To ask about PMDD??

[ladymary86]

I have had previous issues with my mental health - depression and anxiety during my separation and divorce from my ExH. I was on sertraline for around 2 years but am no longer on it and would really like it to stay that way.

Unfortunately since I came off sertraline I have had horrendous PMS symptoms. Utterly horrendous. In the week before my period and the first few days of it I feel angry at everything, like I can't cope and tearful all the time. It's unbearable and at the darkest moments I feel like I can't go on and feel there's no point in being here.
In searching for ways to cope I came across PMDD details on the NHS website and it sounds very similar to what I experience every month. I haven't been to my doctor with this, and obviously won't be for the foreseeable while the current situation is ongoing so I don't have a diagnosis and appreciate that It could just be very bad PMS but I have literally never experienced this before in my life. I'm in my thirties and have two kids and never had bad PMS before.

I am about 18 days away from the start of my next period and I am desperate the find a way to prepare and try to minimise the feeling of this when it comes. I don't want to go through this every month.

In any other time of the month I am calm and happy. I feel like I turn into a totally different person and I can't control it.

I would really like to speak with anyone else who has experience of this and find a way of coping and getting through it.

@ineedagasmask thank you

@liferips yeah mines two weeks sometimes more 😩

❤️ hugs xx

I didn't think 2 day's of severe PMS would be considered PMDD.
It usually starts mid month for me it is half of my life. If I get 10 days of distress I'm doing well.
At least once a year the mood doesn't break when my period arrives, it scares me as I fear it will be permanent.

In the 90s I had PMDD. I too was aggressive, suicidal, beyond logic... I only had about 2hours just before my period when I would feel normal. My now DH used to drag me to the doctors as he feared I had a brain tumour. It was written off by male and female doctors as PMT.

Then a new GP started, was seeing me for something else. She put me on Depo Provera and within 48 hours I had my life back. I know a few others, from a support group, they too found relief in changing contraception.

Talk to your GP. They should be able to offer you a lot of information, lots more than was available when I was in need.

Best of luck.

My friend is in the care of a gynaecologist, she has injections to completely suppress her ovaries and will have a hysterectomy in a few years

I had this for years. It started the day I ovulated but if I was using contraceptives or when I had the mirena coil it was pretty constant.

Eventually I had my ovaries out, it's been live changing. I only ever wanted to feel stable and now I do.

@Wafter. I have also been treated at Prof Studd's clinic for PMDD, and I have had a very different experience to yours.

I have been on the HRT for 5 years and have had zero weight gain. The Estrogel + progesterone tablets combo has been a lifesaver for stabilising my mood.

I also had low bone density for my age (early 30s when I first went to the clinic) as a result of being anorexic in my early 20s.

Prof Studd's clinic gave me a bone scan in 2015 and then again last year, and after four years of the Estrogel, my bone density was back in the normal range for my age.

It's a shame that it's not available on the NHS and I have to shell out £££ for private annual consultations and prescriptions, but I wouldn't be without it.

@leavingitlate

I'm so glad you found it worked for you - Dr Watson did say it works well for many.

@cheesycrisps ah that's a shame to hear about contraceptives making it constant for you....I was hoping I might be able to try some out during lockdown as a temporary measure.

@Leavingitlate is it not possible to 'transfer' repeat prescription from the clinic to NHS GP? I was hoping if I got a diagnosis and treatment at the clinic that was successful that I'd be able to convince GP to 'take over' with prescribing etc 😭

@liferips, that would depend on finding a GP willing to do so. Most won't agree because the treatment is off-licence. It's dumb, because they would happily prescribe the same medication for the menopause, but not for PMDD. My GP refused.

@Leavingitlate argh GP's can be extremely exasperating. I don't think I'll have better luck, I had to get through about 8 before they would refer my daughter to a paediatrician.

My GP actually agreed!

If only the treatment worked for me.

Following because I have it. I swear it's going to ruin my marriage one day because my poor DH doesn't deserve it!
I've had blood tests and thyroid checks and all came back normal 🙄
I did read that it's only been recognised by WHO for a short while so hopefully more research will be done for it.
I take b6 and evening primrose oil (when I remember) and exercise definitely helps.

@goldie04 Have you tried steralyn? If AD's put you off think if you had a different illness and needed medication.
It has saved my life. I still get moody but not suicidal, full of hate, I rarely plan a run away now, I was leaving every month before them.
They take 3 months to kick in.

@liferips I'm not going to lie I was really bad for alot of the time. But not everyone reacts the same way. I put up with the Mirena for so long because it was convenient not having periods and not worrying about getting pg.
THe relief was pretty much instant after the op

@EmeraldShamrock I've not heard of it, what is it?

I'm so glad I posted about this now. I had never heard of PMDD until recently.
I joined the Facebook support group after someone mentioned it early on in the thread and I can't believe how complex it is and how much variety there is in treatments offered and responses to it. Scary how much we still don't know about women's health.

In 2013, when the latest edition of the diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders was published, PMDD was recognised as a mental health condition. It's not just PMT, and its inclusion in what is considered the definitive work on what is and isn't an MH issue, means that the GP has no justification for not taking you seriously.

This article gives a thorough explanation. The condition is also recognised by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) which is supported by the WHO, although in the ICD it is classed as a genitourinary condition rather than as a depressive disorder.

OP I'd ask you to look carefully at the possibilities of antidepressants. They are very effective, in fact many doctors consider them the first line of treatment. And as PPs have said, for PMDD you don't have to take them daily, just on a few days of the month. OK so you might be off sex for those few days (although probably not) but what the condition does to you currently is harming you and your relationship. I would consider the exchange to be well worth it. Keep a diary (or create ne from memory, it's all pretty fresh in your mind) and present it to the GP with the DSM diagnostic criteria and demand to be taken seriously.

Wow. I’ve just found this thread and place marking as want to come back and read all the great suggestions. Only today I was googling ways to alleviate what I suspect is pmdd. I’m so sorry everyone on here is having/has had terrible times with it. I feel like I’m going genuinely crazy when it comes over me. I make plans to leave my husband and have rage like no other-I hate myself. But then it evens out and I look back and wonder what the hell was going on. I strongly suspect my mum had it too. Thank you for starting the thread OP, it’s so helpful to hear from others who have the same issue. X

It is an anti anxiety medication it is an antidepressant but it works wonders for PMDD. You may feel sluggish bloating or nausea for about a month but once it settled it improved my life greatly. I take 50mg daily.
Sertraline is used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety disorders (including panic disorder and social anxiety disorder), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).Dec 28, 2018

@Feedingthebirds1 thank you so much for all of the info.
AF is due in 3 days and this month has been refreshingly calm compared to the last 6, although there is the possibility that I may be pg. (another thread)

Others with PMDD - what happened to your symptoms when pg??

Yes I used to get this terribly.
I've found the following in combination help:
Natural progesterone cream full dose every day.
Magnesium in citrate and oil form.
Yoga
Trace minerals added to my water.
Trying to avoid pesticides by eating local or organic where poss. (lidl do cheap organic veg).
Cut out dairy and sugar.
Alot I know and it's taken years to get to this stage as it can be time consuming and stressful in itself. Also taken time to find best brands and prices.
Much of the time my period arrives and I didn't know it was coming.

Pregnancy after the 1st trimester was absolute bliss!

Others with PMDD - what happened to your symptoms when pg??
I heard from others the symptoms went, they definitely went on my first DC as I'd never been on antidepressants.
On my 2nd I came off them to get pregnant, the depression consumed my pregnancy, I had to go back on AD's at 7 months pregnant, it took 2 or 3 years to balance my mind afterwards, the surge of hormones after the birth on both pregnancies was tough. DS cried for 3 years so it didn't help