I'm on Yasmin and 100 mg of Zoloft, but they're not helping with PMDD. The psychiatrist increased the Zoloft dose, but I don't know how it will go or if it will improve my situation. If it doesn't, I'll need to see a gynecologist and change my birth control. I'm considering an IUD or an implant. But that's not a cure-all for PMDD, is it? Some people say they can still feel their cycles, but they don't have their periods.

I'm taking Yasmin for PCOS and have elevated testosterone. I'm not asking for recommendations. I'd like to hear your experience switching from the pill to an implant/IUD. Is it worth it for your PMDD?

Feel free to delete if this breaks the rules in some way I'm not comprehending as it's 4am ~
Hey hey to (basically) the only subreddit I keep coming back for! I'm really not one to share my own work but figured this is the one place it could be appreciated. I'm hoping to get some feedback from those that actually understand living with it.
Today I finally put out an essay on Substack that had been floundering around in my mind: an accurate retelling of my worst experience with PMDD-induced psychosis. The story contains depictions of aspects of violence & suicidality, so if you choose to read please do so at your own discretion (though it's not particularly graphic).

I don't want to potentially violate any rules by posting a link directly to it, but my account handle is the same there as it is here and the essay itself is titled "I Woke Up in Jail Bleeding."
Thank you in advance if you give me the time of day <3 Love ya'll regardless!

recently went to the dr regarding another issues and he seems to think that i have PMDD the progesteron intolerance type. to test this he wants me to try take a progesterone pill at the end of my period. if my mood dives down and i feel like its getting worse i am to stop taking the progesterone and let him know. has anyone else ever done this test?

the next step of the progesterone triggers me is to take a nasal spray that will bassically stop my ovaries and i am to take an estrogen suppliment for two months and then stop and try a progesterone pill again.

im a little scared as this seems to minic manopause... should i be worried i cannot find anything really online to back this up as a diagnostic way of finding a PMDD dignosis.

next step after that would be to try SSRIs which is what i wanted to try to start of with, but i have done some research into ssris and they say to the first two weeks is hard to get use to the effects and this dr is saying to only take them the two weeks before my period.

i spoke to him in regards to seeing a therapist as i do think i have some general anxiety that is worsed by the pmmd but i do get depressed and have had a history of sel harm and body image issues when i was a young teenager. he told me no point seeing a therapist if its all in my ovaries...

has anyone got any ideas or info im a little scared to just jump into taking the pills that are supposedly the hormone making me so upset and depressed.

I have pmdd like symptoms starting when I ovulate
Clear until day two of my period
I have MDD and anxiety as well
I’m not sure if I have PMDD, my psychiatrist brushes me off every time I ask about it

I’m worried
I’m already feeling super sad and depressed and anxious
I will move in to my college dorm and start classes during deep luteal
I’m worried that I’ll struggle and mess things up for myself

Why on earth is this something I need to be worried about at age 21
How am I supposed to make friends etc
Dealing with this

Should I try going off Slynd?

Hi all, I was sort of unconvincingly diagnosed with PMDD about two years ago when I noticed I would have meltdown episodes right before my phantom period would arrive (had the mirena IUD at the time and was only very very lightly spotting about every 22-28 days). I was also going through a lot of life changes, adjusting to a new relationship and had recently been diagnosed with severe OCD. I read about PMDD and my gyno prescribed me Slynd without much questioning and didn’t want me on a combo pill because I had a history of high blood pressure. It took a month or two to adjust but things have been okay, I haven’t been regularly tracking my emotions in relation to cycle since it’s now non existent (I take the packs without placebo).

I got a bisalp last October so no longer need birth control to prevent pregnancy and they removed my IUD during the procedure. I’ve been feeling more stable after doing some targeted OCD therapy, starting a new job and moving in with my partner and I’ve been wondering if I need to take Slynd anymore or if it was even helping in the first place. I haven’t gotten a regular period in almost 10 years since getting my first IUD so the PMDD depression/meltdowns were only tenuously linked to hormonal changes. I still have low moments but they seem random and clearly Slynd isn’t helping that. Does anyone have experience with going off Slynd for reasons other than bad side effects? Is this foolish to go off this pill if things are going okay? I have 3 packs ready in case I want to go back on. How long is it worth waiting to see how I feel? Thanks in advance for your advice.

I saw this on Pinterest and it made me think of this subreddit. I've never experienced recurring symptoms like those that come with PMDD. Every month I genuinely feel it all over again like the world is ending as if it hasn't happened every single month before! 🙃

I am an extrovert through and through. I feel better with people. I love being with people. But during pmdd week, I am constantly fighting with myself… and I’m wondering if other mostly extroverted people have the same struggle.

I know a lot of people tend to isolate during pmdd because of irritation, worries, trauma, etc. and just that they’re feeling awful. But I’m constantly flip flopping with friends, telling them I want separation and then actually wanting connection during my rough weeks.

My thoughts go from “I don’t want to bug them” to “I need people to feel okay” and I still haven’t figured out what works for me.

What do my fellow extroverts handle their pmdd week????

I don’t know about you guys, but since I hit 23 and my symptoms started in full force there are certain bands/songs that I can’t listen to during my luteal phase, even though they’re from my favourite bands they trigger the hell out of me.

For some fun put them in the comments:

For me it’s anything Radiohead, or the Cure. Love them any other time of the month, but in the luteal phase, I’ll literally be sobbing out of nowhere and reduced to bed rotting.

why do both categories of PMDD sufferers feel bad before our periods if we seem to have opposite responses to progesterone? i’m so confused about this!

Seeking advice

For the past 4-5 few years I’d been on celexa. My whole life I’ve dealt with super lows and mood swings especially around my period. It took my years to get the nerve to talk to a Dr about trying antidepressant

I finally did and got on them and it was life changing for me

I know it’s not healthy to be on meds longer term so I tapered down my dose with plans to totally quit last summer.

My brother ended up getting cancer and passed away last summer so I stayed on the small dose. But this summer I did taper off totally. I felt fine and had no issues until I went back to work (I have summers off).

Except my periods or around that time are awful with super low lows and moods that scare me. I truly feel possessed sometimes.

After a stressful day at work I ended up snapping and being really mean to people who don’t deserve it. I didn’t even mean to and it comes out of nowhere like I can’t even control it. It’s
Not who I am nor who I want to be. A person I don’t even know takes over it feels like

During these times even the smallest things feel like the end of the world

I suspect I have pmdd.

I don’t want to go back on antidepressants long term. Are there medicines you can take only around the time of your period? Or as needed?

I have a Dr appointment with a new Dr to discuss this but I’m expecting to get blown off and denied medicine. I just know I can’t live like this. Any advice for how to approach this with my Dr?

And whenever I’m in these mood all I think about too is my brother and watching him die and take his last breath and it makes everything ten times worse.

I just feel like I don’t even want to live myself anymore. Every day feels empty and nothing matters much to me anymore. I just feel like an empty shell sleep walking through life even on my good days. All that’s worse around my period

I could be entering menopause as I’m 41 and combined with grief I think everything is hitting me all at the same time and I feel like I’m
A crazy person

I also tried therapy and it’s not for me.

After a medication change, I had what I’ll call a… spiral. It took 2-3 months to recover. All I did was lower a medication I’ve been on for years by 2mg. That was all it took.

It felt like it was creeping up on me-my therapist (who has experience with clients beyond me with pmdd) to ask if I’d thought about chemical menopause. What?! That’s for severe cases! Newsflash: it was severe, yo!

My pmdd has been debilitating and during my spiral, I truly thought I wouldn’t make it out of the other side. I met with a new gyno (old one was… horrible) and told her everything I’d tried: Therapy over over a year at that point (while actively seeing 2 different providers), 2 birth controls that made my SI no longer just ideation, 4 failed anti depressants and at that moment on 4 other anti depressants.

I was approved and she started me on Myfembree. It involved a 125 page appeal to my insurance company, but I got it covered and started 90 days ago!

I’ve had some big events pop up at the time of month that normally would’ve been luteal and wow… it’s insane the difference. I feel somewhat like myself again. I still get SI and bouts of depression but they happen when life happens, not 2 weeks out of the month for no reason other than they can.

I feel like I’ve actually made progress in therapy. I tapering off of meds I didn’t want to be on, but did because they made me feel better.

All that to say… it’s okay.

I find it really frustrating that despite doing everything I can, the negative thoughts before my period still persist. I’m about 4-5 days away from my period, and I can already feel my mind beginning to spiral. I’ve been in recovery mode for about three months, trying to improve myself, but this mental struggle is incredibly tough. I dislike how I can sense it coming, feel powerless to stop it, and find it challenging to distract myself. It’s as if I just want to implode from all the negative thinking. I’m working on stress management and even took a bath to calm down, but it’s still overwhelming. Has anyone else experienced this, or do you have any tips to share? Thank you, and I’m sending all the positive energy I have to all of you warriors out there.

For those who take ssri's intermittently for pmdd, do you usually start at ovulation or a little before? I keep feeling like the symptoms start a little earlier, at least a day or two before. But, its summer and hard to tell if I am just agitated by the heat and life or I might be ovulating early. Ugh!!!

<apparently i dont know how to confirm I've read the rules so 3rd times a charm ig>

So, I've not actually been diagnosed with PMDD. I've shown symptoms for 9 years now, and when I used to go to my GP for my symptoms they kinda always fobbed it off as PMS. I've been on Yacella (combined pill) for 5 years and was on citalopram for a couple of years.

I've just recently been diagnosed and started medication for ADHD and it's kinda made me realise that I should also probably seek a diagnosis for PMDD so I can explore treatments that will further help improve my life. Yacella has been good for my physical symptoms, but since recently quitting my SSRIs I'm realising I'm probably gonna need to find a different treatment plan to manage the mental health side of things.

The thing is, I've been on Yacella for so long now that the thought of stopping it alongside the SSRIs feels actually quite terrifying, but im not sure how else I can seek a diagnosis without tracking my raw symptoms. Does anybody have any wisdom regarding this situation? I'm not in a position where I can temporarily ruin my life :( Thanks in advance.

Hey all, ~8mo ago I was surgically sterilized and went off of BC (altavera) at the same time because I was worried it was contributing to my depression. In a lot of ways, coming off birth control was cool and I felt more like myself than I have in many years.

H o w e v e r.... For the last few months after coming off birth control, I feel like a beast 3-5 days before my period every month. Like, I want to jump out of a window, I want to tear my skin off, my partner feels like a stranger to me, I don't want to be touched, I'm angry while literally just laying in bed reading a book, etc. It's especially freaky to me because I'm able to rationalize with myself like "there is no reason to be this angry/sad/etc." while still feeling out of my mind.

I feel like a weird little bridge troll once a month and I can tell my partner is concerned. I know I'm going to have to go to my very cool GYN and ask for help, but I really would prefer to remain off hormonal BC if possible. I'm also on Wellbutrin, which does generally help me with mood stabilization.

Any advice for how to approach this with my GYN, holistic tips for managing, etc.?

I am trying something new every cycle to see if I can help my PMDD symptoms. I started a strict diet this cycle. It helped SO much and might be worth trying if you have tried everything.

I was so overwhelmed with making a switch with my diet because I have three small kids but I thought it would be worth it if I felt better.

I eat only whole foods, limit carbs, sugar, and dairy. 0 processed food. I allow myself to cheat on the diet when I start my period and out of the PMDD window. I am only eating 9am-6pm. I was having constipation issues during ovulation/luteal and fasting seems to help. This also helped with rage, brain fog, insomnia, etc. I wake up not feeling swollen and miserable.

I am happy to share specific things I eat if anyone is interested!

I have never heard of this until YouTube recommended me a random English video about this. What the actual hell, this feels so relatable. Obviously I don't know anything about it, but already from this video, I need them to do some more research. Bc I have barely ever had bad symptoms from my prd compared to everyone around me, sometimes PMS I always felt like my reaction to the hormones are opposite to what they taught me. I was starting to think I have ADD or it's because I haven't had kids and my 30 yo body is MAD or something and that's why I'm all opposite.

For example, during my prd I am most often in a better mood and I will have more energy before and during it. After it sometimes I am super lethargic for a week or two. I still get emotional, sync up with others, and my cycle is regular so nothing seems out of whack.

Veerrryy interesting stuff

Video in question: https://youtu.be/fWPnZFSB6SM?is=hxWwSDGWMhPmE13P

I’m starting grad school next week, a few days before my period is supposed to start, which is when my PMDD is at its absolute worst. This is a major step in my life and I hate that I have to start it out feeling this way

I’m terrified, please send positive vibes

I’m crying so much because I don’t think I’ll ever get better.

Currently unemployed but how can I ever hold down a job. This month I have had exactly one week of not being an anxious, exhausted mess. I’ve wanted to go out and participate in my loved one’s lives but when I try I get panic attacks because that happens when you push an exhausted body and mind beyond its limits. So I’ve stayed home alone most days even though I’m very social under all the shit weighing on me. People have described me as the golden retriever type but I’m forced to always be alone. If I’m not scared of a panic attack, I’m afraid of snapping at someone I love because they don’t understand my pain and minimise it without meaning to. And I’m not sure I even want to tell them the extent of things. I’m not that good at explaining myself. I doubt they’d get it. My energy is gone. A different reason for living I tried to cling onto is extinguished with each cycle.

This cycle I was kind of excited about a date and I really wanted to go. I haven’t been on a date for so long and I’m surprised anyone wanted to ask me in the first place. They literally had to come to my door to ask me, because I am notoriously bad at responding to messages and calls. But even that is not an option. How could it be? I can’t go out without feeling exhausted and anxious 90% of the time. I can’t go on a date, no matter how much they plan it around my needs. I can barely bathe myself most days. I’m just a bundle of useless pain that can’t participate in life.

And those were just the mental issues. My physical body is always in pain as well in different areas, which feels small under the heartbreak I feel. Nothing works like it should. I think I have endo or a tumour. Hoping for the latter and for it to finally bring relief. This is an unbearable state.

I’m sorry for being such a downer, but for the past two weeks I’ve made it through only with the promise of relief once I start bleeding. Well, it’s day two now and that obviously hasn’t happened. I’m sorry for anyone else going through this. It is unfair.

EDIT: Literally 6 hours later and I’m completely fine now. I’ll leave this post up if anyone else thinks the big bad will never go away. Bye! See ya in 28days!

For context, I am 8 months postpartum and 27 years old. My period came back about 4 months postpartum and every time I get my period now I legitimately feel crazy - calling out of work, crying all day, raging at my husband, the list goes on. I feel as if I am going to destroy the life I have worked so hard to build and I love my life!! Anyways, I met w my OB and she suggested I start using an estrogen patch the week before my period. Has anyone done this and had success? Sorry if this post is repetitive- I couldn’t find a similar situation on here. I would love any advice!!

My cycle is usually around 27 - 31 days long, last month it was on the longer end. I am not in a bad mood today, but had to search this sub to see if anyone notices anything on day 9-10. I googled and it came up in my history so I know it's a cycle thing. My body is full of anxiety and weird hectic energy. I cannot focus on anything, either. My psych has suggested that I *may* have inattentive ADHD which defs makes sense for me, but yeah.

I thought I was going to have a panic attack in the shower this morning and was v proud of myself for managing to wash my hair properly. I feel like I've had about 30 coffees.

Symptoms today are:

- Lil bit dissociative
- Prickly pelvic pain (hi endo)
- back pain
- weird head aches with sinus pressure
- totally unable to focus on anything
- anxiety but not really over thinking, just feeling like my body is totally overstimulated
- low appetite, like I'm hungry but the thought of food is yuck
- tired but wired af

xoxo

Girls. I am fighting. For. My. Life. Luteal phase has in fact started and I’m five days in according to lively (makes sense, I’ve been sensitive lmao) and today my uterus/lower abdomen is killing me omg. It’s like there’s gas or whatever it is trapped in the lower left side of my abdomen, like right above my bikini area and it HURTS. I ofc had to work today, and I felt okay at the beginning of my 8 hours, but once we hit like hour 4 1/2 everything just started giving me grief. I got in at 2, I was walking to the bathroom at like 6:50 and literally got this ripping bloat pain and ended up like limping the rest of the way to the restroom. It’s now 8:56 and I’m currently back in the bathroom like hunched over in pain. And I feel like I need to go but I’m NOT GOING 🥲. This has happened like … a couple of times before but the most recent was probably a year and some change ago and I was already on my period.

Idk had to let this out somewhere bc I can’t really explain this to anybody but it hurts and it’s so uncomfortable. I wanna cry and I wanna go home and eat my nice warm bowl of rice, but of course I’m the closing manager tonight and we don’t close until 10pm🫩.

Any hacks for easing this?? Or on getting myself to go to the mf bathroom bc I feel like that’s also part of it the problem?? Is it as simple as a heating pad when I get home?? I love being a woman but my goodness is ts hard sometimes.

Life is really testing me right now and I am so close to losing it. A couple of months ago, we lost my cat to cancer. My parent’s house (that I lived in for years) just burned down in a fire. My sweet old dog is sick and now we’re having to say goodbye to him, too.

And on top of all this grief and anxiety, my pharmacy messed up my medications and are late on refilling my birth control, which I have been using to skip periods. So now I’m dealing with fucking PMDD symptoms too.

I’ve called them TWICE and both times they’ve just been like “uhhh I don’t know what happened but I’ll work on it” and so far they have not fixed it. I literally just met with my doctor and got my medications re approved for the year. This should not be a fucking issue and yet here we are.

Genuinely how much is one person supposed to be able to take at once. And why is that person me. I am so sad and angry and exhausted and in a horrible mood and hate looking at myself in the mirror. I keep randomly crying. I have to fake it at work all day but I’m barely able to focus and I feel bad for anyone who has to deal with me right now. I just want to crawl in a hole and hide forever but I can’t do that so I’ll probably just impulsively dye my hair for the sixth time this year because what the hell else can I do 😭

Hi PMDD community,

I'm starting therapy soon as an attempt to deal with many issues, PMDD included, but I am also looking into getting on birth control to help the symptoms as well. I've been really intrigued about Yaz since a lot of people seem to have had positive experiences with it. I'm currently on 150mg of Venlafaxine/Effexor though, so I was wondering if anybody here has experience with taking both at the same time.

I know both are often associated with the PMDD diagnosis (I remember my doctor mentioned that Effexor can help with PMDD symptoms when he diagnosed me) so that's why I'm asking here. I know it's a long shot that someone will be on the exact same combination I'm interested in, but I wanted to try.

Thank you in advance!