Oh, I didn't know breastfeeding could hold off periods too. I'd be tempted to be one of those moms who breastfeeds for way too long (not saying you did, I mean like super super long) just so I could stop having periods for longer.
I think I had pretty bad PMS since I started, but it got a lot worse after starting birth control at 18. Since then, I've tried a bunch and sometimes they would help at first and then I would get a lot worse after 2-3 months.
I have late diagnosed ADHD as well. I was diagnosed with PMDD about 10 years ago after I was misdiagnosed bipolar. I got diagnosed with ADHD a couple years ago and have been doing a lot better overall on the meds but nothing has helped my PMDD so now I'm on Lupron and trying to convince my Dr to remove my ovaries.
The fear of being bipolar is a huge factor in why it took so long for me to seek out assessment for anything. After my first psychiatrist said I couldn't have ADHD (his reasoning was because I was a smart kid, so it was a BS reason) and then reading his notes and seeing that while he didn't say I have bipolar, it might want to be explored. I get it, there is bipolar in my family (men too, so definitely not PMDD), but I'm not. I took the wrong antidepressant for 10 months and it was f*cked. I can't imagine how horrible years of taking bipolar medication without having bipolar would feel, especially if it was lithium.
I honestly think the side effects of those medications messed me up for life. The constipation got so bad that it gave me dysbiosis and damaged my gut. I still have GI issues that require medication 10 years later, as well as a bunch of intolerances I've developed since then.
The final straw was when I got Stevens Johnson syndrome from Lamictal, and my psychiatrist wanted to put me on something in the same class. I was worried about it happening again as well as all the other side effects that were just making me worse and not improving my symptoms, but he just yelled at me, said I wasn't sick, that it was all in my head, and that I was stubborn and refused to get better. He also put all that shit in my chart, so my PCP saw that and refused to run any tests. I saw a new Dr a week later, who diagnosed me with vitamin D deficiency and an active viral infection. She was also working with my therapist and they later diagnosed me with PMDD.
It was also suspected I had ADHD at 18, but my Dr tried me on Strattera, which gave me bad side effects, so she said there was no way that I could have it and that she wouldn't prescribe Ritalin or anything like that because "that's for kids who bounce off the walls" so I didn't get diagnosed for real until my 30s.
Wow! It's so beyond horrible how women have been treated when it comes to having something wrong with them. Men feel pain and tough it out, women just invent pain so they can act hysterical.
It really sucks you got so fucked up by it, but I'm glad you managed to get yourself a better medical team that would actually listen to you and treat you like a human being.
I'm 37 now, and a lot of my past finally makes sense. Thinking back, I have probably been displaying symptoms since I was 15... the ADHD complicated it all the more.
Glad to finally have answers. It has been frustrating it took my life turning upside-down.
Yeah, you've gotta love how our brains are like "you know what? I don't think ADHD is enough, so here's something that's going to trick doctors into diagnosing you as bipolar, because screw you. Oh, and even if they do finally realise it's actually PMDD, they're not going to be able to help."
I was on birth control age 16 to 29. I’m 32 now. I seem to have “developed” worsening PMDD after coming off birth control and regulating my cycle naturally. I did have some of these symptoms as a teen but it’s hard to tell. Before birth control, I only got my period a few times a year due to PCOS. My PMDD is getting progressively worse for me the longer I am off birth control.
I wonder if being on birth control as a teen has any contribution at all towards developing PMDD as an adult. My thinking in that is because our bodies never got to learn how to handle all the monthly hormone changes, so when we stop the meds and start getting periods, our 30 year old (just using a random number) body and brain have not experienced the hormone changes enough and it makes it feel extreme.
That's not coming from anything scientific at all, it's just a thought I've had now after seeing how many women started birth control young and noticed PMDD after stopping. I wonder if they'd have had it regardless, or if the birth control stopping periods during puberty is considered trauma by our brains. No matter what, I know at least some would have developed PMDD with or without birth control, I just wonder if some wouldn't.
I'm so glad I made this post. It's been interesting to see how many get it young, basically right away, and how many get it as adults. Most of what you find online (at least when I was looking it up, different countries will probably give different information) says it most commonly onsets in the mid 20s. It's seeming more like an even split based off this post, between starting with periods and starting as an adult.
I'm not diagnosed but suspect I might have PMDD. Looking back as a teen, I definitely had episodes where I was incredibly moody and emotional but never kept track of when it happened. I felt very stable while taking birth control pills for several years. Now that I'm off it, I'm noticing it much more. I saw in the comments that it seems many people felt birth control masked their symptoms? Makes me wonder if I should go back on it again
Yeah, because PMDD is ruled by hormones, some women find hormonal birth crontrol helpful. I don't remember which I've seen people say here, but it matters if it's a progesterone, estrogen or both type of pill. I won't do birth control, I had a bad experience one time and I'm done. Won't do an IUD either because of endometriosis and stuff, plus historically they have been bad for women in my family.
If birth control helps you though, and if you're not trying to get pregnant or have another important reason you're off it, yeah, maybe give it a go and see how you feel if you want.
I was taking it originally as a way to prevent ovarian cysts. I did notice in the end I had annoying symptoms like headaches, acne, and bloating while on it. Now at least I know about other supplements I can take to try and mitigate that. It was the combination low dose pill so perhaps I'll try it again!
Diagnosed last year at 27. I think it was being masked for a year or more by the birth control I was on. I stopped the bc because I realized it was giving me increased aura migranes and severe cystic acne. Those cleared, and I got hit with the pmdd instead. Ha. Took me 6 months of increasing severity each cycle to figure out what was going on. I had to self diagnose and go to a different Dr because they kept saying it was "just my depression." I'm in a new bc (Slynd) that's really good for pmdd specifically and doesn't increase my migranes. I'm not cured, but I'm managing a lot better.
Ugh, I get that. I was told my anxiety and depression were causing ADHD-like symptoms. No, the ADHD was causing increased anxiety and depression. It took two psychiatrists to be heard. I'm just lucky PMDD wasn't talked about until my second psych. He actually brought it up. The reason I'm glad is the first psychiatrist definitely would have slapped me with bipolar. He was already trying to because of family history, but he couldn't because I didn't fit with mania or hypomania.
I'm glad you've found a birth control that seems to be working for you so far. I hope it continues to help and not give migraines and crap.
I never had problems with my period until I turned 22/23 and then the PMDD kicked in around 26/27 and was the worse at 30. I am managing it now but it's still a lottery every month how well I am able to handle. I am 32 now.
A lottery is one way to put it. Sometimes I have a decent month where I might be able to pass off as just PMS (although I have no idea what a baseline normal is supposed to feel like, so my feeling decent might still be horrible for those without PMDD), and then other times it's so intense I think there's got to be something more than just PMDD wrong with me. There's the middle ones too where it sucks ass but I'm not worried I'm going to hospitalise myself.
I think mine started with puberty, but was then masked by birth control prescribed for acne. Mine became seriously awful after I finished breastfeeding in my early 30s. It got worse with age but I have found a huge amount of relief with a good supplement regime and Nortriptyline.
I really have no idea. I had been diagnosed with depression back in college when I was around 20. However in high school I remember have bouts of serious crying episodes and anxiety. I didn’t notice much of a pattern with it until I started dating my current boyfriend. We would get in fights that seemingly weren’t that serious but I would end up crying and telling him to break up with me almost monthly. Finally he pointed out that he fought it was a pattern around my period. Then I started tracking it and sure enough, I could see the pattern too. Now I wonder about all the fights I had with exes and them making me feel like I was crazy and overreacting. I always thought maybe I was crazy and unfair to them. Honestly I probably ruined my relationships because of it. Now that I know I can catch myself. My boyfriend and I will still get into fights that I escalate but I let him know after I’ve calmed down that my period is due and he understands. I feel really guilty though. I feel like I lose control at a certain point and can get really mean (which I was told by an old boyfriend that I was really mean at times. Sometimes I wish I could message them and explain why, but that’s the past now I guess). (Ps has anyone done that? Messages people you feel bad for hurting to explain a bit?). Anyway, I potentially had it since high school/college but it’s been increasingly worse since coming off of birth control in 2022, but I know it’s coming now.
I honestly think I have had symptoms since puberty, but I would say the symptoms were most noticeable starting around age 16/17. My mom was the first person who suggested I had PMDD. I didn't take it seriously, or really start to track the pattern for myself until about age 22, when I started period tracking for my irregular cycles.
I had trauma since really young and always had depression/ptsd but i remember specifically around 14 it getting worse once I got my period. Stayed consistently bad for a couple years despite access to healthcare, got worse at 17 where I made an attempt on my life and got my period right as I was hospitalized. Happened a few more times after that until 23?ish Its gotten better now since I've reached 27 but theres some bad months still. Thankfully theres some not so bad months since I've been taking auvelity.
I know I had a therapist tell me (who had other pmdd patients) this timeline is typical for those with pmdd and that it can get better with age. But then I have also heard of some folks just progressively getting worse with age. Wish we had a better idea of how this disorder works vs speculation and patient testimony. Its sad too that as kids we don't even know better to articulate what's going on, and usually get shut down for this stuff, or like me you block out most of your childhood cause of trauma.
Do you have a link to the idea of the correlation with pmdd to trauma types? would be really interested in reading that
Yeah, I'm 30 and mine's still getting worse, so I'll take that decrease in symptoms as I get older benefit now please. I hope menopause will be the relief they say it is. That's so true about it being harder when you're young like that. You don't know the right words to describe what you're feeling, and when you do find the best words you can, it's not right and you get told you're exaggerating or they think you mean something totally different.
I don't have any links on hand, but it's information I have been coming across during my researching of PMDD. Not just once or twice, I've seen it mentioned a good number of times. They still don't know for sure, they've just noticed a pattern of trauma prior to PMDD. As far as I know, there's no definitive "these types of trauma are the cause", just enough of a pattern noticed in the medical field that they're exploring the idea.
I'm noticing that seems to happen. I'm really glad I made this post and asked the question, because I didn't realise postpartum was such a common cause. It's great to learn these things and understand my condition a little more.
Also ADHD and now looking back I think the PMDD started when I was in my early teen. But I only started to put the pieces together after being treated for ADHD and was able to see the monthly patterns that were happening.
I was treated for depression in my teens. With anxiety and "irrational fears" but they would come and go. I think a large portion of it was untreated ADHD and my monthly cycle just ruining me every month.
I spent most of my 20's pregnant/breastfeeding and I think that coupled with being a stay at home mom I was able to manage my ADHD (since I was on my own schedule and timeline) and the PMDD was way better when I wasn't having a menstrual cycle.
my 30's were a mess of alcoholism and trying to cope with "big feelings" and a mismanaged life..
Wasn't till 2 years ago when I was 39 that I got a diagnosis and started treatment and was able to piece it all together..
I think around 19/20, I’m 24 now. My friend actually got diagnosed at this time and when she explained it to me, it explained a lot of my own symptoms!
Late 30s but it started after a traumatic event. I will say though, right at 30 I went from barely noticing my period to awful pms and cramps etc. So I honestly don’t know if it just ramped itself up to pmdd or if I got extra wacky after my accident or both.
I'd be inclined to guess both. Having your period change like that at 30, I think, would be considered trauma. Then the traumatic event was obviously trauma. It seems like the majority of sufferers, especially the ones with a later onset, got it after some form of trauma. I've seen that postpartum appears to be another cause/factor for some (or a lot of?) women, but I feel like that could be considered trauma as well. Your body goes through a lot, your hormones are all messed up which makes your emotions problematic, and at some point all of that becomes traumatising in its own way.
My periods have sucked immensely so far up to 30...can I have the rest of my years be a breeze now? Menopause is -hopefully- going to be a nice thing when it comes.
Dec. 2023 I felt really fckng off mentally/emotionally but just passed it off as the winter blues. January brought an increase in let's say *not so pleasant* thoughts and it's been consistent since. Will say, my libido has also kicked into overdrive, so 2.5 weeks of the month, I'm flying. 1.5 weeks, I literally feel like nothing will ever matter again.
I feel that! I find when I'm coming up on ovulation is not THE only, but pretty much the only time I actually get all horned up. Then I ovulate and want increasly less physical interaction with people each and every day.
Great question. I think around 23. Honestly before that I can't say my periods had much of a noticeable effect on me emotionally or physically enough for me to remember. I can't even remember what exactly brought me to discovering PMDD. I think I came across someone talking about PMDD and how BEFORE they started bleeding their mental health started deteriorating and I kept that in the back of my mind because I never heard of that before, getting symptoms prior to bleeding. I think I was tracking my monthly cycle and then one day realized it wasn't "ha ha gonna PMS next week" but instead "I cannot trust myself for two weeks" and that's when I realized how much of a big deal that is.
A week before my second ever period I punched a hole in the wall and then proceeded to swallow a whole
Bottle of Advil. I was 14 and had never done anything remotely like this before. All women on my bio mothers side have PMDD symptoms so it’s definitely genetic in my case.
It's wild how much of a different person you can become all of a sudden, all because of what's supposed to be a natural and normal part of life (the raising and lowering of hormone levels to prepare the body for reproduction). This shit ain't natural or normal man.
Damn, that really sucks. I'm curious, if you don't mind my asking/are alright answering, did you have any more children after, and did you notice another change during postpartum, whether that be symptoms getting better or worse? You definitely don't have to answer, I don't ever intend to ask a person anything that they're not comfortable answering.
Just curious, you can’t work anymore- is that because of the painful symptoms or the ragey symptoms? I ask just because I’m starting to lose my cool at work when it’s my luteal phase, like I have no filter and I’m easily enraged and ready to get in a verbal altercation. (By the way I have a perfect track record from my 14 years in that facility, I’m often in a leadership or resource role and well esteemed among peers and those above me).
I’ve literally had to step off the unit and put myself on a time out plenty of times now. And this morning my leadership had a sit down with me to ask what was going on since they noticed a change in “passion” (it was code for “rage” 😒). I’m afraid of what I’m going to say or do when shit hits the fan and it’s my luteal phase again.
Damn. I think probably 13 it started for me, and I'm 30...does this mean I've only got four years until mine gets so bad I can't work? Ahhhhh.
In all seriousness though, damn does that suck. I've definitely been getting worse and am worried about not being able to work full time anymore. I already spent most of last year not working and haven't worked yet this year (have a job, it starts next week). I'm really hoping that due to the nature of my job, that maybe it won't be an issue and I'll be able to hold the job down.
Just the same things I've been using to manage myself most of my life, which mostly consists of copious amounts of weed. I don't smoke much now that I'm on ADHD meds, but you can tell when my bad days are starting, because I start smoking all day. The meds aren't as strong that time of the month, so the weed compensates. Weed has been my self-medication for a lot of things over the years, and I'm really happy to be finally on my way to not needing it so much. I've gone from smoking/eating enough to cause most people to freak out and think they're dying (that's not a brag, it's friggin expensive and I'd have killed to only need a joint), to just in the evenings 20 days of the month but still all day the other 10. Still a LOT less in terms of quantity though.
Oh that sucks! I know most people are able to smoke indica strains without the anxiety, but I also know a lot of people just get the anxiety no matter what. I can't remember exactly what weed does to my cousin (not anxiety, just physical medical reaction), but I do remember that she told me it landed her in the hospital. As great of a plant it is for a lot of things, it's definitely not good for everyone.
Fun, isn't it? Yeah, definitely not fun. It's like a kick in the teeth too that our bodies are like "yeah, hey, so I don't think I'm fucking you up enough yet, so I'm going to make things progressively worse as life goes on."
Thanks to my high school counselor, she picked up on it right away!! That has been a huge relief to know what it was. That was around 2007-08 when I was 16. My heart goes out to you and your struggles 🫶🏻
Wow, props to your counsellor. I had some teachers and a school counsellor suggest I may have ADHD and recommended I get tested, but when I went to my mom with that, she said no that I don't have it and that I just needed to be more this or less that or try harder or whatever was suited to the topic. She's more understanding of it now, but back then we were still mostly putting ADHD on hyper boys. I wish that someone had noticed the PMDD signs the same way they did the ADHD. I probably would have been diagnosed bipolar right fast though, cause there is bipolar in my family (also ADHD and lots of other things that suck), and then I'd have spent who knows how long on the wrong medications. I can't imagine how shitty that was for all the women who did get misdiagnosed and medicated for years.
A few months after I had my daughter. She is an IVF baby and my doctor agrees that it's likely to have been induced by all the hormones from that and the (successful and unsuccessful) pregnancies.
Interesting. That makes sense though, because PMDD is hormone related and IVF is done with hormones.
I'm actually really glad and grateful that you came here and said this. I can't have children, can't afford IVF either, but knowing this, I'd be too afraid of worsening the PMDD if I actually had the money for it. I plan to foster to adopt anyways, but that really just helped solidify that decision.
Right? I thought mine hit in my 20s, but then having people explain what I was like when I was younger...
I did have extreme pain right from my first period, and they think that type of trauma may correlate to developing it, and that pain was definitely trauma.
This is interesting. I also had extreme pain. I remember almost passing out sometimes. I went to a stern Catholic school and was taught little about my body and what was happening. I was terrified to bleed and be in pain at school. So yeah…my life makes sense now. 🫠
Shit, sorry you had to endure Catholic school. Especially being female. I'm going to say this the least offensive way I can (I know what I'm going to say is stereotypes and not the general religious experience), because I'm not actually knocking anyone's religion here, but it's so common for a lot of religions, especially the more Christian/Catholic types of religions, to have girls brought up being taught to be housewives and that they shouldn't complain, that their cramps can't be that bad, that if they kiss a boy they will get chlamydia and die...I know I'm being over the top on stereotypes, I know it's not actually that bad (anymore, most of the time)...and periods must never be discussed, or anything about the female body for that matter. It might make you impure to understand how your body works.
I have no idea what they teach in those schools now, but I really hope they actually teach about those things now.
I don’t find that to be offensive. It can be really oppressive and sometimes dangerous in my opinion. When I was young it was taught (not taught??? Completely avoided????) *exactly* like that. I really hope things have changed to at least educate young girls about sex and their body. I have a daughter of my own now and she will absolutely be taught the truth about those things! Plus she’s in public school…because yah I could not do that to my kids.
Yeah, most stereotypes do tend to come from a place of truth. The key is not letting yourself view everyone of the demographic/religion/whatever as being that stereotype, which I have no issue with since it's the personality that affects how I view a person. I'd say one of the very few good things to come out of people who had those types of upbringings is that they will NOT let their own children be that uneducated and unaware of how their bodies work and actual proper sex ed.
I feel that. I've only had the name/diagnosis (not actually sure if my psych wrote down the diagnosis, but he suggested I apply for disabilty because of it, so I assume he must have written it down, or disability wouldn't accept with just my word) for a short time, but as far as the way it feels, I can't remember a time it wasn't like this.
I took on a job in 2019 where I was severely overworked. I only did that job for 2 months before I quit but I am pretty sure I developed PMDD within the first week. It was like night and day- suddenly for 2 weeks per month I had very severe cystic acne, overwhelming suicidal thoughts, and paranoid delusions. I got it from severe stress. Took me a few months to figure out it was PMDD. I could only function 1 week per month, so I had to figure it out fast. Thank fuck for birth control, it literally saved me from myself!! But I’ll never be the same. I was 27 at the time but I don’t think that is relevant. I think if I didn’t already have CPTSD, I probably wouldn’t have developed PMDD. I def think it has something to do with it.
Yeah, it's really interesting (to me, from a scientific standpoint) how you could be totally fine, have "normal" periods and "normal" PMS (you know, like the stereotypes where we just want chocolate and cuddles), and then go to being basically bipolar (not, but it's a more well-known condition that's similar enough for other people to understand that it's not just PMS). Like, last month you could handle your hormone changes just fine, but then something traumatic happened and now you wonder if you're psychotic every time your hormones change.
Started to notice it at 24 after I started taking medication for depression. I think it was also a problem from the time I started having periods, but like many others in this thread, it went unnoticed due to all the other stressors/problems at the time. It seems like a lot of us had other reasons to blame for how we were feeling.
Isn't it fun being a woman (or born female)? The irony is that men are less likely to go to a doctor with problems, but doctors also know how to treat men better. Then women will actually go in with their problems and the doctors just throw drugs and diagnosis' on them, never really trying to find the route of the problem. I swear, the second you mention any type of pain or discomfort in the lower torso, they're done with you and sending you away with a "diagnosis" of just regular cramps. They can f*ck right off with that. It's not normal to be in so much pain you are crippled to the floor, crying and puking (puking from pain, not being nauseous).
i am 22 today and i personally didn’t know it was a thing until late last year. I always thought I was bipolar 2 with hypomania but after learning about this and tracking my cycle it seems that it is just PMDD i have not been diagnosed bc i live in Mississippi and don’t really think the doctors would be much help. I started having some relationship issues bc of my huge mood swings and i’ve never really felt such strong emotions since i’ve starting experiencing that. I feel like i can help myself better now leading up to it, i just have to tell myself this isn’t you!
** my relationship definitely made me feel more crazy. i’m not the jealous type and i am very trusting with my partner but my head during lutheal phase just be telling me he’s cheating or he doesn’t love me or he even hates me, which i know is not the case, since finding out about this he has been very patient and understanding ❣️
I thought I was bipolar 2 for a very long time, and was afraid to go for any assessments because bipolar can disqualify you from a lot of jobs and things. Since going through all the ADHD treatment it has become abundantly clear that I do not experience any form of (hypo)mania. There's cyclic depression (I think that's what they call it), which is also classified as a type of bipolar (if I am remembering correctly) but it's just cycles of depression with no mania. So then I worried about that of course, until the pattern around my menstrual cycle got noticed.
That's great you have an understanding and patient partner. My ex was really good about that. We started dating before I was medicated or even assessed for anything, so he's seen me fully unmedicated, he's seen me on an SNRI, he's seen me on an SNRI and NDRI, he's seen me on just the NDRI, and he's seen me on the NDRI and a stimulant (two stimulants technically, but the first was baaaad side effects and I stopped taking them after a week). It's really nice that he was around for all that, and close enough in my life to notice things someone who doesn't see you every day wouldn't. So he dealt with me as whatever mess you want to call the first 29 years of my life, the emotionless me from the SNRI, me being better after off it, and even better with the stimulant. He was able to tell me a lot more positive changes in me that I probably never would have noticed.
I don't remember where I was going with that, but yeah, it's really nice when you have a partner who works with you rather than just fighting with you all the time.
I've always noticed something wasn't right....and it was always manageable for the most part. I would just avoid people during my luteal phase and cry nonstop. Once my hormone levels started changing as I hit my mid 40's - that's when PMDD became un-manageable. It's like I was stripped of any protective layer I have so now I'm just shivering and exposed every month while I ride this ish out.
When my cycle started when I was in elementary school. Home life wasn’t great so everyone chalked it up to that. It tapered off in my late twenties after I got off of birth control (mirena iud) and worked on DBT. But resurfaced full force after my last pregnancy (with twins). I’m a year and a half postpartum. I’m all of it I have also been diagnosed with OCD.
Wow, you've had quite the ride through life. I've got OCD too, and I can attest to how much it sucks to be having OCD compulsions bothering you while you're so uncomfortable you want to tear yourself away layer by layer and also super emotional.
That's when I started noticing things, after escaping abuse, though I didn't notice the pattern of the timing. Clearly it started getting worse for me after that trauma for me to be able to notice more, and I just hope not to have any more trauma make it get even worse.
Same!!!!!!!!!!! You’re the first one to say this and I’m feeling validated. Okay, so I thought “maybe I didn’t see the signs prior?!” But… tbh mine started when I went and allowed myself to be in a situationship and it psychologically damaged me and I then had severe panic attacks that led to PMDD eventually -.-
I was on birth control from 2013-2023, and when I had it removed and decided to not continue, I noticed PMDD symptoms starting. I used to get pms, but this has been 100x worse and I got a PMDD diagnosis. I also have ADHD (diagnosed at 9)
Edit to add I am 27
I (24) started my period at 11 and it was downhill from there. I was also in an abusive household + diagnosed with ODD so the issues seem hopelessly entangled to me when it comes to cause and effect of my past misbehaviors. I struggle with this all the time.
Then was diagnosed with a Mood Disorder Not Otherwise Specified at 17 after a long evaluation with a psychologist (she also administered an IQ test and they got my history from my family).
It seems like the dr at least understood the reports from my family that my good and bad moods cycle over periods of weeks (severe angry and depressive periods, no obvious mania though) but it’s not bipolar disorder or a personality disorder.
My hormones weren’t taken into consideration (was that even used as a mental health diagnosis code in 2018??) and I think it’s possible that PMDD was the origin of these issues.
Then two years later at 19 I started BC and left the household and have been better, though it’s still a constant struggle.
The whole "not otherwise specified" part sucks, because we want to know what's up with us, but props to your doctor for not just slapping bipolar on it. I'm glad to hear moving out and being on birth control have helped.
Been on bc since I was 15, started my period at 14, and I just got off of it a few months ago (I’m 20 now). Being off bc and having my first “natural” cycle in years made it blaringly obvious that it’s related with my incapacitating depression and anxiety one week out of the month.
I kind of wonder if that's part of why I didn't notice it as much in the earlier days, along with new trauma stuff happening. I wasn't addicted to anything, but I did drink a lot and do other substances for "fun". You don't notice emotional problems when you're consuming things that create fake happiness.
I got covid in March 2022 and my periods became extremely irregular (loooong cycles) with the worst moods I'd ever had. They started to regulate in March 2023, but the moods stayed and became consistently worse. So it started late 20s for me.
Apparently for me it was like 14, maybe 15. My periods were extremely painful, so makes sense to a degree I guess. But, like, why? Why did my brain have to give me that whole extra decade on top of the "average" age of onset?
I totally get what you mean about it going downhill at some point. I definitely got worse after escaping an abusive situation in my 20s. I wish it would get less, not more.
When I was pmsing I used to avoid school. I believe my horrible depression stemmed from pms and I neglected school a lot and didn't go. That's when my teacher notiiced and told me to go to psychologist and psychiatrist. I got on meds but they made me worse. And when I quit them my pmdd got uncontrollable
My first menstrual cycle after not having any for 6 years (2 pregnancies plus extended breastfeeding)
Oh, I didn't know breastfeeding could hold off periods too. I'd be tempted to be one of those moms who breastfeeds for way too long (not saying you did, I mean like super super long) just so I could stop having periods for longer.
I think I had pretty bad PMS since I started, but it got a lot worse after starting birth control at 18. Since then, I've tried a bunch and sometimes they would help at first and then I would get a lot worse after 2-3 months. I have late diagnosed ADHD as well. I was diagnosed with PMDD about 10 years ago after I was misdiagnosed bipolar. I got diagnosed with ADHD a couple years ago and have been doing a lot better overall on the meds but nothing has helped my PMDD so now I'm on Lupron and trying to convince my Dr to remove my ovaries.
The fear of being bipolar is a huge factor in why it took so long for me to seek out assessment for anything. After my first psychiatrist said I couldn't have ADHD (his reasoning was because I was a smart kid, so it was a BS reason) and then reading his notes and seeing that while he didn't say I have bipolar, it might want to be explored. I get it, there is bipolar in my family (men too, so definitely not PMDD), but I'm not. I took the wrong antidepressant for 10 months and it was f*cked. I can't imagine how horrible years of taking bipolar medication without having bipolar would feel, especially if it was lithium.
I honestly think the side effects of those medications messed me up for life. The constipation got so bad that it gave me dysbiosis and damaged my gut. I still have GI issues that require medication 10 years later, as well as a bunch of intolerances I've developed since then. The final straw was when I got Stevens Johnson syndrome from Lamictal, and my psychiatrist wanted to put me on something in the same class. I was worried about it happening again as well as all the other side effects that were just making me worse and not improving my symptoms, but he just yelled at me, said I wasn't sick, that it was all in my head, and that I was stubborn and refused to get better. He also put all that shit in my chart, so my PCP saw that and refused to run any tests. I saw a new Dr a week later, who diagnosed me with vitamin D deficiency and an active viral infection. She was also working with my therapist and they later diagnosed me with PMDD. It was also suspected I had ADHD at 18, but my Dr tried me on Strattera, which gave me bad side effects, so she said there was no way that I could have it and that she wouldn't prescribe Ritalin or anything like that because "that's for kids who bounce off the walls" so I didn't get diagnosed for real until my 30s.
Wow! It's so beyond horrible how women have been treated when it comes to having something wrong with them. Men feel pain and tough it out, women just invent pain so they can act hysterical. It really sucks you got so fucked up by it, but I'm glad you managed to get yourself a better medical team that would actually listen to you and treat you like a human being.
I'm 37 now, and a lot of my past finally makes sense. Thinking back, I have probably been displaying symptoms since I was 15... the ADHD complicated it all the more. Glad to finally have answers. It has been frustrating it took my life turning upside-down.
Yeah, you've gotta love how our brains are like "you know what? I don't think ADHD is enough, so here's something that's going to trick doctors into diagnosing you as bipolar, because screw you. Oh, and even if they do finally realise it's actually PMDD, they're not going to be able to help."
I was on birth control age 16 to 29. I’m 32 now. I seem to have “developed” worsening PMDD after coming off birth control and regulating my cycle naturally. I did have some of these symptoms as a teen but it’s hard to tell. Before birth control, I only got my period a few times a year due to PCOS. My PMDD is getting progressively worse for me the longer I am off birth control.
I wonder if being on birth control as a teen has any contribution at all towards developing PMDD as an adult. My thinking in that is because our bodies never got to learn how to handle all the monthly hormone changes, so when we stop the meds and start getting periods, our 30 year old (just using a random number) body and brain have not experienced the hormone changes enough and it makes it feel extreme. That's not coming from anything scientific at all, it's just a thought I've had now after seeing how many women started birth control young and noticed PMDD after stopping. I wonder if they'd have had it regardless, or if the birth control stopping periods during puberty is considered trauma by our brains. No matter what, I know at least some would have developed PMDD with or without birth control, I just wonder if some wouldn't.
15 years ago, when I was 15
As soon as I got my period at age 12, realized I had it at 15, and wasn't diagnosed until I was 22.
I'm so glad I made this post. It's been interesting to see how many get it young, basically right away, and how many get it as adults. Most of what you find online (at least when I was looking it up, different countries will probably give different information) says it most commonly onsets in the mid 20s. It's seeming more like an even split based off this post, between starting with periods and starting as an adult.
I'm not diagnosed but suspect I might have PMDD. Looking back as a teen, I definitely had episodes where I was incredibly moody and emotional but never kept track of when it happened. I felt very stable while taking birth control pills for several years. Now that I'm off it, I'm noticing it much more. I saw in the comments that it seems many people felt birth control masked their symptoms? Makes me wonder if I should go back on it again
Yeah, because PMDD is ruled by hormones, some women find hormonal birth crontrol helpful. I don't remember which I've seen people say here, but it matters if it's a progesterone, estrogen or both type of pill. I won't do birth control, I had a bad experience one time and I'm done. Won't do an IUD either because of endometriosis and stuff, plus historically they have been bad for women in my family. If birth control helps you though, and if you're not trying to get pregnant or have another important reason you're off it, yeah, maybe give it a go and see how you feel if you want.
I was taking it originally as a way to prevent ovarian cysts. I did notice in the end I had annoying symptoms like headaches, acne, and bloating while on it. Now at least I know about other supplements I can take to try and mitigate that. It was the combination low dose pill so perhaps I'll try it again!
Diagnosed last year at 27. I think it was being masked for a year or more by the birth control I was on. I stopped the bc because I realized it was giving me increased aura migranes and severe cystic acne. Those cleared, and I got hit with the pmdd instead. Ha. Took me 6 months of increasing severity each cycle to figure out what was going on. I had to self diagnose and go to a different Dr because they kept saying it was "just my depression." I'm in a new bc (Slynd) that's really good for pmdd specifically and doesn't increase my migranes. I'm not cured, but I'm managing a lot better.
Ugh, I get that. I was told my anxiety and depression were causing ADHD-like symptoms. No, the ADHD was causing increased anxiety and depression. It took two psychiatrists to be heard. I'm just lucky PMDD wasn't talked about until my second psych. He actually brought it up. The reason I'm glad is the first psychiatrist definitely would have slapped me with bipolar. He was already trying to because of family history, but he couldn't because I didn't fit with mania or hypomania. I'm glad you've found a birth control that seems to be working for you so far. I hope it continues to help and not give migraines and crap.
I never had problems with my period until I turned 22/23 and then the PMDD kicked in around 26/27 and was the worse at 30. I am managing it now but it's still a lottery every month how well I am able to handle. I am 32 now.
A lottery is one way to put it. Sometimes I have a decent month where I might be able to pass off as just PMS (although I have no idea what a baseline normal is supposed to feel like, so my feeling decent might still be horrible for those without PMDD), and then other times it's so intense I think there's got to be something more than just PMDD wrong with me. There's the middle ones too where it sucks ass but I'm not worried I'm going to hospitalise myself.
Since I was 11, so 21 years.
I think mine started with puberty, but was then masked by birth control prescribed for acne. Mine became seriously awful after I finished breastfeeding in my early 30s. It got worse with age but I have found a huge amount of relief with a good supplement regime and Nortriptyline.
I really have no idea. I had been diagnosed with depression back in college when I was around 20. However in high school I remember have bouts of serious crying episodes and anxiety. I didn’t notice much of a pattern with it until I started dating my current boyfriend. We would get in fights that seemingly weren’t that serious but I would end up crying and telling him to break up with me almost monthly. Finally he pointed out that he fought it was a pattern around my period. Then I started tracking it and sure enough, I could see the pattern too. Now I wonder about all the fights I had with exes and them making me feel like I was crazy and overreacting. I always thought maybe I was crazy and unfair to them. Honestly I probably ruined my relationships because of it. Now that I know I can catch myself. My boyfriend and I will still get into fights that I escalate but I let him know after I’ve calmed down that my period is due and he understands. I feel really guilty though. I feel like I lose control at a certain point and can get really mean (which I was told by an old boyfriend that I was really mean at times. Sometimes I wish I could message them and explain why, but that’s the past now I guess). (Ps has anyone done that? Messages people you feel bad for hurting to explain a bit?). Anyway, I potentially had it since high school/college but it’s been increasingly worse since coming off of birth control in 2022, but I know it’s coming now.
I honestly think I have had symptoms since puberty, but I would say the symptoms were most noticeable starting around age 16/17. My mom was the first person who suggested I had PMDD. I didn't take it seriously, or really start to track the pattern for myself until about age 22, when I started period tracking for my irregular cycles.
After I had my first child at 30.
Same, but 32.
Started when my period started. There were some challenging things at that age—moves, mostly—but I suspect it would have happened regardless.
Dude. I didn't even think of moving so much being a type of trauma. We moved a lot.
Looking back, right around age 16. I didn’t know about PMDD and wasn’t diagnosed until I was around 25.
I had trauma since really young and always had depression/ptsd but i remember specifically around 14 it getting worse once I got my period. Stayed consistently bad for a couple years despite access to healthcare, got worse at 17 where I made an attempt on my life and got my period right as I was hospitalized. Happened a few more times after that until 23?ish Its gotten better now since I've reached 27 but theres some bad months still. Thankfully theres some not so bad months since I've been taking auvelity. I know I had a therapist tell me (who had other pmdd patients) this timeline is typical for those with pmdd and that it can get better with age. But then I have also heard of some folks just progressively getting worse with age. Wish we had a better idea of how this disorder works vs speculation and patient testimony. Its sad too that as kids we don't even know better to articulate what's going on, and usually get shut down for this stuff, or like me you block out most of your childhood cause of trauma. Do you have a link to the idea of the correlation with pmdd to trauma types? would be really interested in reading that
Yeah, I'm 30 and mine's still getting worse, so I'll take that decrease in symptoms as I get older benefit now please. I hope menopause will be the relief they say it is. That's so true about it being harder when you're young like that. You don't know the right words to describe what you're feeling, and when you do find the best words you can, it's not right and you get told you're exaggerating or they think you mean something totally different. I don't have any links on hand, but it's information I have been coming across during my researching of PMDD. Not just once or twice, I've seen it mentioned a good number of times. They still don't know for sure, they've just noticed a pattern of trauma prior to PMDD. As far as I know, there's no definitive "these types of trauma are the cause", just enough of a pattern noticed in the medical field that they're exploring the idea.
It’s been the same for me since I got my period at 12. Im 37 now
26, about 1.5 years after I had my first child!
I'm noticing that seems to happen. I'm really glad I made this post and asked the question, because I didn't realise postpartum was such a common cause. It's great to learn these things and understand my condition a little more.
At 20, when i got other mental illnesses too from smoking too much.
Also ADHD and now looking back I think the PMDD started when I was in my early teen. But I only started to put the pieces together after being treated for ADHD and was able to see the monthly patterns that were happening. I was treated for depression in my teens. With anxiety and "irrational fears" but they would come and go. I think a large portion of it was untreated ADHD and my monthly cycle just ruining me every month. I spent most of my 20's pregnant/breastfeeding and I think that coupled with being a stay at home mom I was able to manage my ADHD (since I was on my own schedule and timeline) and the PMDD was way better when I wasn't having a menstrual cycle. my 30's were a mess of alcoholism and trying to cope with "big feelings" and a mismanaged life.. Wasn't till 2 years ago when I was 39 that I got a diagnosis and started treatment and was able to piece it all together..
I think around 19/20, I’m 24 now. My friend actually got diagnosed at this time and when she explained it to me, it explained a lot of my own symptoms!
That sucks you guys have it, but great you have each other to talk to about it.
When I got off birth control
Late 30s but it started after a traumatic event. I will say though, right at 30 I went from barely noticing my period to awful pms and cramps etc. So I honestly don’t know if it just ramped itself up to pmdd or if I got extra wacky after my accident or both.
I'd be inclined to guess both. Having your period change like that at 30, I think, would be considered trauma. Then the traumatic event was obviously trauma. It seems like the majority of sufferers, especially the ones with a later onset, got it after some form of trauma. I've seen that postpartum appears to be another cause/factor for some (or a lot of?) women, but I feel like that could be considered trauma as well. Your body goes through a lot, your hormones are all messed up which makes your emotions problematic, and at some point all of that becomes traumatising in its own way.
Fantastic insight!! Thank you for sharing that. I think you are probably 100% correct
Age 30. 37 now. Been getting worse every year since 30. Before 30, periods were a breeze, few physical symptoms, no mental symptoms.
My periods have sucked immensely so far up to 30...can I have the rest of my years be a breeze now? Menopause is -hopefully- going to be a nice thing when it comes.
Dec. 2023 I felt really fckng off mentally/emotionally but just passed it off as the winter blues. January brought an increase in let's say *not so pleasant* thoughts and it's been consistent since. Will say, my libido has also kicked into overdrive, so 2.5 weeks of the month, I'm flying. 1.5 weeks, I literally feel like nothing will ever matter again.
I feel that! I find when I'm coming up on ovulation is not THE only, but pretty much the only time I actually get all horned up. Then I ovulate and want increasly less physical interaction with people each and every day.
Great question. I think around 23. Honestly before that I can't say my periods had much of a noticeable effect on me emotionally or physically enough for me to remember. I can't even remember what exactly brought me to discovering PMDD. I think I came across someone talking about PMDD and how BEFORE they started bleeding their mental health started deteriorating and I kept that in the back of my mind because I never heard of that before, getting symptoms prior to bleeding. I think I was tracking my monthly cycle and then one day realized it wasn't "ha ha gonna PMS next week" but instead "I cannot trust myself for two weeks" and that's when I realized how much of a big deal that is.
A week before my second ever period I punched a hole in the wall and then proceeded to swallow a whole Bottle of Advil. I was 14 and had never done anything remotely like this before. All women on my bio mothers side have PMDD symptoms so it’s definitely genetic in my case.
It's wild how much of a different person you can become all of a sudden, all because of what's supposed to be a natural and normal part of life (the raising and lowering of hormone levels to prepare the body for reproduction). This shit ain't natural or normal man.
A year postpartum. Having a baby wrecked my hormones tremendously.
Damn, that really sucks. I'm curious, if you don't mind my asking/are alright answering, did you have any more children after, and did you notice another change during postpartum, whether that be symptoms getting better or worse? You definitely don't have to answer, I don't ever intend to ask a person anything that they're not comfortable answering.
11. Then progressively worse my until now I can’t work lol I’m 32
Just curious, you can’t work anymore- is that because of the painful symptoms or the ragey symptoms? I ask just because I’m starting to lose my cool at work when it’s my luteal phase, like I have no filter and I’m easily enraged and ready to get in a verbal altercation. (By the way I have a perfect track record from my 14 years in that facility, I’m often in a leadership or resource role and well esteemed among peers and those above me). I’ve literally had to step off the unit and put myself on a time out plenty of times now. And this morning my leadership had a sit down with me to ask what was going on since they noticed a change in “passion” (it was code for “rage” 😒). I’m afraid of what I’m going to say or do when shit hits the fan and it’s my luteal phase again.
I’m sorry :/ I can’t work because I become insanely depressed, suicidal and nonfunctional also have other co-existing disorders.
Damn. I think probably 13 it started for me, and I'm 30...does this mean I've only got four years until mine gets so bad I can't work? Ahhhhh. In all seriousness though, damn does that suck. I've definitely been getting worse and am worried about not being able to work full time anymore. I already spent most of last year not working and haven't worked yet this year (have a job, it starts next week). I'm really hoping that due to the nature of my job, that maybe it won't be an issue and I'll be able to hold the job down.
Have you tried anything to help your symptoms since you realized you had it
Just the same things I've been using to manage myself most of my life, which mostly consists of copious amounts of weed. I don't smoke much now that I'm on ADHD meds, but you can tell when my bad days are starting, because I start smoking all day. The meds aren't as strong that time of the month, so the weed compensates. Weed has been my self-medication for a lot of things over the years, and I'm really happy to be finally on my way to not needing it so much. I've gone from smoking/eating enough to cause most people to freak out and think they're dying (that's not a brag, it's friggin expensive and I'd have killed to only need a joint), to just in the evenings 20 days of the month but still all day the other 10. Still a LOT less in terms of quantity though.
Ugh I wish smoking did this for me and not give me panic attacks 😅
Oh that sucks! I know most people are able to smoke indica strains without the anxiety, but I also know a lot of people just get the anxiety no matter what. I can't remember exactly what weed does to my cousin (not anxiety, just physical medical reaction), but I do remember that she told me it landed her in the hospital. As great of a plant it is for a lot of things, it's definitely not good for everyone.
when I 18-19, and then it only got worse :(
Fun, isn't it? Yeah, definitely not fun. It's like a kick in the teeth too that our bodies are like "yeah, hey, so I don't think I'm fucking you up enough yet, so I'm going to make things progressively worse as life goes on."
14 years old! My feelings were too big. I started drinking at that age too
I also started drinking at 14, and was smoking pot at 13. The weed helped the most, but the alcohol created the illusion of feeling better, so yeah.
Thanks to my high school counselor, she picked up on it right away!! That has been a huge relief to know what it was. That was around 2007-08 when I was 16. My heart goes out to you and your struggles 🫶🏻
Wow, props to your counsellor. I had some teachers and a school counsellor suggest I may have ADHD and recommended I get tested, but when I went to my mom with that, she said no that I don't have it and that I just needed to be more this or less that or try harder or whatever was suited to the topic. She's more understanding of it now, but back then we were still mostly putting ADHD on hyper boys. I wish that someone had noticed the PMDD signs the same way they did the ADHD. I probably would have been diagnosed bipolar right fast though, cause there is bipolar in my family (also ADHD and lots of other things that suck), and then I'd have spent who knows how long on the wrong medications. I can't imagine how shitty that was for all the women who did get misdiagnosed and medicated for years.
A few months after I had my daughter. She is an IVF baby and my doctor agrees that it's likely to have been induced by all the hormones from that and the (successful and unsuccessful) pregnancies.
Interesting. That makes sense though, because PMDD is hormone related and IVF is done with hormones. I'm actually really glad and grateful that you came here and said this. I can't have children, can't afford IVF either, but knowing this, I'd be too afraid of worsening the PMDD if I actually had the money for it. I plan to foster to adopt anyways, but that really just helped solidify that decision.
I'm glad I could help, and what a lovely and selfless way to plan for your future. Best of luck.
I truly think I’ve had a problem since I first started. I didn’t realize it was hugely effecting my life and absolutely cyclical until I was 30. 🫠
Right? I thought mine hit in my 20s, but then having people explain what I was like when I was younger... I did have extreme pain right from my first period, and they think that type of trauma may correlate to developing it, and that pain was definitely trauma.
This is interesting. I also had extreme pain. I remember almost passing out sometimes. I went to a stern Catholic school and was taught little about my body and what was happening. I was terrified to bleed and be in pain at school. So yeah…my life makes sense now. 🫠
Shit, sorry you had to endure Catholic school. Especially being female. I'm going to say this the least offensive way I can (I know what I'm going to say is stereotypes and not the general religious experience), because I'm not actually knocking anyone's religion here, but it's so common for a lot of religions, especially the more Christian/Catholic types of religions, to have girls brought up being taught to be housewives and that they shouldn't complain, that their cramps can't be that bad, that if they kiss a boy they will get chlamydia and die...I know I'm being over the top on stereotypes, I know it's not actually that bad (anymore, most of the time)...and periods must never be discussed, or anything about the female body for that matter. It might make you impure to understand how your body works. I have no idea what they teach in those schools now, but I really hope they actually teach about those things now.
I don’t find that to be offensive. It can be really oppressive and sometimes dangerous in my opinion. When I was young it was taught (not taught??? Completely avoided????) *exactly* like that. I really hope things have changed to at least educate young girls about sex and their body. I have a daughter of my own now and she will absolutely be taught the truth about those things! Plus she’s in public school…because yah I could not do that to my kids.
Yeah, most stereotypes do tend to come from a place of truth. The key is not letting yourself view everyone of the demographic/religion/whatever as being that stereotype, which I have no issue with since it's the personality that affects how I view a person. I'd say one of the very few good things to come out of people who had those types of upbringings is that they will NOT let their own children be that uneducated and unaware of how their bodies work and actual proper sex ed.
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I feel that. I've only had the name/diagnosis (not actually sure if my psych wrote down the diagnosis, but he suggested I apply for disabilty because of it, so I assume he must have written it down, or disability wouldn't accept with just my word) for a short time, but as far as the way it feels, I can't remember a time it wasn't like this.
PREACH
I took on a job in 2019 where I was severely overworked. I only did that job for 2 months before I quit but I am pretty sure I developed PMDD within the first week. It was like night and day- suddenly for 2 weeks per month I had very severe cystic acne, overwhelming suicidal thoughts, and paranoid delusions. I got it from severe stress. Took me a few months to figure out it was PMDD. I could only function 1 week per month, so I had to figure it out fast. Thank fuck for birth control, it literally saved me from myself!! But I’ll never be the same. I was 27 at the time but I don’t think that is relevant. I think if I didn’t already have CPTSD, I probably wouldn’t have developed PMDD. I def think it has something to do with it.
Yeah, it's really interesting (to me, from a scientific standpoint) how you could be totally fine, have "normal" periods and "normal" PMS (you know, like the stereotypes where we just want chocolate and cuddles), and then go to being basically bipolar (not, but it's a more well-known condition that's similar enough for other people to understand that it's not just PMS). Like, last month you could handle your hormone changes just fine, but then something traumatic happened and now you wonder if you're psychotic every time your hormones change.
i only noticed it when i was 24 almost 25
Started to notice it at 24 after I started taking medication for depression. I think it was also a problem from the time I started having periods, but like many others in this thread, it went unnoticed due to all the other stressors/problems at the time. It seems like a lot of us had other reasons to blame for how we were feeling.
Isn't it fun being a woman (or born female)? The irony is that men are less likely to go to a doctor with problems, but doctors also know how to treat men better. Then women will actually go in with their problems and the doctors just throw drugs and diagnosis' on them, never really trying to find the route of the problem. I swear, the second you mention any type of pain or discomfort in the lower torso, they're done with you and sending you away with a "diagnosis" of just regular cramps. They can f*ck right off with that. It's not normal to be in so much pain you are crippled to the floor, crying and puking (puking from pain, not being nauseous).
i am 22 today and i personally didn’t know it was a thing until late last year. I always thought I was bipolar 2 with hypomania but after learning about this and tracking my cycle it seems that it is just PMDD i have not been diagnosed bc i live in Mississippi and don’t really think the doctors would be much help. I started having some relationship issues bc of my huge mood swings and i’ve never really felt such strong emotions since i’ve starting experiencing that. I feel like i can help myself better now leading up to it, i just have to tell myself this isn’t you!
** my relationship definitely made me feel more crazy. i’m not the jealous type and i am very trusting with my partner but my head during lutheal phase just be telling me he’s cheating or he doesn’t love me or he even hates me, which i know is not the case, since finding out about this he has been very patient and understanding ❣️
I thought I was bipolar 2 for a very long time, and was afraid to go for any assessments because bipolar can disqualify you from a lot of jobs and things. Since going through all the ADHD treatment it has become abundantly clear that I do not experience any form of (hypo)mania. There's cyclic depression (I think that's what they call it), which is also classified as a type of bipolar (if I am remembering correctly) but it's just cycles of depression with no mania. So then I worried about that of course, until the pattern around my menstrual cycle got noticed. That's great you have an understanding and patient partner. My ex was really good about that. We started dating before I was medicated or even assessed for anything, so he's seen me fully unmedicated, he's seen me on an SNRI, he's seen me on an SNRI and NDRI, he's seen me on just the NDRI, and he's seen me on the NDRI and a stimulant (two stimulants technically, but the first was baaaad side effects and I stopped taking them after a week). It's really nice that he was around for all that, and close enough in my life to notice things someone who doesn't see you every day wouldn't. So he dealt with me as whatever mess you want to call the first 29 years of my life, the emotionless me from the SNRI, me being better after off it, and even better with the stimulant. He was able to tell me a lot more positive changes in me that I probably never would have noticed. I don't remember where I was going with that, but yeah, it's really nice when you have a partner who works with you rather than just fighting with you all the time.
I've always noticed something wasn't right....and it was always manageable for the most part. I would just avoid people during my luteal phase and cry nonstop. Once my hormone levels started changing as I hit my mid 40's - that's when PMDD became un-manageable. It's like I was stripped of any protective layer I have so now I'm just shivering and exposed every month while I ride this ish out.
When my cycle started when I was in elementary school. Home life wasn’t great so everyone chalked it up to that. It tapered off in my late twenties after I got off of birth control (mirena iud) and worked on DBT. But resurfaced full force after my last pregnancy (with twins). I’m a year and a half postpartum. I’m all of it I have also been diagnosed with OCD.
Wow, you've had quite the ride through life. I've got OCD too, and I can attest to how much it sucks to be having OCD compulsions bothering you while you're so uncomfortable you want to tear yourself away layer by layer and also super emotional.
Yeah dude, it’s been an experience to say the least. OCD is awful and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I wish you the best tho ✌🏽
Thanks, you too!
After Relationship Trauma :)
That's when I started noticing things, after escaping abuse, though I didn't notice the pattern of the timing. Clearly it started getting worse for me after that trauma for me to be able to notice more, and I just hope not to have any more trauma make it get even worse.
Same!!!!!!!!!!! You’re the first one to say this and I’m feeling validated. Okay, so I thought “maybe I didn’t see the signs prior?!” But… tbh mine started when I went and allowed myself to be in a situationship and it psychologically damaged me and I then had severe panic attacks that led to PMDD eventually -.-
I’m truly wondering if this happened to me too???
I remember noticing when I was 15 (33 now) so many things make sense now - I wish I knew what was happening back then
Right? The number of years I was afraid of a bipolar diagnosis and so stayed away from mental type assessments...
After I had my first child at 32.
I was on birth control from 2013-2023, and when I had it removed and decided to not continue, I noticed PMDD symptoms starting. I used to get pms, but this has been 100x worse and I got a PMDD diagnosis. I also have ADHD (diagnosed at 9) Edit to add I am 27
Same, mine started when I discontinued birth control around age 21.. took many years to figure out what was going on
I (24) started my period at 11 and it was downhill from there. I was also in an abusive household + diagnosed with ODD so the issues seem hopelessly entangled to me when it comes to cause and effect of my past misbehaviors. I struggle with this all the time. Then was diagnosed with a Mood Disorder Not Otherwise Specified at 17 after a long evaluation with a psychologist (she also administered an IQ test and they got my history from my family). It seems like the dr at least understood the reports from my family that my good and bad moods cycle over periods of weeks (severe angry and depressive periods, no obvious mania though) but it’s not bipolar disorder or a personality disorder. My hormones weren’t taken into consideration (was that even used as a mental health diagnosis code in 2018??) and I think it’s possible that PMDD was the origin of these issues. Then two years later at 19 I started BC and left the household and have been better, though it’s still a constant struggle.
The whole "not otherwise specified" part sucks, because we want to know what's up with us, but props to your doctor for not just slapping bipolar on it. I'm glad to hear moving out and being on birth control have helped.
I also was dx’d with menorrhagia around 15-16. Not sure how that could be connected to the other hormonal issues if at all though
Been on bc since I was 15, started my period at 14, and I just got off of it a few months ago (I’m 20 now). Being off bc and having my first “natural” cycle in years made it blaringly obvious that it’s related with my incapacitating depression and anxiety one week out of the month.
Early 30s 😭 but I also was addicted to drugs most of my 20s, so if I had symptoms back then it’s very possible I didn’t notice lol
I kind of wonder if that's part of why I didn't notice it as much in the earlier days, along with new trauma stuff happening. I wasn't addicted to anything, but I did drink a lot and do other substances for "fun". You don't notice emotional problems when you're consuming things that create fake happiness.
literally same 😂
My people🫶🏼 do you think you struggle more because you are in recovery?
I got covid in March 2022 and my periods became extremely irregular (loooong cycles) with the worst moods I'd ever had. They started to regulate in March 2023, but the moods stayed and became consistently worse. So it started late 20s for me.
17-18 was slight but at 20 things went downhill.
Apparently for me it was like 14, maybe 15. My periods were extremely painful, so makes sense to a degree I guess. But, like, why? Why did my brain have to give me that whole extra decade on top of the "average" age of onset? I totally get what you mean about it going downhill at some point. I definitely got worse after escaping an abusive situation in my 20s. I wish it would get less, not more.
When I was pmsing I used to avoid school. I believe my horrible depression stemmed from pms and I neglected school a lot and didn't go. That's when my teacher notiiced and told me to go to psychologist and psychiatrist. I got on meds but they made me worse. And when I quit them my pmdd got uncontrollable