I started Sertraline this week because I was very upset about changing my job. I had separately suspected I had PMDD but thought it was just related to perimenopause.
I delayed the prescription so I could get through Christmas without side effects. But I now wish I hadn't! Within an hour of a very low dose, I felt immediate relief.
It's also stopped the urge to binge eat - amazing.
I've been looking up why sertraline might provide immediate relief. Besides boosting serotonin, it also affects the conversion of progesterone to allopregnanolone or ALLO. Stabilising ALLO stabilises mood, and also reduces food cravings and bloating.
This is a review paper from 2020: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7231988/I wanted to post about this because nothing is on Mumsnet yet about PMDD and allopregnanolone and thought it might be useful!
I was blown away by how quickly it worked. I could feel my mind clearing and my mood lifting. Not just placebo either - immediate effects for some women with PMDD is well-documented.
I had taken citalopram years ago and remembered feeling unwell for a couple of weeks, so I expected the same this time. But even just 25mg of Sertraline - a really low dose - has been hugely-positive, straight away.
Obviously people need to talk to their doctors - but I thought this might help someone with the same symptoms and issues as me, so wanted to post about it.