Ladies! Do your symptoms ever increase before/during your period?

Since I have been more focused on TMS healing modalities and following along with them since October, my brain has been fighting back as much as it can. It doesn’t scare me as I know what it is. I have been going through quite a few symptoms imperatives/add on symptoms since losing my fear of my original pelvic pain symptoms. Currently I am experiencing some significant dizziness after having a weird sore throat that I didn’t give any attention to haha

however! I am curious because since beginning my TMS journey, I have always noticed that symptoms seem to increase before and during my period. Whether it was a flare in pelvic pain, or migraines headaches, back pain, flu-like/cfs symptoms and now dizziness! It always seems to get a little more intense during this part of my menstrual cycle. I’m inclined to think it has something to do with hormones but I hesitate with that idea because I know it could most likely be a sneaky belief my brain is hoping I’ll latch onto. I feel like hormones get blamed for a lot of things that turn out to be TMS in the end.

so, I ask the ladies/afab peoples, do your symptoms seem to increase before/during your period??

 

I don't have pain symptoms. But in recent years, I definitely notice skin, gastrointestinal, and big mood swings etc. before period. They seemed to improve once the period started and post period week was typically the better week. I think it is mindbody related but I haven't found many books describing that since most mindbody doctors are men and they don't experience it first hand.

I believe that women's hormones are directed by the unconscious emotions and can generate all kinds of symptoms unique to women. The underlying human emotions are similar, anger, sadness, fear, shame, etc.

Another thing I come to realize is that people with low ACE scores may download certain emotional and behavior patterns they don't even know, which could generate a lot of suppressed or repressed emotions later in life. The little t build up especially for people growing up in the so called middle class families where basic physical survival, care, education, entertainment etc. is provided.


When life stressor and dramatic events happen, they seem to cope but then the patterns take over and TMS may kick in.

 

I would like to learn more so I hope this discussion continues. My symptoms are different from month to month pre-menstrual cycle; they all dissipate immediately once I get my cycle. I do think TMS has a play here. Some months my skin gets dry and itchy. Another month I have little to no cramping. Some months I am more irritable than others. All in all, I don't pay attention to it much because I know it goes away.

This year I began weight lifting seriously to keep muscle mass as I age and overall eating really well for general health. I have noticed less symptoms around my cycle now. Good nutrition, being physically active goes hand in hand with hormones, and of course keeping stress levels low...

 

I no longer have a cycle but I will say a strong, "F-yes," in regard to before and during the period.
I think it's one of the reasons women struggle so much. It's not just about the pain of cramps and the nuisance of dealing with boating and bleeding but larger systemic happenings in our bodies around that time of the cycle. I didn't know about TMS at the time but in hindsight I can see how this is likely all interrelated.
You feel reasonably off and then your TMS brain goes, "Aha! That's something I can latch onto" and then intensifies everything.

I can remember having insane thoughts like "If I get pregnant then I'll have an excuse for feeling like I'm going to faint when I go out to a restaurant with family." I always felt lousy and I always felt like I had to hide that I felt lousy.

Granted it turned out that I had severe endometriosis and didn't know it but I think it would have been the same regardless.
And did TMS cause the inflammation that caused the creation of endometriosis? Who knows.

 

Ah yes, good point!

 

I was interested to find that my extremely heavy flow was less heavy than usual in my most recent cycle -- the first period after starting my TMS work. Even things that aren't just or only TMS-related can be so exacerbated (or improved!) by the mind-body connection, I think. And it makes so much sense that some period-related symptoms would be 100% TMS, too!

 

I think there might be mini-PTSD where your bad periods then influence your mind regarding future periods.
This can also work in the reverse in your favor if you find something that helps. For me Advil was like a godsend. It worked so well that just having the Advil with me was like a comfort blanket.
Likewise at times I used other safety blankets like a wet cloth I could hold in my hand if it was hot and I needed to wipe my forehead or back of my neck. A little piece of candy or lifesaver in case I needed some sugar to pick me up. For awhile I would use a fountain drink of soda that was mostly filled up with ice and then a little cola. I would even eat a little bit before going out to dinner with family because I was afraid I would get faint waiting in line at the restaurant.
Finding little work arounds helped me. Maybe from TMS perspective it told my brain that I had all the tools I needed and was safe.

 

Man! The symptoms right before my cycle are crazy and I know it’s because my TMS brain is gearing up to put me through it because I have associated that time of month with symptoms, which is something I’m trying to unlearn now. I used to have moments where I kept track of my cycle and would “know” that symptoms will start up three days before my period began and like clockwork, my symptoms would rage three days before and a couple days after my the worst of my period ended (I have a heavy flow with a lot of pain for the first three days and my TMS brain calms down during those days until I feel “better” and it starts up again). To make matters more complicated, my health anxiety spikes during that time as well so things just go haywire haha

I did have one cycle though that I didn’t keep track of and I had NO symptoms at all before my period began and then very low symptoms towards the end of it which is when I was like “I gotcha! This is TMS!” It only happened once but that was all I needed to know for sure what was really going on.

 

This has happened to me a couple times, too, which for me validates that it's TMS! Perhaps deleting any tracking apps, calendars, is the way to go.

 

Hint: TMS or not, Advil is your friend.
I think it quells psychic pain as well as physical.