Posted by wendy b. on March 12, 2003, at 21:28:20
In reply to Re: PMS- anything other than ssris help?, posted by Rachel2 on March 12, 2003, at 17:30:46
> I take mircette (the pill) straight through the month to avoid PMS. It also helps me avoid periods. This freaks some people out, but my doctor assures me it's all right. She's been doing it for 3 years.
Rachel,
I'm on Mircette also... What do you mean, you take it straight through... You don't take the green and yellow pills (the 4th week)? You just take the white pills for 28 days? I've never heard of that, but if your doctor says it' s ok, I'm going to ask mine next month when I see him. I'd love not to have my periods! (Doesn't freak me out a bit...)
My OB/GYN put me on it because I was losing too much blood during my periods; he was worried about anemia. It also really helps the PMS symptoms... Herbal remedies are also "chemicals," and I'd rather use pharmaceuticals - doses are measured, and potency is assured...
Chiron: Zoloft (an SSRI) helped my PMS when the anger and irritability was out of control (about 8 years ago...) I'm off it now because it pooped out over time. Also, gained 30 lbs on it, so that was no good. I would think, if you didn't want an SSRI, that a mild mood-stabilizer like Neurontin, might bring your mood swings under control. It's worth a shot, because it's very safe (almost impossible to overdose), and you can play around a lot with the doseages. I'd start at 100 mg at bedtime for a week, then try it during the day, 100 mg 3 times a day, then work up to 300 3x a day. 600 mg every 5-6 hours is the max your body can absorb; the rest you just pee out. At the most, I was on 3000 to 3600 mg per day, taken at regular intervals (for bipolar symptoms). I'm now off it, because my ADHD doctor doesn't like anti-convulsants as mood-stabilizers, but he is a minority. I'm thinking of asking him for a scrip for a low dose; it really helped with my irritability problems (which are common to PMS).
Hope this helps - I think it can't hurt and might help, so why not try it?
Best,
Wendy
poster:wendy b.
thread:208382
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030310/msgs/208572.html