PMDD

I totally agree with crazynomore on the 5-HTP. I am 26 years old. I have ruined every romantic relationship I ever been in because of the PMDD. I get really emotional and I cry and I get upset two weeks out of the month. My mom also suffered and suffers from it but wasn't of it until i started doing my research. My father left my mom when I was 16 becuase of it. My mom would get the two weeks of depression and crying and tellling my father he didn't love her and she would feel sorry for herself and then she would be really moody and throwing things in his face. She wasn't so much with us, but moreso with my father. He wasn't understanding of her, He thought she was crazy...at one time..I also thought she was not all there....until I was about 18 years old and met my first husbend. I had no idea what was going on with me. My emotions were so crazy. I would get really emotional and cry and then I would get bad at him for no reason. I would have ideas in my head that were not there normaly when I wasn't PMSING. I didn't know what was wrong. He would yell at me and tell me I was too needy and I should go to the doctor because I probably had split personality. He ended up cheating and leaving. I had many other realtionships and they all pretty much went the same. THey couldn't deal with my emotional rollocaster that happend about twice a week every month.



I met my current fiance a year ago. He's a little older than me. He noticed that I get really emotional and then moody and then I would be fine. He told me I was perfect. His dream girl...except that I have my days sometimes where im just not me. I told him of my past and what had happend. He started keeping a calandar and I wasn't aware of it. He then told me he thought I had PMS. I was like..yeah..i know..i PMS a lot. He's like "maybe you should go see a doctor"....Im really prideful and he just shrugged it off. Well..It started getting really bad. I would get jealous over stupid things i normally wouldn't and I would cry and tell him he didnt love me and that he was too old for me and that i was ugly and he should just leave me...then I would get angry because he would just sit there and not say anything...I would threaten to leave him. Every month I would pack my things up and call my mom and tell her I was breaking up with him. He was very understanding and would not say anything and would try to hold me. But, he was getting to the point where he just couldnt anymore. He told me..that he loved me with all his heart but I was hurting him. I was so hurt..but I knew he was right. I finally made an appointment with my doctor and he went with me. The doctor diognoised me wtih PMDD. he suggested I get on Anti Deppressants. He also warned me with PMDD sometimes it is common for women to suffer post Pardom depression...and we are planning on a family. When I heard that. That scared me. I started doing research and found a few websites where other women suffering from PMDD have mentioned that they have been taking 5-HTP and it has worked. I heard about Anti Depressants and I would never take that. It has been two months since I have been taking it and it does work. You just have to find the right dosage for you and make sure you do change it up. I take one pill a day on my regulary "normal" days. and then on the week Im bad I take two. I also was reading on an article today on how "fat free sweetners" Like splenda which are in Diet coke and fat free foods can also cause severe PMS.



See 5-HTP increases the body's level of serotonin. which is the chemical messagnger that affects emotions. Now Aspartame is what is in fat free foods and deit soda and that actually decreased the levels of serotonin. you can find out more about that in www.sweetpoison.com.



It has helped me to eat healthier, I cut soda and sweets out of my diet. I have been taking my "happy pill 5-HTP" I started working out..Zumba is amazing...will change your life..and I keep a journal when i need to let feelings out. Im getting married in three months and my life has changed. I am so happy. I am greatful for all the ladies that have posted on what helps and I hope you can find what works for you best" It doesnt hurt to pray either. That has helped me so much. Good luck!!

I'm just getting used to this site. I put a post about how I "cured" my PMDD, but I'm not show where it shows up, so I will just paste here. You do not have to rely on prescription anti-depressants (but of course if they work for you then GREAT).



Here is my story and how I fixed my problem:



I don't remember really having pms until I got pregnant. When I was pregnant, my husband and I both noticed that it was the best I had EVER felt - no crazy mood swings. After my son was born, they came back. The doctor put me on different birth control pills (including Yaz) and they made it worse. For a while I thought it might actually be birth control causing my mood swings. I stopped taking birth control 4 years ago... it helped a little. It was then that my cycle became very normal. I got to know my body and actually became atuned to my normal menstrual cycle. I could tell when I was ovulating, knew exactly what day I would start my period. That part was great! But, it did nothing for my mood swings, except help me mark it on the calendar when they would start. The first couple years it was only a few days before period that would be bad, then it became a full week before my period, and then 2 weeks before my period. 2 weeks out of the month I was really depressed (mild - mod the first week of it & severely the 2nd week), tired, irritable, moody, hungry, bored.... a real Bit@$. My husband thought I was crazy, my son didnt' understand why I was too tired to play, my work suffered terribly those 2 weeks, my friends didnt' understand why I wanted to hang out the first two weeks but didn't even return calls the next two weeks. 2 wks out of every month = HALF MY LIFE ruined because of PMDD. I researched for a cure, went to a naturopath, my family physician, my OB/GYN. And all anyone did was tell me I was depressed because my son has Cystic Fibrosis and through antidepressants at me. Yes, my son is very sick... but true depression doesn't cycle around my period!!! I tried prozac anyway. I lasted a week on it... it made me so numb and spacy (not good when you're in school trying to take tests and earn a high GPA). Eventually I gave up looking for it... and prayed my life wouldnt' fall apart because of my psychoness. But, every few months when I was at my wits end (when thoughts of how great it would be to just not be alive anymore would run through my head) I would get on the internet and research solutions again.



Then I found it. An article about L-Tryptophan and 5-HTP. L-Tryptophan is a chemical that is in some meats (you might know it as that turkey chemical that makes you feel full, happy, content, and sleepy). L-tryptophan once inside your body converts to 5-HTP, which then converts to SERATONIN... one of the main mood balance/happy chemicals in your brain!!! It also then helps in the conversion of Melotonin (sleep balance chemical).



Studies show that PMDD is not a tru hormone problem - hormone levels show up normal. They acutally believe it is Brain Chemical Imbalance caused by the changing hormones of your cycle - they don't understand why it effects some and not others.... (and they probably never will until more women get into the field). Anyway - the bottom line: PMDD is brain chemical imbalance not hormone so that is why L-Tryptophan or 5-HTP works (and why some anti-depressants - seratonin related work).



I decided to give it a try. I went to a local GNC center (vitamin place) and couldn't find L-Tryptophan so I got 5-htp instead. From all the articles and responses from real people I was able to gather that the average dose is 50-200mg a day. It's best to start off on the lowest dose and see what your body needs or tolerates. ALSO important is that you want to stagger start your dose. Do a lower dose that first week of PMMD, and a higher dose the 2nd week pf PMDD, otherwise your body gets used to it and you don't get the effect the second week (which is when you reallllllly need it). I'm a light weight when it comes to any drug so I use 50mg a day for the first few days, then 50mg AM & PM when I start to feel the irritability come back, the last few days right before my period I take a 100 AM & PM. It is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can say enough how this has changed my life. This is the first time I'm sharing my story, and I am actually in TEARS as I write this, not depression tears, but tears of relief and joy knowing that I will never have to go through this kind of life again.



I hope you all take my post to heart and give it a try. You AND your family deserve to have the NORMAL you back <3.



PS - ---- I have read some warnings that back in the 70's tainted L-tryptophan caused a lot of people to get really sick, but there has been nothing in the last couple decades. Supplements aren't regulated by the FDA like prescription drugs, so you get what you pay for. Remember to always buy your supplements from a respectable store and manufacturer - stick with brand names so you know you are getting the "higher" quality control.



********WISH YOU ALL THE BEST LADIES********!

HI! I have been put on 20 mg of Celexa for PMDD. I have only been on this dosage for a couple. I'm wondering how long does it take to kick in. I'm a mess right now.

I have been diagnosed with PMDD for 3 years now...My life have changed soo much since then..I feel like a better wife and mother!! I am taking Sertraline...(Zoloft) to control my mood...my main symptom was agitation and irritability...SEVERE! I turned into a completely different person...and caused soo many arguments with my husband...He and I hardly conflict with each other now...The treatment I am on has worked very well for me.

Thanks Mother...=) I will take your hugs anytime=)

((((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))

I am so young and I have a daughter already although me and my partner have yet to have a child together he is helping me to raise the one I do have. I feel so bad cause my daughter sees me cry all the time...It hurts alot to want something so bad and feel like it was taken from me. I know that it wasnt the rite time. God does things that we sometimes do not understand. Even still the pain is still there. I still don't understand why it happen. I try not to even go there cause its makes me terribly sad. I lash out on my partner cause I dont know what to do about it. I get angry from the littlest of things and I just want to be me again. I miss being me..This person I see in the mirror is not me...I hate her.