PMDD

[justonemorepage]

I'm currently having an episode. Sorry to post about it here but I don't know where to turn. I was diagnosed around 4 years ago but the GP barely had information and couldn't suggest much for me. I got pregnant which improved things massively but my baby is now a year old and this week has been one of the worst. My anxiety it through the roof. I can't sleep, I worry about everything. I'm in tears writing this because I just feel so helpless. I'm 4 days late for my period so I wonder if that's having an impact but I'm overthinking everything and catastrophising everything. My parents had my baby today and were taking her out in the car and I drove past a car accident and felt sick thinking it was them. My mind goes to really dark places that I just can't control. I feel like a mess but it's only been the last two days so I know it's the PMDD and linked to my period and I know it will probably pass as I've been fine postpartum (bar the odd symptom that I have learned to manage) but this is off the scale. Sorry if this is triggering for anyone, I just needed a safe place to vent. I can't talk to anyone in my life about this as they just don't understand.

 

[juy7nhio]

I'm currently having an episode. Sorry to post about it here but I don't know where to turn. I was diagnosed around 4 years ago but the GP barely had information and couldn't suggest much for me. I got pregnant which improved things massively but my baby is now a year old and this week has been one of the worst. My anxiety it through the roof. I can't sleep, I worry about everything. I'm in tears writing this because I just feel so helpless. I'm 4 days late for my period so I wonder if that's having an impact but I'm overthinking everything and catastrophising everything. My parents had my baby today and were taking her out in the car and I drove past a car accident and felt sick thinking it was them. My mind goes to really dark places that I just can't control. I feel like a mess but it's only been the last two days so I know it's the PMDD and linked to my period and I know it will probably pass as I've been fine postpartum (bar the odd symptom that I have learned to manage) but this is off the scale. Sorry if this is triggering for anyone, I just needed a safe place to vent. I can't talk to anyone in my life about this as they just don't understand.

I know how you feel, I was fine when I was pregnant but PMDD returned with a vengeance after birth. Late periods create the WORST PMDD, the hormones just keep building up and swirling round. When I get PMDD I get obsessed with people I love dying and terrified of cancer and accidents, so I know the anxiety. I hope you get your period soon.

 

[youwhatdahlinn]

Has anyone looked into the connection between histamine and PMDD? My mum had PMDD which I've unfortunately inherited and my dad has high histamine levels which I don't know if I've inherited. Been watching some videos about it. Might try antihistamines and see how it goes. At this point I'll try just about anything. My PMDD symptoms are now starting 2 weeks before my period instead of a week before and I'm then still exhausted the week of my period so I only technically have 1 "good week" a month and it's unbearable

So I’ve been looking into this recently, and I started taking "TreatHay" (aka fexofenadine) in the lead up to ovulation and the days between ovulation and my period. It’s an H1 antihistamine and apparently it can help block the release of histamine and all the chaos that comes with it. But so far I’ve got nothing major to report 🫠

I track my cycle with my smart watch, it predicted ovulation for March 16th, but surprise surprise, it didn’t actually happen until the 23rd. By the 29th I’d run out of the treathay, and I finally came on yesterday. Honestly, it felt like a cloud lifted. I woke up feeling normal for the first time in weeks, managed to get through the day without wanting to scream at the sky. Today though? Not so great, but I’m putting that down to being on my period and just being a hormonal gremlin

The last week or so had been rough. I was a full blown anxious wreck, my moods were all over the place, and now that I’m on, my ADHD meds might as well be Tic Tacs. They do nothing for emotional regulation during this time. It’s debilitating..I don’t know how my partner puts up with me when I’m like this. I get maybe 10-15 days a month where I feel even remotely "normal"

Hormonal contraceptives aren’t really an option for me. I’ve got PCOS and the pill in my 20s made me gain weight like I was trying to break a record.

No real point to this post aside from sharing the antihistamine experiment... I'm just waffling at this point, but hey it's either this or packing a bag and disappearing into the wilderness 🫠

 

[Nottonightbabe]

I had no joy with the gynaecologist, spoke to me for 5 minutes on the phone and told me as the contraceptive pill didn't help me it probably wasn't PMDD. Yeah I'll take Kings College Hospital's diagnosis who spoke to me at length while I was in there for 10 days thanks, over your 5 minutes on the phone . If the contraceptive pill was the answer to PMDD, women wouldn't resort to having hysterectomies to get well again.

 

[Rebelrags]

I was diagnosed in 2021 after having my second child. I was fortunate to have never experienced any pmdd symptoms up until I had kids but it took a few years before I realized what I was experiencing was not normal I had a women's health physio who picked it up which is pretty incredible now that I think about it.
I am on yaz and it's taken away all of my debilitating physical symptoms as well as my uncontrollable mood shifts. It's been two years and I've started to take Lexapro as well after a very stressful year and I find that I'm at a sweet spot. I apply topical magnesium chloride and also work out a few times a week which does wonders for my mood.

Big hugs to anyone struggling with their pmdd rn

 

[Queenie-the-boss]

Pyridoxine worked wonders for me. So much so, my first period after starting it took me by surprise because I had always relied on wanting to die/kill in the run up to tell me it was on its way.

 

[Carapop]

Ladies, I don’t suffer personally, but I’ve seen a lot recently about combining clarityn with Pepcid to manage PMDD symptoms. They are both available over the counter, but check with your pharmacist for any interactions if taking any other meds or supplements. Seems like a relatively low risk solution worth trying.

 

[oddsock17]

Has anyone looked into the connection between histamine and PMDD? My mum had PMDD which I've unfortunately inherited and my dad has high histamine levels which I don't know if I've inherited. Been watching some videos about it. Might try antihistamines and see how it goes. At this point I'll try just about anything. My PMDD symptoms are now starting 2 weeks before my period instead of a week before and I'm then still exhausted the week of my period so I only technically have 1 "good week" a month and it's unbearable

 

[ivenotimetotiktok]

Literally living the worst episode of PMDD when I say I’m irrationally thinking I wanna quit my job end my relationship my head is spinning will this ever calm down I wanna be normal

 

[Nottonightbabe]

its so awful that this is happening to you - I have always found it so much worse when my period is late. Usually at the peak of feeling completely emotionally unstable and like nothing would ever make it better - I'd have a nap and my period would make a grand appearance.

it's so hard to find anything comforting to say because in my experience nothing at all settles those feelings ... apart from knowing they will pass and feel irrelevant once I'm actually on my period. It's even hard talking to anyone because the next day you know you don't even have any of those feelings anymore but the build up .

sending you so much love - it's a rough deal.

Ugh yes late periods are horrid. My symptoms will hit their usual peak and then just hold there, rather than the usual peak, period, gradual fade away. I end up feeling stuck and it makes the whole episode feel so long. Exhausting too, to be stuck at the height of symptoms for days

 

[juy7nhio]

I have it and GP agrees but haven't been formally diagnosed or anything because I can't be arsed. It's hell, I don't know how to treat it. Am also bipolar so can't touch antidepressants as they trigger mania even just for a few days. The pill made me moody and gave me acne. If anyone has any other recommendations let me know... For a week most months I trash my life and spend the rest of the month trying to repair.

 

[liff.laff.luff]

I'm currently having an episode. Sorry to post about it here but I don't know where to turn. I was diagnosed around 4 years ago but the GP barely had information and couldn't suggest much for me. I got pregnant which improved things massively but my baby is now a year old and this week has been one of the worst. My anxiety it through the roof. I can't sleep, I worry about everything. I'm in tears writing this because I just feel so helpless. I'm 4 days late for my period so I wonder if that's having an impact but I'm overthinking everything and catastrophising everything. My parents had my baby today and were taking her out in the car and I drove past a car accident and felt sick thinking it was them. My mind goes to really dark places that I just can't control. I feel like a mess but it's only been the last two days so I know it's the PMDD and linked to my period and I know it will probably pass as I've been fine postpartum (bar the odd symptom that I have learned to manage) but this is off the scale. Sorry if this is triggering for anyone, I just needed a safe place to vent. I can't talk to anyone in my life about this as they just don't understand.

its so awful that this is happening to you - I have always found it so much worse when my period is late. Usually at the peak of feeling completely emotionally unstable and like nothing would ever make it better - I'd have a nap and my period would make a grand appearance.

it's so hard to find anything comforting to say because in my experience nothing at all settles those feelings ... apart from knowing they will pass and feel irrelevant once I'm actually on my period. It's even hard talking to anyone because the next day you know you don't even have any of those feelings anymore but the build up .

sending you so much love - it's a rough deal.

 

[Nottonightbabe]

Thank you yes this is exactly the same as me. So sorry you are going through it as well. Thankfully my period arrived today so hopefully the anxiety will fade. I think I need to stop reading news articles too because that makes things ten times worse as well.

Definitely ditch the news, it really helps

 

[liff.laff.luff]

I have PMDD, and have found Yasmin (without a break) to be the best at stabilising my mood. I had to go through a rocky month or so before I settled with it.

In my younger years (20's) hormone related contraception & the morning after pill all also made me instantly extremely depressed so I opted for natural remedies (consistent exercise routine and low sugar diet).
If I ever needed the morning after pill I would take Ellaone as Levonelle (mimics progesterone) gave me instant extreme depression. I would still need at least one full day in bed each month with the fatigue and would pray for a weekend episode so I didn't have to call off work.


getting diagnosed was a little stressful, even the gyno didn't seem to distinguish between PMS and PMDD but they seem to treat with antidepressants and/or contraception. So getting the diagnosis hasn't changed much apart from feeling vindicated.

 

[mudthefarcuss]

I had no joy with the gynaecologist, spoke to me for 5 minutes on the phone and told me as the contraceptive pill didn't help me it probably wasn't PMDD. Yeah I'll take Kings College Hospital's diagnosis who spoke to me at length while I was in there for 10 days thanks, over your 5 minutes on the phone . If the contraceptive pill was the answer to PMDD, women wouldn't resort to having hysterectomies to get well again.

I'm sorry that is a rubbish experience with the gynaecologist. It's such a lottery re: whether or not a specialist is engaged with/knowledgeable about a particular condition.

 

[mochibean]

There’s 4 separate threads for PMDD but I think this is the most recent one. I just need somewhere to vent. I am on the verge of my period and feeling so, so bad. I can’t even list how many things are worsened at this point in my cycle and it feels completely overwhelming every month. The lines between anxiety, depression and PMDD are so blurred now that I barely have any good days sometimes and at my worst it’s difficult to function. Speaking to the GP never achieved anything. It was either the pill or SSRIs. Tried various forms of both and it always ends in disaster. The thought of living this life for another ~20 years is unbearable. The condition alone is difficult to deal with but when you throw in daily life and any other ailments or conditions that you live with it can make you wonder what is the point? I know this is so over dramatic and negative but I thought a dedicated thread would be a good place to get it out.

I've been seeing a lot about antihistamines potentially helping with PMDD. There's limited evidence but I've seen people say it helps. I'm going to try it and it may be worth giving it a go. It really does get to a point where you question everything. It's not over dramatic and negative, it's genuinely causing you distress there's nothing over dramatic about it.

There's an article about it here: https://www.eds.clinic/articles/pmdd-histamine-and-mast-cells

I found it really interesting and informative, and it does suggest trying it out for yourself as antihistamines aren't generally problematic. I suddenly developed PMDD 2 years ago and have also found it massively hard to cope with. We have periods every month so it's important that we find treatments that work for us, SSRIs and birth control never helped me either.

Idk if this is a helpful suggestion but I've just heard people talking about this and it may provide some relief for some of us

 

[Fashhunnn]

Oh gosh thankful to have found this thread, woke up this morning like a black cloud had descended on me, I've been tracking my periods for a while now and my symptoms usually start about a week before my period is due. I'm in tears because I know the hell that's coming anyone else's self esteem just hit the absolute floor too?

 

[ivenotimetotiktok]

I'm glad to hear you've had some improvement and your doctor is a clued-up one. Hope it continues to improve.
They won't offer me the pill or HRT as I get 'migraine with aura' and it isn't a safe combo apparently (can increase risk of stroke for those who get aura-type migraines).

oh at least they are on top of it tho and know that isn’t a safe combo.
hopefully they’ll give you some options. If you have any questions make some notes I found that helped

 

[ivenotimetotiktok]

There’s 4 separate threads for PMDD but I think this is the most recent one. I just need somewhere to vent. I am on the verge of my period and feeling so, so bad. I can’t even list how many things are worsened at this point in my cycle and it feels completely overwhelming every month. The lines between anxiety, depression and PMDD are so blurred now that I barely have any good days sometimes and at my worst it’s difficult to function. Speaking to the GP never achieved anything. It was either the pill or SSRIs. Tried various forms of both and it always ends in disaster. The thought of living this life for another ~20 years is unbearable. The condition alone is difficult to deal with but when you throw in daily life and any other ailments or conditions that you live with it can make you wonder what is the point? I know this is so over dramatic and negative but I thought a dedicated thread would be a good place to get it out.

hey lovely sorry to hear your having such a rough time. I’m a PMDD girlie I totally get it I promise.
GP pushed me away for years it was anti depressants and shut up I was signed off work and kept begging telling them it was linked to my cycle:
Track your symptoms I mean EVERYTHING and go back and push for an app with gynaecologist. Sending hugs

 

[justonemorepage]

I know how you feel, I was fine when I was pregnant but PMDD returned with a vengeance after birth. Late periods create the WORST PMDD, the hormones just keep building up and swirling round. When I get PMDD I get obsessed with people I love dying and terrified of cancer and accidents, so I know the anxiety. I hope you get your period soon.

Thank you yes this is exactly the same as me. So sorry you are going through it as well. Thankfully my period arrived today so hopefully the anxiety will fade. I think I need to stop reading news articles too because that makes things ten times worse as well.