Natural Treatments for PMDD?

[sarah98022]

I have it too. except that i have it 3 WEEKS before i get my period. What i suggest is going to a health food store, and talking to a well known herbalist, or naturpath. I have been taking some stuff called Sepia, and Gelsemium, its homeopathic and i have only been on it a few days, but after a few days of taking it my period has come, and i could sleep again. And i felt like i could deal with t hings easier. They do have some stronger herbal mood elevators, which i may have to try if the homeopathic remedy's don't end up cutting it next month. Anyways hope i helped..its a horrible thing to deal with and i am only 22 years old. It gets noticibly worse when i am exercisiing also, but i need the exercise. =]

[PMDDbuhbye]

Hello! I just found this site and signed up. I'm 34 and have had PMDD for as long as I can remember - but didn't know what it was?! I thought I was just "crazy". Good gawd. I feel better now, knowing that PMDD is a serious thing!

I've been on Celexa (20 mg/day) for a couple of years now. My bf and I just discussed it and ... it's clear it's not working. I have a BREAK DOWN every single month. Do I need an increase? A new med? Or something different all together?

I tried going on YAZ - it boosts the cure to PMDD. Ya right. Firstly - my PMDD BREAK DOWN was worse then EVER! I have been soooo sleepy I can barely function and my sex drive was NONE EXISTENT. I've just stopped taking YAZ. I was only on for 2 months.

Basically I feel like you all do "I can't TAKE IT ANYMORE". It feels really crappy that I've only got THREE good weeks before I lose my mind again.

Basically my symptoms:
- irritable
- hate my bf (who I am madly in love with, he's a saint)
- sad sad sad (SOOOO SAD)
- crying non-stop
- food cravings
- lack of interest in anything or anyone

It's a nightmare.
It needs to change! How is it that there isn't a doctor YET who has come up with a solution? I mean REALLY!

This is my goal: GIVE UP CHOCOLATE and DAILY CAFFEINE. INCREASE EXERCISE.

It can't hurt, right?

Also - I'm going to try (or at least look into) some of these:

Vit. B6
Vit. E
Calcium
Tryptophen
SAM-e

Hello HEALTH STORE - HELP ME!

PMDD-BUHBYE!

[cocreator1]

No offence to the women who have suggested using your mind and willpower to fight it, but that can be unhelpful advice to some. While surely not intended, it can leave one feeling even more hopeless if one can't overcome the mood and feelings in such a manner; it could bring more feelings of blame (hardly what any of us need.) I'm not saying "Don't take responsibility for where you're at"; I think Canuck, you are on the right track in seeking help. Try not to feel worse if you don't feel better with happy thoughts or even if you can't summon them up.
I'm on same journey and looking for natural answers too. I know exercise will help so am going to squeeze more into my week. Processed foods, refined white sugar and wheat products are being replaced with alternatives (gave up wheat a long time ago....did you know that Wheat can cause depression in some people?!) I'm also on the hunt for any herbs or vitamins that may help.
Oh, and I've heard an avocado a week can help with hormones but haven't tried it yet.
Hang in there...

[CHANDLERS WISH]

Maybe it's a combination?

Without using your mind, you won't think about "what" you can do, "what" you can change, "what other options are out there? Without willpower you won't win.

So, yes, depression will not allow you to use your mind or willpower, but you need both to seek the answers, be it medical, herbal, walking, changing food patterns, you need it.

It's great that you have established things that are triggering, please keep us informed cocreator of other things that you find.

I totally think the "food pattern" is a definite change needed as well as exercises and water.

And a positive attitude, deep breath, I can do approach..

Nothing wrong with positive thinking it does work.

[NS-Canadian]

I am 45 and for the last 5 years I have wanted a divorce or suicide as I have been sooo debilitated by what I now believe to be PMDD. I am absolutely crazy for 10-14 days before my period starts. I am not very interested in SSRIs, I do know several women in my community that use various sorts for various things. One friend said the other day that if I had a heart issue or diabetes would I not get treatment for it? of course, yes, well then she said you need some sort of treatment for this. That hit home but I am looking for more natural treatments and diet changes. Besides the feelings of despair and crying, anxiety other physical symptoms are major breast swelling and tenderness and binge eating and cravings. I am normally very positive, outgoing, confident with no fear of anything. I have read all the posts and have learned so much already. Was recently considering Yaz but changed my mind. My husband and kids, 14 and 18 have been going thru this and I am very ashamed of my behavior during this time. I marked with a yellow marker, on our kitchen calendar the days when I am crazy, that has helped them some. I plan things around this time but sometimes it isn't possible. For the upcoming Easter weekend here we have a trip planned for four days (it was the only time as I am off for those 4 days) and I am almost considering faking other illness so as not to go because I am weary of what could happen. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

[Maracam]

Been reading everyone's post and I have some questions... how safe is bioidentical hormone therapy for PMDD? I'm trying to conceive - been trying for 7 months. Since I came off birth control, I've been a wreck. 5HTP has helped, along with a lot of sleep and some heavy pain killers, but I realized prescription pain killers may affect fertility. I know the stress of trying to conceive, coupled with other stressors in my life have been making my PMDD worse. I'll be seeing my doctor this Thursday to discuss fertility issues and my worsening symptoms. Anyone else have PMDD, trying to conceive, and trying to find alternative therapies?

thanks!

[nicolep1016]

I have had PPMD for 20 years now and have been on many antidepressants but prozac for the longest. Sure they make that time of the month a little better but the long and short term affects are devasting. Each one of these drugs doubles or triples your cortisol levels. They completely mess up the serotonin levels in your brain, even though they supposed to help a "chemical imbalance". There are so many problems that these drugs cause that people don't realize. They don't attribute them to the drugs they are taking. edit outbound link PLEASE read this before you consider going there. So now you will have PMDD and another group of problems on top of it. There needs to be a combination of different things in order to beat PMDD. Nutrition, exercise, natural herbs and supplements and a good support system. It can be done.

[ItsASecret]

They completely mess up the serotonin levels in your brain, even though they supposed to help a "chemical imbalance".

What? Depression is a chemical imbalance. The drugs are supposed to "mess up" serotonin levels because depression messes it up in the first place. For those who do not know, SSRI = Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor. Serotonin is the 'happiness neurotransmitter' and during depression serotonin levels are lower in the synapse between two neurons therefore providing a chemical imbalance. The point of an SSRI is to block the mechanism that sucks the serotonin back up into pre-synaptic neurons (when this process is done too much it causes less serotonin in the synapse). You want those serotonin levels to bump back up to normal concentrations so yes an SSRI will cause serotonin levels to "mess up"...but in a good way. If there is going to be a side effect to be worried about it would be the possibility of lowered sex drive...not the desired side effect of altered serotonin levels.

[nicolep1016]

Doctor's do not know if you have low serotonin or high serotonin in your brain before they prescribe these types of drugs. If someone already has high serotonin levels in their brain and are prescribed a drug which raises serotonin levels then you can develop serotonin syndrome which can cause a series of life threatening symptoms and even death. It can and does also cause suicide among tons of other things. Depression can be a symptom of so many other illnesses, (example PPMD) which has absolutely nothing to do with serotonin levels, it has to do with hormonal imbalances that affect your mood. If you read up on it, you will clearly see that there are literally hundreds of COMMON debilitating side effects other than low sex drive that are caused by SSRIs. Not to mention that these drugs are being misused by doctors that are prescribing them for things that have nothing to do with depression. The solution is to find something that regulates hormones safely and herbal remedies that help with the symptoms of PPMD instead of just popping a pill.

[ItsASecret]

Doctor's do not know if you have low serotonin or high serotonin in your brain before they prescribe these types of drugs.

They have the ability to check, it is called a serum serotonin level done via a simple blood test.

A doctor is not going to prescribe an SSRI unless there is a reason, the second depression is brought up then it is likely going to be used because science has come to a general consensus that in order to increase serotonin within the brain an SSRI is one of the best methods. Therefore it will be brought up first in the doctors office.

If someone already has high serotonin levels in their brain and are prescribed a drug which raises serotonin levels then you can develop serotonin syndrome which can cause a series of life threatening symptoms and even death.

If levels are high they are not likely to prescribe something that will further increase it. If depression is present the general consensus again is low synaptic serotonin concentrations. In the case of serotonin syndrome you would need to be excessively using serotonin agonists to cause such an effect. Example, SSRI + dextromethorphan (chugging cough medicine), or SSRI + ecstasy....it is a bad thing to have very high levels of serotonin but a single SSRI will not cause excessive serotonin production, only moderate.

And yes depression can be a symptom of a huge list of things, and can be thought to be caused by just as many things. The most common treatments are because they have been shown to be effective in the average population, but of course a multitude of treatment programs (pharmaceutical or not) are available. And yes there is going to be a ton of possible side effects, all drugs have them including herbals.