Hello, thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my story. I am hoping to connect with other people who are going through similar issues as I am, as well as find treatment options and hopefully gain some insight.

I am in my early thirties and had been diagnosed with endometriosis a year ago. I was having severe pain a week after I had my period and it turned out that I needed surgery to have a cyst removed. When the surgeon was attempting to remove the cyst, it turned out that I did not have a cyst, but in fact had a really bad case of endometriosis; he did the best he could do to "clean me up" and I haven't had pain like that since. (knock on wood)

The problems I am experiencing now are horrible symptoms leading up to my period and everything fluctuates. For instance, most times for about two weeks, sometimes one week before my period, I am extremely sick. I feel like a totally different person, I have uncontrollable crying spells, I get extremely irritable and nasty, I have bad anxiety and PVCs of the heart, which unlike palpitations are not fast heart beats, but rather extra beats that pound with such force it takes my breath away, I also get palpitations, hot flashes, headaches, bloating, sore breasts that swell up (most people would appreciate a free boob job via hormones every month, but no thanks) and overall, I just feel like . This is very disabling for me and I cannot imagine feeling like this twelve times a year for the rest of my life. It seems absurd to me that doctors are not more aware and do not have a very proactive game plan to deal with this PMDD that is supposedly considered a mental illness in the mental illness diagnostics manual. Sure, I get mood swings, but that's the least of my problems, it's the uncomfortable aches, pains and physiological sensations that make it unbearable. Believe me, I am not mentally ill and these are not the dark ages, gone are the days when women are persecuted for having hormones; I can't control my endocrine system, lol.

I spoke to my cardiologist about it because for years prior to the endometriosis diagnosis, I had been having strange sensations, which I found out were called PVCs and I was having other things happen that I attributed to my heart. I never noticed a pattern with my periods, what did I know? So, my cardiologist performed every test out there and it did turn out that I had an arrhythmia, but nothing to be concerned about. Over the years, when I finally did recognize a pattern that the PVCs coincided with getting my period, my cardiologist didn't seem interested in hearing about it, he just shrugged his shoulders and said, anything is possible.

I consulted my gynecologist who offered to give me birth control pills. Unfortunately, due to the arrhythmia, I am not a candidate for any type of birth control and because of the harmful side effects that I have been reading about, I wouldn't want to take them anyway. So, I decided to consult an endocrinologist to see if I could have some sort of hormone therapy because after tracking my symptoms in a diary and researching PMDD, I have found that something seriously is going wrong with my hormones right before I get my period. Either my estrogen or progesterone is spiking and I need to balance it out. A one size fits all birth control is not the answer, I need something that can be custom fit for my personal issue, but the endocrinologist ran a bunch of blood tests, diagnosed me with PMDD, only to tell me that she can put me on birth control pills and an anti-depressant.

That brings me to research that I have found...it is said that the only way to truly test for a hormonal deficiency is to administer a saliva test. I do not know why the endocrinologist did not do so but I received a letter in the mail last week that said she is retiring, so maybe she just doesn't know her stuff? I have an appointment with another endocrinologist this summer, referred to me by another doctor, he says she's good, and her waiting list was enormous, I just hope that I am not wasting my time. I don't want to hear about birth control pills and anti-depressants. I know that it works for some people, but for the most part, I've only heard bad things about both and since I am not a candidate due to my heart issues, it really doesn't matter anyway.

I am not looking for a magic cure, just some understanding, recognition that I am not going crazy once a month and maybe some ideas to help alleviate the symptoms. Right now, the only thing that I can take for pain relief is acetaminophen, which is pointless and I can just lay in bed and sleep. The problem is, I am a full-time student and I am getting excellent grades, but every month around this time, I have to cancel my classes and that is not a good thing to do. Professors do not like when people are absent without doctor's notes, but what am I supposed to do, go to the ER and get a note every month? I certainly cannot get a regular doctor's appointment at a moments notice.

This month was very mild, I barely had any symptoms and then on the first day of my period, it hit me like a ton of bricks. So, I never know how I am going to feel, forget planning anything, my period dictates my life right now and I am tired of it.

Well, thank you for listening, I know that was pretty long, but I had to get it out and I am hoping that someone will understand and maybe have some advice because right now, I am at a loss as to what to do.