[JoS]

How many of us are there?

Reading your posts is like walking into a room of hundreds of me! I too have spent years in and out of therapy, paid the price of one marriage, nearly two, god knows how many jobs and friendships. Like all of you it's taken until my 38th birthday to get a diagnosis - I do not have borderline personality or any other psychotic illness, and nor is my husband an abusive tyrant (although my hypersensitive, anxious,irritable,angry pmdd self would have you believe otherwise!). I am in the first cycle of zoladex injections to shut down ovarian function to see if that does it, and so far so good. That said, I have also had my dosage of sertraline doubled, have started running again, have had several weeks off work and spent some self indulgent weekends sailing and taking level 2 rya courses - making new friends and learning new skills. So all in all think it's a combination of things right now. The most important is that now I have a label I can talk openly with everyone about it. That in itself is brilliant. I am also using period tracker on iPhone to monitor my cycle and use that info to advise those around me. Being understood has changed a he'll of a lot too.

As women we owe it to each and to our daughters to share what we've learnt. I'm just starting out on my cure but am sure honesty is helping most right now. Thank you all for sharing and good luck with your quest for sanity! X

[NO_MORE_PMDD]

JoS - There are a lot of us out there. I think so many that have no idea what is possessing their body every month. Probably misdiagnosed and being treated incorrectly as well. I went through 5 or 6 doctors before I found one that really knew what was going on - you have to have saliva test and blood tests done to get the real picture. I am not familiar with the treatments you are taking. I am on high doses of natural progesterone and it is working for me. Best of luck to all the ladies who are suffering. Keep reaching out because there are people who suffer in silence - they are afraid or embarrassed. The fear of being told your bi-polar or some like that. Most likely you are not - you just have a hormonal imbalance and it can be corrected! God Bless!

[courtney73]

Hi. I think I may be suffering from PMDD. How does one know for sure? I have no idea how long I've been suffering with these symptoms but I know that I have had severe PMS (atleast that's what I thought it was) for a very long time. I would become ridiculously emotional and as I have gotten older my cramps are more severe. Sometimes I can't get out of bed and I get angry and am already clinically depressed. I am on effexor and wellbutrin for clinical depression. 2 days ago, I was told that I am a different person when I am pmsing and my boyfriend told me that he is scared of me. I am a very kind and gentle person so anyone being scared of me sounds nutz to me. He told me he doesnt want to deal with me anymore and never wants to hear from me again. I have spent the last 2 days in bed crying and sleeping. I get angry and blurt out things that I dont mean and I know I did that to him the other day. How do I find out for sure if I have PMDD and what can I do about it?

[NO_MORE_PMDD]

PMDD is caused from hormonal imbalance - the ratio between estrogen and progesterone. You should track your cycle and see when you become a different person. It will likely expose it is before your period 1-2 weeks. You are likely progesterone deficient. The best way to know for sure is to take a saliva test. Depending on what state you are in you may have to go thru a doc. I live in AZ and you don't have to use a doc to get a saliva report. Insurance won't cover it. You will want to test during certain days of your cycle (preferably day 19-21ish). I would suggest doing a full panel saliva report as it will also look at your adrenals, testosterone, dhea, etc. Natural progesterone has saved my life as I had severe PMDD after coming off Birth Control Pill (aka POISON) that I took for 20 years - completely unaware of the damage I was causing by swallowing one little pill everyday.... The good news is there is help...natural progesterone can be bought online with out a prescription, no doc appointment, no insurance etc. Good luck to you!!

[LittleMsGrowingRoots]

Hi all, Another fellow PMDD sufferer here! Not sure where to start, apart from saying that it is so nice for once not to feel completely alone! I am always open to trying new things, and so far the only thing that has had any positive affect on me is actually treating the root cause of the problem, which i believe is hormonal imbalance! Not sure if anyone has heard of this, *Removed outbound link* but it made sense to me, and i have found some comfort in using natural progesterone. I found the pill, even Yasmin (nearest uk equivalent to Yaz) unhelpful - that's not to say it won't work for some.
For me it's the desperation of feeling crazy and alone that really kills me. I know there are people who are far worse of than me in the world, but my aptitude for self pity is incredible!
If anyone has any tips on natural remedies, I'm listening! My days of trying anti depressants, contraceptives, etc are over. I plan to stay on the natural path as much as I can. Just my personal choice, everyone's body is different. But perhaps togehter we can help eachother feel a bit better! Would be interested to hear if any of you guys in the US have heard of Dr Jones, and whether he's any good or not, before I go and spend another ridiculous amount of money on supplements!
I have a pdf copy of his book, so save yourself the cash and give me your email and I can forward it to you!
Take care everyone, people keep telling me things can only get better, perhaps together we can make that true!
xx xx xx

[sabine932]

Hi there,

this is a very good brochure on the topic. I went to the clinic, they really know what they are doing. In my case sport, healthy food, lots of vitamins, Calcium 1500 mg and Primrose Oil is helping. Try to prevent: Stress (stress hormone), malnutrition, lack of sport. The little endorphins help a lot. Yoga should also help. Oh and try to find something that you really, really enjoy the positive effect of it is unbelievable. I went through a lot of testing, doctors and ended up in the clinic where a nutritionist, gynaecologist and psychologist were working with me. It is a genetic brain defect we have and there is little we can do. Good thing is it ends with the menopause. Feel free to write if you want to know more: The file lies on the wikipedia PMDD page under: A positive approach Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) It's a pdf file. Good luck!

[laurenclem]

I have thought I had PMDD for years, but was never taken seriously by any doctor. Was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, depression, bipolar, you name it, no doctor EVER thought to listen to me about what I thought it might be. So I am now sitting at home on day 2 of my period, crying, feeling totally out of control angry and really wanting this to end. I just don't know how much more of this I can take. My husband doesn't even think about trying to understand. He just says to deal with it because he has no clue what this FEELS like. I have no concentration, am in terribly pain, and there are days my bleeding is so out of control, I can't leave the house. I have had ultrasounds done to look for tumors, cysts, fibroids, etc...Nothing. Today I just feel complete despair and I understand the suicidal feelings all to well. I snap with anger that I don't know where it comes from. I have tried evrything...dieting, exercise, prozac, Yaz, you name it. Today I just want it all to end

[Emmycormier]

Hi. I'm new here. I was looking up PMDD and found this forum. My 16 year- old daughter is constantly missing school every month, like clockwork, feeling like she's dying, her terminology. She has EVERY symptom of PMDD, and yet the doctors ignore what BOTH she and I tell them. It's frustrating, and I can't stand seeing her in pain, or constantly sleeping, or not sleeping. She loses it on me, swearing, yelling, typical teen stuff, or so I thought. I started keeping a record, or journal, of the timing of her outbursts, pain, and sleep routines.

I didn't think teens could suffer from PMDD. I'm taking her to see if I can get her on Yaz. I heard it was pretty good. I'll keep that Evening Primrose idea, too! Thank you!

Thank God for this site. I feel better hearing from other women who suffer from this disorder. Now I know I can tell the docs here what I think she has. I did other research, but found more info reading your posts. She's WAY too young for any historectomy, or any ovary removal. I hope it doesn't come to that. Hopefully, Yaz will help her out.

[Emmycormier]

Lauren,
It's not worth thinking about ending your entire life. My 16 year old says the same thing, and it scares the h#$ out of me. Try and find an out- of- town OBGYN. Someone who knows NOTHING about you, but what's in your charts. I find that way, they LISTEN to you, as you are a new patient, and they have to learn all they can about you. Some docs send you to different specialists. Just tell him/her the ones you.ve already seen, and ask for refferal to another one. Get counselling, too. They can back you up, in the long run, proving you're not crazy, and prove to your docs you have something PHYSICALLY and mentally wrong. Read that PMDD causes both.

Cheer up, hon. There's an answer out there. It's a long road to get it, but worth it. You'll still be here.

As for your hubby, he's MALE! They don't understand any of our "female issues"! Lol. Just ignore his ignorance, and get some info, on paper, from your doc and put it up to you're hubby's nose and tell him to read it. Have him sit with you at the OBGYN, and have the doc explain what you're going through. Trust me, he's more likely to listen and begin to understand more if the doc tells him. Otherwise, accept he's a guy and they can't understand we suffer more then they do in life. Until we hit menopause!

I hope you feel better soon.

[lonestar]

I'm going to reiterate what everyone says when they find this forum and tell you all that I want to cry that I am not crazy after all! I too am Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I am so unhappy with the way this has taken over my life and ruining my relationship with the man I want to marry. I am 22 and have been diagnosed with bipolar and manic depression since I was 15-16... now I'm wondering if I've been misdiagnosed all these years? I have recently started Wellbutrin- I am on month 3-4 and it helps sometimes but it doesn't quell the monster!! Yesterday, I felt like I had completely lost it. I was down and just couldn't get my head wrapped around life. I couldn't take it anymore. The night before, I had seriously contemplated packing a bag and going to the airport without telling anyone and just getting on a plane somewhere- I had no pre-determined destination- because I felt I couldn't handle it anymore. When I told my bf this the next day when I was in my insane state of mind, trying to get emotional support because I was so upset, he just got upset that I had ruined and interrupted his work day and why was I doing this to him. He told me to move in with my dad (we live together) because he couldn't take care of me. I asked him couldn't or wouldn't?? What makes you think we can have a future if you're not willing to help me? He said he is willing to help me he just can't understand what I have to be so stressed out about that I am acting this way. He says he wants to date a woman and not a child. It got to the point where I broke up with him because I cannot make him happy. He says why would that make me happy? I just feel like a destructive force. I have tried handling this on my own with relaxation techniques for years and it never seemed to do anything. I can't control it on my own. No way. It has been most frustrating. We have a counseling session scheduled for today and hopefully we will be able to work through this. I have given him resources and asked him to research this on his own so he can see what I was trying to explain to him. Will he ever be able to understand?? I have a doc appointment today to talk to her about this, but I don't want to be put on an SSRI- I would much rather have clonopin or xanax or something to control my frenzies. It's soooo hard to get perspective when I'm in that state. I just want and NEEED something to save the most important relationship in my life! Any support would be excellent...