Related Posts
What’s the pay range in pain management?
What is on your worship playlist?
Additional Posts in Women In Consulting
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
What’s the pay range in pain management?
What is on your worship playlist?
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Download the Fishbowl app to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Copy and paste embed code on your site
Send download link to your phone
OR
Scan your QR code to download
Fishbowl app on your mobile
Pro
From my end - diagnosed as a teen and put on HBC to keep hormone levels steady. Switched to an IUD 8 years ago and love it.
Problem is I have no visible signs of my cycle, making it really difficult to track and anticipate. My bad days (which sometimes necessitate days off work) therefore seem to come out of nowhere and I feel like I’m going truly mad until I realize what’s going on. How do those of you who don’t bleed track & manage?
I have this sense, maybe unfairly?, that being a professional woman = being able to navigate and be proactive about health issues but I still haven’t cracked this one
Glad you’re seeing your doc! I’ve had similar issues and it’s been tough to manage. Thankfully I do follow a fairly consistent cycle even if I don’t have physical signs so I use a tracker and it’s fairly accurate. My bigger issue was with severe emotional swings, and I did decide to try an antidepressant. It got to the point where self-management was working and it was the right call for me.
It’s tough cause everyone is different and it may take some trial and error. Sending support!
I use the Apple health one. But some of it I do I input. Even though I don’t always have physical symptoms, I can still kind of tell when it would be based on other symptoms (mood swings, occasional cramps, etc).
For me, it was just the complete frustration of feeling out of control. I tried so many things on my own but when work and relationships started to suffer, I knew it was time for me to pursue further options. I also do therapy and my therapist even recommended considering it.
Rising Star
I do. I recently started an antidepressant (Lexapro) and it’s been great for me. I am no longer intensely depressed, having intensive mood swings, crying hysterically, lying in bed unable to function, anger, irritability, etc. I have been very careful about lifestyle and I have always been particular about exercising every day which includes yoga, interval training/cardio (essential for the serotonin), eating well, and meditating. I never wanted to take medication but I’m lucky I found something that works for me. I also see a therapist weekly. Any hormonal birth control neutralizes your cycle, including IUD, so that’s why you are not experiencing a “natural” cycle which includes ovulation and the changes in different hormones that go with it. You may consider going off them and learning your natural cycle, which I found empowering, but it’s totally up to you if IUD is working for you.
Rising Star
You can take an antidepressant only during the week+ before your period or whenever you start having symptoms, you don’t have to take it all month. It is cumulative so that may be less effective but I read a study that it was shown to be just as effective as taking it every day in the case of PMDD. For me the decision was that my depression is also generalized and I found that I was just struggling to function and I couldn’t handle the level of psychological distress. I also didn’t want to take them for the same reason you mentioned, to change other parts of my life that are working well, but it became too difficult for me to handle on my own. I do find that it dampens my emotions in general, not just the “bad” ones. It’s really up to you if you want to try it, and you can always stop if you don’t like it. Another option might be to do intensive cardio on those days I found that had a good result too.
If you're open to using birth control, there are 3 month low estrogen birth control pill packets that can lessen tbe frequency of the mood swings