No, I’m not “too sensitive.” How understanding Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) changed my life.

A lot of menstruating folks have premenstrual days where nothing seems right. Mood swings, fatigue, and everything gets irritating. For some folks, myself included, these symptoms are more severe and affect their lives.

This is known as PMDD. Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. “Premenstrual dysphoric disorder is a mood disorder characterized by emotional, cognitive, and physical symptoms. PMDD causes significant distress or impairment in menstruating females during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle” - Cleveland Clinic

I am someone who struggled with PMDD and found ways that are sustainable for existing in this world. In this blog, I’ll share with you some of what I have learned throughout my healing journey. Learn more about my menstrual path here.

So what is PMDD? 

PMDD is when your body becomes overly sensitive to the metabolizing processes of your reproductive hormones, causing strong mood swings and physical symptoms like bloating and joint pain in the two weeks before your period. Unlike PMS, which brings mild discomfort, PMDD can make you feel completely overwhelmed because of how intense both the emotional and physical struggles are. There is still a lot of new research coming out about what it actually is, so it may take some time to find tools that are actually helpful.

Some experts that I often look to for information on PMDD are Lara Briden and the team at Ditto Daily.

What does PMDD look like to you?

Dr. Anita Mitra describes core PMDD Symptoms as:

• Marked affective lability (e.g. mood swings, feeling suddenly sad or tearful, or increased sensitivity to rejection).

• Marked irritability or anger or increased interpersonal conflicts.

• Marked depressed mood, feelings of hopelessness, or self-deprecating thoughts.

• Marked anxiety, tension, and/or feelings of being keyed up or on edge. Additional symptoms of PMDD

• Decreased interest in usual activities (e.g. work, school, friends, hobbies).

• Difficulty in concentrating.

• Lack of energy, easily fatigued.

• Marked change in appetite, food cravings.

• Feeling overwhelmed or ‘out of control’.

• Changes in sleep (hypersomnia, insomnia).

• Physical discomforts such as breast tenderness, joint/muscle pains, headaches, bloating, weight gain.

A main takeaway is that these symptoms will likely impact your ability to exist in the world in a meaningful way.

It can be tough to figure out if you have PMDD because its symptoms can look like other conditions, and it's often mistaken for bipolar disorder because of the mood swings. There’s not enough research on PMDD, so it’s often overlooked. If you're wondering if it’s PMDD, tracking your cycle with tools like fertility tracking apps (Clue is my fav) can help you see patterns. The key is to notice if the symptoms happen about two weeks before your period and go away once your period starts. Keeping track of your symptoms is the best way to figure it out. This also provides you with DATA to bring to your health care practitioner so they have more tools for guiding you to support and diagnosis.

Even without a diagnosis, there are still ways to manage PMDD. Here are some things that really helped me to get a grip on my experience with pmdd:

• Blood Sugar Balance: this means eating before coffee, drinking more water, more protein and complex carbs, NOT SKIPPING CARBS, reducing alcohol and drinking teas that support liver function (like milk thistle)
  Balanced blood sugars give your body the support it needs to better metabolize shifting reproductive hormones.

• Stress Reduction: While we can’t all just up and quit our jobs, taking an honest inventory of what stressors are within and outside of your control can support with decision making for things that will reduce stress.
  I literally quit my job and became an entrepreneur, but when that wasn’t within my ability, I just went for reiki & reflexology appointments every 2 weeks and did a buttload of therapy.

• Movement: Even just a 20 minute walk can really support your body’s ability to manage stress and kickstarts your metabolism. What the movement looks like for you can be different each week, but moving our bodies can be really supportive, note: too much can cause more oxidative stress and actually make us feel worse.

When dealing with something like PMDD, taking care of yourself is important. That will look differently for everyone, but chatting with your health care providers or menstrual cycle coach (like me) can support you with tools, accountability, and perspective.

For me, self-care means being kind to myself and understanding what's going on with my body. Once I started paying attention to my cycle, I was more gentle with myself and could see why certain things happened.

Tracking my cycle alongside mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional symptoms has changed my life.

Menstrual Health is about listening to your body and giving it the time and attention it needs. If you want to understand your cycle better, book an appointment with me to get personalized insights into your cycle from someone who’s actually been there.