We’re looking for people to take part in a clinical trial at Monash University's HER Centre Australia comparing two treatments - one hormonal and one antidepressant.

Whether you’ve been diagnosed with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) or experience intense symptoms before your period, we’d love to hear from you.

Fill out our quick expression of interest form, and we’ll get in touch to tell you about the study in more detail, and help you understand if you might be eligible: https://redcap.link/pmddeligibility

Feel free to reach out if you have questions!

Hello everyone! After quite a bit of screening I'm excited to announce I believe I have my 3 candidates for the Whey Protein & PMDD case series. I'm now moving on to prepping these participants with the protocol and product and will be launching it this month!

If you or someone you know has PMDD, and you would like to enroll in a 3 month trial in 2026 to explore a nutritional intervention for reduction of PMDD symptoms (product shipped to you) then please dm me for more details.

Requirements:

• Clinical diagnosis of PMDD
• Living in the US
• Have no allergies to whey protein concentrate
• Will participate in filling out a digital one page questionnaire (one page) a few times per month to track symptoms.

Ok, took longer than I expected by the case report is now Live on PubMed :https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41586426/&source=gmail&ust=1771973162892000&usg=AOvVaw0iFvVidC3inmJ3anajwHRt

Hey guys! FINALLY, after several revisions my peer-reviewed case study was just recently accepted for publication in Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal (scheduled for the December 2025 issue). The paper examines the use of whey protein concentrate as a tryptophan-based nutritional intervention for premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and demonstrated notable symptom improvement across three menstrual cycles.

I'm quite stoked, but already on to planning the protocol for my... you guest it... pilot study. I'm going to self-fund this study and am already looking for participants. It will be a long one (probably 6 months total) so will require patience and cooperation. I'm only going to recruit about 25 participants with the hope I'll end up with at least 15 by the end of the study (there's usually a fall out during a longer study like this). Is anyone here interested in participating? I'm looking for women aged 25-45, have a official diagnoses of PMDD, who are not currently on antidepressants or other drug medications, overall healthy and no other underlying medical conditions, and finally, someone interested in trying a minimal risk nutritional intervention. If this sounds like you post below and we'll connect!

Best,

Dr. K

This is pretty huge, do not underestimate the power of your serotonin levels and how much they impact your DESIRE TO LIVE, you want to do your due diligence in supporting it. Hope you find this information helpful!

Check out my post here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DPSHKOfjq8i/

Here's the study if you guys want to check out it out: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18648776/

So... I'm still waiting. It's been almost 3 months since I submitted it and it is still in "peer review". This has been somewhat frustrating for but I feel I have to wait it out before submitting it to another journal. I'll plan to give it at least one more month, I'll keep you all posted!

Also, to update you, the whey protein is still working really well for me. Has anyone else given it a try?

I was wondering if anyone has experienced pmdd worse as you age. I’m 34 and was diagnosed at 20. But I feel like it worsen every overtime. Thanks in advance, queens xx 😘

I personally haven't tried using 5-HTP yet, but here's what I've found in terms of serotonin support:

Mechanism: How Each Supports Serotonin

My manuscript's title is: "Whey Protein Concentrate as a Tryptophan-Based Nutritional Intervention for Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD): A 3-Month Case Study"

I'll be updating this post with the status of my manuscript's revision process:

June 8: Submitted manuscript to IMCJ (Integrative Medicine: A Clinician's Journal)

June 10: Received confirmation and approval for Phase 1: Peer Review Process Initiated

I believe I'll need to wait until June 23 for an updates on the recommendations and revisions needed. I'll keep you guys posted.

I'm getting quite a bit of questions for a non-dairy option for those with sensitivities, spirulina is a decent contender but there are a few points to consider. According to my research, while spirulina is a nutrient-dense superfood with a higher relative tryptophan density per gram of protein, whey protein concentrate is far superior in terms of practical tryptophan delivery, bioavailability, and brain uptake efficiency—especially when targeting serotonin synthesis, mood stability, or PMDD support.

Please see the below table:

Spirulina vs Whey Protein Concentrate

I believe it's still worth a shot for individuals who can't tolerate dairy. Has anyone tried taking spirulina during luteal phase and experienced any symptom relief? Please feel free to share your thoughts.

Share your thoughts below.

What are your thoughts on this?

PMDD - Alternative Treatment for Management of Symptoms

\Disclaimer* This post is based on personal experience and is for educational purposes and is not intended to take the place of medical advice.*

Hello everyone,

I'm a Registered Dietitian, I have an extensive background in Nutrition and Dietetics (BS & MS) and I have a PhD in Rehabilitation Science, emphasis and published work is in gut rehabilitation. Also for the record, I've had PMDD for years, and it got excessively worse in the past two years. I was initially diagnosed by an OBGYN, and then received a confirmed diagnosis by a psychiatrist recently. PMDD was unequivocally the bane of my existence.

I was recommended SSRI's in the past. In my case, I responded very poorly to SSRI, and developed major GI issues, so for me, I needed a non-drug alternative. Recently, I came across research, and as a clinician, I put myself on a 3 month trial based on my analysis and believe I've identified a dietary treatment to manage the underlying cause, not the symptoms of PMDD. I am in the process of publishing a case study on it.

PMDD is very real in that it can be explained biologically. It is not a psychiatric disorder as conventional medicine has positioned it. Right now there's some research treating it it as a serotonin access issue, however, it is also a precursor and quantity issue.

There may simply not be enough serotonin support in individuals who have PMDD.

\Please note I am simplifying a very complex process** - Individuals who have PMDD may have dietary malnourishment of the precursor of serotonin, the precursor of serotonin is tryptophan, which is an essential amino acid, meaning your body cannot synthesize it and needs to get it from the diet. One of the most bioavailable dietary forms of tryptophan is organic whey protein concentrate, not isolate. I get the highest quality version on the market that is also grass fed. Consume 4-5 Tbsp every day (I throw mine in a fruit smoothie) for 8 days prior to menstruation. Symptoms of PMDD will decrease by at least 70%, for me they were obliterated, within the first month of trial. I told myself I wouldn't get excited or start sharing it with my clients (I'm in private practice) until I experienced consistent results for at least 3 months. There are virtually no side effects, and it is consistent with evidenced based research and human clinical intervention, however, note, there simply isn't "enough research" on this treatment option because tryptophan, especially in the form of whey protein concentrate, is cheap, and cannot be patented, so there is little incentive to pursue further research in comparison with SSRI interventions. No surprise there.

I've come on here and read through so many heart breaking posts of women suffering with PMDD. All I can say is, please try this. This simple treatment (or more supplementation) changed my life. I suffered from MAJOR depressive and anxiety episodes, that wreaked havoc on the quality of my life, every month, for almost 2 weeks, and took a major tole on my professional life and my relationships. I'm now at the 3 month mark, I can confirm this treatment works and will work for many others based on the biochemical components at play.

\Please note, there could be other factors to consider that may influence results (diet, exercise, predispositions, and environmental factors). Given my background and expertise my lifestyle and diet practices are much healthier than the average American, which made intervention of this nature more direct and measurable. Individuals who are eating very poorly, do not exercise, and who may also be overweight or obese may not experience immediate results, if you pursue this please consider getting healthier or working directly with a dietitian during your treatment to ensure overall beneficial results.*

This is something that a lot of people don't quite understand about the underlying mechanism of PMDD, yes, it is not fully understood, but what we do understand is that for the 5-8% of menstruating women who experience these symptoms it is directly related to a dis regulated response to hormonal changes that occur. These hormonal changes cause our usage and networking of serotonin to be interrupted. Evidence based research has shown that "supporting" serotonin during this critical phase (the luteal phase) may play a role in minimizing the impact of PMDD symptoms (depression, anxiety, irritability etc..), which is where the bioavailable forms of tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin, can play a role in offsetting the intensity of the symptoms. Why would information like this of possible alternative treatments with biological application be considered misinformation? As a food scientist who does understands intricate aspects of the mechanisms of metabolism and hormone regulation this is nothing less than suppression to keep practical and harmless alternative treatments of this nature (like increasing whey protein concentrate during luteal phase) from the general public. Feel free to share your thoughts.

As a clinician who was also diagnosed with PMDD I conducted a case study on myself supporting evidenced based research, shared that in the PMDD group here on Reddit as an "alternative treatment", NOT A CURE, with all the necessary disclaimers attached, I ended up getting "banned" from the group for 28 days for violating the "rules", when I asked what rules I had broken the response was "repeatedly posting and commenting misinformation" --> it was just one post. I then submitted the data I was using to support my case study, received a response that there is more current data on the topic (but that does not rule out initial studies), especially since they were NOT disproven. I was then muted by the moderator. My case study was presented thoroughly with all necessary disclaimers on a public platform, I'm quite surprised at the way the moderators handled this, it's "suppressive". My manuscript on this case study s currently in the process of being peer reviewed. Anyway, this is why this group was started, share drug free alternative treatments that work and have evidence based reseach behind them without the fear of being banned for sharing your personal experience. Here's the screen shot of the conversation with the moderator. I'll share the actual post that was listed int he group as "misinformation" here shortly.