Bridgend mother-of-two has a hysterectomy at 28

Bridgend mother-of-two has a hysterectomy at 28

Nicola James smashed plates and almost lost her job due to her constant periods

A mother-of-two chose to have a hysterectomy at just 28 after her unbearable premenstrual syndrome turned her into a 'Jekyll and Hyde' monster.

Nicola James, from Bridgend, Wales, smashed plates, berated loved ones and almost lost her job due to her constant periods.

For two weeks every month for more than a decade, the neo-natal nursery nurse suffered with abominable mood swings.

Her volatile, angry and irrational behaviour was a result of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) - a debilitating period pain.

But since undergoing the procedure, she has been able to get her life back on track - despite knowing she'll never be able to have more children.  

She said: 'In th e two weeks before my period my anger was uncontrollable. 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 one 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, suicidal thoughts and a lack of self-control.

Stemmed from the Pill? 

Mrs James' problems began when s he first started taking the contraceptive pill as a 17-year-old. 

She said: 'I've always suffered terribly with hormonal changes. When I first went on the pill, I became really depressed.

For two weeks every month for more than a decade, the neo-natal nursery nurse suffered with abominable mood swings (pictured with her daughters Seren, nine, and Mali, six)

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

But when she and her steel-worker husband Rhys, 31, had their girls Seren, now nine, and Mali, six, she found herself on a downward spiral.

She added: '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. But when it started, I felt like a weight had been lifted â€" I was elated!'

Boiling anger  

From 22, when she had her youngest child, Mrs James began to experience boiling anger in the build-up to menstruation.

She said: 'It was like a rage, bubbling up inside me. I'd shut friends and family out. I didn't care about anything or how I treated people.

Her volatile, angry and irrational behaviour was a result of premenstrual dysphoric disorder - a debilitating period pain (pictured with Seren)

She said: 'In the two weeks before my period my anger was uncontrollable' (pictured with her steel-worker husband Rhys, 31)

'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.

In the two weeks before my period my anger was uncontrollable

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

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

She said: 'I'd have rows at work with my boss, saying things I shouldn't have.

'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.'

No-one to turn to 

But Mrs James found she had fewer and fewer people to turn to.

She added: 'I'd shut some friends out and others didn't understand. They'd say things like, "Oh yeah, I get terrible PMS too." But I knew it wasn't nearly as bad as mine.

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

PERIOD PAIN IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ISSUE 

There are more than 150 PMS symptoms, according to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. They include:

• Psychological symptoms such as depression, anxiety, irritability, loss of confidence and mood swings.

• Physical symptoms including bloatedness, breast pain and fatigue.

• They count as PMS symptoms if they cause significant impairment to the individual exclusively during the second half of the menstrual cycle (ie after ovulation has occurred and in the lead up to a period).

• Period pains, sometimes accompanied by back pain, diarrhoea and nausea, are NOT part of PMS.

• Menstrual cramps occur as the muscles of the womb contract to squeeze out the build up of tissue in the womb lining â€" as such they are the endpoint of the menstrual cycle â€" and not caused by changing hormonal levels during the cycle.

'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.'

Mrs Ja mes became so depressed that she even considered taking her own life, and her relationship was put under massive strain.

She said: 'Sex was out of the question. I didn't want anyone to be around me for two weeks. I just retreated to my bed and did very little.'

Desperate searches 

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

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

She said: '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 Mrs James had a hysterectomy in January at the Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in central London.

The operation to remove her womb means she won't be able to have any more children. 

'I've got my life back' 

She said: '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.'

Mr James added: '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.

'I t was upsetting to see someone full of energy and confidence lacking in traits which I loved her for.'

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