I (Marthe) am writing this now whilst lying in bed on my period. It feels like 1000 tiny monkeys are having a little party in my womb. Swaying from side to side, whilst I am hoping a hot water bottle will calm them down. Nevertheless I am happy that the monster (the name I have given my period), has arrived. Just a few days of cramps, feeling bloated and unhappy is the part I don’t mind, because good days are ahead. PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome) is over and at least for the next two weeks I will feel like myself again. 

Lockdown

We are currently in lockdown week four, (find out how we dealing with self isolation HERE). Being in lockdown means that I can feel my PMS hormones literally racing through my body. They are way more obvious, compared to when I’m travelling or living my usual busy lifestyle of work and socialising. On top of all this, I just moved to London, which doesn’t feel like home sweet home just yet.

Yesterday Tash and I had a massive argument. I stormed out and instantly called my friend. I was sobbing and telling her what had happened. During the conversation I felt heavy cramps in my womb. I had just come on my period, the irony! She said, maybe I shouldn’t make any rapid decisions, because she knows how I can feel and react in these circumstances.

After I came back home, exhausted and surrendered to myself. Tash and I talked and came to the conclusion that every time I’m due on my period we get into a big argument. It usually involves me feeling super angry and ends up with me crying hysterically.

PMS OR PMDD?

We already knew I was affected by PMS, however, after doing some research as well as a PMDD Self-Screen, my results said, “There is an indication to believe you have PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder).” Megan from Wegan explains it really well in her own personal blog.

What now? 

I should track my symptoms for the next two months in a diary like, Me v PMDD, Flo or Clue. After that I can talk to a doctor about my options. I am a nurse so of course I researched straight away.

Previously 

In the beginning of September I read Maisie Hill’s book Period Power. I can recommend this to every woman, it’s really educational and incredibly helpful in many ways. As a result, I had already read about PMS and PMDD back then. I even searched for supplements and started taking a wide range of them, from calcium, magnesium, vitamine B6, primrose, irion, you name it, if it could be positive for my PMS, I would take it. This resulted in me taking 6-8 different pills every day. Did it have an effect? I don’t know, I stopped taking them in january because I didn’t want to travel with all these pills.

Now

Last night I read that some women take antidepressants 7-10 days before their period. Some are taking the contraceptive pill to level out their hormones. The thing is I stopped with ‘The Pill’ when I was 24 because I wanted to be more natural. As a result I was way happier than when I was on it. However the lows when I was on the pill weren’t that low, it was more like a steady sea all throughout the month. So now I feel like I’m deciding between two evils. To be honest I don’t want to have to use any drugs at all.

Recommendations 

They recommend good sleep, regular exercise, planning less before your period, eating healthy, no alcohol and no smoking. I think I am already pretty good at maintaining a healthy lifestyle, so I don’t know what I can really change there.

Everything amplifies during isolation and quarantine brings a healthy amount of stress anyway. I can’t go out horse riding, I don’t have any distractions like work and I don’t have any social interactions forcing me to be my normal self.

We will fight this monster!

So meanwhile, Tash has to deal with my thunderstorms, my craziness, my wanting to cry helplessly because everything is wrong in the world and my snappy bitchy side. Meanwhile, I am trying to always look on the bright side of life. We know why this happens and I am not the only one. I will journal my cycle, I will learn more and see if I can control this monster inside me. We will both be aware of the 3 days before my period starts, we will journal it down and call it DANGER zone. 

Wish us good luck! If you have any experience with this too, please do share and DM us, it helps massively!

Marthe

Originally from Amsterdam, I am now living in London with Tash, after we finally ‘Broke the Distance’. I love travelling and want to visit as many places as possible.