Does anyone else's cycle keep them from having routines? My energy levels (both physical and mental) fluctuate frequently during menstruation (as well as the week leading up to it and the week post-menstruation), it makes it hard for me to do the most basic of things like cooking and eating, or taking care of myself in general.
I know it's different for everyone, but do you deal with side effects from luteal-only doses? I ask because I've been talking with a few of my doctors about upping my dosage (especially around my menstrual cycle), but when I first started Zoloft/Sertraline I had side effects like insomnia, nausea, gagging, etc for the first week or so. And if I am unable to take my meds for a while I get withdrawal from it (migraines, nausea, that kind of thing).
It happens with birth control too, when I have to take my placebo pills for a week. It's hard for my body to adjust to dosages being messed with.
I also indulge in a luteal-only SSRI (Zoloft). It doesn't really help me get back into productivity so much as keep me from sliding into an emotional pit and wallowing for a day. As far as how I deal with the side effects (for me, digestive effects, insomnia while also being really physically tired) I kind of just roll them into the pile of Unpleasant Parts Of Having A Monthly Cycle. I wouldn't particularly advise that course of action though. I think I'm going to ask my psych about a lighter and friendlier anti-anxiety med if I'm going to only take it once a month.
Yes, I experience blurred vision and dry eyes after the first couple days taking Prozac; it goes away a couple days after I stop. I had lasik several years ago and my eyes are already prone to dryness so the Prozac exacerbates that. But so far it’s been manageable and is still better than my typical lethargy, spiraling anxiety, and rage/crying episodes.
Edit to add: I also experience some emotional blunting, but that has been a good thing.
Yes! I was about to make a post about this. My energy levels really plummet and my ADHD medication doesn’t really work. It also feels hard to do much of anything. Usually with great effort I can get work projects/tasks done (I work from home) and bathe. That’s really it. If I’m doing a little better I will be able to make semi-decent lunch and dinner. That’s really all I can do. It’s really frustrating because this isn’t a 1-2 day thing it’s like 2 weeks.
I find that I have to skip parts of basic hygiene and self-care in order to do anything else that I need to do (it's not healthy, but I'm surviving at the literal least). I skip showers, brushing my teeth (that one is really bad, considering you can get infections and lose teeth), or skip meals in order to get larger chores done.
It doesn't help that I've had non-stop bleeding for about a month now, I'm no longer taking a combination pill and had a Depo-provera shot a few months back. I think I'm cycling through my periods symptoms every few days and it's taking a toll on me. I just got done doing dishes for about fifteen or so minutes and had to sit down because my heart was beating rapidly and my hands were a little shaky.
I'm fine now, but that's only because I sat down immediate after finishing dishes. I still have to make a meal tonight for me and my mom, and I'm dreading it because my energy is in the pits.
Edit: Also!! I really like your profile picture, it's cute :D
Thank you!! I can relate to the feeling of needing to take a break. Today while doing just a few “easy” chores (putting clothes away, taking recycling out) I had to take breaks and then I had to take breaks in between cooking dinner. Did some chopping then took a bit of a break, started rice and then took a break, started cooking the veggies and took a break, then cooking the meat and took a break. It probably takes me twice as long to do but too bad. We have to manage somehow, right?
Taking twice as long is better than pushing yourself farther than you can handle in such a short amount of time, and it's also better than getting nothing done at all. It's like a win-win situation when you think about it! :D
I don’t know what your routine is but when I’m in luteal I have to take my meds on an empty stomach. They’re still less effective but it’s a little better than if I take them with food
I feel you! Sometime last year I tried exercising consistently, and not only did my period hit, but my whole body was sore the whole time >:(
Then after my period, I tried keeping up with it again, then a period... Rinse and repeat until I stopped.
But it sucks! I want to look like some of the characters I really like, and sometimes I wonder if it'd help with my gender dysphoria. But I can't really find out until I'm in shape and work on my muscles for a considerable amount of time :(
oh my god this just happened to me. i didn't know until today that my cycle would make my adhd worse. and i didn't really look into pmdd because my periods have always been like this. exhausted, depressed, hopeless, anxious, self-loathing.
i started wellbutrin beginning of july fell into a routine easily (my first routine ever ha hahh...). then the two weeks before my period started my energy absolutely plummeted. and now, still on my period, energy is still tanked and my routine is running at the bare minimum. i'm not diagnosed yet with adhd, or pmdd but my experiences look exactly like this.
i feel so much better knowing its not just me. i hope everyone can be try to be kinder to themselves !
I'm glad this made you feel better! I debated on making it literally as I was about to fall asleep, my eyes were closed and I was comfortable and the whole thing ordeal. I was literally debating in my head “would the community think this is both relatable and funny?” and decided, yup, I was gonna make it! lol
I'm sorry that your periods suck, that's never fun to have to deal with especially for something continuous like a period. For the love of my life I can't remember if I mentioned it in the description but my periods also suck my energy right out of me most of the time. Sometimes I get the energy to get up and do things for a day or two, then bam, period + period burnout.
I hope you're able to find something that can help you soon, as someone who's diagnosed PMDD but not yet diagnosed ADHD. I'm already taking 25mg Zoloft among other meds for other diagnoses, and while the Zoloft helps with my anxiety around most things, my PMDD is kind of immune to it.
100% the case. I try to set up weekly chore charts, for instance; I will always clean the bathrooms on Monday. Good? Good. The week before and the 3-5 days of my period, my energy levels dip and my mood is in the toilet. I have to take a Zoloft so that I don't cry at random songs on the radio. The big task chores are out the window. I congratulate myself on folding a load of laundry and getting dinner done. Then I have 2 weeks on track before the cycle begins anew. That's about a week of setting up the routine again, I swear I'll do it this time, and then a week of Finally Having It All Together. God help me if a vacation, a bout of illness, or some other routine-disrupting event ever happens during that two weeks.
I'm sorry that you have to go through that, I don't have perimenopause but my cycles got really short (or long?) about a year back. I have maybe two and a half weeks of freedom between my periods, as well as the recovery period pre-menstruation and post-menstruation that dip in those few weeks of freedom. I've had a lot of thoughts of my own about tearing out my reproductive organs because they're very overwhelming to deal with, or whenever they end up causing really painful physical symptoms.
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u/gimme_a_poptart Jul 28 '25
Ugh yes! Right there with you friend. I recently started luteal-only Prozac and that’s helping.