PMT
I don't get it - being a man, obviously - but at the same time I REALLY don't get it.

My ex would absolutely rip me to shreds during her "special" time. I started off sympathetic, then after a couple of years the novelty started to lose its shimmer, and eventually it got so bad that I used to mark up a calendar with regard to her cycle and avoid her like the plague on red days. So far, so reasonable. However, should I have the temerity (or sheer bad luck) to encounter her during one of her periods, it would go like this:

1. As I mentioned above, she would rip me to shreds, call me every name under the sun and make me feel like absolute shit.
2. I'd go to leave, for I do not need to be treated this way.
3. She'd apologise, start crying, and then say she was being irrational because of her period.

So my point is I know when I'm angry - that's when I walk away from arguments. Why don't women (especially those who suffer with bad PMT) think: "Hmmm, there's blood leaking from my vagina, so I'm probably hormonally imbalanced and irrational right now. Perhaps I should just give him the benefit of the doubt, instead of calling him a cunt in front of all his mates..."
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Mon 4 Jan 2010, 16:27, 17 replies)

Goes for most situations like this really
thinking, "Hmm, I'm a bit (hungover / tired / ill / hungry), maybe I should keep quiet and not fly off the handle until I've had some (food / sleep / drugs) and got things in perspective".

PMT is NOT an excuse to lay in to people.
(MrOli is ugly, but in the morning you will be sober, Mon 4 Jan 2010, 16:32, closed)

that is something that baffles me
once I've pointed out that my gf is being snappy or irrational (fortunately mildly) then she can see it and apologises and is a bit more normal.

As has been said, hormones are not a good excuse. We are all supposed to be adults who should be able to control their actions, regardless of the hormonal situation (there may be some times when this may not be the case I admit)
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Mon 4 Jan 2010, 16:46, closed)

PMT...
...stands for Pre-Menstrual Tension, so tends to occur before the shedding of the endometrium. In my experience, they've tended to be OK after they've 'come on'.
(SonoraAeroClub "OH SWEET HELEN OF BALLS!", Mon 4 Jan 2010, 16:59, closed)

If I can work a calendar
so can she
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Mon 4 Jan 2010, 17:46, closed)

you really don't get it
it is PMT meaning that some of us who have irregular cycles may not even notice that it is happening until the obvious occurs.......

Try to be a little more understanding guys, we really can't help it - hormones ARE no excuse but we cannot control them so easily.

Believe me it is no fun feeling bloated, tearful and like your nips have been attacked by a grater so cut us a little slack please...

All that being said I have a mate who really suffers badly and I stay well out of her way...
(Purpledoris I've got afeckin' job, Mon 4 Jan 2010, 17:07, closed)

No this was regular as clockwork - like I said - I marked up a calendar
it just seemed to take her by surprise every month, and she'd never correlate the facts that:

A) She was causing me great distress by being horrible to me
B) Her hormones were hugely out of whack
C) THIS HAPPENS EVERY GODDAMN 28 DAYS

I cut her slack for four years, after that I just couldn't take it any more. How difficult is it to think to yourself: "Hmmm, I've run out of birth control pills again, so it's a fairly sure bet that time of the month is coming up. Maybe I'll go easy on emvee...nah fuck it RAAAAAAAGGGHHH!!!!!!!!"
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Mon 4 Jan 2010, 17:53, closed)

aaah but
some of us take the tablet every day - depends which one you take so for some women there really isn't a clue - I'm not excusing her behaviour for a moment but please don't judge us all by the actions of that particular lady....anyway, all in the past now........
(Purpledoris I've got afeckin' job, Mon 4 Jan 2010, 19:00, closed)

Oh no, I understand it's not every girl - that would be sexist
I'm just ranting really - I now live with a wonderful lady who actually seems in tune with her body...she occasionally gets a bit weird and then apologises immediately.
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Mon 4 Jan 2010, 19:39, closed)

You're right in that PMS isn't an excuse to rip someone a new one
but when we are "hormonally imbalanced and irrational" we are so much so we don't remember there's another reason for it. And even if you KNOW you're in a period, everyone is a fucking git anyway.

I try to remember but my temper is so incendiary it is difficult to not knock off someone's head with one swipe of my paw.
(TDub Nunc id vides, nunc ne vides on, Mon 4 Jan 2010, 20:25, closed)

So everything I've heard about women being "more sensitive" and "in tune with their bodies" is bullshit then
The same thing happens every four weeks but you forget the reason for it.

"And even if you KNOW you're in a period, everyone is a fucking git anyway."

That's the spirit! Why not take it out on your boyfriend - after all - he's only a man and everyone knows men don't have feelings.
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Tue 5 Jan 2010, 10:44, closed)

As a couple of women have already said
it's not quite as simple as going "Oh I've got PMT, I'm going to control it", although, I wish it was! Often I don't realise what it is until I've tried to bite a couple of people's heads off, then when I do realise I shut myself away for a couple of days. Seriously, I used to get it so badly I actually thought I was going to KILL someone. So I trotted off to the doctor and got these magic pills that stop all the hormonal imbalances AND my periods - bliss! However, I do very occasionally still get the odd bit of PMT (quite often not followed by a period, weird) where the red mist descends and I just have to lock myself in a room and not talk to people for a couple of days.

Trust me, it's no fun for us either - I HATE being that stroppy and upsetting people, and then crying uncontrollably because I've upset someone!
(Petite chien is going to do science to it, Mon 4 Jan 2010, 22:53, closed)

Just for the record....
OnlY a small fraction of menstrual fluid is blood. About an eggcup full, over the entire period. The reast is shedded womb wall (PWHWOAR!).
(Turn that bloody gramaphone down has incorrect spelling in her username *WINS*, Mon 4 Jan 2010, 17:36, closed)

I misread your typo
as "the roast is shedded womb wall".

I may never be able to enjoy a roast dinner again.
(oball needs Satan more than he needs me, Tue 5 Jan 2010, 6:33, closed)

I would add
"or Shedded Wheat". But that would be redundant.
(Richy_T hundreds if not thousands of dollars, Tue 5 Jan 2010, 17:04, closed)

I once worked with a woman who had Ultimate PMT.
Pre-Menstrual Tension
Peri-Menstrual Tension
Post- Menstrual Tension

At least according to her it was.
The rest of us (including women) just thought she was a queen bitch.
(porkylips looks better as the sun goes down., Mon 4 Jan 2010, 18:37, closed)

Until a few years ago I would have joined in your rant
but for a few months I suffered from PMT.

At first I had no idea why I was feeling so irrational and after it happened a couple of times I realised what it was.

When I realised what it was it somehow made it all better. No I wasn't going mad or turning into a major bitch, I was suffering from PMT.
I told myself it was only going to last a day and would steer clear of the world until it passed, as I knew it would.

Being practical, and working for myself, I would simply work from home and put off anyone who phoned me with "I will phone you back tomorrow".

Guys, it really is the most horrific thing. Irrationality, paranoia, and a crushing, negative feeling is no joke but it's a fact of life and a practical way of dealing with it has to be found.

Pox on women who use it as an excuse for acting like complete bitches. SHE should have been the one to monitor her cycle and avoid YOU like the plague on her bad days so as not to cause arguments and mayhem. Perhaps you over-indulged her a bit and from the start should have spoken to her about it (when she was over it of course!)

So for wimmin who suffer, please avoid everyone, avoid making any decisions more important than what to put in your butty for lunch and remember, tomorrow it will be gone.
( Flowerpot No longer has the vapours thanks to DTH, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 0:22, closed)

PMT - More Regular Than Every 28th Day...
My Ex used to lapse into very similar behaviour, however, this wasn't hormone induced. About 3 large glasses of wine would do it.

The number of times, for no valid reason that I heard "Get out of my flat, I'm calling the Police!" in the 19 months we were together, I simply cannot count. Then there was the public display of physical violence and the choruses of "Fuck You!" followed by repeated floods of tears and, once successfully guilted back to her flat on that particular occasion, a suggestion of a good hard shag.......?...

That's why she's my 'ex.

Thankfully, the current Ms.Caescarna, whom I left my Ex' for, demonstrates no such batshit-behaviour, doesn't suffer PMT either and has the equivalent of a cast-iron Liver. Win all round :)
(caescarna Hell's Roomba, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 11:51, closed)