What should I do if I think I have PMDD
28F
I feel like an absolute monster on my period and the days before. I didn’t have a period or any period symptoms all 4 years of college. I was extremely overweight. 300 pounds to be exact. I gained 60 pounds in my senior year of high school and add the freshman 15, your girl shot up.
In 2021, I decided I was ready (and had the time) to lose the weight and I did. Present day, I’m down 90 pounds and continuously ready to make this my forever lifestyle. I would say I didn’t get my period back until 2022. When I had my period as a teenager and even the last 2-3 years, I never had any serious symptoms. Maybe a few cramps here and there, but no brash symptoms where I felt like I had to seek some help for it. I’d pop a Midol, and go on about my day and be fine.
I really didn’t start seeing any changes until maybe October/November 2025. I’d be slightly nauseous at certain points in the day and I’d have absolutely no appetite. I don’t want to eat or consume ANYTHING. I would cry everyday for two weeks. In my mind, I thought at most it was seasonal depression. I hate the cold weather. So I’m thinking maybe that’s the reason. A lot did happen the last 5 months of 2025. I went out of the country on my own for the first time, I moved to a new apartment (all by myself), I got my romantic feelings hurt for the first time as an adult, and I started weight lifting consistently and that has changed my life, body, and mind in ways that I can’t even put into words. I implemented a new type of discipline into myself. I am a whole new person in a way and I love that.
I’m 28, live by myself, my family lives out of state, I have a great job, money and benefits. I go to the gym everyday. My daily diet consists of vegetables and protein. Very basic. I don’t eat sweets. I don’t drink any beverage with calories. I am honestly just focused on continuing my weight loss journey. 10K - 14K steps a day. Weight training 3-4x a week. Outside of my cycle, I am a very levelheaded person. I’m smart, consistent, confident, and realiable. I have also been independent since a child, so this is just an extension of who I have always been just now as an adult.
All of that comes crashing down two weeks before my period.
Even when I am PMSing and actually on my period, I still get things done, but they feel like a drag, and I feel like the worst person alive. I feel so soft and tender and can cry if the wind blows too hard. I cry just scrolling watching videos on social media. I cry thinking about the future. I cry thinking about the past. I get extremely anger over the smallest things possible. Like fury. Last week, I was so pissed, I took my bracelet off and threw it against the wall. I wanted to throw a remote at the TV and actually break the TV. I knew I was going to be pissed later if I did that, so I didn’t throw the remote, BUT I WANTED TO. I live alone and work in a cubicle, so I’m grateful that I’m not flashing on real people in real time, but I’m flashing on myself. I feel so ugly, huge, stinky, and unworthy. I can’t even look in the mirror because I know I’m going to just say the most negative things possible about myself. Things I don’t believe. Things I’d never say if I weren’t PMSing or menstrating. Sometimes I’ll just scream outloud to process the anger and get it out of me but that just makes me huff and puff more. Sometimes I make finger guns and put them in my ears. (I am not suicid*l. I do not want to k*ll myslef. I really love my life.) I just don’t feel like a good person. I don’t trust my decision making skills. Things like grocery shopping or deciding what to eat can make me cry. Should I get this or that? Do this or that? Almost like I don’t trust myself. I am short when I hear stupidity. I hate stupidity in general, but it’s amplified during my Luteal Phase/Period. I have all of this anger, sadness, and rage just all the time. I feel like a toddler having a tantrum. Whenever I’m done feeling mad or sad, I cry. Probably because I can’t believe I felt all of those intense emotions in a short period of time or because I know “that’s not me”. Sometimes I feel like my period takes 2 weeks of my life from me. It seems like my symptoms just intensified as I get older and healthier.
I had a Well Woman Exam in January and when she asked me if I had any problems with my period, I said no. I honestly thought she meant if I had bad cramps. I thought I just had seasonal depression, but as it gets hotter and I’m still sad, it might be bigger than that. I’m kind of scared to go back because I feel like I’m wasting her time. My gyno is actually amazing though and I feel comfortable with her. I’m just not the most comfortable with feelings. Since I’m so levelheaded and responsible, a lot of people think that there is “nothing wrong” with me. The truth is, it takes a lot of daily mental work to have your shit together. It’s not easy, but we all have to “pick our hard”. It’s not the easiest for me to open up emotionally. I truly feel like people don’t listen to or care about how I feel because I’m “strong” or I’ll “get over” it.
PMSing and being on your period feels like a Shroom Trip. A week before, I’m angry and sad and then my period comes and now I’m anrgy, sad, and not hungry. I do not feel like myself. I feel all over the place. I still get things done, I’m a woman, that’s all we do. But once it’s over, it’s like I never experienced any of it. I just went through a rollcoaster ride of hell for the last 5-10 days, and once it’s over, I’m suppose to act like it never happened, just to get rocked again in 2 weeks.
Should I go back and see my gyno again? How do you even fix an emotional and internal problem? I only feel this way during my cycle. I feel emotionally amazing and productive all the other weeks. I have never been officially diagnosed with PMDD. My pap smear came back fine, I’m healthy, I eat healthy, I don’t drink.