Heed this

Months of research have rendered up results that I find a bit surprising.  Keep in mind that this research is far from scientific and probably not reliable.  Highly subjective, you could say.

For all you men out there who are a bit squeamish about things related to women's health, avert your eyes from this blog entry.

Once a month, pretty much on time down to the minute, I experience my period.  (Please note:  I did contemplate using a euphemism for "period," but I think the time for delicacy is long gone.)  If you are too young to know what I mean at this point in the entry, you can probably skip this entry as well.

When discussing periods (or menstruation if you want to be proper), the discussion almost always leads to PMS horror stories.  PMS, if you did not know, is Pre-Menstrual Syndrome.  It is that blessed span of time shortly before the start of the monthly menstruation when hormones start to get all funky which leads to some fairly erratic mood swings.

Honestly, I think that the PMS excuse gets abused a lot.  Let's face it, sometimes we're just crabby and we like to have a medical excuse for it.  Men fear the letters.  If you're a man who is still reading, you know what I mean.

This is not to say that PMS is bogus.  Oh no, I can definitely say that hormonal mood swings are for real and that they greatly increase in intensity when my "monthly visitor" is due to arrive.  (There.  I used a euphemism.  Happy?)  This does not always equal anger.  It can sometimes mean a greater tendency to weepiness, which would explain why I got teary-eyed during a recent episode of Ice Loves Coco on the E! Channel.  Do NOT ask.

My recent research has been into a strange phenomenon that seems to happen at the end of my period.  Obviously, hormones are still in play, but it seems that all my rage comes out when I am almost done with the cycle.  Seriously.  One minute I am calm, fine, at peace with the world.  The next minute, some minor setback that would normally just cause me minor annoyance has my blood pressure skyrocketing and my internal temperature increasing rapidly. 

Why does this matter?  Maybe it doesn't.  But maybe this can serve as a warning or wake-up call to people who have wondered why their moods didn't immediately improve once their periods were done.  Maybe you've been wondering if you're just a crabby person that hates everyone and this troubles you.  I am here to say that you're not alone. 

If you are the person who has to deal with a woman who turns into a fire-breathing dragon at the drop of a pin once a month, let this be a warning.  Once you know when the woman in your life is scheduled to entertain Aunt Flo (another euphemism), you should just plan to keep your potentially controversial comments and suggestions to yourself.  Maybe you can bring them up in a week or so.  If you dare.