Could I be suffering from PMDD??

[Gemlu]

Hi everyone,

I am 28 and since the age of 14 I have suffered from what as 'doctors' call it depression and anxiety.....however i have only just made the link to my hormones as I have just been referred for a gynae ultrasound next week.
I have terrible PMS symptoms every month..physical but more mental..... severe symptoms. I can have one 'normal' week during my cycle where i feel like myself.
I am just wondering if anyone is experiencing the same.??..any advice on approaching my doctor??? and how doctors test hormone inbalances???
I would love some advice if possible...because I would like to sort these problems out once and for all...14 years is too long to be on and off antipdepressants ...when it all could be hormonal!!!
Thanks for listening...any advice would be so gratefully appreciated x

Gem

[Musicgal]

Wow...I'm new to this site and only b/c I am having the same symptoms! I had my "hormone" levels checked a few weeks ago - all normal. I did not, ask if those "hormones" included estrogen/progesterone. I have 3 kids. The youngest just a year old. I am 35 and have never experienced the depression like I have - ever. I am sad, anxious, on edge about 3 weeks out of the month. The week after my period is over is my best week. I also have migraines around my period as well. I think you should go to the doc and get blood work. Let them know all your history. I even tried anti depressants, but did not help. Make sure you ask for estrogen/progesterone balances. I hope you will get answers! Take care...

Musicgal

[Gemlu]

Thankyou so much musicgal...Im new to this site too!! Thankyou for the advice on estrogen/progesterone tests...i will definatley ask the doctor this week. Like you i have just 1 week after my period that is a good week!! and yay it will be next week hopefully!!
I really feel for you that you get migraines...I get also get them from time to time ...with awful visiual disturbances and cannot get out of bed for days. I hope you get help aswell and let me know how you are getting on...thanks again!! Take care

Gem x

[jmd5411]

I stumbled across this site while looking desperately for solutions to my PMDD! Your symptoms sound exactly like mine. I am a whole different person for at least 3 weeks of the month. I have one week where I feel great. As soon as my period hits, the migraines start and last for at least 10 days and while this is going on I have 4 or five days after my period starts that I am severely depressed, anxious, cant concentrate, I am mean and moody to everyone I love, I want to scratch my way out of my body! I also have endometriosis that is pretty bad and I have to deal with that pain too. I totally know where you are coming from. I dealt with the depression/anxiety diagnosis from the age of 16. No one ever told me that it could be my hormones that were causing all of my problems. I have been on every anti-depressant known to man. I am now on Prozac, which I was completely against even trying, but it is a miracle drug! If you are able to take birth control, that would also be a huge help. The one I found to work really well was yaz but I developed a pulmonary embolism from this so if you decide to take it just make sure that if you have chest pain you address it quickly. I am not allowed to take it anymore so I am back to square one. I am trying to find herbal and vitamin solutions as of right now. I hope you get the treatment you need and if your current dr is an idiot about it just try to find a good one! You know your body and don't take any answers!!!

[jmd5411]

I guess I can't swear on here. Sorry! I meant Don't take any rediculous answers!!

[Gemlu]

Thanks for your reply and the advice...its nice to know that this isnt all in my head and you also feel the same...although it isnt very nice is it?? i'm having an ok week ...due to the fact it is the week after my period and im always feeling 'normal' in this week...its just a shame it doesnt last.
I cant believe you have also been told that from a teenager you have anxiety and depression. Like you I was never told it could be my hormones!!!
I have also been on every anti-depressant going...Prozac was my first course....and i have to say they were the best 2 or 3 years of my life...however my docs changed it and have never felt as 'normal' as i did then.
I really would like to be able to approach my doctor about hormone testing.
I had a abdominal and transvag scan yesterday...as i have been suffering from awful pains and hot sweats every month ( mid cycle) ...the sonographer wasnt very helpful in saying what it could be..so I am waiting anxiously for results..however she said there were no 'big' cysts or Fibroids! Now just waiting in anticipation.....

[Gemlu]

I have wondered if it could be Endemitriosis??? the pain is so bad sometimes its as if there is something being twisted inside me...and the sweats i get are awful and im always wanting to run to the toilet...this lasts for about a week every month...and then I get really bad PMS...and Im snappy...tearful...angry...depressed...you name it!!
Oh its awful being a woman isnt it?? lol...I am gonna take your advice and push the doctors this week...i really want some treatment soon!!

[pmddloon]

omg, you sound just like me. i have pmdd and have been fobbed off 4 15yrs!!! i was diagnosed this feb with pmdd but b4 that they just kept saying i have personality disorder!!! my specialist is really good and is trying to help with pmdd but the other doctors dont want to admit that they were wrong and try to stop all pmdd treatment!!! i now have a solicitor on board which will stop there inadequateness and just help me.

question 4 the pmdd sufferers.......has any1 got pmdd and sever progesterone intolerance? if so have u ever been pregnant? im pregnant and was told i will be bad for the first 3months and then i should pick up. im now 19wks and still have all the symptoms but now i dont even get a good wk, which is dyer!!! once my baby is born the progesterone will drop so i will be ok and breast feeding will stop my cycle so no pmdd. only thing i have to look out 4 is pnd as oestrogen will be low.

did you know that there r about 800,000 women that have been diagnosed with pmdd but yet doctors rarely know wot pmdd is. its about time they learnt huh!

if u look at professor john studds website he will tell u more on pmdd, also there is a pmdd book which i got a couple of months ago which could help, just google pmdd book. not all gyno's know about pmdd and say its all in yr head so if you get 1 of those keep looking for some1 else. john studd would be good to diagnose then move back to nhs with his report and make them help!

let me know how it goes

[Severitis]

Here read this post I wrote:

Listen, I know exactly what you are going through. A week before my period begins, I get very depressed. Everything my boyfriend does hurts my feelings. Everything he has ever said or done rehashes and I get angry or upset. He will call me and I'll break down and feel like I want to break up with him. It is miserable for both of us. I did some research for something natural and inexpensive I could do without having to get on pricey medicines. I learned that calcium (tums works great) and vitamin B6 will ease the mood swings and depression. It worked in one day. No lies. I took two tums (to equal 1000mg which is a healthy daily supplement) and 1 50mg B6 vitamin. I tried 100mg but found it was too much. I got a slight stomach ache. I think 75mg would be perfect. 200mg is too much so she will need to test which one works best for her. And that is it. It worked miracles overnight. My boyfriend commented on it immediately and was so relieved at my shift in moods. I had lots of energy and was happy. It's worth a shot for you. I read that during the onset of a womans period, tests have shown that some women become deficient of these two vitamins, which causes the severity of pms. I cannot tell you that it will cure it completely but it sure helps loads. I went through a very horrible week of stress and this mixture got me threw it without having a nervous break down. Tell your girlfriend that she is not alone in feeling this way. My poor boyfriend is put through the ringer every month. Thank goodness he loves me enough to get through the week. And now it is not a problem anymore. He still talks about what a change he has seen in me and we are both happy. Good luck.

[000111]

Tums and B6 vitamin, eh? I'm buying it tomorrow.

I go completely insane for two weeks before my period starts and I'm tired of feeling this way. The worst part is that my boyfriend is the one who suffers the most with my mood swings and madness, I treat him really badly, and although I try to acknowledge it and change, the emotions are bigger than me, and I just do and say things without thinking. I think he's considering breaking up with me now because I've ruined so many important days for him due to my craziness, and it would be a shame to let that happen because my unbalanced body is taking over my mind. I don't know how to explain to him that I'm still the same person he met and loved...but that, for two weeks a month now, I'm unable to think straight. I wouldn't blame him though, it's 50% of the time, and I guess it's hard to date Dr Jekyll. I don't want to lose him though.

I just read about pmdd today and I guess I'm kind of glad to know I'm not the only one. At least now I know that there is a reason for my temporary insanity, and there are ways to get over it.

One thing that I know that helps, but that I am not able to do, is to eat healthy (plenty of fruits and vegetables) and exercise.

I'm making an appointment with the doctor tomorrow to know what else is available to help me.

Good luck for you girls, if you know of any "miracle cure", dont forget to post it.