[Blake 14]

I was really interested in your message because the same thing happens to me. I wanted to share with you that you might want to question whether you really “have” some condition or disease, other than the flu along with PMS. There are a number of conditions and diseases that are interrelated, chronic fatigue, thyroid, fibromyalgia, etc. that doctors turn to in order to label and medicate people with confusing or vague symptomatology. But if you have any of these, you will be down for the count and unable to function. We have gotten all too comfortable in this day and age hearing from doctors that we have something that we didn’t know about for years that was and is, for some or all of the time, asymptomatic for one or all symptoms. As for me, I share with you everything you describe. I don’t have any emotional issues with PMS, other than slight (never depression or anything like that). But what I do have is genuinely like the flu coming on. Chills, fever, and ear-nose-throat effects, headaches. It varies, but it’s always like some kind of cold or flu. In the past it would sometimes develop into a cold or flu and I would be very sick. Because of these frequent bouts of malaise with PMS, I quit smoking, and took steps to strengthen my health around PMS time, being careful about germs, avoiding a lack of sleep or overwork around that time. I take cold medicine and it often works best with a cup of coffee or tea for daytime use, which helps the anti-inflammatory action.

I don’t know about the pill, I’ve taken it in the past, and it would mess up my cycle, and cause other problems, actually causing emotional upset that I would not have without it. Most women are much better off, with their overall health, avoiding contraceptive pills of all kinds. Any kind of artificially added hormone is potentially upsetting, not creating, a balance. Your body burns most of its calories just keeping a balance of body temperature. Imagine the work it needs to do to create hormonal balance. For ages, we have left it alone to do its work.

I know myself and my health, especially as a former smoker concentrating now on being healthy, I have paid attention to what is going on and seen doctors regularly. This PMS with the flu thing is not unheard of, and there are schools of thought that your immune system weakens during this time. There are bacteria all over the place all the time, and for a while it’s like you have no defenses, and there is a lot of inflammation (inflammation is connected with many unpleasant cold and flu symptoms. Never mind how our breasts are swollen during this time, and other aches and pains all due to inflammation).
So there you have it, a different opinion. If you are feeling healthy the rest of the month, try what I said one month, getting enough rest, and taking cold/flu multi-symptom reliever according to package directions during the time you feel like you have the flu. It is your body, listen to it.

I joined the forum just to reply to you and I’ve had multiple problems with the site running and my computer acts up on the site. I had to type this to you in Word and I probably won’t post on here again. But I really hope I have helped by reaching out to you. Take care.