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Mental Health  (Expert Forum)
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Severe PMS
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
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MedHelp Member's Question

Severe PMS

by Miriamedavis, Mar 14, 2005 12:00AM
I am 37 years old and have been suffering through this for such a long time.  Two weeks before my menses I experience terrible PMS.  I get very anxious, depressed, I want to cry for no reason at all, I have fits of anger and rage and can be very aggressive, I make irrational decisions like ended relationships and quit jobs,  I am in a complete fog, I can't remember anything, I don't want to leave the house or shower, if I do leave the house I don't know where I am going and I definitely shouldn't be driving.  I don't want to answer the phone or talk to anyone.  I am very tired and can sleep til noon and still be fatigued. I work out 6 days a week but I don't want to work out during this time.  Sometimes  I have thoughts of suicide.    



Then as my menses passes, I am back to my normal self with such relief.  This emotional roller coaster is very draining and has such an impact on my life and everyone in my life.  It is very crippling to my quality of life.  I do know that many women experience this but I feel that there is a lack of sympathy for us or else a treatment would have been created by now.  



I understand it has to do with my hormones being unbalanced during this time and I've heard of Natural Hormone Balance Therapy.  I am told it is only for women who are menopausal.  There must be a similar therapy for me without having to take synthetic drugs with side effects.  



This probably falls in the area of an endocrinologist and not in mental health but any advice you can offer would be great.  



Please help!!



  





Doctor's Answer

by Roger Gould, M.D., Mar 17, 2005 12:00AM
I do believe that with  a reaction this severe and prolonged that a work up by a gynecologist or endocrinologist would be in order.  As a stop gap you might see a psychopharmacologist since sometimes antidepressants for this period seem to work miracles...
Member Comments (13)

by horse1, Mar 16, 2005 12:00AM
i can identify with your pms probs. i am 48 and the 2 weeks b4 my period i cannot sleep more than 3-4 hours a night, i am fatigued, and react differently/irrationally to situations. i actually get adrenalin rushes and tingles in my feet and hands when i am angered or surprised..kind of like a heightened "sense of flight". my family cannot stand me and i cannot stand myself i want to crawl in a hole until my period starts. i feel unable to control my emotions and negativity. i tend to isolate myself bc i know i'm miserable to be around. docs want to prescribe remeron and or zoloft. but several years ago i was on anti-depressants and the feeling of apathy & side effects i experienced was not worth it. i try to manage the pms symptoms by exercise & yoga but it isn't always effective. i can tell you to definitely stay away from alcohol if at all possible it makes all the symptoms worse. and i truely do sympathize with you because many consider pms to be psychosomatic and not a true condition. the physiological and mental anguish i feel during these two weeks is agonizing. i wish you luck and if you stumble on a "cure", please let me know. my email is lynn@das-group.com.

by hey3, Mar 16, 2005 12:00AM
I have heard the estimates of women who suffer from PMDD is actually quite low. There is usually some underlying factor causing the symptoms like anxiety and depression. I took Serafem (aka prozac) for 3 weeks for that problem. It made me mood swing worse than before. I did quit craving chocolate though. I noticed though that I had more mood swings than I thought. I was eventually told I had Generalized Anxiety Disorder. My therapist told me Prozac probably was the last thing that should have been prescribed. Hope this helps.



hey3

by goldiealg, Mar 20, 2005 12:00AM
I have suffered for the past 10 years or so.  Intially, I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety..I was going through a divorce at the time.  I was prescribed antidepressants and benzo's and took them on and off until August of 2004.  I kept telling the doctors that I thought it was hormonal.  They kept giving me drugs.  I finally decided to quit taking all the drugs to get to the root of my mood swings.  It was as I thought...the two weeks before my period were exactly as you described and bang once my period started I would be back to normal.  I started a yoga class in Jan which has been helping, but what helped the most was a suggestion the yoga teacher made when I complained about my bloat...she suggested I ask the dr. about Yasmin (a birth control pill).  Thank God for this little lady's comment....Once I changed to this pill (instead of Alesse), I felt amazingly better!!!!  It has a duirectic property that keeps the bloat to a  minimum and the mood swings have been a little less severe....I am 45 yrs. old by the way.  Anyway, a suggestion worth asking about...it seems to help me..of course I am still challenged, but it is better.  Oh, and by the way...PMS is real!!!

by LvdByGod!, May 19, 2005 12:00AM
i had severe depression like symptoms starting two weeks before my periods and lasting through the whole period...so three weeks out of four per month...it was horrible...dr put me on prozack and my entire life changed...no more pms...no more depression...no more debilitating cramps with my period...it literally saved my life...



it is not immediate you must be on it for a few weeks...



hope you get some help...it is debilitating!

by LvdByGod!, May 19, 2005 12:00AM
oh i did need to start on a very small dose and work my way up cause the side effects at first were funny...but after awhile all side effects completely disapeared and now i can not even tell when i take a pill...and i am on 40mg of prozack. i have been on this for 14 years and no problems only relief...



i tried stopping the meds one time and the symptoms came right back so i won't do that again...



best wishes to you,

by Alternative, Jun 16, 2005 12:00AM
I too have had severe pms for many years which would immobilise me for at least 2 weeks out of every month.  For years I would ask "what is wrong with me" not able to understand what was going on in my own body.  Life was filled with extremes and I felt helpless to do anything about it.  I am now symptom free thanks to natural products which I now market for women like myself, who are interested in looking for natural alternatives to the crippling effects of pms. I am also much more balanced and in control.  Check out my website at www.glycohope.net and email me with any questions if you wish.  By the way, this is also a great alternative to HRT.

by Alternative, Jun 16, 2005 12:00AM
I too have had severe pms for many years which would immobilise me for at least 2 weeks out of every month.  For years I would ask "what is wrong with me" not able to understand what was going on in my own body.  Life was filled with extremes and I felt helpless to do anything about it.  I am now symptom free thanks to natural products which I now market for women like myself, who are interested in looking for natural alternatives to the crippling effects of pms. I am also much more balanced and in control.  Check out my website at www.glycohope.net and email me with any questions if you wish.  By the way, this is also a great alternative to HRT.

by minka, Jul 03, 2005 12:00AM
I just wanted to say I am 33 yrs old and have suffered bad pms for years. I have been advised to take Vitex agnus castus (Chasteberry). This is a herb and can be found in any health shop I have spoken to many women who swear buy it.It has helped them overcome severe pms.





In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial reported in the January 20, 2001 British Medical Journal, German researchers assigned 170 women diagnosed with PMS to a daily dose of Vitex agnus castus (chaste tree berry) extract or to placebo for three menstrual cycles. The women assessed themselves before and after treatment on measures of irritability, mood, anger, headache, bloating, and breast fullness. Clinicians evaluated symptom severity and treatment effects. More than half of the women taking chaste tree fruit extract (chaste tree berry) had a 50% or greater improvement in PMS symptoms (with the exception of bloating). The researchers concluded that the dry Vitex Agnus Castus extract of agnus castus fruit is an effective and well-tolerated treatment for the relief of symptoms of PMS.

by jonnamom, Aug 08, 2007 01:17AM
To: who ever can help me
Good Lord.  I would like to add that my pms is during the first two weeks, and into my first few days of my menstural. I am almost 50, and i feel like my mind is in the twilight zone. I get these very scary feelings and can't sleep. cry till i get sick and can't breath, feel like i am alone. what the heck can i do for mine.  I have tried .25 mg of xanx and it doesn't help. now taking pure gest twice aday. good lord in heaven what am i here for? jonna,,i need help !!!

by BunnyRabbit, Aug 09, 2007 12:16PM
To: Help Us!
Wow, reading your story Miriamedavis sadly makes me feel alittle better.  I am a 23 year old student who works fulltime  and loves the out doors.  My symptoms are very similar to yours, but not quite as severe.  I feel strangle depressed and anxious as you do.  Sleeping is more like a task for me because it is such an effort to try and get myself relaxed enough to fall asleep.  i too can sleep till the late hours of the day and wake up still feeling groggy.  You used the word fog to describe your state of mind during this time, that is exactly how i feel!  I have had this problem for years and i do believe that it has worsened over time.  I thought many times that maybe i was depresses but when i sit down with the calender I know this is not the case...not too mention i live a great life!  I am taking birth control and have witched from brand to brand in hopes of findning a solution...not yet.  I hope someone reads this and can help us..this is not a pleasent way to the majority of you life!!  Please help!

by merribeth, Aug 10, 2007 09:24PM
To: miriumedavis
I too have been sufferred with severe PMS.  I discussed my symptoms with my OBGYN and he told me i have PPMD. He perscribed Serafem(an antidepressant) to be taken at certain times during the month- however i needed to take it everyday. It REALLy helped ease my intense symptoms.
Talk with your Dr. about PPMD and antidepressants- it saved my sanity and my marriage.

by gdomenica13, Aug 21, 2007 03:53PM
I have a question--I have pretty intense PMS symptoms that begin around a week and a half before my period.  These include bloating, fatigue, high anxiety followed by fatigued depression and hopelessness (i.e. mood swings), and some form of Body Dysmorphic Disorder.  I swear that before PMS I can look at myself in the mirror and be fine with the way I look, and as soon as it hits (oftentimes in the same day), I look like I've gained twenty pounds and I panic and change fifty times and feel reluctant to leave the house.  

I'm a recover(ing) anorexic, have slight OCD, and have been diagnosed with PTSD.  Could PMS possibly be hightening these issues I have and somehow conflagrating them into some monster self esteem crisis?

Thanks.
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