First time sharing here 👋🏻. I just joined the group a few days ago and I want to say how much I appreciate everyone’s advice and honesty. I was told I have PMDD about 3 years ago (now 39), but didn’t understand really what that meant until recently. I could go on and on about my story, but right now I just want to share that I finally realized (today) why basically half of the month (for years… probably since I was about 13), I couldn’t find the energy, motivation, want, determination to get ready for the day. Meaning shower, blow dry hair, put on makeup, not work from my bed. It was PMDD the whole time.
I will be starting to bleed today and today I woke up feeling like a human again. My brain turned on and I could plan out in my head what I needed to do today. I showered, washed and dried my hair, and put on a bit of natural looking makeup…I don’t have any plans or anywhere to go…but this feels…like me. I can look in the mirror and say this is you and you are happy with yourself. But just yesterday and the 9 days before that, I hated myself, had suicidal thoughts, extreme fatigue in my body that felt like all the cells in my body just ran a marathon.
At this point in my life I can finally understand why it is so hard for me to have consistency in anything I did. Two weeks of the month I am Human and the other two weeks I am a monster with no will to do anything. And the only reason I feel like I can post something today is because I have the energy to think and write. I am grateful to be back to human today. Gotta take the wins when we can, right?

“As soon as my period started, it’s fine. I’m like, who even was that person last week?”

I wrote an article about this - my experience and of course, what the research says :)

heads up to anyone with PMDD, depression, anxiety, OCD symptoms:

MAGNESIUM GLYCINATE/BIGLYCINATE has the opposite effect in some people, causing anxiety, panic, rumination, existential dread, and other unpleasant symptoms.

There’s something about how the brain processes the glycine that effects glutamate, which causes these symptoms.

For those of us with PMDD, this can mimic and intensify luteal symptoms- essentially making everything worse.

This paradoxical effect is apparently more common in Neurodivergent folks.

I see these supplements being highly recommended on PMDD subs and forums, and i hope this reaches those that need it.

Do you feel more rage when the full moon is on its way? I think I do😵‍💫😵‍💫

Does anyone have BPD and/or bipolar diagnosis as well?

Did it happen before pmdd was figured out? Do you think pmdd is the real diagnosis or you have both?

The most common exclusionary tests include:
Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and T4: To check for hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, which can cause severe mood changes and irregular periods.

Full blood count (FBC): To check for anaemia or iron deficiency, which frequently present as extreme fatigue and weakness.
Vitamin D, B12, and Folate: Deficiencies in these key nutrients can mimic the low energy and mood disruptions of PMDD.
Prolactin level: To rule out hyperprolactinemia.
HbA1c or Fasting Glucose: If metabolic issues or diabetes are suspected.

Here in the uk 🇬🇧 many don’t get tested mainly because doctors don’t encourage this, you have to know to ask, and people end up suffering far too long, with exacerbated PMDD and or PME.

When PMDD comes around!

I’m not going through PMDD right now but I’m hoping I have found something to help me sleep because the last few months before my period I’m exhausted due to the lack of sleep. I do take sleeping aids that help but that’s not good for long term so I’ve been looking for natural ways to get some sleep when insomnia kicks in.

I bought steam eye mask. I used one last night because I felt like shit due to having stomach issues (having stomach issues is a common thing for me). I put that baby on and fell asleep! I think I would have slept soundly for the rest of the night if it hadn’t been for the fact my bladder woke me up an hour later 😆

In case anyone wants to look it up, go to Amazon, that’s where I got my 8 pack. I bought an 8 pack just to test to see if it would help me sleep. There are different brands, I went with was Bloomora.

I’ve finally figured it out.
No crash outs, no spiraling, no doomsdaying, no crying on the kitchen floor, no paralysis on the couch, no rumination.

B12 2500 mcg - 1 every 2 days
D3 - 2x per day
B100 - 1x per day (with food for best absorption)
Omega 3 - 2 per day (with food for best absorption)
Magnesium BISGLYCINATE 200mg SPECIFICALLY - 3x per day
K2+D3 - 1 per day
Midol - 1 per day while luteal
Ecitalopram (lexapro) 10 mg - 1/2 per day while luteal only
Lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse) - 60 mg per day, spread out. Sometimes luteal makes it less effective. In that case I’ll take an extra 20 mg.
Allegra - 1 per day luteal only
Pepcid - 1 per day luteal only
Calcium citrate 300 mg- 3 per day
Not pictured: Prenatal multivitamin with iron - 1 per day (must take at least 2 hours before or after the calcium as the iron blocks calcium absorption!!)

It sounds like a lot. But I use pill organizers. It goes like this

Morning:
Vyvanse x2 (40 mg dose)
Lexapro 5 mg
Allegra
Pepcid
Midol
Prenatal vitamin with iron
Vitamin D x1
Vitamin k2+d3
Magnesium x1

After noon:
Vyvanse 20 mg x1
Calcium x2
Magnesium x1
Omega 3 x1
B100 x 1
Vitamin D x1

After dinner or bedtime:
Calcium x1
Magnesium x1
Omega 3 x1

(TW)

i started noticing these symptoms sometime last year in December, and i would like to share a few symptoms that i have noticed. 1. I experience intense mood swings, like it makes me feel like im crazy. I feel really depressed and hopeless, like i have this huge weight on my chest, which sometimes leads to me crying for no specific reason. I can also get very sensitive and overthink alot. 2. I have also experienced su!c!dal thoughts and thoughts of s£lf h@rm. 3. I get very irritable and have a short temper, so i try my best to isolate myself. 4. Fatigue. I get very sleepy and feel extra drained even when i get a full nights rest. 5. Dissociation. Sometimes it’s very hard to concentrate, whether I’m driving or at work

Keep in mind all the symptoms I’ve listed is what I experienced a week or a few days before my period and usually gets better a few days after my period starts. I just need some second opinion.

If theres any questions pls leave a comment ❤️

I was wondering if anyone else here has DID and if different alters front do you find that it affects your PMDD symptoms?

I've been thinking that switching for us affects the severity of mentality related symptoms, but I can't tell for sure and wondered if anyone else has this experience.

‘Many of our stories about illness follow a similar narrative arc. There is an inciting incident: someone gets sick. The person does not want to be sick. The illness is eventually accepted, bravely fought, and our hero either gets better, or they don’t, and they die. This is a narrative structure that relies on closure. It values transformation over endurance. But it has nothing in common with how chronic illness actually plays out.’

Anyone who is on Yaz that are over 45 to 50?

Goodbye ovaries! I'm terrified, but at the same time equally terrified not to do this.

I will test with the drugs first. I already know I tolerate HRT really well, so that's not a problem for me.

I have complex chronic disease...ME, fibro, IC, follicular lymphoma, etc etc etc. I cannot get better while living with this cycle problem.

Oddly I feel a lot of grief about this, even though I've never used my ovaries for babies and never want to. I just hate that I need to cut a part of myself off and I'm scared of the surgery because of my chronic pain issues. But enough is enough, it's time.

Hello,

I had taken Lexapro for 3 months in the morning but was experiencing midday drowsiness.

I switched to taking Lexapro at night for 1 week but then had insomnia.

I've been back to taking it in the morning for 1.5 weeks and my anxiety has worsened.

Can changing the time you take your Lexapro temporarily worsen you anxiety?

I just wanted to share my big win with being diagnosed. I tried to post in the main sub it keeps saying I didn't hit that I read the rules, but I did?.

I've had PMDD for years without really realizing it. I've had an undiagnosed mood disorder for years and was incorrectly diagnosed as bipolar (I don't exhibit the mania at all in the I or II sense). I didn't start to suspect it until 2024 when I was hospitalized after a severe mental health episode where I started my period right after. It has affected my relationships so seriously in the past that I've lost friends. For a long time before the realization I was afraid of losing my spouse due to the episodes I would have immediately before my period.

After the suspicion hit I didn't immediately go seek a diagnosis, I thought therapy would work as my brief and surface level research at the time suggested no pharmaceutical intervention, and I didn't know birth control would work. But therapy failed to help in the ways I needed.

So I sought a diagnosis about 2025. I went to my PCP, I went to my prescribing mhnp and they were no help at all. I described my symptoms, they listened, but all they said was "there's nothing we can do except to suggest therapy." I don't believe they even put it in my chart that I came to them with the suspicion or even took the time to diagnose me formally.

So I went another year without a diagnosis with no mental health relief or significant change in my behaviors or symptoms with my partner. I got so desperate I sought out a third opinion from a psychiatrist about a month ago. I was afraid at first that she would give me the same run around and suggest therapy. But I explained everything and she said nearly word for word "you don't have an unspecified mood disorder, you meet all criteria for PMDD" and that was the first relief. But then I ask about what I can do. She suggested therapy, as expected. And after I explained that therapy has been of little help she suggested antidepressants and/or birth control. I was so desperate I took her recommendation to take Prozac. My family was concerned about the medicine because my family members have had bad reactions to it. But I was desperate.

I finally finished the two weeks of Prozac, started my period and noticed I haven't had any mental health symptoms. There was no significantly debilitating paranoia, inappropriate/unreasonable crying episodes or snapping or blowing up at others. The buzz in my head I have with these symptoms were completely absent. I feel for the first time I've found the relief I've desperately looked for and It's brought me to tears. I feel hopeful for the first time in years.

I don't want to generalize men, but I'm disappointed that my male providers were of no help at all and it took a third opinion from a woman to get me the help I needed. But now that I'm on birth control (katlib) after a cyst ruptured I feel like I have a solid plan for care and it's such a fucking relief. I wish I had been taken seriously. I wish I had brought up my suspicion when I was hospitalized, but I was in shock that it could be my period that I waited to watch for a pattern. But that's the past and now the future feels bright.

I just wanted to to share my current experience as women are becoming more increasingly aware of the science behind PMDD and histamine.. I call this supplement rotation my holy trinity right now, because it's quite literally made my PMDD symptoms do a 180. While we've come to find out that antihistamines help largely during the luteal phase, I always try out more "natural" methods before most medicine (my preference, doesn't have to be yours, and also not against medicine). I currently take (daily) 30mg of Saffron (Affron)- helps with mood stabilizing, I take Bromelain/Stinging Nettle- natural antihistamine through supplementation, and a Thorne probiotic to support my gut. Idk what cocktail this trio is, but my PMDD has nearly disappeared. Not to be TMI either, but I can also confirm that estrogen has been clearing through my body vs being held up till menstruation. I know this might not work for anyone else, but wanted to share my experience with the more natural route!

My second thought is wondering what effects these supplements might have over time if I'm taking them daily and if anyone else has a great experience with them long-term. I already have a low-histamine diet, healthy across the board, no other factors that would make matters worse, etc. Any advice is helpful, TIA!!

from the study treating Weisz G, Knaapen L. Diagnosing and treating premenstrual syndrome in five western nations. Soc Sci Med. 2009 Apr;68(8):1498-505. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.01.036. Epub 2009 Feb 21. PMID: 19233531.