Free of PMDD after surgery??

Thank you Josie for replying.....this is such a crap shoot.
No I have not had my levels done in 11 months now. I will go and get my estriodol/estrone/estriol done AFTER I try 1/4 turn more of the estrogen cream, for several nights. I never really thought of being too low, just that the whole thing was ticking me off and I don't need it. I consider myself a somewhat intelligent person, but hormones just really throw me for a loop in every which direction. Can't even have common sense!
Josie you are so much more informed about hormones pre-op than I was. I was determined to just let my body run it's course and "be natural". Ya right.
I still had anger when I was on Lupron, but I did not have ANY hormone replacement when getting the shots. I never - ever - for a second regret having the surgery, but IF I had to do it all over again I would have asked my Dr. for progesterone therapy INSTEAD of all the years I was on Prozac. I would have liked to see if that would have helped, it has such a calming effect. I did not do enough research on hormone replacement. So good on you Josie for doing your homework. I also did not have this website to inform me, it is such a good place.
Thank you again for reading my posts, I really appreciate your time.

Dumby:
I know I felt at times that I thought maybe I was bi-polar also.
The rage I had with my sons was the catalyst for me finally going to get help. The humility and remorse is the worst guilt, worthy of years of cognitive therapy behavior.
Now I find after all the surgery, my main anger has been with my DH. Those issues will be there the same in PMDD and in menopause. They have to be addressed.
Sending 's
You are not crazy, it's the excess estrogen and not enough progesterone playing cruel hard games.
I only had about 7-10 good days a month....what I could have gotten accomplished with all that wasted time, wasted friendships, wasted love. 15 years. What a shame.

As always
L&T

I've been reading this thread about PMDD and I wonder if someone could please explain it to me.
I can't beleive that I found someone with some of the same symptoms that I have - the rage, the anger, nervousness, the inability to cope with people. It started with me after I had my daughter. I couldn't deal with her crying, she cried for the first 5 months of her life! I would get so angry at my DH. I would rant and rave and throw fits - I knew I was being unreasonable - but I couldn't control it. Dr's put me on paxil - it helped for a while and then wellbutrin and then lexapro. I saw counselors, I saw psychiatrists - nothing helped. I ended up getting a divorce.
Could my fits of anger have been caused by hormone inbalances that no one ever bothered to mention???
Feel free to PM me or email me, or reply to this post. I'd really like to get some more info on this.
Thanks,
Tammy

Tammy,
I'll look up my links for you and post them on this thread that best explain PMDD, what it is and the different forms of treatment. The first and foremost thing to do is chart your symptoms, I'll post a link to find the chart as well. I don't have the time right now but I'll get on that for you ASAP.



LADIES: PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THIS THREAD HAS BEEN SPLIT INTO TWO PARTS BY THE ADMIN. THE SECOND HALF OF THIS THREAD IS UNDER THE POST-OP PORTION OF THIS SITE. SO TO READ ALL POSTINGS TO THIS THREAD CLICK ONTO THIS LINK. THERE WERE OVER 3 OR 4 pgs TO THIS THREAD AND AS I SAID IT'S BEEN SPLIT UP.

https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/sho...hreadid=167506



I'm very pleased at how well this thread has gone. There's not a lot out there on PMDD people have no clue what it's like and to find others with the same disorder and having done the surgery, it's very comforting. The postings that helped me the most are no longer on this thread due to the ADMIN removing them, it's unfortunate but I hope this thread has helped others none the less.

JOSIE

I've been doing research since I read this post earlier and found some interesting stuff. I could have written several of your posts Josie - I thought it was just me.
If you've never experienced an uncontrollable fit of rage at someone just because they happen to say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing - it's very confusing and scary.
If I had thought that removing my ovaries might have helped I would have done it a long time ago. I just want my life back. I want to be free from the pain, free from the emotional pain.
Thank you for starting this post, and I found the other part of it that was split.
Let us know how you are doing.

http://www.turner-white.com/pdf/hp_aug03_disorder.pdf
Attached to this web page is a monthly charting chart. Others that could be added to the list if they are not on the list already are:

Irritable
Fatigue
Inward Anger
Labile Mood (crying)
Depressed
Restless
Anxious
Insomnia
Lack of Control
Edema or rings tight
Breast Tenderness
Abdominal Bloating
Chills / Sweats
Headaches
Crave: sweets, salt
Feel Unattractive
Guilty
Unreasonable Behaviour
Low self image
Nausea
Menstrual Cramps
Aggressive, Physically
Aggressive, Verbally
Wish to be alone
Neglect housework
Tiem off work
Disorganized, distractable
Accident Prone/Clumsy
Uneasy about driving
Suicidal Thoughts
Stayed at Home
Increased use of Alcohol
Tremulousness
Palpitations
My space, leave me be
Poor Concentration
Slower Muddled thinking
Feeling easily overwhelmed

Hi There Ladies,

I had my TAH/BSO purely for PMDD back in August 2004 aged 30yrs after 15 years of PMDD and must apologise to Josie for not keeping in touch - basically because I've been living the life I missed out on for the last 15 years as a severe PMDD sufferer!!

I can't say it's been easy ladies and it's not a decision to be taken lightly - my DH and I had an 'accident' at 9 weeks post-op, leading to me tearing my internal stitches and having air pumped into my abdominal cavity (more painful than the op!!) and 6 months later I'm still getting very bad night sweats, necessitating changing the sheets every day. I get tearful every now and then and I do still get very angry occasionally (but then I work with 40 men)and I sometimes look at my friend's baby and wonder if I made the right choice. I'm thinking of changing my hrt but, and here's the very big but, I'm not psychotic, violent, sulky or over-sensitive etc. once, twice a month anymore, so changing the sheets I can live with I've got a better relationship with people at home, work and socially -no-one feels they have to tread on eggshells around me till they've found out what mood I'm in!!

Probably the hardest part has been getting my DH to realise that now when I'm mad at him, I'm seriously mad at him, not just having an PMDD rant!! But it's been better than it ever was and he says I'm a new (nice!) person:-)

I obviously can't say having your ovaries removed will definitely get rid of your PMDD because everybody is different and only your obgyn can advise you. I can however say that for me, it was the best bloomin decision of my life

Angel Blue,
How absolutely comforting to hear you say that you still get angry, but it's not PMDD anger. This time do you feel that you just cannot tolerate the same kind of ways that your husband demonstrates since you have been together or married?
It is hard to make them realize that you are seriously mad! I just cannot handle some of the same old same old anymore now that I'm menopausal. Things must change in relationships for them to carry on.
I feel so bad when I read Tamandrews post about getting a divorce - if my DH was any less of the wonderful man he is, we too would have been divorced. It is amazing that we have made it 28 years.
I have just finished reading "The PMDD Phenomenon" by Dr. Diana L. Dell. All of us on this site could have written pages in it.
It is exactly the symptoms, emotional and physical. Dr. Dell suffers from PMDD herself. She even goes into detail about the "different" patterns of PMDD. She has named them for example "spike" - this is the most common one where symptoms begin 3 or 4 days before a period is due. The intensity increases sharply until the bleeding begins and then disappears within hours or a couple of days. In total symptoms are experienced for about 5 days each month. "Peak and Mesa" is another one - in this pattern there are again symptoms at the time of ovulation that last about 48 hrs. But then more severe symptoms kick in almost immediately and last until two or three days after bleeding starts. In total symptoms are about 15 days each month. This is what I had was the "peak and mesa PMDD".
It is worth noting that she writes about PME which is Premenstrual Exacerbation. Any condition a women may have such as migraines, epilepsy, asthma, diabetes, IBS, eating disorders or psychological disorders these conditions get unmanageable premenstrually. She states that this condition is actually more common than PMDD.
In closing - I wanted to let you know that for the past 2 nights, I have only been up twice with night sweats. I am using more bio-indentical HRT. Perhaps soon the guest room that my dh sleeps in every night will be just for guests!
Thanx for listening
L&T

OMG! I thought I was CRAZY. I have been married for 10 years & have 4 children {15 (mine), 13 (his), 7 1/2 (ours), 6 (ours)}. I love my husband & kids more than anything in the world other than God. But I can be so AWFUL to all of them. I have had the same OB/GYN for 6 years. She delivered my son & tied my tubes 6 years ago (1999). That is when the all of this fresh hell started. I had NEVER had a problem with my periods BEFORE the tubal. After that I started having horrible PMS. I didn't know if it was PMS or having 2 babies 17 months apart. I never wanted to hurt my kids, but for the first time in my life I felt like dying. I didn't really want to kill myself but I just didn't want to live anymore. So I talked to my Dr. & she put me on Prozac for PMDD. It got better for a while. Then after a few years the Prozac stopped working. So she switched me to Zoloft. When she started me on the anti-depressants (2001) I also had a Lap, histricope & cyst removal from my rt. ovary. She did this because I had a pain in my left side that would not go away. She started me on birthcontrol pills after the surgery. To help w/ PMDD & control my HEAVY periods. I still had the pain in my left side. After 2 years on the pills they quit working & I had a 27 day period. When I went in to her she said to me, "Why did you let this go on so long? It's a good thing for you I like to do surgery." She was mad at me for it. Like I could help it! So in 2003 I had another Lap, histricope, a D & C, & cyst removal from the rt. ovary AGAIN. Still no explination for the pain in my left side. Well in May 2004 the 5th office manager in 6 years, in her office & I had a falling out over a bill. Well the Dr. dropped me as a patient. So I just took it as a sign that I needed to move on to another Dr. that could really help me. Well I didn't have a period for Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, & started Dec. 20th. I am now on my 3rd period since Dec 20th. I am bleeding so much that I am weak. The clots are terrible & I am spending a fortune on pads. On Feb 1st my husband insisted that I go to the ER. So I did. They determined that I wasn't bleeding to death & they sent me to a GYN the next day. She saw me & said that there was no reason that I shouldn't have a HYSTERECTOMY!! (PRAISE THE LORD!! FINALLY SOMEONE THAT UNDERSTANDS!) So I went for an ultrasound on the 4th. I see her on the 15th so we can determine where to go form the results of the ultrasound. I am nervous about the surgery, but I am relieved! I started reading this thread tonight & am now going to discuss removing my ovaries w/ her on Tues. Maybe I won't be such a raving loon. This is an AWFUL feeling. It is like an out of body experience; I know when it is going to happen & I cannot stop it. I don't want to go off on my kids, husband or family like I do. But when a rage hits me it is like.... I just can't control it. I have hardly any happiness out of life. I should be happy as a clam. Insted I feel resentful, TIRED, achy. I want to sleep ALL THE TIME or be by myself. I have a husband that has a good job, so I can stay at home w/ my kids & don't have to work. Not to mention that we've been together 10 1/2 years & are more in love now than when we married. We live in a nice house. My kids are healthy & generally happy (accept when their mom acts like a WHACK JOB). So I have a good life. I should be happy, but I can't be.
Thank goodness I found ya'll Sorry for such a long post. Any suggestions are WELCOME!
God Bless America & Pray for our troops

bigbonjovifan,
You are definately not alone and we're glad that you found comfort in reading the posts. I too new EXACTLY, what day my jekle and hyde behaviour was going to begin and when it was going to end. As each month approached, I thought, maybe this month won't be so bad. OR tell myself that, "I am going to stay in control and not let things get to me that'll make me behave like a raving loonitic". -YA RIGHT- (What wishful thinking that all was). No matter how hard I would try, it absolutely could not be done.


L&T,
It's great to hear that the hot flashes are coming down with the extra dose of HRT. How about the moodiness you found you were starting to get, is that dwindling as well?


Take Care Ladies.
JOSIE

Yes I find that the mood swings are in control, absolutely!
I feel so good right now......last night no night sweats what so ever, that is the first time in about 10 months.
Today dh and I went skiing and had the time of our lives. We are avid skiers and go out most weekends. Today I felt so alive, so good to be alive, I skiied my buns off. No complaining, no crying.
This is me!
Thank you Josie for the advise on more estrogen.
I hope and pray this good feeling will stay.
Welcome BonJovi friend.....it is so comforting to know we are all here for the same reason.
Goodnight
L&T