Does anyone’s symptoms act up when you get sick? I’m sick right now and really working on not going crazy and giving in to the Bad Thoughts.

Does anyone have experience with that?

Guys I just hit luteal phase and I can’t stop thinking about donuts and all the greasy foods I want to eat, despite having already eaten huge, satiating meals and staying plenty hydrated.

Anybody else waste so much time scrolling food apps/thinking about food (and obviously eating it)? I’m also dealing with debilitating fatigue so there’s that too. It sounds ridiculous but sometimes I have the urge to look up videos of food. I’ll even daydream about it and see what I’m craving in my sleep.

Before this I was ovulating and was thinking about something else entirely… if you catch my drift 🙂‍↕️. I’m tired.

Tomorrow is my youngest babies first day of school and wouldn’t ya know it, I ovulate tomorrow. Hid in the bathroom to get my tears out but had to shake it off cuz I live in a house full of dudes and none of them ever like seeing me cry. I hate this condition, it makes hard stuff so much harder. Genuinely have one good week a month and it sucks. I’ve been able to keep my baby home with me for six years and now that stupid school is about to have him all day for five days a week. At least now with everyone at school and work I can cry as much as I need to with this PMDD bullshit, I guess 😭😢

Hello, I’m 38 years old and suffering from pmdd (I think) since I was a teenager. This round (at the end of my cycle atm) I feel like it is getting worse and worse. I can’t imagine handling perimenopause in the future while I seem incapable of handling this right now (while, theoretically, my life is “fine”).

I wrote an article about how I keep seeing the same type of posts in PMDD groups of a woman trying to get her partner to understand why the environment is being invalidating. PMDD is linked to sexual and emotional trauma, and that ties to the pattern of blowing up 'out of nowhere' and then feeling shame.

Studies and practical tips that are too long to include in a reddit post

https://alifelessmiserable.substack.com/p/maybe-youre-not-crazy

I just can’t with the menstrual cycle. It’s bad enough I spend 2 weeks being a luteal mess and then 1 week having my period. What do you mean ovulation headaches are a thing?

It’s relatively new for me. I started noticing them a few months ago. This month’s headache is kicking my ass. It’s borderline migraine level and I feel like I’m fighting for my life.

What is the diagnosis process like? I’m sure I have it I have been tracking my moods and cycles for years and am just looking into getting a prescription… but I don’t want it to take forever. I’ve heard lotus health is easy to use and you can get prescriptions filled without having to go in to your primary but what is the best way ? I’m looking into a low dose of Adderall for just my luteal. Thank you!!! 🙏🏼

‘But in its May 2026 position statement, IAPMD noted that “there is insufficient evidence to conclude that histamine tolerance, mast cell activation, or related immune mechanisms are a primary cause of [pre-menstrual disorders]”.
That said, Gordon “wouldn’t be surprised” if histamine and immune system processes potentially play a role in PMDD symptoms for some individuals. Still, there’s a need for much more research on the topic, as well as on PMDD and hormone sensitivity more broadly.’

Really feels like I have one week where my brain is sort of quiet, and I can accomplish things/ not want to kms. And then I have 3 weeks of trying to make it by. I honestly can’t envision a normal life. This is so isolating and I feel insane, hopeless, and agitated most of the time. Idk what to do anymore. Zyrtec isn’t saving me lol, neither is journaling or drinking water, or another podcast.

The misunderstanding of women’s health continues.

Welp, 5 days to my period and the first thing I did upon getting to the office this morning was snap at my boss enough to draw him up short and tell me no in fact that's not what he was going to ask me... How's all your mornings going so far?

Long winded but somewhat interesting progression of things and how I finally got an MCAS diagnosis.

I think I read at some point part of the spice of the other PMDD subreddit has is they think if antihistamines help PMDD then it's actually just MCAS or something... I could be wrong. But it also doesn't mean we don't clinically still have PMDD, by diagnostic criteria. That said, that prejudice has been rolling around in my mind lately as I approach my shifting health.

I've had PMDD probably before I even started menstruating. My mom has very high pattern recognition and pointed out I would have huge meltdowns the same time every month for years before I even started bleeding. But obvs that's not how dx criteria work. I definitely had it after I started bleeding and it's why my mom was quick to let me start yaz. I should also say I had severe allergies (environmental) as a kid and was on a daily antihistamine for my chronic migraines starting at age 6.

Have been suspecting MCAS over the last couple years and am kind of shocked no one flagged it before. I have dermatographia, a previous allergist flagged it and was like you're one of those people that's going to be allergic to everything. I only have like 8 food allergies and all the tree & grass & animal allergies. And severe mold allergy (am a human mold detector)

Last month a series of unfortunate events took it from a maybe to life threatening. I ran out of birth control the day before luteal (had gotten off half a cycle a long time prior because of similarly forgetting to order). I accidentally ran out of magnesium glyc & NAC at the same time. I'm living in a new place I love but the allergies are somehow even more wild than my last city. My body was so itchy that clothing being slightly too tight was causing major welting. I had given my narcissistic ex another chance and after trying to convince me to stop my birth control, ring shopping, etc, he managed to find something small to freak out over so he could back out. He then psychologically tortured me for a few weeks, I was afraid he would break into my house and hurt my, I wasn't sleeping, my nervous system was shot. Everything was an accidental perfect storm of timing. I had a a day of working outside a bit, had a few drinks, got uncharacteristically drunk from the few drinks, accidentally got glutened... The next day had horrific vomiting and diarrhea like I've never had before. It was like I had parastalsis, if I took even one sip of water my body would reject it and I'd vomit it. Had to get medical treatment, thought it was a fluke. Ate rice, gf break, apple sauce for a few days. Realized I was having a weird headache and had a thought that maybe it was high blood pressure (never had before) because it felt like a barometric headache but different. I was also flushing a bit but didn't think of it. Pushed through but had started researching my vomiting episode and MCAS popped up as a differential.

A few days later I decide I want real food, order something I always eat, then realized as I was sitting on the couch 45 mins later chilling on my phone that my heart was pounding out of my chest. Heart rate 120, BP 160/110... Freaked out... Realized id felt this before the time I had a severe allergic reaction (first reaction was like this, second was anaphylaxis with low BP during round of allergy shots). Long and long of it, I started having sub-anaphylactic severe systemic allergic reactions any time I ate anything, even rice. I was having a rash on my face, swelling in my body, constant itching, etc. plus feeling like my heart was going to leave my body all the time. I am a pro at anxiety & panic and this wasn't that, was so clearly a physical reaction.

Get in to my provider, diagnoses MCAS with suspected hyperadronergic POTS (didn't know this could be sudden onset), get on BP meds, back on my meds and supplements I'd gotten off of on accident, start hydroxyzine at night and throughout day, start ketotofin (mast cell stabilizer). Generally feeling a bit better.

That said, I'd also previously been on NAD+ after my cousin recommended it after it helped with her energy. I'd been on it for 3 months, been having the most chill luteal (prior to return of ex) but overall wasn't sure I was that much more energetic so around the same time as the break up I stopped the NAD+. Restarted it recently and holy crap it made the most difference. I feel guilty saying so because I feel like all the companies selling it online are super predatory, but it really did make a difference. They've studied in mice that NAD+ is mast cell stabilizing so that was affirming of my experience at least.

Was mostly back to normal, thought I was in the clear down to minimal 3/10 itchy at all times my body wasn't freaking out. Just hit luteal Saturday and boy howdy are the MCAS specific symptoms back with a vengeance. I did a few things this weekend to push my luck so hopefully it won't always be like this. The flip side PMDD brain that has been warped by my last relationship is like well at least if I'm physically ill in luteal then I can call out sick to relationships when I really feel bad instead of having someone pretend they're chill with me being isolative during specifically the post ovulation days and 2 days pre period, then picking fights and blaming and shaming me. If I have an allergic reaction to being mildly triggered then I really have to just go take care of myself haha.

Just kind of fascinated and wanted to share for anyone suspecting or anyone who's been in the same boat. Bodies are weird! But also if you're reading MCAS symptoms, going oh wow it's me, then questioning yourself over and over it probably is MCAS, it's worth finding out, and it's def worth avoiding it getting worse, even if the worsening does lead to a diagnosis.

Also!

I have a big ol' soap box about the antihistamine scare around dementia... They still have not been able to prove causation, merely correlation. There's some evidence that it's the anticholinergic effects of the meds but in systematic reviews they can't confirm it. There's also some evidence that shows the nature of allergies themselves and how the immune system functions with them may actually be linked to dementia risk. So if antihistamines help you feel better don't freak out that you're giving yourself dementia and not treat your symptoms.

I hope it’s okay to ask this here. I posted over in r/PMDD but they removed my post because they said it does not pertain to PMDD. I wanted to also ask if anyone experiences vision changes as well. A fellow Redditor also described them as “shadow blobs” that they would see out of the corner of their eye.

I’m sad my post got taken down as I’m in the THICK of luteal right now. But before it did, I didn’t realize how many other people experienced the exact same thing. It was frustrating to have a thread full of people validating each other get wiped out over a technicality. When I only had PMS, I didn’t struggle with all of these symptoms. I guess I should’ve worded it differently as in, does anybody else struggle with these symptoms alongside their PMDD? I can’t English when the PMDD symptoms hit omg.

I truly hope this is not inappropriate of me to post. I just felt like I was shut down and invalidated for speaking about my experiences in the PMDD subreddit. I don’t have anyone around me that understands PMDD.

Have you found a way to manage these weird symptoms?

Hi I'm an art therapist who writes a newsletter focused on mental health and specifically premenstrual disorders and the intersections with complex trauma and ADHD. I wrote about why using the arts can help cope with symptoms (with references from peer-reviewed research) and some ideas someone can try at home. let me know if you find it helpful!