Anyone has experience about taking antidepressants for PMS?

[Kione]

Hi there, I am at my wits end as I suffer of severe PMS, it affects 2 weeks a month, and in those two weeks I feel deeply depressed. I am so scared that it is going to cost me my partner as every month when I am like this I think of leaving him, then when my PMS passes I get days where I think my life couldn't be better.

And it is driving me mental and I am so scared its going to affect my DD who is nearly 2 1/2. Last time I booked flights to go home I booked them on PMS and went for 6 weeks, this obviously not being fair for her or her dad. And I already have cancel our wedding once. Now I am supposed to start the paperwork again but I can't bring myself to it :(

That's only a couple of examples but the ones that hurt most.

Any ideas, advice would be extremely appreciated.

Hi OP. I started to take 20mg Fluoxetine a few months ago and the difference has been amazing.

I was advised to come and the pill and had surgery to remove my fallopian tubes in July and since then my PMS was terrible. I suffered it for a few months and decided something needed to be done as like you I was at my wits end. I was so up and down, in tears a lot and shouting and losing my temper at the most trivial of things.

The only side effects I've had is insomnia but I have been assured that will settle down in time.

The best advice I can give you is to make an appointment with your GP to talk through what is best for you. Good Luck.

I am calling my GP tomorrow, but on previous times they haven't been very helpfull about this. So if I want to take them I will have to ask for them, thats why I wanted to hear experiences beforehand.

Thanks a lot for your reply, is great to read that someone has found some sort of remedy to it as all the advice I get from leaflets and stuff is yoga and healthy eating! I eat healthy by the way :)

So will call tomorrow!

tell the GP you've tried everything else - including diet, exercise and every herbal remedy on the market. (BTW - I have recently tried 5-htp and agnus castus which is working really well on my pmt depression) but I have taken prozac in the past and that worked well too.

I have heard people taking it for part of the month but I took it all the time.

Thanks, I have started taking Evening Primrose Oil, but I have looked on the net and it sayd that there is not enough evidence to confirm that it does actually help.

I will tell the doc that but I remember talking about this with them and getting confused as some docs say you have to take it constantly for them to work, other doc said you can take it 10-14 days of the month to help PMS and the other one said that wasn't going to help so I gave up trying. So i went another way and I have read countless books on meditation, relaxation, self hypnossis, you name it, and it does help, but I don't have the time or discipline to sit and meditate or listen to a 30min. audio everyday... So off to see what the docs have to say now as that was a few years back.

I have to say I am surprised that some people only take them for part of the month when I didn't think AD's work that way?
let us know how you get on.

I take mine daily. I know a friend of mine takes them for the 2 weeks before and during her period and it seems to work for her, I would probably forget to start taking them though so daily suits me better.

didldidi, i've just started taking the 5-htp too. Can you really notice the difference with the pmt? How many capsules do you take each day? I'm sleeping really well, suddenly, and the only change with me is the fact I've started taking the 5-htp.

So there is a cure!

Or so the doctor said, he didn't even hesitate when I explained my symptoms, he was super understanding and he gave me hormones. I told him I stopped the pill because of the increase risk of breast cacer (my mum died of it) and he said, no this is the other hormone. The pill has got oestrogens and this is progestogens, in fact it says in the leaflet one of its uses is to treat breast cancer.

Anyway, no need to say how happy I am but i am a bit surprised because nmo one gave me this before? or I never read anything about this in the PMS sites? nor the PMS section of the NHS, or here, or any other woman with those issues seemed to know? I told him this and he said "if you know about hormones, then you know it".

Whatever.

It takes a couple of months to start giving results but I will happily come here to report. So here is to the hope!!!

St johns wort can be taken on an as and when basis. Might be worth trying that for those two weeks a month, if not the whole month

Kione, so pleased you had a helpful doctor. I have severe PMS and almost divorce my DH 2 weeks out of each month, I have also taken rash decisions as well.

Please let us know how you get on

I will also investigate 5-htp as my sleep for 2 weeks per month is pretty terrible

I wish my partner was as understanding as my doctor! I have to empty my chest here because I am sure you'll understand me. I am so upset right now. Was having a bad day, my period started two days ago, but I still feel the PMS symptoms and when I told him thats why I was feeling down and that I need him to be more sympathetic and understanding, he laughed, a nasty sarcastic laugh he said "well, how long is this going to last I thought it was a few days before your perio" So I just left the room and I am so upset that I do not know who I hate more, him or me. And no need to say I just want to get my baby and leave. Sorry the rant but no one else would understand.

Sorry, I shouldn't have used this thread to vent like this but at least it made me feel better.

Oh no, I want to delete those lasts posts now

Hope he is being a bit understanding this morning. Don't feel guilty for ranting I do it all the time and it helps and he was the one that was in the wrong.
I am glad you seem to have the problem diagnosed I hope the medicine makes you feel much better.
I have had horrible pms symptoms too but it is the anxiety that troubles me the most. 3 weeks out of 4 I did not feel normal. Symptoms including acute self consciousness ,feeling like my mind was racing and needing to complete tasks quickly, muscle tenseness,irritability,paranoia i could go on!
Have started to take an antidepressant at a low dose but have missed my period but at least it has calmed me down a tiny bit. I suspect i would be better with a hormone though as I do not think I am depressed .
Please feel free to inbox me if you wanted to chat more privately.

Hi, I read your message and thought I had written it! I go through exactly the same every month. Last week I told DH I was leaving and DC that I was sending them to boarding school! I have since started taking Magnesium Ok and have some 5htp to take in a few weeks when I start to feel low again. I really hope this will help otherwise I am going to the go for ADs too.

Pufflemum no need for AD's, the doctor gave me hormones and I have to start taking them next friday, he said it might take a couple of months to work but I will be here and report, I was SO surprised that there was a remedy, and an easy one at that! Very surprised that no one had come up with it in the many years I have been dealing with this problem.

Kerstina thank you SO MUCH, I wrote that last night right on the aftermath of a peak of a crisis, I was sleeping in the spare room as I typed and yes I felt a bit embarrassed after that, but I am glad you understand.

I don't see him in the mornings, we have a wee conversation via email, but he is now drunk because today of all days was some horse race or other and he went straight to the pub at 2.30. I was annoyed that he came home to be honest, thought I had the night to myself, but he is sleep in the sofa so quite harmless really.

But I think the worst has passed, with my PMS I mean, and I feel a bit embarrassed of my reacions, I can not wait to take those tablets and see if they work!

Thanks for all your support

God, most of these posts sound like me. Especially "I nearly divorce my dH 2 weeks out of every month." Severe PMT is called PMDD (pre menstrual dysphoric disorder) and that's what I've had for years. It's absolutely crap - i rant and rave about things, totally overact and then feel very enbarrassed the next day! My lovely GP prescribed low dose of fluoxetin a couple of years ago, and it definitely evens me out. At times of great stress (DS being very ill, marriage problems) I take an extra dose in the day or two pre period. BUT I didn't know about this hormone treatment, either - will def ask my Gp.

It feels so much better knowing that it's not just me. Thank God for Mumsnet. x

I am on my first few days of taking them and I know the doctor said I might not notice the effects straight away, but week from hell is approaching (as dear, dear DP puts it) and I feel hopefull, I feel a lot more patient with DD so I am hopeful.

BUT, it has made me an eating monster!!! I am constantly picky and if I don't eat I get real hungry :( I hate this because I put on weight if I smell blooming chocolate cake at the best of times, but I am waiting to see if it will pass when I stop taking this "batch".

And it has put me off sex (even more if poss :() and DP said "I can't win can I!" He was joking, but still can't avoid thinking that he is a bit right... we will wait and see...

"I feel a lot more patient with DD so I am hopeful"

Maybe not :(

Official update.

I am feeling the difference. Good and bad.

The good part is that on the second month I don't seem to have such a bad mood, I am just normally calm and there has been a couple of times where I thought, if this had happened before tablets I would have gone nuts, or cried, or shout... but I do feel that I am calmer.

The bad, and this is stated on the side effects bit, I am obsessed about food, and not only that I am genuinely more hungry, more often. I have put on half a stone since I started taking the hormones. This makes me terribly upset, my clothes feel tight and I just do not like it.
More bad, I sleep really badly. Some nights I wake up through the night several times. But more often I am awake from 3 or 4 am until 6. Then I go back to sleep and wake up at 7.30 with DD feeling completelly groggy. I have to say I was a very good sleeper, getting my 8 hours a day and thats what i need. So this not sleeping well is really making me feel down and very tired.

Exercise would be good for the weight gain, but I feel too tired to do anything.

SO, very mixed feelings, although is great not having a "week of hell" even DP agrees that if its making me so unhappy maybe I should stop taking them.

I have decided to continue one moremonth to see if my body gets used to them and sleep better and if not, I will stop taking them :(

I guess not everyone will have the same side effects and them might well work for other people.

Next update.
I am sleeping much better now, thank goodness!! I also managed not to eat everything on sight until my period arrived, so I am hoping that I am getting used to the tablets and the side effects will slowly disappear.
I am not sure if anyone is reading these anymore...

Hey someone is reading your messages!
Glad things are settling down.
I read your thread because I am on day 2 of anti depressants just becasue I am feeling low. Hmmmm side effects are tough tho

Thank you :)
Well, the eating problem still here, I've put on half a stone since I started and it is quite upsetting. I have to go to Dr. for a check up so i will mention it and see what he says.
I hope you start to feel better soon too.

This has been really interesting. I have PMT from hell it turns me into a mad woman for at least 10 days, crying screaming, not sleeping, snappy, anxious paranoid and so so tired.

I am on 20mg of fluoxetine for depression at the moment and have not noticed a difference. I notice a distinctive change in my character after ovulation and up untill my period properly starts.

Would love to know how you get on

I am wondering if this is my problem? My husband has recently walked out on me (whole different story), but for a long time I have been feeling very frustrated and angry, it is always 1000 times worse when my period is due. I just want to scream at my daughter all the time for not behaving. The slightest thing has me in tears, My husband said that I was stressed and snappy and that he couldnt talk to me. (just one of many reasons...)

I suffered from severe endometriosis prior to the birth of my daughter 4 years ago. That never came back after I gave birth, and touch wood 4 years later, the pain is bearable nowadays.

When my period is due I always feel like I could easily knife somebody if they spoke to me the wrong way! I never suffered for years when I was on the depo injection, but as soon as that wore off, my periods were agonizing and the PMS returned. I am seeing the doctor next week and hope I can get something out of her to stop me feeling like this every month and also to help me cope with my husband leaving...

I know it wont bring him back, but at least I can tell him whats caused it and thanks for his support! NOT!