Irritated and Frustrated Most of the time...hormones?

After my second I realized that I was irritated/mad/sad/tired/frustrated most days of the month. I am normally pretty nice and laid back in general and never really suffered with PMS before kids, but feeling so miserable and crying for absolutely no reason was really frustrating and scary. I read up on PMDD (pre mentrual disphoric disorder)on the internet, and ding ding ding I was answering yes to almost all of the symptoms. I spoke with my OB and was able to feel much better getting on YAZ birth control.

Hi, R. it sound like pms and it most often shows up big time after giving birth! It showed up big time after my third child. I did'nt know I had it until I started being very sad ie: crying all the time and not knowing why. Then I would get very angry and have thoughts of if my husband and kids weren't around things would be so much better. That wasn't the problem though. I found a pms specialist who told me to stop all caffene, sugar and salt. Wow what a difference that made for me!!!. Also I would try a natural progesterone creme. You can find this at a whole foods or health store. It can take up to a month for you to notice a difference. Walking or any other type of exercise for 30 mins a day will help. I know your very busy but try to make time for this. It will help alot. Hope this helps. You can email me if you need more info.

I could have written this myself and I also have a four year old and a one year old-both boys. After having my first child I started having the same issues. My husband and I used to have the best relationship, but after my son was born everything he did irritated me and we didn't speak much of the time. I was constantly sad or mad or frustrated. Over the last couple of years things have gotten better. Well, better most of the time. Atleast now I'm happy more often than anything negetive, but I definetly have bad days. Since my second son was born, we've had some hard times, but things seem to be getting better. I'm a perfectionist and like to be in control when it comes to the house and kids since I'm the one home all day and I think that I put a lot of pressure on myself. Maybe you have some of the same tendencies. I've considered the fact that it may be hormones, depression, anger issues, or just the stress of having children. I'm not sure what the answer is, but if it is hormones for you, I hope you figure it out and get better soon. Good luck to you!!!

I realize I am responding late...after I had my first, I started having some hormone issues. It got much worse after my second daughter was born and was definitely related to my entire cycle, which was, for all practical purposes, normal. I started a vitamin regimen and have been on a natural hormone cream. My husband calls it my "happy cream" and it has made a huge difference for me. I was extremely skeptical that it would work but tried it and was extremely pleased with the results. There are many natural hormone creams on the market. I use Arbonne since I am a consultant. I am quite happy with ours but you could certainly research others. Dr. Lee has a website that gives lots of great info about them. If you are not taking vitamins, I recommend that as well. If you would like any more info, don't hesitate to ask! Good luck!

Sincerely,

A. Wheeler
____@____.com

I have year old twins and I'm going through the exact same thing!! I thought it was PPD. I upped my vitamins (prenatal still because I'm still breastfeeding) and started taking Omega-3 by Country Life?? called Mood, and the anxiety/stress/depression literally disappeared. I think my body just got too depleated. Good luck. Twin Power!!

Sounds a lot like depression rather than hormones. Anger and frustration are key symptoms. Could be hormone related but I would certainly talk to either my family doctor or OB-GYN. A chiropractor isn't going to help. Regardless of how much you love your three children and love being a SAHM, you still need time for you. Two babies is a huge drain on anyone's physical and mental stamina. Do you get away from house and children on a regular basis to give yourself quality alone or girl time. Do you exercise (taking care of small children does not count!)on a regular basis? All these things will help, but start with your physician. Regardless of how much you love your home,children and husband, you need time alone for you. Without it you just end up mad at the world and sad. You may need an antidepressant for a while until your chemistry is back in line.

Definitely get your hormones checked, just to be safe. Maybe whatever they do to screen for post partum issues. But along with that, go a little easier on yourself as well - YOU HAD TWINS A YEAR AGO! :) Sleep deprivation is probably a part of it, I'm sure, as my little one is breastfeeding and still doesn't sleep through the night at 15 months (SIGH). You do what you need to do to feel more comfortable, confident, etc. If there's a way for you to get a break or help from family (my big sis is in from out of town for a week and its lovely), do that too. Take care!

OK, I thought maybe I had posted this one!! I did not have twins, but I had 2 kids 14 months apart, so I was pregnant forever I think!! I am still struggling to figure this out, but I do strongly believe it is tied to my thyroid..always have. Problem is, that I am still in the "normal" range, so I am working with a great doctor, Dr. Linda Yeatts, in Denton. She was convinced it was an iodine deficiency, but that was not the case, so now she is testing my adrenals, and for celiac/gluten intolerance. After that, she is going to let me go back on a natural thyroid replacement to see if it will help. I dont have insurance, so she is being great about only testing what is necessary, and letting me do things based on symptoms. You live close to me (I am in Corinth), so it should be easy for you to get to her. I really do love her tons! Let me know if you are interested!! ~A.~

R.,

Same thing happened to me after my daughter. I am now much better and expecting a second.

Try:

www.christensencenter.com for natural hormone testing. Dr. Margaret is a gyn who practices more holistically now, after realizing that conventional medicine doesn't do much to understand or assist women in balancing their hormones, detoxing, and managing their lifestyles in a healthy way. E.g. conventional doctors tell women their thyroids are functioning fine, but because industry reference ranges for the test are wrong she really has functional hypothyroidism.

www.enterolab.com for food intolerance testing and info on how food impacts hormones.

www.mercola.com for general nutritional information and great articles about all issues, including dangers of Synthroid and other hormone replacement, vitamin and mineral deficiencies like vitamin D, etc.

Books by Dr. Christiane Northrup are very good. www.drnorthrup.com

Another well known book is "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenapause" by Dr. Lee.

Plan of action to consider:
1. eliminate offending foods (gluten, soy, dairy are biggies) and toxins as much as possible
2. detox
3. rebuild with supplements and as much healthy organic whole food that is harmonious with your body type as possible.
4. Specific supplements to consider: omega 3 fish oil (not flax), quality multi-vitamin with B-vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin D-3 if you test low (sunshine is best source of this in summer), calcium-magnesium
5. exercise regularly
6. get to bed EARLY, like 9pm (don't underestimate the power of this in healing).

www.herbalhealer.com has good quality products for a low price.

Good luck.

Hi R.,

I am not a doctor, but I know one thing for sure. Your body is out of balance. My husband and I ordered an incredible book off Amazon titled Adaptogens, Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief by Winston and Maimes. It is fascinating. From the book "There is a category of herbs called adaptogens that help the human body adapt to stress, support normal metabolic processes, and restore balance. They increase the body's resistance to physical, biological, emotional, and environmental stressors and promote normal physiologic function".

The 10 most potent adaptogens on the earth, with the highest therapeutic and healing properties available, are now delievered in a fast acting oral spray, called Tunguska Mist. Go to www.VitalHealth.TBlast.com to learn more.

The Tunguska Mist Pure will help reduce the negative effects of stress on your body (mood swings, short temper, anxiety, depression, and diffulculty sleeping), and help restore balance, or homeostasis. They taste great and have made such a difference for our family. I used to get irritated so easily, not to mention stressed out about every little thing. I feel like a new person since I've been on adaptogens, (no longer a Witch!)

Good luck and God Bless:)

Best regards,
N.

Hello R.,

Many things could be triggering the inbalance. It's very likely some foods do not agree with your body. Even organic milk send my hormones into high alert and verbal-shoot-first-ask-questions-later mode.

Here are some things I figured in the past couple of years:
some of what sends me into a hormonal tornado
cow milk (yogurt, cream, cheese, etc)
soy products
low vitamin D levels
acetaminophen (pain reliever)

so basically I avoid milk, soy and tylenol and my family is much more grateful (specially my husband)

I do eat some cheese and there is certain tolerance. and occasionally some ice cream. I don't know what it is.... but if I have too much milk/milk products ...my poor husband is in trouble and he doesn't even have to do anything.

Also, you're probably sleep deprived. which does not help in the situation.

Do get your hormones checked and make sure they check your vitamin D levels (by the way, vitamin D IS A HORMONE that our body produces). Also, check for any food allergies.

Make a list of your symptoms and see if there is a pattern in relation to any food or meds (RX or over the counter) that you have taken.

Another thing, I have a ban on news / news programs in the morning. I do not want to hear bad news before I've even had a chance to thank God for the beautiful day. Once I figured that out, my days literally got better.

make sure you get your Omega 3s and calcium and magnesium daily. oh, that reminds me, I also get moody if I take multi-tamins for more than 4 days in a row. go figure!

Another thing that has helped me a lot is to take evening primrose oil capsules. For one of my friends is the black cohosh capsules that keep her on an even keel.

I hope this helps. keep looking for the right answer for you! ~C.~

I recently went thru the same thing. I have an almost 5 year old girl and 2.5 year old b/g twins. I had a tubal after the twins. My cycle started again when the twins were 10 months old. Things have been "off" ever since. Cycles heavier, mood swings like mad, weight gain, pain, cramping, etc. I finally went to my gynecologist and had my hormones tested. While they came out mostly normal, he put me back on the pill (a low dose version called Yaz). It has only been 2.5 weeks but I can already tell a difference. It couldn't hurt to go to your doc and ask about it. It can at least eliminate that as an issue.

Good luck.

Have you had your thyroid levels checked? I'm not sure if anyone mentioned it or not. I remember feeling this way being tired and having a short fuse a bit often for no reason after I had my last baby. Normally I usually let small stuff go, but suddenly they really irrated me so much it was getting hard for me NOT to show my emotions. My husband could sense it, and I knew something was off, but I kept thinking that I just had a baby a couple of months ago, and I am still adjusting from having 2 kids to 3 kids, and that's the way it was going to be. I remember being constantly in a fog, no matter how much I napped or drank caffeine to get through the day, I STILL was tired! I finally went to see my family doctor to do blood work to make sure everything was okay because i was concerned about my diabetes. When I got my blood work back, my levels for thyroid was slightly high. Normal range should be between 1.0 to 5.0 and at the time it was 13. Since this had been the first time I had blood work done since having a baby, the doctor wanted to do a second round of blood work just to make sure it was not an error. This time my level went up to 48 in just two weeks later ! Yikes!!! It was the symptom of Hypothyroid, and I finally got medication for it. It took 3 weeks before I started to really feel so much better, and had more energy than ever. I kept thinking all this time that I just had a baby a couple of months ago, and I am still adjusting from having 2 kids to 3 kids, and I was supposed to get used to it. I was such in a fog for the longest time! Now, I take my medication religiously because I don't EVER want to go back being in that state of mind when I really need to be at best to be able to take care of my family. Post pregnancy sometimes can cause problems with the thyroids. I have a couple of rriends who have to take thyroid meds since their last pregnancy.

I went through the same kind of problems right after having my son, then having a miscarraige last year. Moodiness, irratability, no libido, etc. It wasn't until after the miscarriage that my general practitioner decided to check for hormone imbalance. Unfortunately, the tests she ran all checked out within the normal range. Fortunately, she wasn't satisfied, and promptly sent me to an endocrenologist. I was lucky to get an endo that understood that the 'normal range' for thyroid levels were being reconsidered by the industry (not all doctors are aware, nor practice with this in mind); I tested normal within the old standard of measurement, but by the new standard, I was considered subclinical hypothyroid. After taking Synthroid, most of my issues resolved, except for the irratability. So I went to see a doctor at FemCentre, where they specialize in testing for female hormone levels. I found out I was lacking in testosterone and progesterone, and severely deficient in vitamin D. This doctor also put me on a natural thyroid medication, which worked out better for me than Synthroid.

I've been feeling MUCH better, less overwhelmed, and sex is more enjoyable.

If you have insurance, this place is worth checking out. Most insurance is accepted.

Good luck!