Severe pms

Does anyone else suffer from severe PMS. The past few months I feel like I'm going insane and then once my period kicks in, I'm fine. I literally feel sad, want to cry, almost suicidal. I know it's probably hormonal. I'm not on the pill but I do take anti depressants. I just don't know what is wrong with me. I hate myself and hate everything I am. I'm just counting down the hours...until these feelings pass.

Those feelings are no fun and I'm sorry you are struggling with them! I have severe PMS too, was diagnosed with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. I ended up going on Prozac and very slightly raising the dosage during the worst part of my cycle, then lowering it back down again once my cycle started anew. This was at the instruction of my pdoc of course. Not sure if you are an SSRI and can discuss this with your physician.

Good luck with it. You know all the standard stuff they tell us: eat nutritious whole foods, try to get enough sleep and some exercise.

Yes. It doesn't have to he this way but it can be. I've gone to ER three times this year for PTSD, seriously suicidal, and to my way of thinking really crazy. Twice I went inpatient for a week. All three times I was premenstrual.

I am fifty. One doc dxed "borderline traits". Like he never heard of menopause. Because a psychiatrist would diagnose a severed head if you rolled one into his office with an insurance card taped to its forehead. He'd prescribe for it.

PMS is miserable. It is real. Our female hormones impact all our hormones which impact our neurotransmitters.

A very clean diet helps significantly. In the past I've been able to have no symptoms at all with a good diet and exercise. Just a twinge and a period. It is possible.

Can you believe once PMS was thought that we made it up? We have came a long way.

I always have something different things happen each month. Always keeps me on my toes. Sometimes I will start and think, "Wow I didnt have any signs". Other times Im feeling horrible.

Im also per-menopose. I get hot flashes and night sweats with PMS and on my period.

In other words...I feel your pain.

Yes, I also have severe pms. I'm pretty sure it's pmdd (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) even though I've never been diagnosed.

It's been bad this week. Really anxious over nothing, insomnia, depressed, wanting to cry, obsessing over everything, irritable, etc. When I was younger, I used to quit every job I had about 2-5 days before my period just because I "didn't want to be there". Then I would cry and freak out because I had no income anymore. I figured it out four years ago those feelings were probably due to my pmdd.

There are things you can do to help your symptoms.

Like another poster said, a good diet will help. Staying away from sweets and caffeine in the last 2 weeks before your period will also help. Exercise, being social, and practicing mindfulness, too.

You might want to keep your symptoms in a journal for the next couple of months to show to your doctor if you want a diagnosis. I believe this is the only way to test for pmdd.

Sorry to hear about all your bad symptoms ladies! That really stinks!

I guess my main question is - I've never had a symptoms like this before- why, at age 35 would I just start getting them?

I just turned 38, and my PMDD didn't develop until I was 35. Some months it is fine. Other months it is horrible. I do take Zoloft and Buspar regularly. This month was horrible...lots of crying, constant anxiety, significant depression. My periods are still pretty regular, but I am thinking of seeing my doctor if I have another period like this. PMDD just plain stinks. Hugs to you, and make sure you are putting self-care first!

I also experience severe PMS. I used to get really bad cold sweats, vomit, and the works. I took birth control for a year and the physical symptoms have gone away but not the mood symptoms. I just started my period today actually and thank the stars that I did lol. I was in a deep depression for the four days prior to starting. Now that my period has started I feel much better. There is still some depression but I do feel like I can see light again. I'm not really sure what can be done about it besides maybe going on birth control again.

I take an antidepressant and an anti psychotic. They work wonders but I guess m hormones are just way out of control right before I start my period. I've been diagnosed as Schizoaffective too. And it seems that depending on where I am in my cycle determines how forceful my psychosis is.

I have them too

Four times I was in hospital with suicidal thoughts and got my period. It happens to me a lot...

I found that consuming soy every day contributed to my PMDD. Too much phyto-estrogens, I guess, and not enough progesterone. When I dropped the soy, I felt 25% better. Birth control pills generally helped take the edge off of the PMDD symptoms. I also used progesterone cream. That helped a whole lot! Then I got the Mirena IUD. It releases a small amount of progesterone. A few months after I got the IUD, the PMDD went away entirely.

Anyone can get an IUD. It doesn't matter if you've never been pregnant before or given vaginal birth. It doesn't matter what age you are. It's totally reversible. If you want to get pregnant, you can get pregnant a couple of months after taking out the IUD. I can't say enough good things about IUDs. It literally saved my life.

I can't thank you guys enough for starting this thread. I thought I was alone in this - for a week and a half every month I absolutely hate the guy I'm currently dating, I'm angry all the time and sometimes frighteningly aggressive. I thought I was just having normal mood swings but now I'm pretty convinced I've got PMDD.

It's exactly like some of you described - I'm obsessive over every little detail, if my guy doesn't text me for a few hours I will have a panic attack and think he is leaving me. I get angry over the tiniest little thing, like a classmate asking questions in a lecture. And I'm constantly on edge. I drive my best friend insane asking him if the guy I'm dating is going to leave me and my poor friend tries to deal with it as best as possible, but I get the sense it is very challenging. Then as soon as my period comes I am happy and sweet and very, very relaxed.

It's absolutely horrible living this way, the only thing that gets me through it is knowing that its what my friend calls 'the crazies' and that it will pass.

I can relate to this. In my teens and twenties I used to get really sad and have a lot of hateful inner dialogue toward myself and often suicidal thoughts. Then after it was over it was like 'what was that?'. It took me years to correlate those feelings with my period (I suck at recognizing patterns).

Now into my 30's, unfortunately, it's everyone else that I feel hateful toward- like all of a sudden everyone has gotten stupid and unbearably annoying. I walk around charged anticipating someone to provoke me. I'm very frightened by the feeling of wanting to physically hurt others at times. Sometimes I lash out at people or consider firing employees. Sometimes I think about quitting my job or other drastic impulses. Recently I self injured. Then when I get my period instead of the relief like before I have a lot of guilt over how I behaved and felt.

I almost feel like I was a better person when all this anger was directed toward myself. It makes me wonder how much of me is consciously controlled by me. Such a weird feeling.

This issue is actually how I came to be at pc. After my last episode I looked up suicide online -sometimes that helps put things in perspective, takes the thoughts outside my mind and puts them in front of me so I can look at it objectively- and one of the sites I found led me here.

I'm glad it did. All of you are very helpful, thanks for this thread.

Hi Girls,

I just wanted to chat about PMDD again. Earlier in the month I left work dizzy and in tears due to PMDD. I had my pdoc sign a paper about my absence and she indicated the condition is severe. It's kind of nice to know it's not just "in my head", that she believes me and that it's recognized as a medical condition.