Help! PMDD is ruining my life

I was 31 years old before I discovered I had PMDD. My entire life I would preface friendships and relationships by telling people that the week before my period I wasn’t really available. I would disappear because I did not want my attitude ruining my life! I knew that the week before my period was hard, and as soon as my period came I would be back to normal but I could not explain why I felt hopeless the week before my period. Difficulty focusing, very intrusive thoughts of feeling worthless, uncontrollable appetite, short temper, lack of sleep and difficulty feeling rested.

I went to brunch with a friend who is a therapist and I was explaining to her that I was in my awful mood before my period and she unofficially diagnosed me with PMDD. I did what most of us do after a diagnosis which is research the hell out of it on YouTube and Google. Apparently there were millions of women suffering from extreme reactions to their hormones, also known as PMDD. But what exactly is it?

A severe, sometimes disabling extension of premenstrual syndrome. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a severe form of premenstrual syndrome that includes physical and behavioral symptoms that usually resolve with the onset of menstruation.

What is the solution?

One of the best things you can do is get your hormone levels checked. You may be able to do this with your doctor and insurance but they’re also kits you can order online today that test for hormonal imbalance. Once you figure out what you are lacking you can know see what you need to balance out. And the beautiful thing is you don’t necessarily need to balance with progesterone or estrogen. You can also use natural herbs to balance your cycle and make PMDD less severe.

Right now I’m taking a mix of ashwaganda and chaste berry depending on what part of my cycle I am in. I have another friend who started supplementing with dim, which is a derivative of broccoli. Also things like lifestyle changes can help lessen the symptoms of PMDD, but for severe suffers there’s very little that can actually move the needle without knowing how to balance the hormones. Some women even find themselves suicidal during this week, and for extremely severe cases sometimes medication’s like SSRIs are prescribed.

The best way to manage any diagnoses though is getting a diagnosis. If you feel you may have extreme reactions to your pre-menstrual cycle and you can reach a therapist or psychiatrist you can try to get an official diagnosis. The symptoms are also all online And you can find other stuffers in support groups that are all living and thriving despite having PMDD.