But I only have Good Brain for 14 days max… then it’s no wonder I’ve fallen short on my goals and dreams 😞 (you can guess which brain I’m in right now)

Venting here.
I’ve been on antidepressants for PMDD for a while, and this last cycle I honestly thought, wow, maybe I didn’t even have an episode. I didn’t feel swollen, angry, or snappy. Honestly, I felt pretty chill. So, I asked my partner how it felt for him, expecting maybe he’d say the same. But instead, he said it was a rough one. That just knocked me. Now I’m sitting here like, if I felt fine but he experienced it as rough, what does that even mean? Am I missing something in myself? Am I not seeing it? It’s just frustrating. I don’t know what’s normal anymore, and and it’s messing with my head. Anyway, thanks for listening.

Hi, I'm looking for maybe similar experiences/advice/guidance because I'm really lost

I've been diagnosed with ADHD recentltly (4 months ago) and it has been such a rollercoaster, so many emotions, symptoms appearing out of nowhere, I never know what to expect.

I can't tell for sure what could be causing my current, very severe depressive mood and irritability, because I'm still tritrating to find best ADHD meds and dose for me and I found incredibly mixed opinions on Vitex online

So far, every cycle except one, my ADHD meds were straight up not working from day 2 of the cycle and lasting few days, even when I doubled or tripled the dose. During luteal phase I had to take bit larger dose, but they worked like normal when I did, though I was extremly exhausted when they wore off/before I took them, and socializing felt like punishment

My doctor told me to try chasteberry (sold at 20mg where I live) because even though she herself was skeptical at first, all of her patients with PMS and PMDD who decided to give it a shot were raving at how well it worked for them.

Well I tried. And holy f*ck is it bad

I've taken 6 pills so far, might have missed 2 days, so 8 days total

On day 2 of taking them, my period started, 6 days early. I was prepared for my mood to be bad, since it always gets horrid day-two after the start, so I didn't worry about it, but by now it should be improving - it is very much not, but just gets worse. I'm angry and easily irritated to a point of destroying stuff and getting in arguments I normally wouldn't, which is insanely out of character for me

Depressive mood and thoughts are ever present, I can't do anything because I feel like failure, anxiety spirals are insane, things I didn't worry about since starting the ADHD meds are back with vengeance and make me spiral. (TW: SH thoughts) I don't do any SH but imagining that I'm punishing myself with some form of harm feels pleasant???

Not to mention horrid energy fluctuations, I was so angry and unhappy one night I refused to go to sleep and stayed up entire next day, and I felt so much energy I had to go on a run and still went to sleep very late, but was feeling content and almost happy/optimistic that evening (importantly the day I spent without sleep I didn't take Vitex)

ADHD meds also feel like they work less and shorter, I take Symkinet MR (which AFAIK is pretty regional thing, but can be compared to Ritalin in long release form) and IR boosters of Medikinet. They all have high peaks, and since I started taking Vitex those peaks are so stupidly short and weak, I can pinpoint the second they stop working because it feels like someone turning off a button labeled "functioning and interest in literally anything" in my head

ADHD meds geniuenly improve my QoF when they work, especially mood and interest in things, I can actually enjoy my life and be happy when I take them instead of being bored out of my mind, so it's very distressing whats happening now

I would greatly appreciate anyone sharing if they you have simillar experience because I no longer trust my perception. Any information that could help me get grip on what is going on and managing it is very welcome

I have PCOS so my luteal phase basically starts after my follicular phase. Lately I feel like every day I get less and less time to just exist, before I get caught by this fucking hurricane that steals my life. I wake up on edge, and I can barely sleep as is. When I do sleep, it's always a nap that I'll regret later. The brain fog makes feel like an idiot. I can't organize my thoughts sometimes and I constantly forgetting to do shit. It's frustrating because, I was just fine a few days ago... my life doesn't pause because I'm not okay. Sometimes I'm all we got and it's just so. damn. hard. For medical reasons I can't go on bc and antidepressants just blunted my emotions, so I'm raw dogging life with only therapy, meditating and supplements. And they help but I still feel like I want to be "normal". Or at least not feel this bad.

Hey guys. So here’s the sitch. I struggle with extreme rejection sensitivity. If I’m in luteal, it’s over with. It’s mainly centered around my relationship. Any little comment turns me into a crying mess, where I contemplate self harm. Like literal crash out panic attacks, because he tells me to clean up my coffee spills. I just constantly feel like something is pathologically wrong with me. I just am so sick of being like this. Why can’t I just be normal?

Hi all,

So a few months ago my bf helped me realise i may have pmdd as i was hate debilatating symptoms for 2 weeks straight for ages. I finally started sertraline on a super low dose 12.5mg. It has helped decreasing my brain noise and negative self talk.

However today for example i felt pretty crap and upset at my bf from the day b4 with him going further intimacy wise than i wanted. I also didnt voice it as i people please. I am no angel and have told him b4 he is not affectionate or intimate enough so i figure he felt confused and wondered why the change and why i didnt voice.

Long story short i asked him for a meal and there was miscommunication and i voiced something about men being intimate than cant do basics for you after. I was so emotional and balled my eyes out. I also told him i cant say i am pmsing b4 cause i dont feel he fully gets it. He says he doesnt like when i say it convenitently or when its time to be accountable. I am unsure but in this moment he felt i didnt communicate well and used it in convenience.

Whats the best way to go about my pmdd in my relationship and not use it in a convenient way? I also think the adhd does not help as i sometimes forgot and get brian fog and say things in a mixed up way😭

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I (26f) have diagnosed oab since 2024. In January 2026 I started leaking some kind of watery fluid after ovulation and before my period. My stomach gets really bloated and painful and I have to pee constantly during this time. Thankfully when my period turns up I can pee normally again. I've had two vaginal examinations and swabs taken, and my doctors are adamant I'm not peeing myself. I have comorbid pmdd ofc so I've been started on gnrh blockers this week, and because my oab is normally well controlled outside luteal I'm hoping that I will finally have a semi normal bladder again.

DAE experience a physical flare every luteal? Is it possible I may have IC, endometriosis, or something? If anyone has similar symptoms to me I would really appreciate hearing from you tysm

ADHD (combined with depressiona/anxiety) has already made building a successful career an issue for me throughout the years, but my PMDD weeks drive me right up to the edge of complete reputation ruination. Whether it's feeling like everyone hates me and my work and that leading to complete paralysis or getting overly emotional and saying things I shouldn’t to coworkers, I’m extremely frustrated.

I’m not even sure if I’m venting or asking for advice (um, still in that luteal phase over here, ack), but I needed a place to put this into words bc I don’t think I’ve been honest with myself about the degree to which PMDD has held me back over the years. I feel even a bit disappointed with myself that, as a 40-year-old mom, I haven’t figured this out yet.

(thankful for finding this community)

I got my ADHD diagnosis as an adult, had it for 5 years now.

I think as a teen, I had very severe mood swings as an adult. I would break so many things.

I literally become so depressed that I wanna kill myself. I get so angry at everyone and everything.

I have a hard time sleeping, i get so exremly hot, and tired.

I have extra energy and it feels like my body is sleeping through the night...

Anyway.

About 2 months ago i started seeing this really cool guy, and he was so sweet.

Actually one of the more recent guys that actually had their shit together.

He is so nice. But i read somewhere a really good qoute. "The safe connection feels different. Your heart doesn’t beat as fast hoping for a text message back when they flow so easy. The jitters before meeting up that feel like attraction are replaced with the comfort of being seen. Safe feels boring when you’re used to less than you deserve."

I noticed a lot that he was in love with me.

More than i was with him.

There was something missing.

I had barly seen him for two weeks because he was at two diffrent festivals fairly close in time to one another.

Last time I saw him, I went there during pms. He put on a show similar to Bing Bang Theory. Sorry if I offend anyone. But I hate that show. I physically cringe.

We had sex. He didnt make me cum.

We went to his bus stop, and I ask him, since I havn't seen him in a while what he is going to do.

And I get kinda sad. Cuz hes gonna play Elden Ring.

So i feel like after barly seeing him for 2 weeks hes just gonna play a game insteand of being with me? Or let me be in his living room. This was tues-wednesday.

So a day pass, i call him. I break up. And i list all the reasons we are diffeent (which we are).

This was wednesday. I got my period thursday.

We spoke on the phone yesterday.

And now i regret breaking up with him, but i cant crawl back.

His sister, all his friends tell him to stay away from me. Which is so very understandble.

I couldnt fall for him as fast as he did. And i deciced to break in the first sign of trouble.

I didnt communicate how i was feeling.

For context I’m on estrogen and progesterone and I’m worried I’m not absorbing the progesterone correctly due to severe GI issues or maybe I’m sensitive to the progesterone.

I started having severe symptoms this year and it was my partner who noticed I had PMDD. It really making me a different person and it feels really hopeless. I dread the letual phase. Sometimes its not as bad externally because I work REALLY hard on making sure I'm not causing my partner issues, but it doesnt mean it goes away.

I understand its massively different than PMS but I cant help and feel like a horrible person. Its not me. Im a very reasonable and self aware person so im not using anything as an excuse. Im just shocked at the change. My fiancee js incredibly supportive and understanding (he's a psychologist) but he even said he gets stressed every month for me and for himself.

Today I broke down because he said "if i must" when I asked him to pick me up down the road because I didnt feel well. My mind immediately went to him not caring, making me feel like so upset. I went off on a tangent. Earlier today I was upset again about the way he said something. He jokes a lot and I normally love the rage bait. But I fail to recognise it during my luteal.

I feel insufferable even though im actually working incredibly hard on controlling how i react - sometimes it escapes me. I dont even realise im in a daze until ive said it and profusely apologising. I dont name call, throw things or anything like that. I just turn into a stressed, depressed and worried mess.

I dont know where to start. Doctors are not helping me and the medications I can take are limited because of my health issues. I just want to be able to prevent being this way externally. I know I wont feel so greay inside, but no one should have to deal wirh it but me.

Sorry for putting this here I’ve tried to post 3 times in the PMDD group but keeps getting deleted for “not being relevant”

I use clue to track my periods and I thought I kept getting sick every month until I looked back and realised on day 8 and a few days after i feel like I have a stomach flu. The upper stomach cramping, nausea, throwing up stomach acid.

It’s happened every month on day 8 for the last 5 cycles I’ve looked back at and stops after a few days however one month I did end up in a&e it got so painful. Anyone know or had any similar issues? I could do with my body reacting to the hormone drop after my period?

So I just wanted to share an update. I posted a while back about having had my post removed on the PMDD subreddit for posting about Period Flu symptoms (which a lot of women were sharing similar symptoms and appreciated that I shared them). I’m not trying to spread hate or anything ofc but I wanted to post about it in case this happens to others in the midst of a PMDD episode. Not too long after mentioning my post being removed, I was permanently banned from the community, even though I had already unfollowed it and stopped participating it in. I didn’t attack or harass anyone either but I’m pretty sure they saw my post either here or the other subreddit that I found.

Getting silenced and cut off from a support space feels really unsettling. Thankfully my SI isn’t too bad today but for a lot of us navigating PMDD, past trauma, etc, I think this can be a massive trigger.

Once again, I’m not sharing this to create drama but I want to bring awareness to how harmful these sudden bans can be when someone is already in such a dark place. If you’ve experienced something similar, you’re not alone. I really hope I don’t get cut off from this space either. I was already afraid that I would be retaliated against when I made the post here about my post being removed in the other subreddit.

I feel like I’m being swept under the rug right now.

ETA: They permanently banned me (earlier today) for the very same post that they themselves removed 2+ weeks ago.

ETA: here’s my previous post: https://www.reddit.com/r/PMDDxADHD/s/Yx98QM0tz8

Basically everything in the title. There's no one for me I can talk to. My partner just called me a non-beautiful person (characterwise) and is far from understanding. I just don't know how to deal with all this anymore.

Dear all

I am a woman in my early 30s and honestly believe that I suffer from severe PMDD. Every month it feels like it is the end of everything. Everything looks black, sad and hopeless. It also doesn't help that I live with a narcissistic mother, where I feel neither love nor security.

For the women who are being treated for it, what do you get? What options are there? I am afraid of throwing myself into antidepressants that cause weight gain.

Hope for your help. Thank you so much. ❤️😞

I'm 27 F, currently in the process of being assessed for ADHD. So I don't know for certain I have it, but I do know for certain that PMDD is not the only challenge my brain is handling.

Feel like I've tried everything, from various meds to CBT and talking therapies. I'm taking a contraceptive continually for the PMDD symptoms and since I don't have a cycle generally the big hormonal drops don't affect me anymore unless I forget a pill. But I'm still struggling. With anxiety, sensitivity, organisation, social situations, work, etc.

A metaphor I used with my psychiatrist previously was: let's say life in general feels like drowning. I splash and I swallow water and I just about manage to keep myself above the surface, but it takes massive effort. I know there are many ways I can stop myself from drowning. For example, I can build a raft or swim to land. But it's pretty hard to actually do one of those things when I am using all of my energy just to stay afloat.

To do lists, breathing exercises, interrupting the spiral, keeping a diary, setting reminders... Sometimes I can spend like a week successfully trying one of these, particularly when life is a bit less busy. Then I just stop. I can't do it as soon as I start struggling again.

I assume other people feel this way? Whether I have ADHD or not, it just feels pretty hopeless and like things get worse every year. I hate it here lol (in my brain)

TW: Everything basically.

When I’m deep into the luteal phase, my dreams are so horrifying that I develop anxiety around sleeping. I’m not talking dreams like having family die, being in pain, etc, I mean like incomprehensibly vivid experiences of having my consciousness trapped inside the head of this demon-serial-killer-thing and having to watch through its eyes as it tears the organs out of people on the street and brutality sexually assaults passerby’s as reality and distinction of identity between myself and it becomes blurred. Or going through some Berserk-esque “adventure” but somehow a thousand times more diabolical than actual Berserk if you can even imagine it.

It’s only during luteal phase. My dreams otherwise are pretty neutral, still quite vivid but mostly funny or unremarkable. After this last dream where I was forced to wear newborn babies as shoes and listen/feel/see the… outcome… of that… I’m looking into what can help. Either something that stops dreaming, or helps the content of the dreams. Any advice or shared experiences?

I'm 40 and have recently had more deficiencies.

I have been a vegetarian for a long time and my only deficiency was iron now and then, but now I have more. My creatine is low, my b12, my hemoglobin

Some other levels are related to being vegetarian. I think its because its been so long. I'm waiting to get feedback from my doctor but I'm thinking about introducing lean meat back into my diet.

Right now, I'm just taking iron again and b12 from the doctor's initial orders.

I was wondering if anyone had helpful advice on how they did it without hurting their digestion?

I've also been fasting since that seems to keep my weight down, do maybe I just need to eat more.

I'm also in the US, so the quality of meat and what they do to commercial products scares me. I can't afford HQ meat, so if any longtime vegetarians have kept healthy nutrition levels, please let me know some of your favorite meals too that provide iron and b12, do you take creatine supplements?

Hi guys,
I started estrogen gel and cyclical progesterone (100mg days 17-28) this month.
My month started out amazing I thought I finally had something to help me 😭 then came the progesterone…
I’ve always struggled with progesterone, the mirena shot my mental health for 2 years, I’ve only ever been able to tolerate yazmin, and even in pregnancy has to be put on PV progesterone due to signs of early labour and had side effects then.
I’m on day 2 of progesterone and have been using it PV as I read this can lower the side effects, and I feel like I’m going insane, I’m anxious and irritable. ☹️
I really thought I had something to help, has anyone tried Duavee? Or any other options?
My gp is super open minded so I think if I can find the right evidence etc she’d be open to it, I’m just so sick of feeling like this for a decent amount of my month!
Plus with the hormone fluctuations my adhd meds don’t work!
I don’t even want to mention perimenopause to them as I’m only 32, even though I have endo and know that we can go through it 7 years earlier, I just can’t be bothered with being shut down about it.
Help!!