PMDD I can't cope anymore.

[pmddddd]

Sorry I know not the place for this thread but was hoping for some traffic.

I need to do something about this and before I see the GP (mine has a habit of fobbing off female problems)... I wanted to ask what's worked for you?

Every month for a week - 2 weeks I feel horribly depressed, I'm snappy, hate my husband as in honestly consider divorce every month, feel anxious and sad, horribly unsatisfied with my life. After my period I have a couple of weeks of feeling myself and then bam I'm like this again.

I can't trust anything I feel anymore to be how I really feel if that makes sense.

I guess the short answer is that there's no magic bullet. Boring things like exercise and enough sleep work. People will recommend all kinds of supplements, but IME these hardly touch the sides (with the possible exception of magnesium).

Taking SSRIs for the second half of your cycle does help- I tried Sertraline, and I could immediately feel it "working" in my brain, and alleviating that PMT "feel", but it did have side effects that I didn't like.

Thanks!

I have tried sertraline before but I didn't like stopping and starting it. It made me extreme nauseous and gave me insomnia. I've been on it long term in the past and these side effects did eventually wear off but I found stopping and starting it through the month gave me these side effects every time.

Could you take the pill and not have a break so you don't have a period? Would it stop the symptoms?

Yeah, that's the conclusion I came to with the sertraline as well OP. I guess you have to choose the lesser of 2 evils- or maybe try another SSRI, like Prozac?

Incidentally, I'm now perimenopausal, and my PMT is now easing....finally! I'm on HRT, and find people with perimenopausal symptoms who won't take it "because I don't trust medication" baffling. After decades of monthly hormonal torment with no cure, you'd better believe I jumped at the chance of medication to cure this hormonal issue! 😆

That happened to me literally overnight when I hit 35. What age are you?

Re the pill: I tried this for some years, and it initially worked....then it stopped working. Common with PMT/ PMDD...your hormones seem to be remarkably persistent in wanting to ruin your life 🙄

Hormonal contraception, I don't feel as bad as you but often feel very teary, cry really easily and also get snappy to on one or two days. Contraception does help, the combined pill if you can take it constantly (they are so happier to let you do this now) or progesterone only pill/coil, although the coil turned me into a raging Hormonal bitch the third time I had one.

I'm 28, the trigger for me was definitely having my son 3 years ago. My periods before that never gave me too many issues. Since having him though they've been like this. The physical symptoms aren't bad. It's the mental ones.

I'm limited in the hormonal contraception I can have due to migraines for the pill and adverse side effects in others. For example the depo injection and implant just made me bleed constantly for 6 months until I stopped / got it removed.

I haven't tried the coil yet, I've heard mix reviews of it so a bit nervous to try after the faff trying to get the doctor to remove the implant, which they only agreed to do because I lied and said I was trying to get pregnant. They wouldn't do it before that.

Yeah, that's what put me off the Mirena coil- hearing that people had had to fight to get it removed if they didn't get on with it.

Mirena coil helped for me, I had tried various oral contraceptives before which didn't help/didn't help much but the Mirena has been amazing

There are various experts who run clinics throughout the country but it will cost you.

Many have to go down this route as they are so desperate.

Diet - eating clean, and 10,000 steps a day does truly help and although it’s irritating I felt it was my only option as I do not want synthetic hormones yet or a chemical interruption to my hormones.

It’s hell isn’t it!

Prozac worked brilliantly for me. Only took it one week a month. Life-changing.

HRT. Didn’t feel SSRIs were right for me. But the NHS pathway will be SSRIs before a gynaecology referral. I went privately, worth every penny. I’ve used HRT ever month since I was 27 (except when pregnant and breastfeeding).

OP i am on HRT now but had awful PMT.

Exercise and diet makes NO difference. I was walking dogs for 3 hrs a day, eat a brilliant diet, lift weights and did lots of running.

And I'd walk the dog with tears rolling down my face because I didn't know how much worse I could feel.

My GP offered anti Ds but I declined. I'm definitely much better now I have hrt with the coil.

I had the same with depo implant (can't take the combined pill also due to migraines), but the coil and mini pill weren't as bad. Until I had a problem with my third coil, but it worked really well initially.

Also do you get migraines with you periods? Because I find one of my predome symptoms is feeling weepy and upset. I don't think a lot of people realise these can be migraine symptoms as well not just hormones.

It's interesting that people are recommending HRT, I'm would be very reluctant to take it for me as there is a family history of breast cancer. But I never new you could take it so young.

Hope you get help, OP. Sorry I can’t advise because you’re much younger than I was so I don’t think it’s age related.