Does anything actually work for PMS?

[PinkOboe]

I’m so fucking miserable for pretty much half the time. Like questioning my marriage, my self. Everything. Then I have a period and feel ok for a couple of weeks then it starts again.

Ive just read (whilst researching whether a minera coil might help) that it’s a reaction to progesterone and therefore might be made worse by hormonal contraception. I’m not keen for a bazillion reasons, namely that I spent my entire teenss and 20s morose and lacklustre which lifted noticeably lessened taking the pill

So what does that leave? Evening primrose oil? Does that really work? Anything else I can try? Surely life doesn’t need to be this bloody shit?

St. John’s wort. That’s the other one. Does that work?

Prozac. That was the only thing that worked for me.

Hormonal contraception covers different types of progesterone, alone or with oestrogen - so many potential effects on PMS, or none.
I used to run a PMS clinic - something that obliterates the natural hormonal changes over the month is the logical answer:
Continuous or long cycle combined pill
Injectable contraception (Sayana Press or Depo Provera)
Mirena IUS the most effective in my experience - patients that have it fitted purely for contraception often comment that their PMS happens to have gone.
Last resort would be injection that puts you into temporary menopause - but only for short-term use to aid diagnosis and pre-surgery
Low dose SSRI commonly used, but not always effective from patient feedback.
RCOG patient info here:
www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/patients/patient-information-leaflets/gynaecology/pi-managing-premenstrual-syndrome-pms.pdf

Please ask to be referred to a Gynaecology consultant with a special interest in PMS

I have pmdd and my life is hell
I’m on cerazette was told it’s help it’s made me worse

Oh, and particularly if you are over 40y, there is a crossover between increasingly severe PMS, and perimenopausal symptoms that is poorly recognised still. If this is the case, IUS plus oestrogen HRT likely to be very effective!

Thanks all. I’m 40 (just).

I’d not thought of going to the dr. I’m not a going to the dr. kind of person but perhaps worth a go before I actually murder someone or myself

Quince particularly, thank you for your detailed reply, lots to think about there certainly

I’m the same and I’m in my mid 20s.
Spent the whole of Thursday night crying and telling my partner there was no future for us, we definitely can’t be together. Period arrives on Friday and I’m a different person.

Coil transformed my life. Mind you, if I'd googled, I wouldn't have fancied it. Best fitted by an experienced doctor & apparently it's not predictable how it will suit. I hated the pill...so expected issues but been great.

Until my 30s I used to take a very high dose of Vitamin B6 every day for the week before my period. It made a huge difference to my PMS. Evening Primrose Oil did nothing for me.

Having children changed my periods. They became less distressing and the PMS eased so much that I stopped taking the B6.

@JellySlice
How big was your B6 dose please?

Magnesium and a very low carb diet (keto)

First few cycles are horrific but pretty much disappeared now

Agnus Castus and Starflower Oil transformed my life!

Anti Depressants and SJW did nothing for my PMDD

Mirena coil just made me feel like I had severe PMS all the time. By 6 weeks I was at the GP begging her to remove it for me.

I’m off all hormonal contraception now, they seem to make me worse. I take a magnesium supplement at bedtime which seems to help.

Go to the dr, mine was great but you need to find one sympathetic to the severity of the symptoms. I tried lots of things, magnesium, oil of evening primrose, sertraline, they worked short term but the rage crept back in. The mirena made me much much worse. Had my ovaries removed and the release was instant, it was drastic but my life was controlled by my hormones.

Omg my entire adult life has suffered because of my hormonal fluctuations, I'm literally a slave to the bastarding things!

@CheeseRolls , the advice I was given was to start with the dosage given on the package, and increase by one tablet each day until my urine started smelling of it. That would be the correct dose for me because it meant that my body was excreting the un-needed excess.

I was given Prozac to take for the week I had PMS and also progesterone suppositories. Would recommend without hesitation.

My daughter was suffering badly, plus heavy irregular periods too with migraine. After trying everything else, Natural or otherwise, GP suggested taking a good B6 supplement up to 100mg.
Started her on "Solgar Vitamin B Complex 100" extra high potency" & it's made a huge difference, not a cure, but much more manageable

Hope you can be directed to someone with decent knowledge, OP - that’s the tricky part. Worth accessing either COC or Mirena via a Sexual Health service or GP in first instance to see if they help, which is simplest.
PP who mentioned Cerazette (desogestrel progestogen only pill) - again, effect not predictable for everyone, but this hormone frequently gives PMS-like mood side effects.....continuously! Bleeding commonly worse too. Would not recommend as general rule.