Severe PMS/ PMDD. What do you do to help yourself...

[allegrageller]

Hi all

I'm just coming to the conclusion that my PMS has got totally out of hand and become Pre Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder.

Last week was hell, I shook, cried for hours, couldn't face people at all, could hardly move from bedroom, everything seemed totally unbearable. Now with onset of period I feel so much calmer. Still depressed and anxious due to acute life stress atm but able to function and see a way out.

I even felt the mood shift happening on day 1 of the curse! Like the madness just lifting off me.

I need to find strategies to deal with this. It's becoming really crippling and I fear for any future relationships I may have and for my kids (I tend to keep going better when they're around but only have 50% custody which is part of the problem I think.)

I'm thinking cut down coffee (argh!), yoga, herbal remedies (what??)...do any other MNers have this problem and have you found any ways to deal with it?

FWIW - I don't smoke, non-smoker for 8 years. I eat well, I don't drink alcohol, I don't have caffinated foods/drinks, I don't have wheat, dairy or soya, I have limited sugar and btw just eating. I take a range of supplements recommeded after extensive consultation with a wonderful naturopath.

How fabulous for you managing the change without HRT. But for those of us who are not so blessed the choices are take antidepressants and have a fabulous life or spend two weeks out of four wishing for death and making everyone around us utterly miserable.

that was meant to be just eating fruit is setting yourself up for wildly swinging blood sugar levels.

I said that to remove the cravings for nicotine you have to go to bed and only eat fruit for a couple of days.Almost impossible I know for anyone with little Dcs.

There are lots of other things to do for optimum health; have you heard of the Blood Type Diet? By Dr. Peter D'Adamo, I follow that and it makes a lot of difference like i used to have eczema and arthritis and found that A'types shouldn't eat tomatoes and I don't eat them any more so now am clear of both ailments.

There are lots of interesting examples like O types who actually SHOULD eat meat; my DH can eat toms. as well they're good for him 'cos he's an O. The Hay diet is another really healthy way of eating ; not mixing carbs and protein. Sorry to go on.

yeah ppeat, I am O positive and the diet I apparently should be eating is way different to what I do eat. I should eat meat (am semi-vegetarian!), few refined carbs etc. Do eat toms

I already live the anti-dpressant life, don't actually think they have any effect on me any more as I've been on them for 16 years.

I have a very chequered mental health history and when I look back, ALL my acute episodes of suicidality etc have been in the premenstrual period. Last June ended up in a respite centre for the suicidal- and on the day I got there, my period had just started

I am seriously considering a more brutal route than self-treatment if none of the gentler options work- like hysterectomy, as I cant' seem to take the pill. I really am living half a life like this. I want to be the 'alive' person I am in the first half of the month and not waste away the other half in misery, anger and regrets.

feck me alle - we look strangely similar.

I spent most of my adult life on hormonal contraceptives with madness whenever i wasn't on it. I ended up on ads after kids - breastfeeding so no pill and i had clocked the progesterone lard effect by then. I got preg v quickly both times with one period in between kids so the return of my cycle with no extra hormones was a massive shock. I had forgotten how awful it was and how long it went on for.

It was only after I remembered how non-down i used to be on the pill that i gave it a go - it def works great in combo with sertraline 100 for me. it has def got seriously worse over the years too.

I can't see you Primrose, do you have pics up?

Yes I am v fertile too- it took me 3 months to conceive ds2 but we were only having sex once a month largely because I destroyed the marriage with my appalling moods!! Really...

I feel like I'm just a big bag of malfunctioning hormones! My pregnancies were fairly awful too- appalling vomiting for 4 months with migraines, depression, the lot. The middle bit was OK.

My best ever times emotionally were when I was breastfeeding. The return of periods both times was absolutely hellish.

I hear it gets worse until 45 I am really worried one month I'll go too far and top myself or do something else really stupid...tbh I've already destroyed my marriage, how much worse can it get??

I've put my parents on warning of this now I think I know what it is...

I went to the dr after DH googled PMDD and we agreed I had lots of the symptoms

Told the dr I wanted to kill DH monthly. he smiled and said, "That's very common".

I said, "No, I truly want to kill him," and he looked !!

I feel much better now, I don't know whether it was actually admitting I have a problem.

hehe, apparently I am a huntergatherer and should subsist on an Atkins type diet! fat chance....

no pics allegra sorry. the bf calm could have been a combo of no estrogen fluctuations as lactational amenorrhea and the lovely prolactin. The fabulous zone out as the baby feeds hormone.

I have recently been comparing notes with a similarly affected friend who was almost convinced she was bi polar. She has never made the connection to her cycle until recently and has never had hormonal breaks from it being gay.

tbh i really wonder how many women are being diagnosed with drpression, bi polar etc who are actually victims of their hormones.

me too Primrose- it's quite scary. If you google PMDD there are some forums with life stories on them, some with the most severe form where you are basically out of control 3 weeks out of 4 (I've felt like that at my worst) and live a life very similar to that of someone with severe untreated bipolar.

In the past I've wondered if I had a personality disorder. I also wonder if my mother had this. She 'doesnt' remember' because she reckons in her day women just didn't think about this (!?) my mum had a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder- she is a different person since the menopause.

Oh my God, I need to eat lentils (that's a puking face...)

hehehehe PP, I would PREFER that to the bloody Atkins Diet for type Os! Hunter gatherer my arse hehe

No - I can't eat meat / potatoes / white or wholemeal flour...

am struggling to see what I can eat!!

I tell you what allegra ..It isn't just hormones 'cos my DH becomes a monster when he's eating wheat and shit.

You can have loads of veggies and fruit and fish and any meat (apart from pork products)also rye bread which is quite easy to get as is The Terry Stamp bread I know 'cos my DH is nearly always on that diet.

He is a different person when on it. He's like a Jekyll and Hyde character.

Also you can eat riceand there's a whole load of non wheat pasta's etc, nowadays. I've got the Blood type books which you can get from Amazon; it's got to be worth a try eh?

PMDD is the worst. For years I thought all women had to cope with it. Then I went to some hippyish women's circle where all these ladies were saying, 'I'm so in touch with my emotions when I get my period' - and I was like, I really don't think my periods are the same as everyone else's here.

Mine have (surprisingly) improved significantly just because I am taking Wellwoman multivitamin supplements every day. (If I miss a day I go full werewolf and get suicidal). However, it's by no means a total solution. I'm considering SSRIs/hormonal therapy etc.

I've spoken to someone who highly recommended an acupuncturist specialising in women's health - so will give that a go too.

The iapmd.org site is great for info.

I think it's just fluoxetine that is licenced for treatment of PMDD if this was an option.