It has been over two months now since I experienced my miscarriage and my hormones are taking a while to settle down again. I have been getting many of the PMS symptoms again and was curious about which ones we might share.
1. Headache before my period
This seems to be a common one for me at the moment. I get a headache just before my period is due and it only lasts a day or two. I used to get headaches much more frequently than this and they would come at any time of the month but now, this has become a signal that my period is coming. This is one of those PMS symptoms which many women perhaps don’t connect as being one of them!
2. Change in my digestive pattern
I know my digestion always changes just before my period. In most cases it goes really soft but sometimes it goes the other way too. I sometimes feel like this symptom actually affects me on other levels with my PMS symptoms. Our gut is ultimately also connected to our mental health!
3. Extra feeling of stress or teariness
Those hormones alter just before our period and for me this often comes out in one of two ways. Either I get more stressed, more anxious or I just overanalyze things. I just can’t stop thinking about one particular topic—I almost harp on it! Then other times, I just get really emotional for no apparent reason. I will be really sad and feel like my world is coming to an end! You might also know some of the other PMS symptoms like moodiness, irritability, frustration; which ones do you get?
It is amazing because once my period starts or even on the day that it is coming, I feel so much lighter and that everything is possible again. I have learned to tell myself that these are merely hormone reactions and that they too will pass and not to take them too seriously.
4. Soreness in my lower back, shoulder etc.
I tend to ramp up my yoga exercises just before my period as I notice there seems to be more lower back pain and tension in my shoulders a few days before I am due. There is so much tension in my body and I need to let it out! I will often also take long baths and hectic walks to get things moving better. It is a great excuse to take extra care of myself! In a way this is not a bad PMS symptom.
5. Skin break-outs. I get spots!
You know those nasty big ones? They seem to appear out of nowhere and can often be quite painful. Sometimes I am lucky and they come out on my back or neck, where I can hide them more easily. I hate it!
Please let me know your most common or strange PMS symptom in the comment section below:
This Post Has 23 Comments
Thank you ever so for you post.Really looking forward to read more. Cool.
My #1 warning sign….every 4th Thursday I pick a stupid fight with my husband over something small and get furious at him “you just don’t understand” through to full.blown.rage. I have to get in the car and drive around and scream a couple of times to exorcise the rage and curse words. Always an overreaction, almost manic. It’s almost an out of body experience and I usually end up laughing at my own behaviour but I wonder every month if this will be the last time he will endure it. Is depressing because I feel like have no controll over it and the anger is so strong it shocks me what comes out my mouth.
Your blog is so great Melissa, thankyou for having the courage and generosity to share your story so lots of us know that we aren’t actually going crazy with all this pain and symptoms and medical merry go round!
I just wanted to make a comment about painkillers – I have had terrible trouble in the past where all the codeine I was taking for pain relief was amplifying my pain x 100 becuase it completely stopping my BMs. I think these antiomflammatories and sometime alcohol use for pain and anxiety relief give us immediate short term relief but actually put more toxin load on our system. I have found that using fish oil and magnesium supplements for digestion and a careful diet leading up to my period can significantly
reduce the pain. Unfortunately I am not allowed to take NSAIDs because of an autoimmune disease but have found natural therapy like this , yoga, stretching, osteo to be pretty effective at reducing pain most of the time. Thanks again for your candour and common sense
Hi there!
I’m experiencing stabbing pain at my right and left pelvic area. After my menstration. Is this normal?
I forgot to mention mid-cycle bleeding.
Hi Noel,
Sometimes we do need a gentle reminder of what we were once doing and how we are now feeling. I think we are so used to just coping and dealing with it, that we seldom stop to then reconsider what we are eating etc.
Just go off the caffeine slowly – reduces those drastic headaches easier 🙂
All of the symptoms you mentioned as well as night sweats, joint aches, week-long pain/discomfort while ovulating and this last week I had a fever. I was pms’ing so I had the typical symptoms for that plus a fever that lasted 24 hrs. There were no other symptoms (sore throat, upset stomach…) so I’m assuming it was endo related. I’ve actually been able to manage my symptoms for years through diet and exercise but I have gradually slipped off the wagon and I’m starting to pay for it! I’m getting back on track even if the caffeine withdrawals are giving me headaches!! 🙂 If it’s not one thing it’s another, huh?
Thanks for sharing Alesia 🙂 Really funny. I crave chocolate 🙂
I experience all of these symptoms along with an intense craving for sweets! That’s strange for me because I am typically a salty snacker.
You’ll get better sweets! Glad to have another South-African follower 🙂
My symptoms are all the same! Headache, stress, teariness- all of it!
The week before I really struggle, I feel ill, I’m edgy, extremely tired,
And totally drained. Even my personality seems different.
I really wish I had none of the above. It really impacts
everything, I try my very best to push through but it’s really
difficult.
That is awesome Emma!
I’m so happy!! Just as i suspected – the hot flashes are a positive sign. Day 1 (when I usually get immense pains) of my period, and I’m super happy, energetic and most importantly PAIN FREE! (So far so good!)
Yeah, it is great to have a reason for things sometimes 🙂
The “out of it” is something I always relate to the liver too. I know I feel more “out of it” when my liver has had a little bit more abuse than normal 🙂
Hi Emma,
That is very interesting and a symptom I shall pay more attention to next month, to see if we share it 🙂
There is a connection with heat and hormones – usually a sign of ovulation too….think it might be progesterone 😉
Melissa, I experience the same symptoms, especially the neck/shoulder tension. It’s funny because I didn’t make the corralation until I read your blog. I also feel “out of it”… kind of foggy. Guess it’s the hormones, ya?
Among the symptoms you described, I also get insomnia before my period. Also, interestingly, since having endo, i saw my usual morning time hot flashes go away and i felt cold instead. Bad circulation & a change in hormone levels i guess. But, as i’m on the lead up to a period right now, for the first time since having endo – the hot flashes are back. I’m eager to see if this is a good sign. I read somewhere that it’s progesterone that causes heat in the body? Correct me if i’m wrong. Time, as always, will tell.
That is scary! At least you know it is just hormones but how mean is that?
Thanks sweetheart. That brings a tear to my eye! You are incredible to share 🙂 THank you
This past year I have noticed I become extremely anxious about a week before. Ive even experienced paranoia while doing normal tasks like walking my dog or driving somewhere different. I do extra yoga during these times to try and center myself.
Hi Melissa,
I’ve just ticked all of these symptoms and when I read your describtion I just wonder if you and I aren’t twins 😉 Isn’t it amazing how those five symptoms are like five big signs of PMS and we get to endure it E.V.E.R.Y months!
There is a sixth one for me which is that I get so bloated that I look literraly six or seven months pregnant! Like if my tummy was about to explode.
On another topic, I just wanted to say that I was sorry to read you had a miscarriage, it must have been a huge disappointment and cause of sadness for you.
I became pregnant last year, while I was told six or seven months earlier I had enterred menopause, and that it was time to remove my uterus because my endometriosis and adenomiosis were so great.
For the first 4 months I tried not to get my hopes too high and thought that if I was going to have a miscarriage, at least I would have had the opportunity to carry a baby once in my life, even for a short time.
But somehow, the baby held on and she came one month earlier because I got a preeclampsia. It’s a girl, she’s 9 months old, her name is Victoire which means in French “Victory” (and not Victoria.)
She’s strong, beautiful, amazingly funny and full of joy and I am so grateful to be a mum!
So to you and all the other women who are fighting this bloody illness and aren’t understood for what they are going through, I want to say that yes, some of us, despite what doctors can say or believe about you, will get pregnant. I don’t know when nor how, but do not let doctors make you believe they have all the answers.
I had no in vintro nor any form of hormonal or ovarian stimulation.
It just happened and for me, what perhaps is the beginning of the answer why I got pregnant then, is perhaps because for once I did what felt right for me and me only. I faced my life, the choices I had made and allowed myself to make the necessary changes for me. I became pregnant a couple of months after that.
Good luck to you Melissa and thank you for your blog which makes us feel less lonely. x
You can get better sweets 🙂 Use them as indicators for improvement 🙂
My worst symptoms are lower abdominal/back pain and softer BM’s. For me though, I also experience these symptoms when I’m ovulating. It’s so discouraging.