PMDD - Does anyone have any tips to help with the symptoms? They are so consuming and dark. Severe low mood and anxiety, spiralling horrible thoughts, body dysmorphia, paranoia, awful thoughts about your partner / those around you, ect ect ect… Every month is torture. It gets a tiny bit better when i realise its ‘the week before my period’ but barely (i have an IUD so rarely bleed so can be tricky to keep track) - but yeah, how are we all doing this every month AHHH!😅😅

If it’s really extreme, I think you can get antidepressants to treat PMDD, which you can take just in the weeks leading up to your period, it doesn’t have to be all month. Otherwise, vitamin supplements can be useful, such as calcium, magnesium, B6, D and zinc, as well as nutritious food and exercise. I used to have quite bad PMDD, however now I’m on the pill I’ve noticed it’s significantly improved. When I did have it, I just tried to distract myself, wore baggy clothes, went out as much as possible, cleaned the house etc, and when I found it overwhelming I would put on headphones and loop a song I love. Just keep reminding yourself it’s just hormones and not a reflection of who you are, be kind to yourself, and try not to let it consume you. I always found that because of how periods are portrayed in the media, often with the sexist connotations that women are controlled by their hormones and over emotional, I never wanted to blame my mood swings on my menstrual cycle because it would conform to that stereotype, but over time I learnt to just ignore that and admit to myself that my emotions were often influenced by my hormones and that doesn’t have to be a bad, ostracised thing, and it made me feel so much better.

@belle_123 Thank you so much <3 I was on the pill for 8 years and still suffered with it, even when skipping break weeks ect, it felt “milder” then because generally i was much lower in mood in daily life. So now i am feeling more “”balanced”” with my IUD the jump each month is massive!! Do you have experience with taking antidepressents for it? Surely they’d need a period to build up prior to that week then a weaning off period, so in the 4week cycles i cant understand how it would work? I will ofc ask a Dr if no one has experience with this :) Agree with the connotations worry but yes this is not our fault and we are not just silly hormonal women! Im moving in with my long term boyfriend in a few weeks and i am worried my PMDD could make it difficult at times :(

I can’t speak for everyone and I can’t speak for all the treatments but I have seen people take a low dose antidepressant every day but when it gets to like the week before their “period” and a couple days during or after they increase the dose to try and counteract those PMDD side effects

@Monkeybutt63 ohhh that makes sense, thanks! i think i will consider mentioning this to a Dr if i dont find a better way to manage it

@_ndx01 I’ve not personally taken antidepressants but I have a friend who takes them for her PMDD, I’m not sure if it’s a specific type of antidepressants or something but I think she takes them for half her cycle, so during luteal and menstruation, but not the rest of the cycle. It could definately be helpful before moving in with a partner I think, so if you’re interested I’d recommend speaking to a doctor and doing some research on it, she finds it really helpful (but we’re not super close so I don’t know all the specifics). Good luck and I hope the move with your boyfriend goes well!