When I have my period I get tired and feel ill, but my behaviour doesn’t change. I believe in the concept of physical illness (bloating, tiredness, headaches, pain) but not the so called PMS. I don’t relate to women who feel that it makes them entitled to treat others like shit.

I agree with the asian gyno. I think that western women are brought up with the concept and therefore pay more acute attention than necassary to the way they feel when they menstrate. Asian women are biologically the same, they just know the harden up and continue with life rather than feeling that people owe them something for feeling a certain way.

I’m not saying that its bad that a boyfriend or partner will do little things to help the situation, but please ladies, don’t get into the mindset that you should be given special treatment. It will only lead to bad things, because your partner can’t spend a quarter of your relationship apologising for not also having his period.

My husband likes to tell every newly married man tips on how to handle their new wife during these hormonal fluctuations. One of his tips: Whatever they crave during that week, let them have. Another: Backrubs are good too. After the week is over, you usually get rewarded. LoL

I count myself as a lucky woman who has a husband willing to put up with me. Some stressful things have happened recently and that always makes me even more emotional. Yesterday, when I picked him up from the train station, I was in tears over how the house looked. After getting home, he watched the kids and let me take a bath, and this morning he went into work later than normal to help get the house looking better before leaving. He’s a sweetheart.

amberfireinus, a lot of East Asian people (even highly educated people, like the doc you saw) don’t accept Western ideas about mental illness, so it stands to reason that they might not be on the same track re. hormones, too. It’s a cultural thing, not a matter of intentional insensitivity or rudeness. (I had quite a shock when I 1st encountered this way of thinking, believe me!)

I would like to share something with you because I found it so unbelievable. About two years ago, I went to a oriental female gynecologyst. I told her about my painful periods, and my weight fluctuation, chocolate need blah blah. She looked me right in the eye and said that there is no such thing. I said, pardon me? She went on to say what complaining babies women were and how much they make this stuff up in their heads. This from a woman doctor!

I went to my GP, and she was horrified! She wanted to march over to that doctor herself and tell her about her own PMS etc and say how she suffers. How dare she!

I carry what I call my Anti-Bitch pills. Naproxin for all of you ladies who don’t know. 2 500 mg tabs and the pain, backache and bloating and moodiness will go. Just during your time of the month. The time leading up to it, you are on your own sister. I would suggest the steps that shush laid out for your husband to follow.

Plus, serotonin and oxytocin have just as powerful an affect on men, so having a mutually intimate and active relationship is beneficial on all sides. I suppose it’s easy to overlook the masculine on this issue because most men will give women a hard time about hormones and it very rarely goes the other way.

I don’t mean to detract from the point of your post, but y’know, all I can recall that was said on such was usually derogatory or self-depreciating, often with the implication that it was irrelevant or otherwise not worthy of consideration.

I trust you have some sort of answer.