Need AF advice - pill or something else

I used to have really bad AF pain, and since having DS, I haven't had the pain and am on my 3rd AF.. But my mood and energy is shot each time.

My poor kids, I have zero tolerance, and each time it has graced me while DH is on morning shift, so no chance to rest cause DD is at her most energetic in the morning..

Would going on the pill help the same way as it did for pain? Or can anyone suggest something that is going to give me that boost to keep going when I get AF. I lose so much energy it is like I have a bad cold or something, just don't want to move, and struggle to keep my eyes open,but no aches or anything.

I am still part time breastfeeding. And we are not planning anymore children...

I used to have a lot of problems with AF before I had my DD (AF has been a lot better for me since birth too, but my mood is still a problem). It sounds like you must be quite sensitive to hormones - I know that this is a lot of my problem.

I often find to help with my mood/energy during AF being really well hydrated is the first thing that can help. It helped during pregnancy, it helps even now with my AF being better, and I wish I had have known about it earlier before I was pregnant (I found out how much hydration helps during IVF treatment). I make sure that I am drinking up to and often more than 2L of water a day, and this makes a big difference.

Another thing that I can suggest is Evening Primrose Oil. You can get this in capsule form from any health food store. Taken in the lead up (for at least a week) before AF I found it can really help with your energy/mood and any pain your experience. I believe it is considered safe to use whilst breastfeeding.

It is important to know that going on the combined pill whilst still breastfeeding will likely dry up your milk supply, however going on the mini-pill (progesterone only) won't. There is argument about how and whether the hormone in your breastmilk will affect your baby, but there is a lot of information out there that says that the affect is mimimal to nil.

I have been on the mini-pill and found that it had the opposite affect than intended, and it's worth knowing that this is possible if you're sensitive to cycle hormones, particularly progesterone. I found that my mood/energy was worse on the pill and I seemed to have a reprieve when taking the sugar pills during AF! But it could be really helpful for you, and may be worth a try.

ETA: One last thing to consider is if you are experiencing really bad tiredness/lethargy during AF that you could be low in iron, caused by your iron stores being depleted from pregnancy and then getting AF back quite quickly after giving birth means that your body hasn't had a chance to renew those stores before they are being put to the test by AF. Breastfeeding doesn't have a huge affect on your iron stores, but if you've got low stores in the first place it may also be contributing somewhat. Low iron can also affect your mood as well as energy levels. It might be worth going and having your iron levels tested by your GP, just to check whether this may be the cause.

HTH :)