[LucyLike]

Progesterone Dosage for PMDD

What is the dosage of Natural Progesterone for PMDD? I am on 40mg and I just definetly had a PMDD day today...I know you know what I mean...yikes! Not fun at all. I am wondering what levels are seeming to do the trick across the board.
Thank you for replies!! Feel better all!!!

[Trouble]

Hiya, I completely understand how you feel. I am so pleased to come across this site to find other people like me. Sometimes I feel like I need to be committed as it's so bad, I seriously thought that I was just an unstable nutter, but now I know what it is and I am not alone I feel lots better, for now anyway, next week I may go bonkers again, who knows. This 'thing' has corrupted my whole life, i've lost jobs because i've been so upset and depressed and I knew if I went to work I would either cry uncontrollably or go bonkers at someone and sincerely upset them so I kept leaving jobs so I wouldn't upset anyone. I would have loved to go to university, but I just couldn't stay somewhere for that long as I knew I would invaribly have a 'turn' and upset someone, then the guilt would come and I would want to lock myself away from the world and miss lessons. I'm too worried to have children as I don't know what I will be like, my children will have an overprotective nutter mum.
I'm so pleased to have found this site, I almost feel human again which is completely freeing as I was sincerely starting to feel like a monster.
People suggest drugs, but I find acceptance is the best way to go, it's an illness and there is nothing you can do about it, you can't fight it. If you try to fight then it just makes the 'turns' more severe as you are not only upset because you have PMDD, but you are also upset with yourself for letting yourself be upset. It's a vicious circle. I just let it all out, if I need to cry and other people are around I get a soppy dvd out and cry my heart out. If I need to shout I go and see a rock band and shout my head off. If I need to lock myself away I get a good book and lock my door.
My boyfriend has sincerely seen the worst of me and he's handled it incredibly badly, but I am lucky as we are starting to get through it, it's taken 2years so far for him to start to understand that i'm not simply acting up and misbehaving like a naughty attention seeking child. He gets annoyed with me as he doesn't understand why I can't control my feelings if I am aware of why I feel the way I do and I can't explain it to him. He is very tough with me and that's actually worked wonders. They say that only love can conquor the demon and I agree. I think all of us on here just need to feel pure love, pure unconditional love and acceptance.
I think talking is the best thing to do, if you don't want to talk to people close to you and you have access to the internet blog blog blog, get it out, vent it in a secure way so you don't get into trouble, you can do it under a different name. Just don't let it beat you.
I could sincerely write about this all day, but I wont, finding out that I have this has helped me so much, I thought I was a totally mad skitzo woman due to the trouble in my life, but now I realise that all of the trouble in my life has been caused by this nasty disorder. I'm so relieved that it's not my fault and I don't need to be committed. I made my doctor send me to mental health specialists because I thought I was completely bonkers, but they said I am fine and I couldn't understand how I could be, it's totally freeing to know I'm not actually insane and I have this disorder.
Anyway...

[Crandma]

It's amazing that I just stumbled onto PMDD and found this site. All of this is so me! I couldn't figure out what was up and why I was feeling like this. It seems to get worse as I get older. I have told friends that I seem to cycle with my sleeping habits and that there are periods of time that I can't sleep without a pill. Thankfully I stay away from caffeine but I need to exercise more and maybe that would help. I have lost my job because I lost it at work so I don't have health insurance now so I can't see a doctor for help. I just told my husband and daughter the other day that if it wasn't for my family I would take the whole bottle of sleeping pills to end all of this because I feel so bad. Here is my question...I had a partial hysterectomy and have had my uterus taken out but nothing else, so can this really be the problem or could it be something else? I don't have an actual period but I still have all of the hormones and I'm not menopausal.

[daiell]

I have cried buckets reading this tonight - probably because I have been tearful all day due to 'pms-ing' and partly due to relief to know that I am not nuts!!!

I have known that something was not 'right' for a while and occasionally when things were very bad would visit my GP who would send me for blood tests but thyroid and other tests all came back negative. My well meaning GP then offered me prozac but for depression (without even doing the depression test) - I refused because I knew it wasn't depression and that this was intermittent - 2 weeks on 2 weeks off! Although this didn't help with the anxiety and tearfulness during the 2 weeks on.

I was then prescribed a progesterone drug I can't remember the name of and I am not sure if it was synthetic or natural, but it made my period ridiculously heavy with severe clotting, so I have been taken off that now. If it was a synthetic one (which I suspect it was) - would a natural one make a difference?

Anyway I have recently been given a typically reserved british diagnosis of severe PMT and I have been now been offered prozac as the treatment for this because the progesterone didn't work ... but I am scared of taking it because the side effects terrify me. I would love to know how many of you have been prescribed prozac and what effect it had, if you're willing to share - do the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks?

Btw I exercise regularly, diet is ok, I do not take caffiene and am an occasional drinker as I found I can be very intolerant to alcohol during my 2 weeks on (basically it makes me vomit and I hate being sick).

I have to do something to try and ease my symptoms which are getting ridiculously bad, but really don't what to do for the best - I have had the box of prozac sitting in the cupboard for the past 2 weeks and as I have just hit my 2 weeks back on now I am tempted but I am still scared and don't know what to do for the best.

Sorry for so many questions but if anyone is willing to share I would be very grateful

Thanks loads

[Lccollin]

I am so glad that I found this! I have been suffering for years and didn't know what it was. My gyn diagnosed me as having depression and anxiety, even though I went to her for help, she didn't test my hormone level or did any other test, other than checking for my thyroid function. She gave lexapro and Xanax and sent me on my way. Im 35 years old, have 3 kids and married. My husband has been very supportive! I refused to take the lexapro for fear of side effects. I am to the point now that Im even afraid to leave the house with fear that I could have an emotional meltdown in public...my periods are very painful and during ovulation I feel like I'm gonna lose my mind and I also have bleeding with ovulation(very light bleeding that last about a day or two), which I think it is a sign of cyst on ovaries and hormonal imbalance. I am so anxious and depressed. I did some research and from I've read, calcium, magnesium,
and zinc is supposed to help. It has a very calming effect. I just started taking it a couple of days ago, and I have felt some calming effects from it. Also, I didn't want to
take antidepressants so I researched and found that l theanine is supposed to be very
effective, to the point of curing anxiety and depression and pmdd. I just started taking
200mg at night before bed, I haven't noticed a big change but I have to give it some
time, will let you know if it works. I'm going to another gyn and pc doctor to see what they say. Also, along with the calcium and magnesium and l theanine, I take vitamin c,
vitamin e and omega 3, which is supposed to help with hormonal imbalance! Good
luck to all and God bless you all. I hope we can all find some answers and start to feel
better very soon! Oh yeah, rely in God too! He is a big help!

[Lccollin]

Daiell,
Read my post about the vitamins and do some research on natural remedies. You've got nothing to lose by doing so. I believe in natural remedies first. I don't even take Tylenol unless I'm in a lot of pain, which is usually during my period. Do some research on l theanine, omega 3 , calcium and magnesium; they are all supposed to help with pms and pmdd and anxiety and depression. I hope you start to feel better soon! Good luck to you! And God bless!

[hll1]

Anyone have this problem too?

I am wondering if anyone on here also suffers from inappropriate sinus tachycardia (IST)? I was diagnosed with this last year (June 2010) and basically what it means is that my heart is physically healthy but will race uncontrollably for no reason. I take 5 mgs of Betaxolol a day for this and it seems to keep the racing under control. However, since this started last year, around 1 week before my period I get extremely depressed, cry for no reason and just generally feel terrible. Usually about 2 days into my period these symptoms go away. I contributed these symptoms to the IST but am now wondering if it is PMDD. My periods are very bad (severe cramping, clotting, very heavy flow) but my OB/GYN seems to think that is just normal for not being on birth control pills. I tried to go on the pill again last month but after 4 days of taking it my heart began racing and I was afraid to take them any more. Can anyone help me?

[anndroidlu]

Questions to ask my gyno / thoughts on herbal remedies vs antidepressants

Hi all,

This is my first time posting on any forum ... ever. I'm a habitually self-contained person but I've spent a lot of time genuinely questioning my sanity but after reading your post it seems as though my symptoms match up. I cannot express how much of a relief it is. I find it's often a near out-of-body experience. I watch myself cry or rage or bottom out–with half detachment and half horror–for about a week before my period and then it dissipates a few days after it starts.

I have an appointment with a sexual health clinic later this week to talk about my symptoms and I want to know what questions I should ask? What should I make sure to check, after my gyno prescribes something?

I'm wary of antidepressants but given my level of desperation, I'm open to them as well. Can anyone tell me their experiences with them? Pros and cons?

I've also read posts on vitamins and herbal remedies, which I'm more inclined to try. Lccollin, you mentioned vitamins: do you take them every day or just around monster-menstrual time? What have everyone's experiences been with herbal remedies?

And finally, I'm currently taking Ocella, the generic brand of Yasmin. I'll admit that I'm often inconsistent with when I take it during the day. (Sometimes I'll skip two days by accident and then double up for two days afterwards, as per the instructions.) Obviously, this has an effect on my hormones. Should I be more stringent? Has anyone done this, and what effect does it have?

Thanks to every one of you for your time and help. As trite as it is, finding this forum has already made me feel like I'm not alone and on my way to recovery.

[NO_MORE_PMDD]

Dosage and minerals

I truly understand where so many of you are coming from. The pain, suffering and frustration trying to find a solution. I suffered severe PMDD - it was horrifying! Because of the hormonal imbalance my thyroid function was interrupted as well as many other unpleasant symptoms. I took thyroid (natural desicated version) Rx for 10 months. In 10 months, I was able to turn my hypothyroid completely around and as of January 2011 I am no longer on any thyroid Rx. I do however, take Iodine/Iodide 12.5 mg every day along with 5000K mg of vitamin D (both consisently common with hypothyroid individuals) and also mineral supplements that are referred to as tissue salts or cell salts. I highly recommend everyone takes cell salts. The theory behind these small little mineral supplements is that in order for illness or imbalance to exist it starts at a cellular level. If you have a cellular difficiency - you can take all the supplements in the world and you will not be able to heal until you address the cellular deficiency. For me this proved to be very true!

Through much trial and error I was able to resolve my PMDD symptoms. Here is how I did it: I take natural bio-identical progesterone (yes, it is made in a laboratory so it is still considered synthetic, however the molecular structure is the same as the body produces unlike provera and all the progestins found in oral contraceptives (the body recognized BCP as poison!!). A dose of 40 mg is very low and likely will activate estrogen dominance and the horrible symptoms that go along with it anxiety, bloating, migraines, hot flashes, weight gain, etc. In order to "push" through those symptoms, I took a higher dose (100-200mg) and as the symptoms subside, you can try reducing the dose to find what your body is happy with. Keeping in mind, PMDD is a hormonal imbalance between progesterone and estrogen. It is the ratio between the two that makes a world of difference. We come in contact with many synthetic estrogens in daily life so there is no need to take estrogen supplements. Almost all oral contraceptives contain both synthetic progestin (not to be confused with progeserone) and estrogen.

With all this in mind - you don't need Zoloft or any other anti-depressant. This is a hormonal problem that can be corrected! I too was put on Zoloft and Zanax - it was unecessary and only a bandaid if even that.

Awareness of your body is a good starting point...the body will speak to you. You just have to listen. I gurantee it will not ask you for poison or toxins :-)

Wishing you the best of luck on your journey to finding balance.

[tln]

progesterone cream

I joined this site because I saw your post and want to know more about progesterone cream. I have PMDD and I am on BC but my naturopatic dr. thinks I need to go off BC and use Progesterone. I am scared because what if BC is helping and I got worse. I would love to hear your imput.