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.

Can I ask-those of you who have found supplements to help. Did you consult anyone first? I’m looking at Agnus castus, B6, St. John’s wort. But no idea whether these should all be taken together and what potency I should go for. Or do I start with just one and add in others?! Any help appreciated! Thank you

Qlaira. Bioidentical oestrogen & diogenest I've been on it for nearly 3 months now after vowing I'd never take another combined pill again and for the most part ( apart from random bleeding ) I've felt more balanced than I have for a very long time.
I think as you get older, I'm almost certainly perimenopausal with suspected endometriosis PMT/PMDD starts earlier in one's cycle and lasts longer. I got to the point where I was having 10 days out of 25/26 day cycle feeling okish. Hell, absolute hell I've never been so out of control of my emotions in my whole life and having had previous bad experiences with COC was really very reluctant to try another. However I'm glad I did. I have the odd day where I feel grim but on the whole, a million times better than I was.

@ladymary86 even first few months of pregnancy were a cakewalk compared to the PMDD.

Im really gutted my period seems to be returning. I'm still exclusively bf my baby at 8 months and was hoping it would stay away as long as I carried on bf.

We've been really happy, I've felt closer to my older children and DH. None of the insane rage from me makes for a happy household.

Gutted. Just wish I could opt for a total hysterectomy ASAP. I'm done with my ovaries now, just want rid of them!

I think I have it. I’m a nutcase during my period

I’ve struggled for a couple of years with PMDD. I tried the natural remedies, the pill etc with no improvement. It was ruining my life. Each month my symptoms got worse, and the dread of it happening every month eat into the weeks I felt well.

My gp was really supportive. I now take fluoxetine daily as my periods are irregular. I honestly feel like a new woman. I’m a better mum, wife and friend. I’ve started to actually like myself again instead of cringing at how awful I’d been.

Hi there. Fellow sufferer. Lots of good advice, sorry if I'm repeating but I find eating healthily and taking vitamin and magnesium supplement has helped. I also belong to an incredibly supportive fb group called pmdd severe pms UK. Since I found it I have picked up lots of useful tips and there are a lot of supportive women there for a handhold on your bleakest days. Sorry if I've breached any rules by posting a fb group name.

I have it. I am 49 which doesn't help. I habe been on Fluoextine for a couple of years now. I thought it did help a bit but then stopped so gp upped the dose. I am going through another phase of does it work and wondering if it's worth trying something different

I’ve never had a diagnosis from a GP for this (despite asking for many years and once being told flat out it is nonsense!) so I take Agnus Castus and smoke weed. I also have an understanding and supportive partner. This year I discovered that taking a Vitamin D suppliment makes a big difference to my mood in winter.

@gandalf456 It might be worth swapping. I was on fluoxetine for years, they were okay for a few years then I felt really bad every month. I never felt fully well on fluoxetine.
I feel the best I've been 20 years since I changed to 50mg steraline.

Thanks, that's reassuring to know. I was just thinking I was a hopeless case! :)

They changed my life undoubtedly the past 2 years. See your GP.

Over the past 25 year I've been diagnosed as having anxiety, depression, bi-polar disorder and a specific learning difficulty. Having read this thread and done some searching it now seems blatantly obvious that what I really have is PMDD. Holy fuck. I can't express how powerful my emotions were and how quickly they went. I was told it was rapid cycling bi-polar but the medication never worked.

Entirely by accident I got a nexplanon implant which sorted me right out. I no longer want to burn the world then crawl into a hole for a week every month.

This thread is amazing, I think my dd is suffering from this. Thank you to everyone who has posted to share your experience. Going to use this to help dd.