r/PMDD

okay so I know realistically everyone reacts differently but im terrified of medication and would rather have a view of people's experiences and which ones.

im thinking to try them as im getting so tired wanting to kill myself every month no matter how good I am diet sleep wise it never matters in the end 😭😭😭

idk I feel so lost and confused in it. I have a GP appointment next week to see about diagnosis and meds though

Whenever I end up telling people about PMDD, most of them never take it seriously. I had a friend who once told me that chocolate and alcohol is going to make me feel better. I hate how people end up minimising and then treating me like I’m making up a random condition. This is why I end up needing so much validation from this sub and professionals because sometimes people don’t act like what I’m going through is a real thing.

How do I explain to them that I go through this much darkness every month and no matter what I do, nothing can make the thoughts and symptoms go away? I wish there was more compassion and willingness to understand PMDD more.

Also Happy PMDD Awareness Month.

I'm currently pregnant and feeling deeply happy for the first time in a long time. The postpartum drop is something I'm very much dreading, especially as some studies suggest PMDD is a risk factor for postpartum depression.

What was it like for you? Worse than your average luteal phase? Appreciate all insight

Laying In bed motionless with no energy. Took my meds an hour and a half ago and can’t even tell. That’s how you know that estrogen is low baby 😂 I want to enjoy the beautiful day outside but moving my body feels like I’m slinging around a sack of heavy potatoes. Laugh now cry later 💔

Hi everyone.

My period will start in a few days, and now I'm sitting at work and all I want to do is just want to burst into tears, but I have to hold myself together. It just got so bad that I need to vent.

For the last few months every time my period is approaching I just want to end my current relationship once and for all. I'm just so unhappy and seems like my gut is telling me that there is no sense in continuing my relationship because I will end up being miserable.

My boyfriend is smart and rational, but he really struggles with being empathetic (most probably due to his upbringing, his parents never supported him emotionally, he had to cope with all sad feelings on his own). Emotional support in general is a very alien concept for him. Also we have different views on money, my family always puts happiness and joy of your loved ones above everything else, while his family is very stingy. For him financial boundaries stand above everything else, and I kind of had to adjust and stop being generous with him, because I won't receive same treatment back. I just didn't want to get hurt again. We still exchange pretty expensive gifts on birthdays and Christmas though, so everything is not that bad.

I just get completely lost a week before period. I really feel that we're so different that there is no point in staying together, and that this relationship will never be fulfilling for me, and we got together just because of loneliness. I'm tired of giving him very precise instructions for supporting me emotionally each and every time I need that from him. I am just tired and I want to cry my eyes out.

I told him hundreds of times how checking up on me online during the day is important for me, and he again doesn't do that. At this point I just feel that I force him to give me attention when he doesn't see any point in it. We work in the same office, I told him so many times that having coffee together once a day for a few minutes and catching up is important for me, and AGAIN HE DOESN'T DO THAT.

Sometimes he comes up with lame excuses, like "I didn't have time to text you/having coffee". But of course he went out on his damn smoke breaks a few times.

Yesterday he was busy for the whole day and brought me flowers and baked goodies when he came back home, he's not that horrible. But I'm so upset that I don't get the attention and care when I need it most.

Seems like I can keep peace in relationship only if I will be silently crying my eyes out and bottling up everything, otherwise he will get defensive again and another fight will start.

I don't know what to do. I've tried to express to him that I have PMDD and I know it's not an excuse, but i struggle with feelings of detachment not only with him but with myself and it makes living harder. We've been together since last April. I take 25mg of sertaline since last december which has helped a lot but its still difficult. I feel as though, he prioritises his feelings over mine during these times and fails to recognise me and what im going through. I know this because he only says he feels disconnect while im in my luteal phase. I guess this is a rant but a part of me thinks this is quite selfish of him, or maybe him being slightly unreasonable to expect me to try to be present when he knows i struggle with this. What do you guys think? Am i wrong for wanting him to show me more care and attentiveness during this time?

I am so beyond sick of dealing with women specific issues - PMDD, endometriosis, iron deficiency from periods. Every month I feel so angry and hopeless. Anyone else?

Okay so I (22) and have spent the last 4 years really focused on my mental health during grieving the traumatic loss of my mother and abandonment issues. My fiancé (24) and I have been together just about 8 years. Of course the first few years were slightly dramatic being literal children in high school! I used to never believe in high school sweet hearts but here I am with the most amazing man ever. He was such a huge support system for me and kept me going throughout my mental health journey. He has always been by my side making me laugh and telling me how beautiful I am since day one.

So here’s the part that I hope people can relate or give any advice. I tend to have 1 or 2 severe days during the hell weeks of extreme paranoia thinking he’s going to cheat. Which is absolutely not ever going to happen, we are so happy. We have always had an amazing sex life, we have worked really hard to learn each others communication styles and the healthiest ways to talk, very actively going on adventures, do art and activities all the time. We don’t argue much besides the occasional silly bickering but honest to god I couldn’t feel more supported and loved and I know he feels the same way, even at this moment well I tell him about my redditing🤣. We know each other inside and out, there’s quite literally not a thing we wouldn’t do around each other. I communicate this feeling with him and there’s never in secrecy between us, I am very self aware of who I am verses what the symptoms feed me. About every 6 months I have a major PMDD crash I’d say, almost psychotic break, I will see red for a day and spiral and consistently reach out to the hotline (988), knowing I’d never do that but I crave it like candy when this hell week arrives, that happens exactly ever 6 months oddly enough. He has always been great at giving me space and time and hugging me and helping me breathe. But I also know it’s not his responsibility and I don’t want him feeling like he needs to be a caretaker. Long story short. This morning he took the day off beings his birthday was yesterday and he wanted to have a 4/20 day together. He had to run some stuff to his boss, he asked me if I wanted to go with him (his boss is basically family). I struggle to sleep during this time and have extreme nightmares so I wanted to sleep in since I couldn’t sleep during the night very well.

I woke up and checked his maps to see if he was almost home (I always check all my families location because of a bit of trauma) I then called him because he was about 30 minutes away, he said he was leaving Lyle, (where his boss lives) but he was in bingen when I checked (which is 10 minutes away) like no big deal it’s early in the morning. He was his normal self and happy to talk and came home happy. It takes like 45 minutes from our house to his boss so the total is about 1 1/2 hr.

I know he didn’t do anything and find my friends app lowkey buggin all the time, like it’s said I was somewhere a few miles away from where I actually was before. But just because I’m having one of these intense days I can’t stop the little intrusive thoughts of what if.

Mind you this man is a very loyal, loving man, we spend a majority of our time together and he’s always made it so clear how obsessed he is with me and my body and showed me an incredible amount of love and support. I mean he knows me to the core. I know in my gut, heart and everything else he wouldn’t ever do anything because he is happy, we are getting married, he proposed to me on my girls trip plus him. We have a great drama free life and are enjoying planning a little micro wedding. It’s so unfair to him to have to be around me when I’m like this because I feel like I had no control of my emotions. I’ll try and hold it in all day and then explode. I told him how I feel and what my brain is feeding me and he said something along the lines of “babe, I wanted you to come with me, if you want I could call martin(his boss) and he can tell us what time I left” of course I’m like oh god no that’s like ridiculous. I trust you and I know we have everything we need and more with each other. But how tf do I shake the intrusive constant thoughts of I’m not enough and he is finding better somewhere else. It just sucks to be in a self ware state but not able to control anything. Just a wtf to this disease sometimes. If anyone has any coping skills that have helped them with similar things I’d so appreciate it. Or even just someone to relate to, this is such an isolating feeling! I hope everyone has a good day today and we are all being kind to ourselves. Thank you for being here💕

I can’t be the only one who sometimes gets a “PMDD flu” or whatever you wanna call it. My body mimics flu symptoms and I’m super rundown, weak, aching joints etc. I’ve had it on and off ever since getting my period at the age of 12. Last night I decided to use some ginger capsules (I took 2) and within a couple of hours started to feel way better. Today I’ve woken up and feels miles better!! Just popping this here in case anyone else goes through it! I had to constantly take time off work for a fake flu - so I’m glad I’ve potentially found a solution to at least this. I think the flu like symptoms are caused by excess inflammation and prostaglandin. I’m not a doctor so don’t quote me 😂

Anyway hopefully this can provide some relief to others who experience this. I feel so excited that something so simple has helped.

As title says. If you look at my post history from other subreddits, I’ve been struggling with my physical and mental health almost my whole life; but the last few years has been almost debilitating.

Diet changes, exercise, medication changes, meditation, therapy, psychiatrist appointments, nutritionists, new PCP—I think I’m doctor’ed out at this point and at the usual end of my monthly rope (period was supposed to be here today and I’m really struggling). I’m tired of talking to people around me about it because while others say they get it, I still don’t feel like they get it.

TW: Axcidental? Self harm (I usually think of self harm as cutting or something intentional, idk if this counts) and suicidal ideation

Ive been on a new vitamin regimen that has very much improved how long my PMDD lasts. It's gone from 7-9 days to maybe 2-4 max. Somehow though, I find that those 2-4 days are so intense for me that I almost prefer the prolonged period.

I went out to the beach yesterday, I usually dont find myself too unattractive but I saw how my face looked in the pictures and I wanted to cry. My boyfriend had already seen them to make matters worse and I felt very embarassed. I'm unfortunately very alone in my life, I know a lot of people but I don't confide in anyone. I avoid doing so with my boyfriend because he works a lot and I don't want to be a burden. I don't feel comfortable going to my mom or dad, and it's all becoming very heavy.

I woke up today and i could just tell the PMDD was settling in. I was brain fogged and I felt so unbearably hopeless. I was about to go to the gym and went to go put on skin care when I saw my face and I just lost it. I went to my room and cried and hit myself repeatedly and ripped hair out. My nail got hit with something and is burning alive. I don't consider that self harm, I'm neurodivergent and sometimes I struggle to regulate my emotions to the point of losing my shit like that.

I find myself wishing that my state had assisted suicide care. I'm exhausted from dealing with the same shit every month over and over again. I feel like each month my PMDD brain latches onto a new insecurity and this time it was my appearance which makes me feel the absolute worst. I'd never actually hurt myself, my beliefs have this idea that you're forced to reincarnate if you hurt yourself (This may sound silly, but it's what I got taught. No shade to any other beliefs.) And i NEVER want to be born again. I feel very passively suicidal though.

I find myself wishing that my state had assisted suicide care. I'm exhausted from dealing with the same shit every month over and over again. I feel like each month my PMDD brain latches onto a new insecurity and this time it was my appearance which makes me feel the absolute worst. I'd never actually hurt myself, my beliefs have this idea that you're forced to reincarnate if you hurt yourself (This may sound silly, but it's what I got taught. No shade to any other beliefs.) And i NEVER want to be born again. I feel very passively suicidal though.

I just needed to vent to be honest, but if anyone has some advice on managing this alone (I'm not interested in confiding in my boyfriend. He's a good and patient man, but I'm worried I'll scare him away if he knew how bad I got. He's never seen me get bad and I love him too much to do that to him.) Advice on how to feel more attractive or procedures to help work as well.

I can't wait for my period to arrive so I can feel normal again. This cycle feels deadly omfg

Pros and cons of TMS and ketamine therapy? I’ve been approved for both treatments and not sure which one I should pick

I know it isn’t an excuse, and I try not to act on my thoughts and impulses.

But the patience I have… the compassion… the empathy, it just fucking disappears. And it’s shit because it isn’t me, for fuck’s sake. Don’t take away the one thing that makes me, me. Please.

Trans guy here. I was diagnosed with PMDD a few years ago and tried many medications. Nothing worked, and my symptoms seem to be at their worst when they're paired with dysphoria. It gets so bad that I can't function or leave the house 3-5 days before my period. I know T can get rid of periods for some, but does it affect PMDD symptoms? If anyone has experience with starting T please let me know if it helped or made any difference. I'm planning to start soon and I hope it will help.

Hi y'all. Friendly neighborhood mod here. Just wanted to pop in for a chat.

So, this morning I woke up to someone dm'ing me about their PMDD seminar. This person had been banned previously for spamming the community about their seminar... and also supplements (and obviously didn't realize I was a mod here lol). Unfortunately we can't do much about what lands in your DMs, but we can give you a heads up: if someone reaches out pushing a seminar, a course, their blog, their website, supplements, or anything that gives you even a little bit of a bad feeling, trust that instinct. You're allowed to block them, ignore them, or report them to Reddit. You don't have to be nice about it either.

I'm going to get on ye olde soapbox for a just a second - me personally, I have a strong, strong dislike of people grifting on our condition for money or clout or both. And I want to be clear about what I mean by that. PMDD is a real, serious, life-disrupting, life threatening condition. A lot of us spent years being dismissed, misdiagnosed, or just told we were being dramatic. So when someone shows up and decides that our community is a good place to build a personal brand, make a quick dollar, or poach from, it genuinely makes me furious in a way that is hard to put into words politely. We are not a market. We are not a content niche. We are not the next big trend. We don't want your supplements or seminars. We are not your book, your blog, or your tiktok. We are human beings and we are here for support and community.

That being said, we have absolutely nothing against real researchers, clinicians, scientists studying PMDD... heck, we even love the high school students who want to do their projects on PMDD and want to post some questions. Honestly, we want way more of that. But every research post that comes through here gets checked by your mod team to make sure it has proper HSB/IRB approval or oversight before it ever makes its way on the sub. This is why Rule 4 exists. That's not us being Petty Bettys.

Everything we do is to keep this community safe for y'all because we appreciate you and we respect you. We're gonna keep doing that.

You know my life is very tough to be honest, and on top of that I’m very lonely and currently a student at uni but I’m lonely I don’t have any friends I don’t really talk to my family due to them being abusive towards me in the past and of course I’m single.. when I get closer to getting my period I genuinely start getting s*icidal thoughts because I deal with a lot of problems on my own and sometimes I just need a hug.. like is this too much to ask for?

It just really hurts to only be likable but not chosen and lovable, not trying to brag but I’m actually really good looking people always compliment my looks but nothing seems to work out with anyone 😞 like I really don’t know what to do or what am I missing!

Maybe if I had a great family or a good friend group I wouldn’t really care about being single but not having any of the above combined with my PMDD is ridiculously tough and it’s draining me!

I was pretty proud of myself for putting so many things in place to make my pmdd easier to deal with.

It was more like a dull voice in the background.

Same things still in place and this month it's kicking my butt.

What could be some reasons or is it just part of the beast? Any advice or experience appreciated so much.

It's been a while since it's been this bad. It just wanted to lull me in to a safe feeling so it could really twist the knife!

I was drinking which was amplifying everything so much. I stopped and it helped but now it's like it was when I was drinking.

Victim me wants to rant about might as well just drink and eat what I want then what's the point.

So I started on bc (monolydia) back in July only to go off it after three months because it was making me depressed and I was having like 2 periods in a month. I switched to Yaz and I was only able to take it for a few days before it made me feel like I was going crazy. Anyways I havent been on bc since October and my period went from like 6 days long with bad cramping and heavy flow to 3 days, super heavy on the first two days and moderate cramps. my depression that comes with my period is the same so idk

Like its not awful but im just very confused as my period has been consistently 6 days long for the party 7 years.

i’ve noticed that my anxiety/ocd (my primary symptom) spikes super bad right as my period is ending and i was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience. maybe it was just a coincidence, and nothing to do with it because i know traditionally once your period starts most people’s symptoms tend to subside.

it feels like my general anxiety seems to go back to normal until luteal, which, thank god. and i’ve been getting *better* at not making any rash decisions when my symptoms start to spike, too.