Everyone knows or at least heard of PMS. Many people don't believe it exists. Those people are wrong. PMS has varying degrees. Some women don't realize they have it but their spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend does. One thing you never say to a PMSing woman is "Are you having PMS or something?" That never ends well.
I do get PMS. It has many degrees of severity and some months it passes unnoticed. Other months you are lucky to escape my wrath. I would pick fights with Dean for no reason other than I was annoyed. I never connected PMS. Dean did. But, again, it can be dangerous to tell a hormonal woman that her problem is hormones.
A few years ago, I decided that it was important to the stability of our relationship to know when I was PMSing. I started writing on our calendar when my menses was due. PMS, for me, happens about 3 days prior to the onset of my period. We note possible PMS days as well. That way when I get irrational and start provoking Dean he can determine his response. If it is a PMS day - he blows me off and doesn't get angry in response. Basically, he placates me. If not then we have at it. PMS accounts for about 70% of our arguments.
I was watching an episode of King of the Hill. In that episode, it was discovered that Hank had IMS. The male form of PMS. I laughed. Then I thought, what if that is the other 30% of our marital bickering?
We don't bicker a lot. Actually, Dean and I get along extremely well. We love each other, of course, but more importantly we like each other. So when we bicker it doesn't last long and it is usually something pretty minor. That is why I wonder about that IMS thing.
"Men's hormones pulsate hourly, compared with every 28 days for women, " confirms Larrian Gillespie, MD, a retired Southern California urologist and author of The Gladiator Diet: How to Preserve Peak Health, Sexual Energy, and A Strong Body at Any Age.
That is a lot of pulsating.
IMS symptoms include:
exhaustion, unexplained weight changes, frequent urination, gallbladder or gut problems, hypoglycemia, snoring, incontinence, an elevated PSA, high cholesterol, bone loss, hair loss (besides male pattern), impaired thyroid function, loss of muscle or stamina, skin problems, softer erections -- and irritability. "Many of these men are overweight," Gillespie notes, and fat harbors estrogen.
Men should start getting their hormone levels checked yearly starting at 35. If you have a tendency to get angry quick or overreact to simple stuff you could have IMS. There are many easy presciption treatments available but the easiest treatment is a proper diet and weightloss, if you are overweight.
Make an appointment and get checked. You may not be showing any symptoms but why wait for erectile trouble to take care of yourself? None of us want that...
I've discovered that whenever Joe and I fight, it is almost always because he has not eaten for a very long time and his blood sugar has dropped to extremely low levels. It happens very rarely, but if he starts to get cranky, and I feed him, I can head off almost all of our disagreeable energetic discussions. I unfortunately have the same problem, so if we both forget to eat, and don't catch it in time, we have WWIII at our house ;)
I've noticed that if we haven't had sex for 3 or more days my husband gets very irritable. Don't know if this is IMS or just how men are in general. My mom says my Dad is the same way.
Holli beat me to it. I don't know about hourly fluctuations, but I know I have hormonal issues and cycle, centered around a need for relief at intervals so I don't become irritable. Three days sounds about right.
I've read things about a monthly male cycle as well.
The silence (from men, at least) is stunning.
What? Hormones? Me? Ahem...no comment.
"Make an appointment and get checked. You may not be showing any symptoms but why wait for erectile trouble to take care of yourself? None of us want that..."
You rock, Rosemary. Dean's a lucky fella. ;)
Maybe thats why I am so angry?
Can't than that wouldnt be Bush's fault either.
Matt, my usually reasonable and even-tempered partner, gets snippy and impatient if he goes more than two hours past his usual mealtime. Not sure what that has to do with his hormone levels. On the other hand, I'm an absolute bear if I don't write enough. Ditto with the connection with hormones.
Men are generally wired for anger and aggression: Testosterone is as powerful for men as estrogen is for women, and we spend most of our formative years learning how to recognize and handle the powerful impulses that are fueled by our brain chemistry. Just as it's a good thing for men to understand the ebb and flow of women's hormones, it is a good thing for women to be understanding about men's hormonally-charged behavior. We've all got a lot of glands.
Doesn't it seem like way too many disjointed symptoms?...hmmm...let's gather together every male symptom possible and put them under one name...IMS!...yeah...that's it...of course my irritable response could be due to IMS...
Holli has it nailed, as it were. No nookie = irritable man. End of sentence, end of story, end of statement.
As an old fart, however, I'm past all that. I only get IMS when I come into contact with Moonbat Liberals and their ilk -- that is to say, hourly, and more frequently if I watch any of the network news programs.
If you never read it, Robert Heinlein's description of PMS:
"That point in a woman's cycle where she acts like a man acts all the time."
Men are generally wired for anger and aggression: Testosterone is as powerful for men as estrogen is for women, and we spend most of our formative years learning how to recognize and handle the powerful impulses that are fueled by our brain chemistry.
At least, that's how it's supposed to work.
Then again, isn't it women that want us to control our impulses and act civilized all the time?
Hmmm...
One thing you never say to a PMSing woman is "Are you having PMS or something?" That never ends well.
Been there, done that, still have the scars.