Oh wow Elkwarning, it’s rare I hear that someone else knows of or suffers wirh PMDD…get over here right this second and give me a high five 👏😂🤗
Yep. 2 weeks of every month since 15yrs old has been pretty much a hormone hangover…so severe that sometimes when the hormones took a rest I was left feeling like I’d been drunk and was so embarrassed by some of the things I’d said/done…was a fog of emotional distress and severe anxiety from such erratic decision making…
I’ve learned to take a lot my mum says with a bucket of salt over the years, she loves me very much but her size doesn’t always fit all and I tried to do my own thing when it came to HRT…I really believed it was right for me…through the hours of research, the conversations with friends, the talks with docs…I dived in….but that one statement from my mum last week really was the most impactful thing I’ve heard from anyone “you’ve been battling with these god awful hormones your whole life, it might be a bit uncomfortable whilst in the transition but why on gods green earth do you want to go right back to the beginning and pump yourself full of what bit you”……and with that….i thought it might just be worth stripping it all back and seeing where my own body and mind take me
I’ll be back in a month crying out for advice 😂🤦♀️ but for now I do believe the estrogen pushed me over the edge…diet, exercise and sheer mental strength is going to have to do for now….
Did you find that dizziness and nausea was an issue in cold turkey? I pulled up at costa this morning felt like I’d been on the waltzers 🤣🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️ xxxx
I think I have a slightly better handle on PMDD now as my youngest also has the diagnosis. Interestingly, or perhaps not, we're both autistic (she's still awaiting that to be formally confirmed) and I think this also has something to do with it, but I'm not sure what.
She moved back in with us during COVID, and at that time I went from peri to menopausal, so it's been a revelation to be in observation mode without being on the PMDD rollercoaster myself. My husband has to frequently remind me (when I'm merrily talking as if she's experiencing a symptom I've never had) that he recognises the pattern from many years of living with me. It's kind of scary to remember how gripping PMDD was, how unhinged it made me feel and what sort of person I could be when I was right in the thick of it.
On the plus side, this does translate into actual support for my daughter, who's doing pretty well because she's able to self-advocate for what she needs.
Did I feel sick and dizzy? I was a bit all over the place. But HRT didn't do me any favours. I couldn't say with any certainty what was the result of stuff going on and what was the hormones, and how far these were related. I think I'd give an unreliable account. However, I do know that my journey to recovery involved exercise (as you mention), herbs from a herbalist, therapy and a complete change of career. It's like I went into peri as one person and came out of the menopause as a completely different one.
For me, and I stress this really is just my perception and not something I'd try to suggest is widely applicable, I don't think HRT was appropriate because I was so sensitive to hormonal upheaval (PMDD, autism, who knows). Layering hormones so when they were up they were seriously up, I believe, caused me enormous difficulties.
Sorry responding on a phone and can't remember your other points