I want for many years struggling with anger and irritability two weeks before my period. I told many doctors and was told, “It’s just PMS. You can’t do anything for it.” After many years, I finally found a doctor, young at that, that diagnosis me with PMDD, after taking a long history.

He started me on SSRI meds and thus far, I have not had good results. I have had some very bad side effects with these meds.

I am not depressed or experience any anxiety. I experience irritability and anger. I get a good amount of activities. I have a loving, supportive partner, a great paying job with no stress.

I’m now starting to think, and talk with my physician, that I may want a hysterectomy. My symptoms are so severe that if is effecting my place of employment and more importantly, my relationship with my boyfriend of three years.

I’m disparate to get rid of my periods and not experience any more of my luteal phase.

Thank you for your comments.

I do not live in Australia, so I don’t actually know of any doctors who specialize in this. However, I found this article with some contact information at the bottom.
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/premenstrual_syndrome?open

Look for a women’s clinic in your area, or even an OBGYN that has a good reputation. You may also find a psychiatrist that specializes in depression within the reproductive cycle (postpartum depression, etc) I started with my own personal doctor, and because I had a good relationship with her, I got the right treatment pretty quickly.

Best wishes!
Erika

Thanks for writing in and I hope I can shed some light on this for you. Because PMDD and bipolar disorders are cyclical, they can indeed seem similar. The key difference is that by definition, bipolars 1 and 2 and cylcothymia (a very mild form of bipolar) also have manic periods with the depressed periods. In PMDD, the space between depressed periods is not necessarily “manic”.

I’ve not heard of overspending as a specific symptom of PMDD. But in the context of other symptoms, it could also indicate a possible overlap of cyclothymia on top of the PMDD. If someone has a cyclical mood disorder with PMDD, it could certainly emerge in that “space”.

I personally experienced some manic symptoms in that space: I was much more distractible, had a hard time judging how much I could accomplish in a set amount of time, had a kind of “buzzing” in my mind all the time. All of this was quite the opposite of the times when I was so low. I did not have those symptoms before, nor have I had them since I was treated. So they may have come about simply as a function of the PMDD disrupting my mood so much – it threw me extra hard in the other direction every two weeks.

PMDD has only really been recognized as a diagnosis for a small time compared to many other conditions. It’s possible the diagnostic criteria could be interpreted in various ways or even change in the future (especially as research results accumulate). But to the best of my knowledge, that’s how those types of manic and depression symptoms could be linked together. I’ll look for more information on that to give you something more updated as soon as I can.

I hope that clears things up somewhat – great question!

I am in a relationship with someone whom I believe might have PMDD. I have been trying to keep track of her mood swings and have found that they correspond to approximately one week before her cycle. We are very close, and our relationship is solid, but she gets so completely despondent sometimes that I can’t help but become concerned for her. I recently discussed this with someone, and she pointed me to this site. My partner is in a rough situation in her life, unhappy with her job and such, and tends to blame the depression on these factors. However, these factors are always present and the depression most definitely is not. She is usually so vibrant and hopeful, but it seems like every time she takes a step forward she goes into a depression and takes a small step back. I have tried to point out that this is a problem, but she tends to become very defensive when I do. It is the only thing that I have found that we cannot openly discuss together, and I think I understand why; I cannot imagine the anguish and pain this has caused in her life so far. I was wondering if someone, maybe Paula M, could give me some tips on how to bring this up in a way that will bring about effective discussion. I have a feeling that in her past a lot of people have “blamed it on her period” and that has left her a bit sensitive. I am at a loss, and very concerned, and I can’t seem to find a resource that gives me any answers as to how I can approach this. Thank you for your time!