not pregnancy just women's stuff, but I really need to ask about this
and my brain just isn't functioning well for me to work if out from scratch.

I've always suffered from something premenstural, maybe not right from
the very first period, but within a few months, I don't recall any
physical symptoms from my teenage years, just really intense emotions,
including self loathing, even considering suicide for a couple of days
before my period. I was on the combined contraceptive pill for a while
in my mid to late teens for acne and I think it did some wierd things to
my mood but it took a while for me to associate them and then have the
confidence to stop.

Thankfully in my late teens and early 20s I had long cycles, these
feelings, though hard, also served as my warning that my period was now
due.

I got pregnant almost exactly 6 years ago, I then managed to be pregnant
or breastfeeding until a bit under 2 years, at which time I was using a
Mirena (IUD with progesterone) for family planning and I never had a
cycle whilst on it, but wondering if it was causing some side effects I
had it removed in January 2007.

Since then the time of altered mood seems to be getting longer, mainly I
am very irritable for 4 or 5 days, but I'm also having physical symptoms
too and they last even longer, almost as soon as ovulation has occured
my breasts get sore and shortly afterwards I'll get quite bloated, I
also seem more inclined towards generalised pain in the week before I'm due.

For some reason I've been really bad at discussing this with my doctor,
I did discuss it with my obgyn about 9 months ago, he ordered an
ultrasound because I was also having really painful periods, which was
fine and between having it done and getting the results I'd had another
which had been much less painful, so when we talked about the results,
which were nothing noted, I wasn't at a point where I wanted to take
something.

It seems like combined pills might have changed a lot in the ten or so
years since I last took it, back then they were saying you could run
packs together but only once and not too often, now it seems the
conclusion is that it doesn't matter and there are some brands which you
take several months on the trot, I think my mood issues when taking them
were in part related to the week off, so might not happen if I was
taking them continuously, but I don't know how that affects physical
stuff as if it tips me into an equivalent state of the wrong half of the
month then it could just be bad all the time!

To be honest I think I'd rather try natural stuff, not hormones, I'm not
convinced it's a great idea to put artificial hormones into myself on a
long term basis when I've already shown I have sensitivity to hormones -
but I haven't a clue where to start looking on natural type stuff and I
have a horrible tendancy of each month thinking I should do it but then
whilst I'm in the bad bit feeling too bad to do it and while I'm in the
good bit being far too optimistic to do it!

Cross your fingers that my period arrives soon, it could easily be
today, or Monday or Tuesday I think, but I do seem to be fairly random
at the moment! Sooner would be better!

Cheers
Anne