PMDD - what solved it for you?

[TurtleMoon]

Period due this weekend. I am sitting on the sofa crying because I feel so fucking useless and depressed. I am on day 9 of uncontrollable mood swings where I get extremely angry over things that wouldn't even register normally. This stupid condition is fucking up 1/30 to half my life at the moment. I have made an appointment to see the GP but it's not for another month as I need to see a particular doctor. I have tried increasing my dose of sertraline, I take primrose oil, magnesium, vitamin B and vitamin C, I've cut out gluten. Hormonal contraception has always made me angry so I don't think it would help. If you have/ had PMDD, what helped for you? Please note I am not talking here about regular PMS, this is in a different league altogether. I can't function

Sorry that you are going through the mill with it, Im afraid my solution isnt going to be much use to you right now....
menopause!😆

I didnt even know PMDD existed until I hit perimenopause and turned into a different person! I actually thought that a binge eating disorder, depression and feeling bipolar was my personality for most of my adult life!🙄

Have you tried an antidepressant for half the month?

HRT

I was diagnosed with this a few weeks ago. It's horrible. I honestly don't recognise myself when it's bad. I've started on a low dose of Escitalopram this month. My GP has also prescribed me Yaz contraceptive pill but I'm not keen to take it as I've had a bad reaction to a very similar one in the past. I've been looking for other solutions but so far not found much. Following to see if you get any other recommendations.

Sertraline for half the month was an absolute miracle for me. I'd read about it online being used in the US for PMDD and asked my doctor for it. This was almost 20 years ago. It greatly helped my friend too. Plus mini pill. Good luck, it's a debilitating condition.

I'm going to say the same as pp. It was the menopause that changed me into a calm and "don't care" person, before that I was this raging hulk that made road ragers look like pussycats. My GP put me on prozac and lithium in my early twenties, AD in my early thirties. All useless. At 50yrs I finally became a human being.

So based on that, and your age, it might be hrt or the pill, focusing on whatever menopausal women get depleted of (is it mostly oestrogen, or progesterone too?).

EDIT - my core temperature also changed drastically. From puberty to menopause I was flipping permanently freezing, now I am way too hot and rest of family are complaining they are cold in comparison. Another eye opening effect of the change.

Sorry I've just read that you already take Sertraline so I apologise that my comment is not helpful. I do hope you get other suggestions.

For me it was a low dose of Prozac, was absolutely life changing from the first month I took it.

Also, getting pregnant, but that's quite extreme and only lasts 9 months!

I have used a mirena coil for over a decade now and it has been brilliant. Not needed to go back on the Prozac.

I had my ovaries removed. Surgical menopause is absolutely brutal and I wouldn’t advise anyone to do it lightly, but I am like a completely different person now. I never thought I’d feel calm and laid-back! It’s literally like they flicked off a switch in my head. I’m struggling with the physical effects, but the mental ones have just disappeared. It’s been quite miraculous.

I'm on the mini pill instead of combi pill and find having no period helps with the fluctuating hormones. Although it took my a while to find a gp that knew what PMDD was, the first gp didn't read my private consultants notes and put me on the wrong pill

Sorry you are going through this OP. It’s dreadful. This descended on me at the beginning of perimenopause. HRT has pretty much resolved the problem. If that’s not an option for you and if your GP can’t help further, I’d push for a specialist referral, even if it’s to a clinic not local to you but with appropriate expertise.

Thanks everyone. Just to add a bit more info:

I am 39 and the PMDD symptoms have only been happening for the past 18-24 months.

I have two children and never had such issues pre-pregnancy, but used the NuvaRing then (I'm not allowed to now).

Really not mad keen on another pregnancy just to avoid this, especially as the resulting children are major triggers for me when the PMDD hits😆

I take sertraline anyway and took 1.5 times my usual dose this month and it's made the square root of fuck all difference it seems.

I am reluctant to take any hormonal contraception as every single pill I've tried has made me just as angry as when I have PMDD and the implant was so fucking awful I paid a ridiculous amount to have it removed 10 days later as I genuinely worried I was going to end up beating my toddler up.

Additional questions from me:

What is HRT and is it only for when you start the menopause?

How do I know if I am perimenopausal? What even is it and what can I do about it?

Thanks. Sorry you had to experience this too! May I ask how old you were when it started? How did you know you were perimenopausal and who suggested HRT?

Agreed . Since I went through the menopause my life has been transformed. If I had known back then what i know now i would have had an hysterectomy at 40 . I had completed my family by then .

Thanks for this. Doesn't the Mirena coil contain hormones? I'm not loving the idea as I have never experienced labour and find smear tests quite painful.

Mitazipine. Now I’m fat but sane ish.

I'm currently in chemical menopause for this, after having zoladex injections. The zoladex stopped the swings for the most part but made me feel low, flat and exhausted 100% of the time.

Before the zoladex I used 2 pumps of oestrogel each day which helped, but not enough.

I'm now taking Slynd (drospirenone) which I believe is licensed for PMDD in the US. It's the same progestogen that's in Yaz but without the oestrogen component. I've had to stop the zoladex as the side effects have been so unpleasant and I've had fuck all input from the consultant. I'm waiting for it to wear off so I can properly assess the effectiveness of continous estradot 50 + Slynd alone.

What I did discover on this journey is that I am very sensitive to higher levels of oestrogen, which I wasn't expecting.

Everyone is different, it's a case of trial and error unfortunately.

I don't know but I'm following!

OP I'm only at the start of my PMDD journey after finally getting a diagnosis.
I'm on the mini pill which has calmed my periods down but still struggling with mood swings. I've been given sertraline but not taken it as I'm not sure if it will help and not keen on the side effects.
At the moment I'm trying to eat better cut rubbish out and gluten which is soooo hard especially the really difficult 2 weeks when I can't even function without my binges.

I'm only 30 and have 2 children. Don't want anymore but so far any amount I try and beg for hysterectomy I'm told no. I know for a lot of women that has been the best option.

I hope you find some good advice on here.

Seed cycling for me! Holland and barret do a pack of milled flaxseed, pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Two tablespoons in some yoghurt every day for me. The difference is night and day

Hitting menopause, well not quite there but it ramped up in early perimenopause for me which was early to mid 40's then tailed off late 40's. Now early 50's I still have some sort of menstrual cycle, barely bleed but the pain is bad, however the PMDD has gone thankfully. I cannot tolerate HRT just as I couldn't tolerate hormonal contraception, the progesterone makes it 10 x worse for me (and caused severe bloating).
I got absolutely no help from GP's, just told me there's nothing they could do. Honestly if I wasn't a parent I'm not sure I would still be here. I hope you can get taken seriously OP. There is definitely more awareness now.

Can you expand on this? What were your symptoms prior to this?

The pill - Yasmin specifically. It’s an expensive one over here (not covered by the PBS) but it’s worth it.

Mirena coil for me difference is amazing and I know when it needs replacing.

@TurtleMoon Yes, progesterone. It's not for everyone but has been worked brilliantly for me.