesterone has made them irregular.

Told my gp that I had had a mineral test and he looked at the results at least but didn´t think magnesium was important because NHS/gp surgery doesnt test for it. But he did seem interested when i told him about the supplements. He was nice but wasnt that helpful overall tho on why i would be deficient in magnesium.

I did find this though:

Magnesium deficiency is frequently observed in conditions causing steatorrhoea or severe chronic diarrhoea such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, coeliac disease, Whipple's disease and short bowel syndrome.³⁶ In general, the degree of magnesium depletion correlates with the severity of diarrhoea, stool fat content and faecal magnesium concentration. The malabsorption of magnesium is secondary to the formation of insoluble magnesium soaps, and a low-fat diet improves magnesium balance in these patients.

I also spent some time googling as i keep almost vomiting at times. This could be gastroperasis - caused by hormones, migraines or Gilberts syndrome. So ive ordered SAMe and Milk Thistle to see if this helps and also going to reduce meal size and eat 6 meals a day.

Better month so far...

Worked late a bit this month. Then had 5 days off to decorate livingroom. Had parents staying for ten days just before i was due on. Actually went ok. Made some more Power Maca balls and started taking Vit D, B6 and B complex again. Must have helped because haven't many mood symptoms. Still tired tho... Not sure period has started properly tho.. so perhaps it's just delayed again :(

Magnesium deficiency

So after finding out my iron levels were still low, i asked GP if they could check my other nutrient levels, since i'm on a restricted diet - gluten free and mostly meat-free. My GP refused, of course, telling me i was worrying for nothing and  a lot of women are iron-deficient. I told them i would have the tests done privately, and did. My GP actually suggested having the tests done privately but when i agreed, he replied 'Well what will you do if you are low on something?'. This made me furious, since it's fairly obvious that if you have a deficiency in something, you should take supplements. Der Makes me wonder where he got his medical degree!! Anyway i had the test done, for 6 minerals: calcium, selenium, chromium, copper, magnesium and manganese. All were fine except magnesium which is very important for the nervous system. It didn't suprised me, although i have been taking magnesium citrate 400mg for 2 years for insomnia which has helped, so i wonder how low it would have dropped without the supplement. Not looking forward to seeing my GP again as i know he will question the tests, since he didn't do them himself. I think i will probably make a complaint against the surgery if this happens.

Grrrrrrrr

After 1 week of migraines, followed by 1 week of bad IBS. My PMDD has finally kicked in, so i have two weeks of that to look forward to before my bleed. If i even bleed on time this month.I'm slightly annoyed my GP surgery keep trying to put me onto Beconase, still. I will not destroy my health to save the NHS 25 pounds. They can change the system so that i can make a donation to cover the costs. Private health care in this country sucks and they charge twenty times the price the NHS would charge. Privatising health care is pretty much the worst mistake any country could every make. In America, they charge you 40 quid for one aspirin at the hospital!

Apart from that, everything is going well tho. My manager has stopped bullying me for the time being and i love my new flat. It's just a shame that myself and thousands of other women will carry on struggling with this disorder, their entire lives, most of them barely holding down jobs because of it. But PMDD will continue to be ignored by pharmaceutical companies, because they are run by men! And lets face it, we still live in an extremely sexist society, despite great leaps.

I've had 1 symptom free day this month from physical symptoms. I'm fairly sure that my migraines are oestrogen-withdrawal migraines now, i didn't make the connection before because menstrual migraine is supposed to occur on two days before your period. But oestrogen is low for first ten days of cycle which coincides with when i get the migraines and also mid-cycle. And I think i'm intolerant to all grains now, mostly during the last part of my cycle. I'm going to keep charting using OvuView App which is brilliant and helped me spot the pattern very easily.

I've been taking red clover extract and Maca powder this month. The Maca may be helping as my mood has been ok for the last week since i started it. Will see.

I'm getting slightly sick of health 'professionals' suggesting that this condition is stress related as i'm not stressed right now, work is very easy, and my IBS and migraines are at their worst. Explain that please?? Doctors just make people angry which makes their problems worse. I'm avoiding my surgery now (even tho i need to discuss my symptoms) to avoid feeling upset.