PMS Hacks- advice from women, please.

[oriane]

Hello women,
I am 5 days away from my period start date and struggling with PMS: breast tenderness, bloating, irritable, scattered, little energy. Leading up to this cycle I have been sleeping well, have abstained from alcohol, eased off on coffee the past few days, walking 2-4 miles a day, doing yoga, and some meditation. I'm eating eggs, beef, veggies like broccoli, onions, cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms. Corn tortillas, gluten-free bread. OJ, whole milk, black tea with honey.

How do you find relief? It's a lifelong struggle and I feel at a loss every time it flares up like this, which isn't every cycle but often enough that I just can't stand it. I'm nearly 40 and need to get off this 25 year of this roller coaster.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

Hello women,
I am 5 days away from my period start date and struggling with PMS: breast tenderness, bloating, irritable, scattered, little energy. Leading up to this cycle I have been sleeping well, have abstained from alcohol, eased off on coffee the past few days, walking 2-4 miles a day, doing yoga, and some meditation. I'm eating eggs, beef, veggies like broccoli, onions, cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms. Corn tortillas, gluten-free bread. OJ, whole milk, black tea with honey.

How do you find relief? It's a lifelong struggle and I feel at a loss every time it flares up like this, which isn't every cycle but often enough that I just can't stand it. I'm nearly 40 and need to get off this 25 year of this roller coaster.

Thanks in advance.

Taking bee pollen a week before my period worked so well that I couldn’t tell at all that my period was upon me, except I would be extra hungry and a bit tired the day before, but no cramping or any other symptoms. Then first day of my period I would feel normal again. I have passed on that remedy to my sister and other girlfriends and they have been relieved by it as well. It has to be well in your system though for it to work like that. Before discover bee pollen, at 29 years old, I would get miserable cramps.

 

[Adnada]

What has helped me the most is: taking an aspirin 5 days a week and Protest E for 4-5 days prior to menstruation. Using my red light device can help instantly with mood. Eating adequate protein throughout the month. Raspberry leaf tea and vitex extract for cramps.

Also, Ray has mentioned coffee or caffeine synergizing with Progesterone, so I do not back off on coffee intake but actually increase it if I desire. It sounds like you are doing a lot right, I hope you find the missing piece to the puzzle.

 

[Peatness]

In this article Dr Peat suggests more salt for PMS

Pre-eclampsia and pregnancy toxemia have been corrected (Shanklin and Hodin, 1979) by both increased dietary protein and increased salt, which improve circulation, lower blood pressure, and prevent seizures, while reducing vascular leakiness. The effectiveness of increased salt in pre-eclampsia led me to suggest it for women with premenstrual edema, because both conditions typically involve high estrogen, hyponatremia, and a tendency toward hypo-osmolarity. Estrogen itself causes sodium loss, reduced osmolarity, and increased capillary leakiness. Combined with a high protein diet, eating a little extra salt usually helps to correct a variety of problems involving edema, poor circulation, and high blood pressure.

Water: swelling, tension, pain, fatigue, aging

Ray Peat

raypeat.com

Vitamin E might help too because of it's antagonism of estrogen

Vitamin E: Estrogen antagonist, energy promoter, and anti-inflammatory

Ray Peat

raypeat.com

 

[LUH 3417]

Aspirin, thyroid, ~80g of protein all month long. I have used cynomel and cynoplus only around days 22-28 and it’s helped (if you don’t feel comfortable taking thyroid every day). Ray suggested this to me. Haiduts vitamin e product has helped me a lot, didn’t notice as many benefits from unique e or health natura brands.

 

[animalcule]

Appreciate OP for starting this thread, as well as all of the above commenters. I've had PMS bordering on PMDD for most of my life, some years worse than others. It's crazy to feel like a completely different and out of control person for half of the month. Will try the bee pollen first. Thanks!

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

Appreciate OP for starting this thread, as well as all of the above commenters. I've had PMS bordering on PMDD for most of my life, some years worse than others. It's crazy to feel like a completely different and out of control person for half of the month. Will try the bee pollen first. Thanks!

You poor thing. I surely hope it works for you. Let us know how it goes.

 

[teds]

Hello women,
I am 5 days away from my period start date and struggling with PMS: breast tenderness, bloating, irritable, scattered, little energy. Leading up to this cycle I have been sleeping well, have abstained from alcohol, eased off on coffee the past few days, walking 2-4 miles a day, doing yoga, and some meditation. I'm eating eggs, beef, veggies like broccoli, onions, cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms. Corn tortillas, gluten-free bread. OJ, whole milk, black tea with honey.

How do you find relief? It's a lifelong struggle and I feel at a loss every time it flares up like this, which isn't every cycle but often enough that I just can't stand it. I'm nearly 40 and need to get off this 25 year of this roller coaster.

Thanks in advance.

Hey @oriane - I would remove the broccoli and GF bread and add some beef liver and oysters. My experience with pms is addressing nutrient density over a number of months (consistently) and I added progest-e. I it took me about 4 months to see changes but now I don’t get pms or pain or heavy bleeding which I’d had for most of my life. I’m about your age. Best of luck.

 

[teds]

Inse

Aspirin, thyroid, ~80g of protein all month long. I have used cynomel and cynoplus only around days 22-28 and it’s helped (if you don’t feel comfortable taking thyroid every day). Ray suggested this to me. Haiduts vitamin e product has helped me a lot, didn’t notice as many benefits from unique e or health natura brands.

I also found I needed more protein. Though 80g wouldn’t touch the sides for me. I need about 150-170 per day.

 

[sunny]

I would use Progest-e every month. If you are on a 28 day cycle, count 13 days - starting with the first day of menstruation. Then take Progest-e every day for the next 13 days - stopping two days before the start of your next menstruation. I think if you are having the symptoms you describe, you so not have enough progesterone to antagonize the estrogen. I would also try to get more salt (I put it in my oj) , monitor protein- your liver needs enough to do its job, I think Aspirin can be helpful- it antagonize estrogen, if you can eat oysters once a week, and liver once a month- they have essential nutrients. Read alot of ray peat estrogen and menstrual cycle articles on his website.

 

[sunny]

Here is a good article SOS for PMS – Functional Performance Systems (FPS)

 

[LUH 3417]

Inse

I also found I needed more protein. Though 80g wouldn’t touch the sides for me. I need about 150-170 per day.

What are your protein sources? I try to get in 100+ but find it hard to

 

[Regina]

Inse

I also found I needed more protein. Though 80g wouldn’t touch the sides for me. I need about 150-170 per day.

Me too.

Good advice to cut the broccoli, cabbage and GF bread. Eat beef, lamb and shellfish, OJ.

 

[Peatness]

A systematic review of the role of vitamin D and calcium in premenstrual syndrome

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a common disorder that affects millions of women of reproductive age worldwide. In recent years, there has been a focus on finding accessible, acceptable, and cost-effective therapeutic approaches with minimal side effects ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[teds]

What are your protein sources? I try to get in 100+ but find it hard to

Dairy, eggs, shellfish, liver, oysters, meat (wallaby, beef, lamb- occasional chicken when I make soup) - collagen and gelatin too.

 

[oriane]

Thank you all so, so much for your responses.​

I have bee pollen, tocovit, gericare, so I'm going to try to use those consistently and as well as up my protein. gluten free bread is my fix for wanting something starchy and easy for breakfast, which is one meal a lack imagination for. I'll have eggs but I get tired of them.
I have some progesterone but I've been nervous about using it. I bought a bottle from Forever Healthy and it makes me feel kind of woozy--what would that be a sign of?
These are the directions for use on their website:
Progest+ is a 10% solution containing high-purity, USP bio-identical progesterone. One, average-sized drop contains about 3 milligrams of progesterone. Each 30ml bottle contains 3 grams of progesterone, or roughly 900, 3 mg. drops.
PMS: The ovaries secret large amounts of progesterone at the beginning of ovulation and at the end of the menstrual cycle each month (days 14 through day 28), producing a much small amount the following two weeks. An average woman will produce about 10-15 mg daily, but twice as much (30 mg) during these two weeks. Progest+ contains 3 to 4 milligrams of progesterone in each normal-sized drop. For PMS symptoms, 3-4 drops, or about 10 to 15 milligrams will help to restore progesterone levels during the cycle. Take this dose on days 14 through 28 of your menstrual cycle.

Should I follow these dosage directions?

Which vegetables do you like that aren't estrogenic?
Breakfast ideas?

 

[oriane]

Another question: I have a lot of hypothyroid symptoms and would like to start using thyroid supplements. Can I take it at the same time as using progesterone, or should I address one and then the other? I'm getting my thyroid and sex hormones checked next month, so I'll have a better picture of what is going on there.