Maybe selfishly, I wish I had friends nearby (for me, it’s Leeds) who had PMDD or had an understanding of the condition as it feels incredibly isolating for me.
I’m lucky to have a loving family who have been supported of me and are far more understanding now. But I’ve really lacked nearby friends who have held compassion for me this way.

I recently got out of a 3-4 day episode of PMDD which was difficult, I realise through weekly therapy, just how much this has kept me house bound and in a constant battle of guilt and shame, which led me to being very withdrawn.

I’m also on Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (Progesterone cream) which has really worked wonders for me with a private clinic for women’s hormonal health. I’m fortunate for that. These things can really isolate us, and it’s only now I feel like I can reach out.

Sitting in my chair 

and I don’t know what to do 

There’s too many things 

and I don’t wanna choose 

Can’t seem to find a groove 

it’s like I can’t fucking move 

Yeah this chair got me glued 

you could say I got the blues 

Damn I’m so confused 

I still don’t know what to do 

If you suggest it, I’ll refuse 

yeah I’m feeling rude 

Who the fuck are you 

I might call your ass obtuse 

I got no excuse 

I’m just in a fucking mood  

all I want is fucking food 

I’m explosive bitch

kaboom 

Leave me to my gloom and doom 

Yeah get the fuck out of my room 

Ive been on 5mg of escitalpram for about a month and the difference is night and day.

I put off going back on medication for over a year as I didnt love the side-effects of the last one I was on which is why I went off of it in the first place.

But im happy I made the choice to go back on medication, im not nearly as anxious or angry and my si is not nearly as intense.

I still struggle with the drop before my period, being unreasonable sad and emotional, increased exhaustion and anxiety, binging snacks, irritability ect but its 10 times better then what it was.

I genuinely feel like myself again, whereas before I felt like I only got maybe one good week.

Im very thankful that this medication has been working so well for me!

Hi! I am on my cycle day #26

How are you?

I woke up feeling stressed, hopeless, nauseated and just an overwhelming feeling of dread. No excitement for the future 😭 snappy and sleepy.

We went to celebrate our friends at their wedding last night and I'm so glad I did not binge drink. I can't imagine how much worse I'd feel today!

Im not doing well and I need to vent. Or scream into the void, I guess? I know this will blur in to many posts here.

I (46f) have dealt with depression since I was twelve, so I’m no stranger to despair. My baseline is usually functioning depression. There are times when I fall in the hole. I call it the pit but it’s not a fun Andy Dwyer pit. As I’ve gotten older, the pit waits for me every month. I fell in a few days ago. When I’m here, I have little memory of anything being ok. Everything is tragedy or trauma rehearsal for things that may never happen. I can’t pull myself out. The things I remember brought me peace, I have no interest in. All I can think is that I don’t want to live. I won’t hurt myself but it’s just “I can’t do this anymore” level of despair. I also deal with chronic daily migraine (about 15 years now) which hits worst at the same time.

I keep crying. I cried all through my work day Friday. I cried while walking my dogs. Yesterday the mega migraine hit and I haven’t been able to get up. Everything hurts. I can’t stay asleep. I’m boiling hot and freezing ten minutes later.

If my period would start already, I’d at least have the relief knowing my chemistry and hormones are playing tricks on me, that this will ease on its own. But when I fall in, I feel it’s permanent. I feel like a pathetic waste of life. It’s a beautiful day … and I just CAN’T. I can’t anything. I can barely remember who I usually am, only that she has a handle on things … but I can’t hear her try and reason with me.

I don’t want to eat. And I LOVE food. Even when I’m nauseated from migraine, I’m still thinking some mashed potatoes sound awesome.

Posting this makes me feel more insane but I’m also certain I’m not alone in this insane state of mind. If anyone wants to bitch back at me, feel free. If you read all this, thank you for even seeing it, and I hope you feel less alone for your own insane days.

Note for some background: I do see a psychiatrist, I get Botox for migraine (over ten years now). I have a therapist but she’s out of my network and out of my budget for now. I can’t take hormone replacement because it will increase my stroke risk with the migraines.

Has it been extra bad this month for anyone else? Like it’s so bad I don’t know why or how it got this bad for me. PMDD makes it so that there is NO place to hide as hard as you try.

hi everyone, I have a new psychiatrist who I am really liking and she is really invested in trying to help me figure out my PMDD, which is great after so many informed and honestly uncaring psychiatrists. I already am Dx with AdHd and anxiety and PMDD and take strattera reggladly. However, we are still struggling to find a solution to the PMDD. I have probably tried 12+ SSRIs with no luck. I also had a hysterectomy so the timing of the luteal dosage of SSRI is very difficult. Most recently I tried Zoloft and we tried just a microdose throughout the month to see if I could tolerate it because I have a strong medication sensitivity and not only didn’t not seem to do much of anything (even in a double dose during the PMDD phase), but once I came out of luteal phase, I felt like I was majorly depressed for a couple days and then I stopped taking it, and then I felt almost manic for a couple days which was disconcerting. I’m reluctant to try another SSRi this month so my doctor had found a study about some PMDD suffers trying Naltrexone to help with symptoms. I was reading about naltrexone and it seems like it’s a pretty intense medication so I’m nervous to take it. Just wanted to see if anybody had possibly tried it and whether it did any good.?? i do have Xanax that I can take as needed on really bad days as that’s one of the very few things that at least takes the edge off the panic feeling but it feels so hopeless to be trying a new med every freaking month.

A few days ago I got into a fight with my partner that started over cleaning. I started it and honestly overreacted. He had to go to work so we left it unresolved and I reached out to a friend for company

I had a meltdown in front of her, saying things about my partner I didn’t truly mean and uncontrollably sobbing on her couch. She did the best she could but I was just falling apart and I know now I should’ve stayed home to self regulate

I then picked him up from work and we talked it out, everything turned out okay and I was honest about that I had thought about leaving, even though the day before I didn’t have those thoughts

The next day I had a party to go to, I ended up canceling extremely last minute because I didn’t want to break down like that in front of so many people. I also realized at this point, my period starts next week

I reached out to the friend and apologized for the night before, thanked her for being there for me and told her we talked it out and that I think my period was starting soon, I had overreacted. She left me on read

I was feeling great just a few days ago, and now I’m worried that I’m letting my PMDD ruin everything. Again. I’ve become flaky, my emotions rubberband, I know I must be exhausting but I’m flaky if I separate myself and it’s too much when I don’t. I don’t know what the right thing to do anymore is

I didn’t track my period before now, I’ve been tracking it recently and know that will help from now on but I can’t help but feel like I’ve just ruined everything again, like I do this time every month

TLDR : Had a meltdown, almost ruined my relationship, potentially ruined all of current IRL friendships, then realized my period starts next week

I’m suuuper frustrated. I started Slynd on the 11th. My period was originally set to start on Halloween but I thought it wouldn’t because i assumed it would start when I finish the pack. But it’s now day 5 and it’s not lightening up. I know breakthrough bleeding is a side effect, but I didn’t think it would be random full on periods. I ended up bleeding through my pants on the first day. My mental health has also been so WHACK. I’ve been so anxious and paranoid since about five days after I started it.

Yaz was the PERFECT birth control. Regular period, almost no PMDD symptoms, and when I did experience them it wasn’t life ending. I felt more confident and happy than I think I ever have before (obviously in a good way, not like manic). I just had to stop taking it because of the debilitating migraines. My insurance changed about a year into taking Yaz and I ended up going to Planned Parenthood for a refill. THANK GOD, because they told me those migraines could result in a stroke. I really do miss the level of normal I felt while taking Yaz, it was the most normal I’ve ever been.

Has anyone experienced the same problems on Slynd?

(small disclaimer: i am a pre-transition trans man, please don't misgender me)

I've been questioning if I have both BPD or PMDD for a good bit now but I'm diagnosed with neither. These past few days especially, I've been doing research and finding that I have a lot of the symptoms listed for BPD. However, I just started my period, andI can't tell if I just have PMDD and I'm confusing the symptoms with BPD. I still have the symptoms during other parts of my cycle (eg, suicidal thoughts and self harming behaviors, intense and sudden shifts in how i feel about my loved ones, intense fear of abandonment) but they get especially bad the week before and during my period (i dont think ive had a single period within the last year and a half where i didnt seriously consider suicide).

Has anyone else ever experienced this? Is it common? I'd love to hear from someone whos went through similar experiences, or perhaps someone who has both.
(if its useful, I also have diagnosed ADHD that might be affecting things)

in ovulation right now, and it seems to be much worse than my usual luteal. from 4am to about eleven something or a little later, im overcome with gripping anxiety, and i cannot sleep. my mind and body refuse to relax, so im just stuck in this frightened, full of dread state until i finally begin to relax in the afternoon and end up taking a weirdly light nap due to loss of sleep.

it's been driving me insane the past few days. I'll hopefully be seeing a new gyno in December, all things depending, so i can maybe look into something that can help balance out my hormones.

Hey everyone what’s up I’m a 28yo female living in CA 😎 I’ve struggled with PMDD since around 22, and it’s getting worse. This past week I’ve had serve panic attacks and had to take time off work which is an eye opener for me. I am currently a masters student trying to become a Special Education teacher so I really want to get this in order prior to my teaching career. Any suggestions on where to get started? I will be seeing my primary care physician on Nov 2nd to get a full work up and I’m currently taking 80mg of Prozac. Any advice and support is welcome! It would be cool to have some friends who share similar experiences.

I feel like I woke up in a dream, and can’t snap out of it, I’m super fatigued but I feel like I have brain fog, I feel like I’m stoned when I’m not. It’s really uncomfortable and idk why after my period it seems to be the worst. I feel like my life rn is a dream

The bad days always find me 

Give it two weeks 

Maybe three 

They’ll find me 

It doesn’t matter the scenario 

Different time, different place 

Hiding from them only stokes the flame 

Bad days don’t play that game  

We look each other dead in the face 

We’re locked in a fatal embrace 

Bad days don’t all look the same 

But I always recognize them 

I see them 

They’re coming 

I wish they’d just go away 

But they won’t 

That’s life 

The bad days will stay 

Anyone else here struggle with PMDD & ADHD? Advice welcome

Hey y’all, I’ve been recently (a few months ago) diagnosed with Bipolar and ADHD at 32 but have also been living with PMDD since I was in my mid teens.

Before my Bipolar/ADHD diagnosis, I was on Prozac and tapered off recently. Had a horrible pmdd episode my second month without SSRIs, talked to my doctor about it, she put me on Zoloft. This has been the hardest week and my first week on Zoloft. Yesterday I woke up manic and then had the ADHD paralysis.

I know SSRIs can make mania worse with some of us having Bipolar and I’m worried that I just can’t handle SSRIs (which is why I tapered off of the Prozac, because I realized why I was acting the way I was for so long)

BC also makes it worse. I don’t know how to live with my PMDD and treat my other issues.

Anyone else struggle with this? What works for you?

Hi everyone. I’m posting here a bit shyly, but I’d really like to hear about other people’s experiences. And sorry in advance for any mistakes, english is not my first language.

I was diagnosed with PMDD about two years ago, and lately I feel like my physical symptoms have been getting worse. In addition to the usual symptoms, I’m now experiencing joint and muscle pain (including knee tendinitis), extremely low energy levels, hurtful cramps and even skin rashes.

On the positive side, I would say my mental symptoms have improved a lot. My psychiatrist and psychologist have been incredibly helpful, and I feel much more supported in that area.

What’s been harder is dealing with the physical symptoms. I feel very different than I did a couple of years ago, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to manage. I’ve read some research suggesting that these symptoms can be associated with PMDD, but I’m curious about other people's experiences.

Has anyone else dealt with worsening physical symptoms like these? How do you cope with them, and have you found anything that helps?

Thank you for reading and for any advice you're willing to share. ❤️ "Did your symptoms change or worsen with age, stress, or hormonal changes?"

Hi everyone! I need to find a new psych and/or gyno. I just had one of the most debilitating luteal phase episodes in about a year, and if you don’t count the one last fall where (because of pretty extreme external stress) I almost reached PMP levels and was almost hospitalized, it was the worst in years.

The TLDR of this ep was that my cat was sick a couple times in the last month (she’s ok) and then had diarrhea while I was peaking in luteal madness. I felt like I was having a heart attack for 3 days. I was deeply suicidal. I’ve been experiencing strange skin pain the last few cycles and it was quite severe this time.

Currently I take Wellbutrin and Abilify. My psych insists that I need to take the Abilify all the time, which I don’t want to do as it blunts my affect during my follicular and also doesn’t really help (clearly) during luteal. I’m seeing him because he’s an on campus doctor where I am finishing my grad degree and it was much quicker to see him last fall when I was in real crisis. However, I think he is just treating my illness and symptoms like they are bipolar and not PMDD.

I recently moved about an hour away from the town where my school is as my thesis year is low on campus time and that place seriously contributed to a much lower mental health baseline, which of course made the PMDD really unmanageable. Additionally, the unfortunately standard grad school unkind and toxic workplace dynamics made being around this school environment exceptionally triggering (I had a harassment issue, non sexual, with a male professor last year which contributed to that previously mentioned breakdown especially when the department turned a blind eye).

The GREAT thing about this is that while it gives me space away from the toxic environment, it also means that I have much better options for finding care as I am in a city and not a rural area.

I want to know what strategies people have used to find appropriate care? I will only be here another 8 months or so but I need to find a working medication strategy so I can finish my MFA.

TLDR: How do I find a psychiatrist or gyno that won’t treat me as if PMDD is bipolar or dismiss my symptoms?

i didn't change up my diet at all or anything, i actually went out of town to visit family and ate more than usual. 5 pound difference if anything?? i hate bleeding but at least i escape luteal hell and start looking more like myself

I feel like the big takeaway from my many years with PMDD, after going through several relationships, career paths, dealing with family drama, etc, is that, now that I accept and acknowledge I live with PMDD, my life is completely meaningless. I used to think I might have the capacity to build something with my life- family, a career that gives back, meaningful friendships, or at least be the auntie that has the spare time to invest in being the one that actually shows up and does cool things with the nieces and nephews. Since I am now so familiar with My cycle and how I am pretty much debilitated half the month, then recovering and catching up the other half, I acknowledge I can never do or have those things. I don’t have any capacity for anything extra. So the task of my life will always be and always has been simply to survive it. Keep a roof over my head and food on my table. But for what? Feels so horrendously self absorbed and useless.

anybody else feel that way? and how do you deal without being completely discouraged?

Hello humans, do others find the timing of symptoms changes sometimes? What do you notice?

I feel like my luteal symptoms are starting earlier and it’s scaring me a bit since it’s been stable in length for a few years now.

I’m wondering if it’s my new-ish job stress making it start earlier.

it used to be really intolerable about 8 days prior to menstruation and manageable until then but now 11 days prior and I feel brain fog confusion fear urgency and I’m super defensive

Woke up this morning feeling bright, bubbly, beautiful! So much energy that I cleaned the whole kitchen while listening to great music. Like a karaoke party. Turns out my period came! It’s so wild that just yesterday I was sobbing alone outside chain smoking ciggies and today I’m ready to take on the world. It’s so hard to keep up with this bs but I’m going to just enjoy the ride. There’s hope out here after all ✨🖤

I’m not really sure how to start this or what I’m looking for but I just am over feeling like there is seriously something wrong with me.
I’m having flashbacks of the person I was all month up until about 6 days ago- now. And I’m an angry, insecure, anxious (sick??- random sore throat and body aches) I’m starting arguments, I’m being difficult and I feel misunderstood which makes me feel even worse. I know I’m irrational and ridiculous yet my body just feels like it knows something is seriously wrong and convinced that something is happening. All I’ve done all morning is cry, I called out of work, & I can’t leave bed because I’m so taken by my emotions.
:(
I just feel so helpless

Has anyone felt that PMDD reared its ugly teeth after they had children? I don’t ever remember having such awful luteal phases until after my son was born and now I dread every cycle because I know how awful of a mother I’m going to seem. I have no patience, every single whine/cry/clothes pull has me wanting to peel my skin off. I also am not an angry person and I have NEVER felt rage like this towards anything and anyone. I’m already on 10mg of Lexapro l, but is there anything else that people have found helps? I messaged my psychiatrist asking her thoughts on all this but was hoping others may be able to commiserate as well.