I have honestly eaten more than enough today but I have an insatiable hunger I can’t curb no matter what I eat and I just want more food. I’m so hungry. PMDD makes me want to eat the whole fridge. This is so exhausting. Just had to express it here because I’m SO SO ravenous and feel insane 😭

I’ve been on sertraline for about 3 weeks now. It’s been wonderful not to overthink and actually feel like myself and being able to eat and function like a normal human being.
However, I can’t orgasm. Not alone, not with my partner. It’s super frustrating because my libido is pretty high and I feel like a sexual frustrated teenager.

I don’t know if it’ll get better because I’m only 3 weeks in. But I feel like it’s not worth it.
I don’t know if I should quit sertraline in order to be able to enjoy sex or stick to it and accept that my sex life is doomed.

What are your experiences?

I seem to be having PMDD symptoms towards the end of my period instead of during luteal. Irritability, crying spells, feeling out of touch with reality, SI. All my usual stuff, but at a different time. Has anyone else experienced this?

Started hrt 3-4 days ago and am having a horrible time. I have a lot going on but now I'm majorly depressed with very intrusive SI. Does it get better?

45 yo. PMDD is helped with 5htp supplements. Haven't had a period for a few months. Started estrodiol gel + 200mg progesterone a few days ago (trying to help with generalised joint pain hEDS)... Had a little breakdown with my manager yesterday following a workplace injury meeting. And haven't been able to snap out of it. Went to bed at 7pm last night and cried for a few hours thinking about the hopelessness and wanting to not be here any more (but also the guilt and selfishness of that way out, I'm sure you're all familiar with it). Anyway, still feeling rubbish today. Lots of SI thoughts. Google says to expect a period of adjustment and normal to have "blues". My doctor didn't warn me about

this.

Please tell me it gets better.

Seeking a practitioner to diagnose me, but I’m a textbook patient for hypermobile EDS. hEDS is a connective tissue disorder. I tried Zoloft today for PMDD and promptly shitted my pants not once, but twice… After some research, I’ve concluded my sensitive GI tract is due to EDS. No Zoloft peace of mind for me.

Petsitting a long way from home for a few days with my period around the corner, I suddenly felt profoundly lonely and depressed for absolutely no reason. Broke down crying in the guest room, laid there staring at the ceiling for a while, wrestled with a heaping helping of anxiety, and eventually ordered a pizza for dinner to see if that would help…….It did not.

I’m sure I’ll be fine, I just need rest, but fffuuuuccckkkk… 😭

Hey all, every month during luteal is terrible. I went on birth control (Seasonique or Seasonal..one of those) to stop my periods entirely to try to help things. It didn't help, my body never really adjusted so I came off so back to regular cycles and I am just miserable.

Please, if anyone has actually gotten real and proper help from a doctor, did you seek out a specific type of doctor? I don't want to waste money on someone who is going to tell me that this is normal and to try to exercise or something.

I'm in Toronto by the way, if anyone knows anyone good to see in this area.

I am on zoloft, but as a daily anxiety med, not a PMDD-only med. Does anyone take zoloft everyday but then increase dose during luteal and does it make a significant difference?

Thanks in advance. Tired of crying for no reason. 🤪

Hi everyone, I'm trying to figure out if I have PMDD or if it's bipolar disorder that's affected by my menstrual cycle

Almost every month I have terrible depression, that is, I can’t get out of bed and I feel like I have no energy at all, I have all the symptoms of bipolar depression. Basically it seems to last all the time, even during menstruation, that is, I feel a little better but not much, mainly during ovulation I feel a little better, but sometimes not. I also have a calendar where I mark everything for the year (in the first months I only marked how the day went, and then I added other states)

And at the end of September I had a feeling like hypomania for 5 days (shown on the calendar with the mark euphoria) That is, my heart was beating terribly and I wanted to do something all the time, but it wasn’t that euphoria, it was like a different, in short, strange state. Back then I couldn't even watch a movie in peace because I had to do something

Honestly, I also suffer from hormonal migraines with aura, and I am discussing with my gynecologist about taking pills to stabilize my cycle

Also, once, about a year ago, my neurologist prescribed me an antidepressant for migraines, and I took it for 2-3 weeks. But then it didn't make me feel any better; on the contrary, it gave me the same terrible feeling (what it was like during those 5 days of euphoria in September) And I stopped taking it

But honestly, I think with bipolar disorder, depression should last longer, but maybe this is also related to the cycle, Idk..

Few days ago i started taking low dose of lexapro cyclically for my symptoms. And every single night so far, i feel a huge wave of anxiety and overwhelming sense of feelings that i’m going to die. I have been taking the medication at night but haven’t taken it yet tn, and i can’t get those thoughts out of my head. Has anyone had similar experiences?

For context, outside of pmdd, i also have ocd, adhd, and extreme health anxiety lol, so all combined i’m like a complete mess and overthink/loop everything that could go wrong the second i breathe differently. I may just be hyper fixating on side effects subconsciously and anxiety taking it to extreme. Ugh

I saw my specialist earlier in the week and it was really useful and we came up with a new plan for my care. I was really optimistic and looking forward to changing up my prescription to see if the new one worked better for me.

I saw my GP to show them the feedback from the specialist and request the new prescription and got a point blank no. I am just so frustrated and I feel stuck. I just have to stay on my current protocol which doesn’t work very well while my specialist dukes it out with my GP I guess.

Just ranting, I’m so sick of my life being blown up every two weeks and I really thought this was the light at the end of the tunnel.

Currently coming off Cymbalta (60 mg) since it stopped working for me and going back to Prozac… the first week has been okay but I’ve been have the mild mood swings in the evenings, the random chills, and mild headaches. Basically, flu-like symptoms. I should be starting my Prozac in about 10 days after another step down… just want some encouraging advice and support during this weird time of transition.

here is my step down schedule:

I made a post a week+ ago about how I’m not gonna make it ‘til the end of the year. I feel like I’m going crazy. I feel like I am crazy. My family has given me a roof over my head and food. Great 👍.

But I have a mother who says I’m a “failure”, and continues to express, in so many different ways, how “I’m the reason for her sadness” and how she’s so “dissatisfied and disappointed” in me. The list goes on with the way she’s spoken to me over the year.

A dad who only cares about “what’s next”, and if it doesn’t follow his 5 step plan that he can agree with, I essentially am not allowed to do anything. I’m financially dependent on him, so he basically cut me off immediately after my attempt, and it’s difficult to explain fully how my parents operate, but it’s their form of punishment for me having to drop out of school because of my PMDD. Which I guess is fair cause I never saw it as my money anyways.

But I make this post today because my brother makes a “passing joke” when we are all together, about a T-shirt my mum wants to “burn” because it was the shirt the hospital gave me when I was getting treatment at the hospital after my attempt. I had literally started my period the day after getting a bed, and they wouldn’t let me shower (and I couldn’t have a tampon, I have a heavy flow so I usually use BOTH pad and tampon) so I bled all over my clothes…therefore = shirt associated with that time. My brother then goes “The shirt from the Mental Asylum”. And starts laughing. I immediately turn to him and I’m like “Mental Asylum?”. And he just keeps laughing and goes back to his friends. And my parents giggle too.

It’s been 2 years and this is how it’s been. I’m saying 1 joke. But the first thing my mum said when I was in hospital was “did you do this for attention”. Nothing else. Extremely cold. My dad was more worried about uni and what was going on with that. My brother didn’t say anything about it. I’m going crazy in this place. Genuinely. I hate this house. I am so stuck. The only reason I haven’t done anything is cause I don’t have money atm. And I’m so dissociated I can’t even function close enough.

My mum is a flipping doctor and she doesn’t even believe I have PMDD😭 my brother thinks it’s just depression. And my dad doesn’t understand it. I’ve sent websites and links in the past but they just dgaf. They care enough about whether or not I’m breathing cause it will directly affect them, but not actually if I’m okay. They don’t gaf. And I WISH I was exaggerating. The first time I had a breakdown at 16 I could hear my brother and mum laughing about it. I wish I was making this shit up😭 I still act civil with everyone cause, again, I’m crazy dissociated, but also, I don’t care to argue or be confrontational. I done that. I just don’t have the energy to address things in a calm manner cause however way I go about it it’s the same result. I’m so trapped. I wish I never had this disorder and maybe then I would’ve been normal. Idk.

God I hate my family so much. So so much.

My last few luteals have been...dare I say...peaceful? Not 100% but not as bad as they usually are

But I've noticed the last few cycles when my period is over & I enter follicular is when the raging usual luteal bitch comes out and I feel like I finally had a grip on my cycle / hormones and now I'm like wtf.....

Currently everything annoys tf out of me
I want to sleep all day
Either over eat or don't gaf about eating

I'm so annoyed right now
It's my kids first day of fall break & already had a moment I am not proud of

Both kids up by 7 am
Dogs barking at each other
Husband can't manage to take the trash out eventhough it's full af & he put a shitty diaper in this morning & I said PLEASE make sure you take that out before you leave

I already want to shame cry & hide all day

wtf is wrong with me

Back in the day, I could almost set my watch by my cycle, it was so regular. In the last few years (I'm almost 39), they've become a little less regular, off by a day or two every couple of months. I didn't even have a period last month; it came something like 10-14 days late, which I've experienced maybe once in my life, many years ago.

Had that not happened, I'd be expecting my period in about a week. I'm pretty sure I've been experiencing PMDD symptoms for the past week (or about 3-4 days after my period ended). They usually start right around ovulation.

I say I'm "pretty sure," because on the whole, my symptoms have gotten a lot better after lots of work and some medication. Over the past week, I've been overstimulated, cried easily, prone to rage. But... does that make sense..?

If you've had a super-delayed period, did your symptoms start up as expected, starting with your new "day one"? Or did your symptoms align with your previous schedule? It doesn't make sense to me, but I'm also trying to reassure myself that it's not just something wrong with my overall mental health (I don't like myself right now. I feel like I hate my partner, I'm stressing about my career, I've been ghosting friends. I desperately want to believe it's just PMDD). Really appreciate your input if you've experienced similar!

Patches are great but I am a rapid absorber and suboptimal absorber so I have to wear a ton, changed every day, cant get them wet, etc etc etc, plus there is a shortage in Poland, where I live. I've tried the gel. I absorb it so fast that it spikes and plummets within like 45 min.
So I am possibly switching to estrofem pill (bioidentical estrogen only) from patch in a few days. Looking to see if anyone has had experiences with doing HRT with the estradiol pill. [I do continuous high dose estrogen plus vaginal utrogesten last few days of luteal. Still ovulate like clockwork. Ovulated thru gnrh. Am 39.]

I started bio identical progesterone. Birth control of all types have made me so much worse my whole life. I just had no idea and thought I was crazy up until a year ago. But pregnancy and breastfeeding for 2yrs gave me more stability. Most of the month I feel great. So happy , excited about life , learning new things, a good partner and mom. The 7-10 days before my period i am so unstable i get frequent SI, i cause so many issues with my partner and i avoid my family as much as possible.

I was SO hopeful and excited to try Prometrium. I’ve been trying supplements for a year and working out and changing my diet to manage PCOS/pmdd. I tried luteal dosing but I felt horrible and going on meds full time when I’m so happy the rest of the month and SSRI make me feel like garbage isn’t something I really want to do.

It’s my first cycle trying it so I don’t want to give up hope. It helped me sleep but not the last 2 nights. I started it day 14 of my cycle. I thought surely if it helps me sleep like a baby when I struggle with insomnia half the month I’ve found what works for me at 36.

Well nope I’m back to irritability, depression, SI with no plan or intent and picking apart my partner and having fights and crying spells. Had to call off work one day. I am SO fucking tired of this disease and myself. I wanted this to work so bad.

Hi guys! I just got prescribed estradiol for my PMDD by my hormone doctor. It’s been a weird battle.

I’ve been on progesterone, which was a godsend for my cramps but not really for my mental health. I’ve dealt with severe PMDD and cramps since getting off Nexplanon four years ago. Progesterone finally gave me relief with the cramps, but not so much with the mental health side.

I was also given testosterone troches, but that didn’t seem to do much. I’ve been dealing with debilitating anxiety and depression around my period and honestly all around. I was put on sertraline, which has helped on the days before my PMDD hits, but not as much when the PMDD actually hits.

That brought my psychiatrist to suggest speaking with my specialist about estrogen. Did any of you notice that estradiol helped with your mental health, anxiety, depression, or panic attacks? What was your experience with it, good or bad?

I’m excited but nervous to try it. I’m really hoping this is part of the solution! I’ve also been in therapy for two years, so hopefully this whole combination does the trick. :)

I’ve been experiencing horrible harm OCD thoughts about my loved ones, but magnesium, ashwagandha, meditation, and somatic yoga have been helping. The thoughts go away which is good. My period is due in three days, and the intensity of everything, combined with these profound emotional fluctuations, is becoming so overwhelming. One minute I’m happy, the next I’m sad or angry, and it feels like I’m experiencing every emotion all at once. I literally feel like I’m fucking melting. Now I’m dealing with nausea and feeling like I’m about to throw up! Does anyone have any tips for managing this? I’m thinking about going for a walk later to get some fresh air because I desperately need some relief.

I know we all have different experiences but I just feel so awful and tired and anxious, I just need some support.

I've been trying different medications since March and it just feels like I've been luteal all year. I'm so so so tired.

Started with my GP on Eloine (Yaz) until the end of July when mild ongoing anxiety and low mood became severe. Switched to a private doctor who put me on HRT estrogen and Slynd, and again, after two months of mild anxiety and depression I've plummeted.

I'm just so tired. I can't stop crying, this can't be my life. Trying to find the right solution has been worse than luteal.

I've got an appointment on Tuesday and I know she's going to suggest Mirena instead of the pill but it just terrifies me so much I don't think I can. But I don't know what else to do. We didn't try SSRIs because I used to be on Escitalopram and it made me feel flat. But maybe another one would help?

I'm so tired of not feeling myself. I don't feel like I remember who I am anymore. I'm just this ball of miserable anxiety. I don't know if I want advice or support, I'm just tired.

I have been feeling incredibly awful this ovulation, more so than normal. Constant nausea all day. I started taking some supplements, and I did have a snack. It is making my days worse than they have to be. Any ideas?

Got fired from my job that I liked In peak luteal.

I am having a really hard time just existing right now as money and housing security are the top things my brain obsesses about during this time (before this happened ), I feel so so scared and ashamed and hopeless.

I can't even really sleep and when I do I wakeup to the sick feeling. I can't get unemployment. I have a job lined up and an interview today and a tiny bit in a 401 k that I can't get to for about a month. I'm so so so scared and ready to lay down and give up . Thanks for taking the time to read this 💕

LADIES! In the past, I had bloodwork done during hell week. My FSH never got above 10.8. After another night of Olympic swimming I thought let me do a little test. Positive!

This test reacts when your FSH is 25 or higher! I think I can safely say I'm finally in peri menopause 🥳

The end is in sight, hopefully 😅