5.20.2011

Hormones

I have been dealing with the absolute worst mood swings/hormonal things for the past couple of months in the 2 weeks leading up to getting my period.   I will have a nice 2 week period of everything is calm, everything is great, I am happy about life, love every minute of being with my kids and life in general. Then pms hits. It is about a 2 week period of no patience, workouts that I don't feel like doing and are a struggle to get through, and my eating is out of control. I'm starving and shoving my face.

Last week I made not 1, not 2, but 3 batches of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies that were not healthy cookies.  I had to have them. I ate some for breakfast a couple of the days??? Every cycle I am gaining weight so I'm up at least 5 lbs from where I was when I was at my "ideal weight."

Everyday I'm about to snap at Nick for really small things, Kara for being needy, and I do snap at Bill for getting home like 5 minutes later than he said he'd be home (which he can't control since he takes the train).  At least once a day, I want to have a breakdown and start crying because I'm feeling overwhelmed or can't handle everything at the moment. 

Swimming has really felt crappy and I had a good run finally yesterday but in the past 2 weeks, running has been pretty junky as well with the exception of a couple of runs.  I've got in all my workouts - most just have not felt strong.

I'm extremely frustrated! I feel fat, angry, and annoyed.  My clothes are seriously tight and I feel like it's ridiculous because I am training hard.  Is this at all related to the end of nursing and cutting it out cold turkey? I have not experienced this before. It's been about 6 weeks since I stopped nursing.  Any help would be greatly appreciated!
  

This weekend is the ODDyssey Half Marathon. I have no goals. I want to have a fun day. In the back of my head, I'm thinking I can PR. I think I can run around 8:00 pace or a little bit less but we will have to see. It's been hot and humid here.  I'll report back on Sunday.  I'm looking forward to meeting Runblondie!!

14 comments:

  1. I'm so sorry - this sounds so frustrating! Of course I don't know anything about these things, maybe maybe your body is just working itself out. I hope you start to feel back to "normal" soon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm relating to the "fat, angry and annoyed" part for sure. I'm only a few weeks postpartum, but I put a lot of pressure on myself to get back to normal, whatever that means. :-( Are you on birth control? Could it be contributing to the mood swings? If so, give your GYN a call.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That is not uncommon. It sucks, but you're not imagining it. From ovulation until you get your period is the worst time. My acupuncturist gave me some chinese herbs to take for those 2 weeks... can't tell you what it is b/c the bottle of written in chinese! But maybe see if there is an herbalist in your area who knows what I'm talking about?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think part of it is hormones from stopping breast feeding. I'm having the same issues of wanting to eat everything in sight (and I also have the PB love right now!) which is making it impossible to loose baby weight.

    Some things that may help is a vita D supplement and omegas. You don't eat fish at all right? Omegas are very important and I really think those would help with the mood part. When I take mine I feel so much better. Red raspberry leaf tea is great for regulating the female cycle so that may be something else you can try.

    If you are like me, the added stress of trying to keep the house clean with 2 kids doesn't help either! We're still trying to sell our house and it drives me nuts I can't keep up with it all!

    ReplyDelete
  5. "It is what it is" is motto for this race. No matter what happens with the run, it'll still be fun since I get to meet you!

    We landed around 10:30 this morning and went straight to the expo. Now we're headed to A.C. Moore to get costume supplies.. I'll email you later today once I've got the race day logistics figured out with my mom. She'll be coming along with Emily.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I wish I had some advice for you because trust me I certainly know what a b*tch hormones can be. Maybe try a cod liver oil supplement to get your omegas like someone else recommended. That's what my acupuncturist told me to do.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh I feel so bad for you. I'm still getting bad PMS too.I'm not surprised your hormones are crazy - back to back pregnancies have got to have an effect. Checking out your birth control may be a good idea. You do have a lot of stress at mo' too which just adds to the load. I know that my situation becomes almost unbearable when PMS strikes! Al just battens down the hatches!!!! vitamin B hormones help regulate your body's stress response and I'd agree with the fish oils. I really hope it passes by soon for you (us both!). Hope you enjoy the run - run it for me please!

    ReplyDelete
  8. No advice, but I know exactly what you are going through. I am totally convinced I have PMDD and I am scared to stop nursing since my extreme PMS symptoms are not pleasant for anyone. Like Angela said, I heard fish oil might help. Not sure what I am going to do once this evilness returns, but if you figure anything out let me know.

    ReplyDelete
  9. N- you may want to talk to someone about PPD. You're explaining a girlfriend of mine who suffered from it for a really long time after the birth of her first.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Being a woman is sooo much fun (sometimes) isn't it? Sorry, had to be sarcastic. I am not done breastfeeding but still feel like the hormones rage a few times :-). I think that's just part of me not getting a break and still trying to figure out how to parent two kids and do the house, etc.

    Hopefully you figure something out so that you feel better!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Maybe you have PMDD -- which is like extreme PMS. You can get medication for it from your OB/GYN. It may just be a version of the pill, I'm not sure, but dealing with such extremes like that would be disruptive to your day-to-day life and you don't have to live with symptoms like that in this modern medical era.

    ReplyDelete
  12. You are describing how I started feeling when Brayden was 6 months old. That's when the PPD hit me with him. I can honestly say (unfortunately) that my hormones have gotten more intense with each child.

    I never had PMS or anything like it in high school or college. After kid #1 it was noticeable. Child#2 made it so that the birth control I used had to be something without hormones (copper IUD). And now, just being pregnant with #3 is seemingly unbearable for everyone.

    I'm looking in to the herbal remedies myself. I'm preparing now for the roller coaster. My only advice is not to put off asking for help. If your family is around and willing to help/support you with things, let them. It's hard to do, I know...but it can ease some of this. The omega's, vit B complex and Vit D are what I'm consistently hearing help.

    Hang in there.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I quit nursing my 2nd baby when she was 9 months old and I totally gained 5 lbs. I was training for a marathon at the time and was like, "What the heck! I'm running all the time! Why am I gaining weight!" It took some adjusting on the calorie intake but I finally got it figured out.

    And I've definitely had tough mommy days where I'm snappy at the kids or the hubby and just feel blah. I think lack of sleep does that to me and also just crazy hormones. Getting out in the sun helps, and hiring our 12 year old neighbor to came play with my kids for an hour so I can have a break and get stuff done around the house helps too. Good luck with everything! Sometimes hormones just suck : (

    ReplyDelete
  14. I bet having two kids close together and breastfeeding all this time is probably a big factor here--your hormones haven't been the norm for a few years now so I bet it is going to take some adjustment to get back to feeling normal. I would probably talk to my gyno about it just to be on the safe side.

    ReplyDelete