Is this normal?!
June 17, 2017 7:50 AM Subscribe
About a week every month I feel like I'm hit by a bus and that bus is driving forward and backward repeatedly. I'm otherwise in excellent health. I am beginning to wonder if I shouldn't spend 25% of my days preoccupied with discomfort, but then again I've done it my whole adult life. What do you think?
YNMD, I know. Not looking for medical opinions here-- I'm, instead, fielding experiences and opinions. Does everyone go through this? Is it just women? I'm trying to decide whether or not to see a doctor-- it's easy to say yes, but it's so humiliating to be told there's nothing wrong with me.
In case it's relevant:
1) Yes, my "off" days are loosely tied to my cycles, but not always
2) I'm 32F, healthy everything, healthy diet and exercise. I drink too much caffeine though and my work is stressful AF.
3) On my "off" days, my brain is foggy, my eyes can't focus, my entire body is achey like there is no tomorrow, I have zero energy, but I can't fall or stay asleep. Sometimes my fingers get very swollen too. Naturally it's exhausting to get work done, and I often end up cancelling social plans. The only way to make it through the day is some ibuprofen and lots and lots of coffee.
How common is this? Is it just PMS? should it be this bad? How do I know when to go see a doctor?
YNMD, I know. Not looking for medical opinions here-- I'm, instead, fielding experiences and opinions. Does everyone go through this? Is it just women? I'm trying to decide whether or not to see a doctor-- it's easy to say yes, but it's so humiliating to be told there's nothing wrong with me.
In case it's relevant:
1) Yes, my "off" days are loosely tied to my cycles, but not always
2) I'm 32F, healthy everything, healthy diet and exercise. I drink too much caffeine though and my work is stressful AF.
3) On my "off" days, my brain is foggy, my eyes can't focus, my entire body is achey like there is no tomorrow, I have zero energy, but I can't fall or stay asleep. Sometimes my fingers get very swollen too. Naturally it's exhausting to get work done, and I often end up cancelling social plans. The only way to make it through the day is some ibuprofen and lots and lots of coffee.
How common is this? Is it just PMS? should it be this bad? How do I know when to go see a doctor?
No, this is not normal. Yes, it is okay to go to the doctor for this. They will likely check you for endocrine issues and maybe rheumatological, too. The swollen fingers can definitely be an early symptom of rheumatoid arthritis, for instance. It is well documented that women's pain is dismissed by the medical establishment and that delays our diagnosis. Stick up for yourself.
posted by hydropsyche at 8:07 AM on June 17, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by hydropsyche at 8:07 AM on June 17, 2017 [8 favorites]
I'm no doctor, but I do menstruate, and the symptoms you describe definitely all correspond with pms/pmdd. I recommend looking into nutritional supplementation.
posted by aniola at 8:38 AM on June 17, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by aniola at 8:38 AM on June 17, 2017 [2 favorites]
And, if possible, try to back off on that coffee. It may be exacerbating it. It does for me.
posted by aniola at 8:39 AM on June 17, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by aniola at 8:39 AM on June 17, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yes, definitely doctor-worthy! I find that when I go to the doctor with concerns, it helps to frame it in terms of specifics (At X times of the month, I feel exhausted and achy, but I can't sleep.) rather than generalities (I sometimes feel more tired than usual).
Back when I was still menstruating, I sometimes had issues with what I would call pre-menstrual exhaustion and fogginess. Going back on the Pill really helped, as did being put on Synthroid, as it turned out I was hypothyroid.
If your fingers are swelling, it might help to avoid really salty foods (most prepared foods and snacks) as well as do some gentle stretching.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 9:14 AM on June 17, 2017
Back when I was still menstruating, I sometimes had issues with what I would call pre-menstrual exhaustion and fogginess. Going back on the Pill really helped, as did being put on Synthroid, as it turned out I was hypothyroid.
If your fingers are swelling, it might help to avoid really salty foods (most prepared foods and snacks) as well as do some gentle stretching.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 9:14 AM on June 17, 2017
I don't know about the swelling in hands (for me it's my breasts) but yes to everything else - and for me it's always after day 21 of my cycle, sometimes sooner if I haven't been taking good care of myself. Basically post-ovulation progesterone drops off and for some of us that means too much estrogen if we're stressed out and caffeine is said to make it worse too.
Cutting sugar and caffeine helps a lot, and I've been taking supplements to see if that helps, including gingko biloba during the foggy phase of my cycle and it seems to help. I sleep a lot more around that part of my cycle and feel sugar crashes a lot more strongly, it sucks.
posted by lafemma at 10:02 AM on June 17, 2017
Cutting sugar and caffeine helps a lot, and I've been taking supplements to see if that helps, including gingko biloba during the foggy phase of my cycle and it seems to help. I sleep a lot more around that part of my cycle and feel sugar crashes a lot more strongly, it sucks.
posted by lafemma at 10:02 AM on June 17, 2017
Well, you can get some data for yourself, at least. You could get a kit and start testing your blood sugar yourself to see if there seems to be any correlation between that and when you feel this way, or just watch to see if there's any correlation with what you've been eating. That would give you some data to bring to the doctor, because they may ask that anyway.
Also, are you taking vitamin D and/or going outside for the exercise you're doing? When I felt like you describe every day, my vitamin D turned out to be low. You could try taking 5,000 IU D3 for a while and see if it seems to improve.
But yeah, I mean, I also felt this way fairly often even after taking D3 for a year and improving my levels. Then I had some other weird stuff start occurring every month and finally they did some tests and retested my blood and found that I had an actual condition causing me to have a hormone imbalance. I wish I'd known that years ago! But previous tests were inconclusive. So pressing a doctor to test your blood for 1. any of the endocrine-issue markers and 2. hormone levels and 3. a general blood panel otherwise would be the next step. Even if it doesn't figure out exactly all the answers right away, it's a data point.
But yeah, also, coming prepared to any appointments related to that is a good idea, per above. Gather as much specific data as you can yourself, so if there actually is something going on, they can discern the pattern of symptoms. Is there anything up with your skin, your hair, your voice, anything else you might not think would be related? Write that down too. You should start using something like Clue to track baseline levels of stuff, too, as you can track not only your period, but also energy level, sociability level, moods, amount of sleep, etc. every day.
I hope you figure things out! Knowing what's going on with your body is an awesome feeling.
posted by limeonaire at 10:05 AM on June 17, 2017 [1 favorite]
Also, are you taking vitamin D and/or going outside for the exercise you're doing? When I felt like you describe every day, my vitamin D turned out to be low. You could try taking 5,000 IU D3 for a while and see if it seems to improve.
But yeah, I mean, I also felt this way fairly often even after taking D3 for a year and improving my levels. Then I had some other weird stuff start occurring every month and finally they did some tests and retested my blood and found that I had an actual condition causing me to have a hormone imbalance. I wish I'd known that years ago! But previous tests were inconclusive. So pressing a doctor to test your blood for 1. any of the endocrine-issue markers and 2. hormone levels and 3. a general blood panel otherwise would be the next step. Even if it doesn't figure out exactly all the answers right away, it's a data point.
But yeah, also, coming prepared to any appointments related to that is a good idea, per above. Gather as much specific data as you can yourself, so if there actually is something going on, they can discern the pattern of symptoms. Is there anything up with your skin, your hair, your voice, anything else you might not think would be related? Write that down too. You should start using something like Clue to track baseline levels of stuff, too, as you can track not only your period, but also energy level, sociability level, moods, amount of sleep, etc. every day.
I hope you figure things out! Knowing what's going on with your body is an awesome feeling.
posted by limeonaire at 10:05 AM on June 17, 2017 [1 favorite]
Go to a doctor and go now. This is not normal in any way, and people who are just like "oh this is what it means to be a woman" are wrong.
posted by bile and syntax at 10:19 AM on June 17, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by bile and syntax at 10:19 AM on June 17, 2017 [6 favorites]
Ibuprofen, no more than 600 mg to last 6 hours. Lots of water, rather than coffee. Try some foods with fiber, sugar, vitamins, like 1/2 banana, orange, 15 grapes, or a large salad with a lot of various ingredients. Salad with butter lettuce, blueberries, chicken, feta, cucumber, tomatoes, peas, lemon, dill, and olive oil dressing, a sprinkle of seasoned salt, not too much. Whole grain dry toast. More water. Cookies later. Brain fog is sometimes because your brain wants sugar, and needs it, and sometimes brain fog is from dehydration.
Coffee is diuretic, but if you drink a stable amount, say like 24 oz per day, your body gets used to that and it does alright with the diuretic quality if you put in water to keep your fluids up. It sounds like to me, you need to see that week coming, and be extra nice to yourself. Take some rest at that time, and make sure the rest is physically therapeutic, real rest, real hydration. If you have brain fog, then shut down when you can, and recuperate. Sometimes fog is a message from you to you.
posted by Oyéah at 11:45 AM on June 17, 2017 [1 favorite]
Coffee is diuretic, but if you drink a stable amount, say like 24 oz per day, your body gets used to that and it does alright with the diuretic quality if you put in water to keep your fluids up. It sounds like to me, you need to see that week coming, and be extra nice to yourself. Take some rest at that time, and make sure the rest is physically therapeutic, real rest, real hydration. If you have brain fog, then shut down when you can, and recuperate. Sometimes fog is a message from you to you.
posted by Oyéah at 11:45 AM on June 17, 2017 [1 favorite]
Drinking too much caffeine and stress isn't healthy for your mind and body. Before going to the doctor, I would cut coffee completely and work on reducing and managing your stress and seeing if they're playing a lead role in your symptoms.
Cutting coffee cold turkey means crankiness, headaches, and feeling bad for a few weeks (I just did this in January and it was surprising how badly I felt), but I stopped feeling a bunch of body pain and symptoms that I had for ten years (!!!) that I thought was PMS related.
posted by vivzan at 12:26 PM on June 17, 2017
Cutting coffee cold turkey means crankiness, headaches, and feeling bad for a few weeks (I just did this in January and it was surprising how badly I felt), but I stopped feeling a bunch of body pain and symptoms that I had for ten years (!!!) that I thought was PMS related.
posted by vivzan at 12:26 PM on June 17, 2017
Start logging how you feel, your exercise and what and how much you eat (count the calories) and how well you sleep.
I used to have short alternating cycles of good and bad days and it was because I was wildly variable in my caloric intake and exercise. Once I counted calories and made sure I was hitting the same target every day all kinds of physical complaints, including bad headaches and general irritability, just went away.
posted by srboisvert at 1:17 PM on June 17, 2017
I used to have short alternating cycles of good and bad days and it was because I was wildly variable in my caloric intake and exercise. Once I counted calories and made sure I was hitting the same target every day all kinds of physical complaints, including bad headaches and general irritability, just went away.
posted by srboisvert at 1:17 PM on June 17, 2017
Hey, I've struggled with this for years too. I am now 48. Woman. No children. I have these "off" days as you described too. I used to associate them with my periods. Now it is getting worse. I am nearly 100% sure mine are tied to hormonal shifts. I don't think this is "normal" in the sense that I don't think our bodies were really evolved or created to be this way. This must be a maladjustment in our modern times to environmental conditions which affect hormones (my opinion after years of thinking over this in my own cycles).
What to do about it? I wonder if it is not a larger societal issue to be addressed (re: chemicals, toxins, diet/nutrition, work habits). One might say we have the "best" diet of all times, however, our over combination of abundant refined sugar and meat and refined carbohydrate diet? Not sure if that is the best diet for female hormones....
For me, I have had to slow down, work less, take care of my body with sleep, withdraw to tend to my body more often. It takes me out of the mainstream many days of the month, but I guess that is the point.....our society is what is affecting this maybe.....
Well, you have my empathy and personalized sympathy as I related above......
posted by bananaskin at 1:53 PM on June 17, 2017
What to do about it? I wonder if it is not a larger societal issue to be addressed (re: chemicals, toxins, diet/nutrition, work habits). One might say we have the "best" diet of all times, however, our over combination of abundant refined sugar and meat and refined carbohydrate diet? Not sure if that is the best diet for female hormones....
For me, I have had to slow down, work less, take care of my body with sleep, withdraw to tend to my body more often. It takes me out of the mainstream many days of the month, but I guess that is the point.....our society is what is affecting this maybe.....
Well, you have my empathy and personalized sympathy as I related above......
posted by bananaskin at 1:53 PM on June 17, 2017
I used to forfeit almost two weeks out of every month (roughly ovulation -> first day of menstruation) to feeling like absolute garbage. Here's what made it better, YMMV:
Eating only three times a day, protein and carbs with moderate fat
Not drinking alcohol
Cutting way back on caffeine
Drinking WAY more water
This sounds super basic, and IANAD etc., but I was startled to discover myself not hating the world 50% of the time.
posted by lizifer at 3:13 PM on June 17, 2017
Eating only three times a day, protein and carbs with moderate fat
Not drinking alcohol
Cutting way back on caffeine
Drinking WAY more water
This sounds super basic, and IANAD etc., but I was startled to discover myself not hating the world 50% of the time.
posted by lizifer at 3:13 PM on June 17, 2017
For me the luteal phase fucks me right up. This is partially a fibro thing, but tracking when I felt like I got hit by a truck with my periods really helped me narrow it down. It also got initially a LOT worse when I went on an androgen blocker for a separate thing. There is a lot they don't understand about lady hormones, but from what I can tell for some people the ratio of progesterone to estrogen can fuck with their sensitivity to pain, fatigue, etc.
A super low dose SSRI for that part of your cycle can really, really help with this (not just for fibro women, but for PMDD generally, I think).
But definitely go to a doctor. and if the doctor doesn't seem particularly knowledgeable about lady medicine (not uncommon!), go to a different one.
posted by schadenfrau at 5:36 PM on June 17, 2017 [2 favorites]
A super low dose SSRI for that part of your cycle can really, really help with this (not just for fibro women, but for PMDD generally, I think).
But definitely go to a doctor. and if the doctor doesn't seem particularly knowledgeable about lady medicine (not uncommon!), go to a different one.
posted by schadenfrau at 5:36 PM on June 17, 2017 [2 favorites]
Also, yeah, no alcohol, low caffeine, and a low carb diet -- all of those things help me, too.
posted by schadenfrau at 5:37 PM on June 17, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by schadenfrau at 5:37 PM on June 17, 2017 [1 favorite]
I had to try four or five different formulas of pills but finally I found one that allowed me to successfully take it for three months straight. Periods four times a year is much better!
posted by bq at 6:34 PM on June 17, 2017
posted by bq at 6:34 PM on June 17, 2017
I got off hormonal birth control and started taking 5mg of pregneneolone every day back in October and it has helped enormously with this issue.
posted by annathea at 6:44 PM on June 17, 2017
posted by annathea at 6:44 PM on June 17, 2017
A possibility is food intolerance; there are some common food substances that can cause generalized distress which take hours or days to clear from your system. It's worthwhile to try an elimination diet to detect these. Also, there are a number of possible culprits that aren't targeted in "standard" elimination diets. You might try controlling your diet very closely for a few weeks.
posted by yath at 1:33 AM on June 18, 2017
posted by yath at 1:33 AM on June 18, 2017
Just for the record, it really is possible that you have a medical problem and feeling bad is not your fault for failing to follow every piece of dietary, exercise, and lifestyle advice from people on the internet.
posted by hydropsyche at 4:11 AM on June 18, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by hydropsyche at 4:11 AM on June 18, 2017 [7 favorites]
Have you been really, really checked by a really good doctor who takes women seriously, for issues like endometriosis? Even if your pain levels aren't that severe (I see you mentioned ibuprofen, but I may have missed what you take that for), the disease itself could still be there and drag you down.
posted by LoonyLovegood at 5:41 AM on June 18, 2017
posted by LoonyLovegood at 5:41 AM on June 18, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
It might also be worth keeping a symptom journal, to see if there are any foods, activities, etc that could be triggering this.
But definitely, see a doctor. You deserve to feel good. Be persistent if you get dismissed.
posted by obfuscation at 8:05 AM on June 17, 2017 [2 favorites]