Well, not for long.  The past few days, I was completely irritable and could not hold my temper. 

I had a huge fight with hubby and did not even stop to smile and chit chat with my colleagues during lunch time.  I refused to talk to anybody at work as I might end up being all the more irritable.   I wasn’t at all in the best mood even to talk to my clients.  This is really bad.  I can’t afford to lose my family, job and friends over this.   I had to do something. 

So I then googled PMS and found the following tips on how to battle this seemingly “harmless” disease:

Eat healthy. Don’t forget to include fruits, veggies, fish, nuts and whole grain to your daily meal. 

Go easy on sugar.  Sugar can cause reactive hypoglycemia (abnormal decrease of sugar in the blood) which can intensify feelings of irritability and anxiety.  Fruits would be a good option for sweet cravings.

Avoid alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant which will only make you feel more down and fatigued.

Cut down on caffeinated beverages.  Caffeine can intensify irritability, anxiety and mood swings.. Now we wouldn’t want that either.

Eat small but frequent meals.  Waiting too long between meals could cause blood sugar to drop, triggering reactive hypoglycemia. Plus, sometimes hunger pangs alone are enough to make a person grumpy.

Cut down on Salt. Table salt and high-sodium foods such as bouillon, commercial salad dressings, catsup, hot dogs, and a host of other processed foods can increase fluid retention, bloating, and breast tenderness.

Exercise aerobically.  Working up a sweat not only eases stress, but it causes your body to release feel-good hormones called endorphins that act like natural opiates. Furthermore, increasing blood circulation in the pelvic region can help the body flush out some of the extra fluid often retained during PMS.

Choose an activity that will get you huffing and puffing, such as jogging, stair-stepping, or bicycling. Better yet, sign up for an aerobics class — a little socializing with friends at the health club is an added bonus that may help improve your mood. If you are just too fatigued to exercise when your PMS is at its worst, don’t. Being active the rest of the month should help in itself.

Sleep tight.  Interruption in regular sleep rhythms can interfere with your regular cycle and cause irritability and fatigue.

Talk it over. Dealing with members of your family can be one of the biggest sources of stress for a woman coping with PMS. Feeling guilty about snapping at a spouse or child, then finding the strength to apologize for your outburst, can be emotionally draining. Try to limit the fallout by explaining to your loved ones and close friends the reason for your erratic behavior. Ask them to understand the problem and realize that when you lash out at them during such times, you are not as in control as you would like to be.

 This openness about your condition could help not only lower your stress level, but avoid hurt feelings. For example, if a rambunctious child has you climbing the walls, explaining that it’s a bad time for him or her to make you upset may serve as a cue for the child to give you some peace and quiet by playing outdoors. Keep in mind, however, that PMS is a medical condition, not an emotional crutch. In other words, don’t use your menstrual cycle as a defense for being nasty.

These are just a few tips i checked on.  Pretty tough to follow though…  But i guess pretty much worth it than have all the people around you hate you for being irrationally nasty.

As I was looking at my man’s stash of Nivea products, I can’t help but wonder why he had so many.  Then I found out that they didn’t have Q10 for men here in Dubai, only for women.   He had to shop loads from Germany to last him some months just so that he can have enough supply.  Much to his relief and to my curiosity, Nivea finally opened its own store in Dubai Mall, Nivea Haus. 

I too like Nivea products.  But I am not so much into the Q10 plus or the other creams, I’m more into what I call the ‘basics’: daily moisturizer, lotion and face wash.  These are usually Nivea.  What made me like Nivea even more was their Beaute line.  I don’t like wearing foundation, I find it pretty heavy so I use Nivea’s  tinted moisturizer until it wasn’t sold in any supermarket here in Dubai so I stopped using any kind of tinted moisturizer as most of them are too heavy.  Then there’s their compact face powder, it’s so light that it feels like you’re not wearing any.  It also gave my face a fresh look without feeling cakey or so.  They also have this lash defining mascara.  I started using this mascara since 2004 and could not find any other mascara that had the same wand and bristles as this one.  It was so mild on the lashes that I didn’t feel like a drag queen with ultra heavy fake lashes.  My lashes didn’t clump either.  So yes, I had a good experience with Nivea so far that I wanted to visit their new and only store in Dubai.

Once we reached Nivea Haus, I could not believe my eyes as to seeing how many products Nivea actually has.  From hair mask to cellulite massage creams to nail care.  I was like a kid in a candy store looking at all the attractively laid out products in awe.  They also have the products my man and I were desperately looking for in years.  This store is not only your regular cosmetics/skincare store.  They have “His” and “Hers” treatment rooms which offers services like massage and therapy, mannies and peddies, hair and makeup, beauty treatment, etc..  As for the men, they have a barber shop, facials for men, massage services and grooming packages.

I can’t wait to go for my first beauty treatment, still haven’t decided which one to have just yet.  But I will certainly update you right after I have one.  J