Woman Undergoes Hysterectomy At Just 28 To Get Rid Of PMS

A mum whose premenstrual syndrome turned her into a "Jekyll and Hyde-style monster" suffered such bad rages she underwent a hysterectomy at just 28 to stop her periods.

Nicola James, 29, smashed plates, berated loved ones and almost lost her job after suffering abominable mood swings for two weeks every month for over a decade.

But the neo-natal nursery nurse discovered her uncontrollable tempers were caused by premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).

This is a debilitating period pain, which causes angry, irrational and volatile behaviour.

"In the two weeks before my period my anger was uncontrollable," she said.

"I threw a TV remote across the room and broke our baby gate from slamming it too hard.

"I really couldn't do anything about it when it came on.

"But as soon as my period started, I would calm down and be left to pick up the pieces.

"I'd apologise to everyone for what I had said, or how I had been. I was a monster, like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde."

PMDD affects around 1 in 20 women and has symptoms including headaches and abdominal pain, extreme fatigue, insomnia and fainting.

The physical signs are exacerbated by psychological symptoms, including violent mood swings, depression, suicidal thoughts, boiling anger, foggy thinking and lack of self-control.

Nicola's problems began when she first started taking the contraceptive pill, aged 17.

"I've always suffered terribly with hormonal changes. When I first went on the pill, I became really depressed," she recalled.

"I stopped taking the one I was on, and tried a few others, but nothing seemed to make any difference."

Then, when Nicola, from Bridgend, South Wales, and her steel-worker husband Rhys, 31, had their girls Seren, now 9, and Mali, 6, she found herself on a downward spiral.

"I was so down after I had both my girls, doctors thought it might be postnatal depression. But I knew my own body and my own mind.

"I thought it was hormonal, as I would feel really awful in the lead up to my period," she said.

"But when it started, I felt like a weight had been lifted – I was elated!"

From the age of 22, when she had her youngest child, Nicola started experiencing mounting rage in the build-up to menstruation.

"It was like a rage, bubbling up inside me," she recalled.

"I'd shut friends and family out. I didn't care about anything or how I treated people.

"Poor Rhys had to put up with a lot, and the girls, too.

"I would get really bad road rage, screaming at other drivers and getting myself into a such a state that I would need to pull over to calm down.

"I'd smash plates and fall out with people all the time - even strangers in the supermarket.

"I would tell Rhys to leave me because I would feel so guilty being so awful to him, but I always regretted that afterwards."

Nicola even came close to losing her then job as a learning support officer last year, because of her aggressive attitude.

"I'd have rows at work with my boss, saying things I shouldn't have," she continued.

"It got to the point where my employer said they had done all they could to support me but ultimately, I had to cut down my hours so I didn't lose my job all together."

But Nicola found she had fewer and fewer people to turn to.

"I'd shut some friends out and others didn't understand," she said. "They'd say things like, 'Oh yeah, I get terrible PMS too.'

But I knew it wasn't nearly as bad as mine.

"Mine was relentless. I'd have two weeks of rage every month, followed by a 10-day period. I would only have four days of normality, before the mood swings and anger returned."

Nicola became so depressed that she even considered taking her own life, and her relationship with Rhys was put under massive strain.

"Sex was out of the question," she said.

"I didn't want anyone to be around me for two weeks. I just retreated to my bed and did very little."

Desperate, Nicola started researching her symptoms online and came across PMDD.

"As soon as I saw PMDD online, I knew it was what I had," she said.

Visiting her GP, Nicola begged to be referred to a gynaecologist, who confirmed her PMDD diagnosis in September 2016.

"By this point, I had read a lot about the condition and was dead-set on having a hysterectomy. Other women with PMDD said it worked wonders for them, and I was desperate for that.

"Rhys and I talked. We'd had our girls and didn't want any more children. I knew I was 28-years-old, but I had no quality of life with such bad periods."

Doctors agreed, and Nicola had a hysterectomy in January at the Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in central London.

"Since I've had the hysterectomy it's been amazing. I'm living a normal life, I've got my life back.

"I'm not anxious or depressed anymore, and my job is going really well."

Rhys said: "I felt so helpless. I couldn't do anything to help Nicola. Nicola means to world to me, so not being able to help her was awful.

"It was upsetting to see someone full of energy and confidence lacking in traits which I loved her for."

The NHS says: "The symptoms of PMDD are similar to those of PMS, but are more exaggerated and often more psychological.

"See your GP if you regularly experience any of these symptoms before your period. There is a wide range of treatment options."



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such a radical treatment!!