PMDD

[Luslucille]

I’m just becoming aware that I have PMDD. It’s scary as hell. I feel alone, crazy, and embarrassed. I don’t remember having these episodes before I stopped using birth control last year but every month it seems to get worse. I feel increasingly suspicious of my husband every month the week or two before my period and make plans to leave him. With ADHD I can get a lot accomplished in a short amount of time - this month I nearly rented a Uhaul while he was at work, moved money into different accounts, and nearly contacted a domestic abuse center. To be clear, I am not in an abusive relationship and my partner is not abusive. It’s as if once my period gets here or almost here, a fever breaks then I feel overwhelmed with emotions and scramble to pick up the pieces. If you’re reading this and you have PMDD - what’s your experience? Have you experienced paranoia or anything like what I’m describing? What helps?

[ADHD33]

Hi! Fellow PMDDer here! Welcome and I’m so sorry you are going through this. I’ve had bad PMS since I can remember but it is absolutely getting worse as the decades pass and has now transitioned into PMDD. For me, I get really upset about things that normally wouldn’t really phase me and have gotten to the point of debilitating rumination and panic attacks. I’ve had to learn to just not think for about ten days a month and to ignore any thoughts that do arise until after my new cycle starts. Even if the thoughts creep in (let’s be realistic here ha) I stop myself from acting on them until I can think clearly again, but it took a while to get good at that. Were you on birth control for a long time? Many doctors have recommended that as “treatment”. I would absolutely have a conversation with your psychiatrist about this and ASAP. You shouldn’t have to suffer like this and it can be total hell. Since the connection between hormones and mental health are still on the sort of newer end of research, if you feel your psychiatrist is not specialized enough, consider a consultation with a reproductive psychiatrist and/or a neuroendocrinologist. Also, for more resources, I found this organization recently which is dedicated to it: iapmd.org. In case that helps. You are DEFINITELY not alone. PM me if you want to chat more!