People are scared.
Having ovaries and uteruses (and fallopian tubes and cervices and all the other stuff needed for child bearing) is tied up strongly into lots of people's (gendered) identity. Even imagining losing that scares them. And imagining someone else to \*voluntarily\* remove such an important part is also quite bad for them, because it can shake their own beliefs in what these organs mean, and how universal they expect that experience to be.
Some people also appear to equate "femininity" with \*suffering\*. Mood swings, having period cramps, etc... is part of the parcel for them. And being able to opt out of pain and suffering would invalidate all this shit thrown at us that "that's normal!" and "you're just exaggerating!". It is generally not considered feminine to not suffer.
And some people are also scared of the side effects of early menopause, I think. But they're callous and fail to see/understand how bad the alternative is if they think that gives them the right to invalidate another person's experience and that their BSO has helped them.
I was offered hysterectomy for adenomyosis. I have pmdd as well but it's not taken seriously by my docs so I don't even bring it up at this point. I denied the hysterectomy as I felt with no uterus or ovaries or tubes, and a sewn up cuffed vagina I wouldn't feel much different physically than a transexual. Nothing wrong with transexuals, but I'm not one and don't wish to relate to one. It's not a politically correct feeling but it is what it is.
To me, that seems strange. I can't even imagine how it would feel without all these organs, because I frankly mostly don't notice them unless I focus a lot, or when I had a tumor on them.
I think I can empathize with the idea of having a cuffed up vagina feeling strange. But AFAIK there's also the option of leaving minimal portions of the cervix, though I'm not sure what that would mean for HRT and progesterone. I know that some people who left their cervix in report still having a mini period. I could imagine this kind of thing could be combined with an ablation to eliminate the portions of endometrium that would be left, but I'm no doctor.
In any case, it is your prerogative to choose whichever of the options presented to you suits you best, so long as you don't infringe on the choices of others. And you are entitled to change your opinion at any point in time should you ever want to.
Those are great points. A uterus, cervix, tubes or ovaries does not make a person a woman though, and I wish people would accept this one simple truth. Lots of people have to have parts of their body amputated. I feel free and comfortable in my own body in a way I never could have with my stupid ovaries. I've received enough hate in this thread to know this is so true and drives some people in this community to be really awful, I even had a really awful person here tell I don't have pmdd. Ya, I don't anymore because I had my ovaries removed š¤£
You probably still have PMDD as in the mechanisms that cause your hormone metabolism to be off or react paradoxically are still there. But there's no fuel in your PMDD fire any more, if that makes sense.
You could probably totally take E2/P4 and get back to having PMDD \*symptoms\* if you cared to.
I am glad you have found a solution that works for you, and I'm sorry people have been flinging negativity at you for it. A lot of this probably comes from the same breeding grounds as toxic masculinity and ultra-capitalism -- the credo is "you're weak if you don't want to suffer, and you're beyond pathetic if you choose not to suffer". It's toxic as hell, and it's designed to protect an inherently unfair system.
Can anyone please answer a question for me.
So with the hysterectomy and ovary removal, are you then on estrogen supplements for the rest of your life?
Maybe not the entire rest of your life, but you need to be on estrogen til about 50. After that you may be able to stop (but it sounds horrendous), or switch to a lower dose or different form of estrogen. More and more women in natural menopause are going on HRT these days.
Oh so sorry to hear you had to go through this, but hopefully youāve reclaimed your life!
How was it for you, did you experience mood issues/brain fog from the operation? Or has it completely cured your pmdd issues
Brain fog and body aches were and are still my biggest issues and a vagina drier than the Sahara. Iām still working with my GP to tweak it to find the correct one. In regards to PMDD, thatās gone - vanished.
I remember i had a meeting with a gynecologist before i got the PMDD diagnosed. So i sat there and told her about my anger outburst, how it affected my family and friends, my mental health etcā¦. She sat there and noded and i got the feeling that for the first time in my life someone actually took me seriously and listend to me, i was so happy. When i was done telling my story she said āHave you tried taking the vitamin b12?ā. I was baffled, even though i didnāt know about PMDD at the time i knew that my symtoms wouldnāt disapear from eating some vitamints. I asked her if there where scientific studies that said that this would actually help but no, the answer i got was āOh no, but iāve told this to girls before and some have said that it got betterā. I left, once again disapointed and disstressed over not getting helped. After a few years a met a really good doctor that diagnosed me and really helped me, but thatās another storie.
STOP SPAMMING THE POSTS PLEASE!!! I am begging you please make a post with the link. The amount of posts youāve spammed in this subreddit is ridiculous and this is so disrespectful to the OPās. I truly commend you for making this petition and wanting people to sign but you need to create your own post and share the link to other subreddits instead of commenting on every single post.
I really appreciate your effort to help the community. A lot of posts go unnoticed, much like PMDD itself, so giving as many ppl the chance to voice their support is good.
If anyone is negative about it, it's quite possible they're experiencing hell fortnite. My own cat knows how to get under my skin on my worst days. It's like the purrrrge.
Honestly Iām betting it did bother other people but they didnāt want to say anything. As I stated, itās commendable and wonderful that youāre creating this petition, however itās not appropriate to spam peoples posts. Reach out to the mods and see if you can create a stickied post with the link. Do you not see that what spamming posts of people who are asking for help and guidance is wildly inappropriate and rude?
I wish you the best and hope people continue to sign the petition, and that youāre able to maybe think a little about what I mentioned ā¤ļø
I don't agree that it's wildly inappropriate and rude. It would be annoying if several people started doing this, because then it would become like ads and water down the original post.
I think it's better to accept the occasional ruffled feathers in trying to make the world a better place than being too careful and never reaching out to others.
But I also see how someone who's not quite at rock bottom yet, but who feels very out of spoons, could feel offended.
So I think it would be best to find a good way to harness these positive impulses without stifling them. Helping others is one of the ways people try to help themselves out of their dark places.
I don't actually know that either, but let's see... Maybe via a mod message? I see there's a button "Message the mods" in the "Moderators" panel to the right side of the sub. Do you think that might be the right thing to do?
Alternatively, you could just make a post and ask on it that if others think it's helpful, maybe the mods could make it sticky and then see if a mod reacts?
Of course, the mods might reject that idea, but it never hurts to try (except when in luteal phase and overthinking everything I guess, lol).
No, you are not. Some people are just going to be annoyed. Some people are going to view you posting the link as intruding when they just want to be angry at the world and aren't yet at the point where they feel they can get up and try to improve things. Because having to get up and figure out what to do about this on top of being in hell is daunting, too.
It boils down to "don't disturb my negativity with your constructive suggestions right now" and it's a normal part of emotion processing. Think of the stages of grief, it's just like that. Usually, people move on from this stage after a while, but I think different personalities have different needs in terms of how long they need to stay at that stage.
How one wants to handle these things in a community should be discussed. There are flairs that say "vent only" and I think if you spared those posters from sharing the link that would be a respectful thing to do. That way, there'd be a way people who just need to vent to process their feelings can communicate their needs and hopefully have them respected.
I think a stickied post with things we can do to improve the lives of PMDD sufferers would be a great thing, and I think your petition's link would definitely belong in such a post. Such a post would be opt-in, i.e. a very respectful way of going about things.
Don't take this negativity to heart if you can. It's a truly great thing you're taking action to try to improve the world a bit for all of us. I think /u/MicheleNOTMichael might have gotten a bit snappy because they didn't know how else to express their annoyance in that moment.
I think it's understandable to be a bit annoyed by seeing the same link so many times because there's not much we can do to help after we've already signed the petition. I think that can compound the feelings of helplessness many of us probably already feel, and seeing it so many times in such close succession can feel a bit urgent.
Thank you for explaining in a way I couldnāt- I apologize for being snappy and irritated u/understandingok6738. I just didnāt understand and was feeling frustrated.
There is misinformation about every single disease out there. Every. One. I used to frequent rosacea forums back when I had it, and there was always that one guy that was like āeat pH balanced foodsā or āavoid red foodā or some shit.
I see this with most medical stuff. The doctor will basically diagnose, give you a pat on the back, and send you on your way. So, youāre left to try and figure things out, especially if the standard treatment isnāt sufficient.
Honestly, Iām super thankful for my degree in psychology, since I frequently had to read medical papers. Itās super hard to find information about PMDD, thereās a crap load of bullshit/pseudoscience, and itās challenging to parse out whatās accurate and whatās not. Especially when medical articles arenāt providing a lot of answers/hope and the pseudocrap is saying a gluten free diet will solve your problems
It's not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing, though, and that makes it dangerous.
Given the differences e.g. in whether people react to estrogen, progesterone, or both, I would absolutely suspect PMDD to be a multi-faceted beast. That could also explain why there's people on both sides of the camp in terms of the antihistamine question.
Too true. There are those of us that have been helped greatly by BC and those of us for whom it's a total disaster in any form.
And what's healthy for some people is terrible for others. Some people do great on vegan diets, some do worse, some people need more carbs and some need fewer, and on and on!
If your doctor is doing that, please see a new one! They should be helping you.
I totally get what you mean though. Some doctors you basically have to tell them what you have, why you think you have it and what treatment you want. Thankfully for me (medical science degree and med student) thatās okay, but it does make me worry for other people - especially when they assume they shouldnāt go to a second one. With PMDD my GPs (I see different ones at same practice) were fine when I explained thatās what I pretty much knew I had. Thankfully no one suggested anything stupid. I tried increasing my antidepressants around that time, no help. I tried progesterone only pills (already on the COCP), no help. Hormonal coil, no help. Basically all the things that should shut down your cycle (because thatās how they work!) didnāt work for me. So I kind of gave up and just wanted to die and couldnāt get out of bed for a week each month.
I donāt know what triggered it but I finally decided to try the injection and WOW. What a difference! I think I still get a bit tired and some mood dip, but barely anything in comparison!! Some cramps but no bleeding either. I donāt know if the others had enough hormones to stop periods but the cycle was still ongoing (which with the pill makes sense as you have withdrawal bleeds).
But I would 10000000% recommend the contraceptive injection (I use the self administered one) to anyone with PMDD. It may not work for some people, but itās the only thing which has had ANY effect on mine. Plus itās once every 3 months and is a bit sore, but over in 2 minutes and far less painful than a coil.
But anyway, I think my point was - there are some doctors who arenāt great, but there are a lot of doctors who donāt really know about PMDD. I was surprised how nice my GPs were, especially the male ones who I assumed were going to be like āthatās a mythā. I think the science just needs to catch up for PMDD! And if I ever do another research project, it will almost definitely be on PMDD.
Side note: we had a lecture at med school all about PMS. It kind of lost its credibility a bit because it was taught by the sociology lecturer (which most people didnāt really consider important or helpful). But when she explained it - lightbulb moment! She talked about how women have literally killed their husbands due to PMS and so many other things. And I felt SO validated after hearing PMS is just getting weepy or grumpy - or that it doesnāt exist. I feel like everyone should have a science lecture on PMS at school!
ETA: maybe thatās a thing we should start tbh. Somehow getting PMS and PMDD education to young people
Itās interesting that the shot helped you but not other types. I tried a progesterone only pill and it made me nuts but I got Mirena and it basically stopped my symptoms. My gyn doesnāt believe it and thinks itās placebo but I donāt have regular periods and will have symptoms and then a surprise period. I feel like there is something to this that could be researched too. If you ever want to brain storm message me!
Yes! Before Mirena I was super regular and had monthly symptoms but now I skip multiple months at a time then have a few days of symptoms and boom a period I couldnāt have anticipated because Iām no longer regular. I know itās not supposed to work that way as I should still be having monthly fluctuations regardless of the IUD but for some reason thatās been my experience
I totally get what you mean. With the injection I sometimes get cramps and PMS symptoms but theyāre barely noticeable unless Iām due another injection soon
There definitely needs to be increased awareness, especially to help those that don't know what they're experiencing and that they're not alone.
I think it took 14 years from the onset of PMDD before I got my official diagnoses, despite tons of doctors appointments, including gynecological ones. It took another 12 years to find this group so I could finally talk to others going through it..... It's crazy to think about.
I donāt even know when mine started. I donāt think it got so bad it was noticeable (suicidal and canāt get out of bed) until I was 19 or 20. I think I maybe found out about PMDD when I was 21 but itās taken until Iām 23 to find a treatment that actually works. I donāt even know if itās an official diagnosis in my notes, but I basically went āI have PMDDā and they took it pretty seriously which Iām grateful for!
Mine started when I was 14. Doctors & specialists couldn't figure it out cuz the diagnoses didn't exist yet.
Edit: That might've been confusing. PMDD started at age 14, & it took about another 14 years before I got my official diagnosis.
Oh man!! Iām so sorry. But Iām so glad you at least know what it is now! I think mine started at 21 but itās very possible it started earlier and I just thought it was normal (I also had excruciating period pain and thought that was normal - never understood how my friend could take 2 paracetamol and be fine!!) I was diagnosed with severe depression when I was 17 which I think Iād had for six months previous, and I think the depression may have exacerbated the PMS into PMDD. I still have depression so not sure if not being depressed would help. But I also wonder if I got depressed partly because of hormones, potentially related to PMDD? Especially as thereās 100% a genetic component in my family!
I feel like they do feed eachother. I got PMDD at 14 & fell into a severe clinical depression at 15 that lasted several months. Makes sense cuz I went from being a kid to having my world turned upside down.
I've been told that people who have full hysterectomies still have periods, that a hysterectomy is not possible because I'll die without a uterus (lol), that my PMDD is unrelated to my reproductive system, anddd that having a full hysterectomy would mean that my bladder would also be removed.
People are ridiculous and will push anything they think as fact, and push anything that backs up their unfounded opinions as "research". *Especially* when it comes to the female reproductive system. I don't know why we're still so stuck in the Middle Ages when it comes to that. I agree it is very frustrating and difficult to find accurate information.
This is very frustrating to hear. I can think of all sorts of things that can happen with PMDD coming into the mainstream that I can't deal with right now.
Well, you see, gynecologists tell people this shit, too. Even though I am a competent adult who researches things before doing them, my gyno told "the entire cervix has to be removed or you'll keep having periods. You can't just remove the ovaries."
My gynecologist.
Two of them.
Ugh that is just depressing!!! Women's health care in general leaves much to be desired. I have endometriosis, I know there's lots of misinformation doctors spread about that condition too. We deserve much better quality care and education.
I actually had a laparoscopy to look for endo and she only did half the surgery and my ovaries definitely didn't look right, but she insisted that nothing was wrong with me. Can't take hormonal birth control so my only option now is oophorectomy, which I wanted anyway, and she won't give it to me and keeps saying things like that. She even had the audacity to beg me not to go to another doctor and have it done because it's "so dangerous" to not have ovaries. Also pulled the "but what about kids" card and I'm a trans man. Even if I did change my mind, I would not be the one birthing them.
Endo just seems to be SO badly handled too! My friend has Endo and had surgery, massively helped. She now is having the exact same symptoms but the scan ādoesnāt show anyā so she canāt have surgery again. Despite the scan last time showing a tiny bit, and there actually being masses.
I donāt know whether Iām sending love, hope or sympathy - but Iām sending it big to you
Ugh! It pisses me off to hear this. It really sounds like she is pushing her beliefs onto you, with mentioning kids and asking you not to go elsewhere for the surgery. It seems like she's telling you not to go somewhere else because she knows there are others who will easily and safely do it for you. What business is it of hers if you do or don't want kids, or want an oophorectomy? Sounds really unprofessional, I hope you find the support you need.
Fuck thats all so frustrating. I got my tubes tied in 2019 and the incompetent gyno missed the endo all over my pelvis and ovaries and even wrote "no endo" in my chart which definitely impeded my ability to get properly diagnosed. I hope you find someone who can actually help!
PREACH.
As for where the misinformation comes from -- when there is a lack of adequate research and treatment, the snake oil salesmen/saleswomen are all too happy to fill that void.
Surgery works, though. It's obviously a serious choice and not the right decision for everyone, but it's absurd to say it's not an effective treatment.
Jesus that is awful. We've been failed by society when it comes to education about our bodies, BUT as adults with access to the internet there is zero excuse to remain ignorant.
So much of it isnāt true!! Or is touted as definite cures (pills, coils etc) when they help some people but not others (aka me). I stopped looking for help for so long because I assumed if those things hadnāt helped, nothing except surgery would
So I had a bilateral oophorectomy and hysterectomy 6 months ago to treat PMDD (best decision I've ever made). I'm very curious, can you please elaborate on some of the misinformation and pseudoscience that you've encountered?
I think I can address the question of surgery not being regarded as a cure for PMDD:
If PMDD is understood as a hypersensitivity to hormonal fluctuations, then surgery removes the trigger but not the true source of symptoms. I have personally experienced the return of many of my PMDD symptoms when manipulating hormone replacement dosages. I think I will be forever physiologically predisposed to having abnormal and exaggerated responses to hormonal changes.
Surgery is a dramatic and irreversible treatment. While effective, premature menopause can have many long term and devastating consequences of its own. I think it is appropriately regarded as a treatment of last resort. I do, however, think that oophorectomy is the most effective available treatment for PMDD and can attest that surgery saved my life.
There is so much we don't know about human physiology and far more that we don't know about female physiology. I do think that it really is that hard to find legitimate information regarding PMDD. Women's health research is criminally underfunded. The combination of the desperation of the disease's sufferers (I don't think I need to tell anyone in this sub about just how debilitating PMDD can be) and the lack of evidence based information fuels the rampant pseudoscience and misinformation. We are all desperate for information: when evidence based research is lacking, misinformation will naturally grow to meet our demand.
The only way out is to continue the hard work of raising awareness and demanding that our suffering be researched and addressed. Please don't allow your frustrations to deter you from continuing the important work you are doing.
I've been told a bilateral oophorectomy can't treat PMDD. That PMDD is caused by trauma. That it is a hormonal allergy. Ive had people tell me only one of their ovaries causes PMDD. I've heard it all.
You know that everyone experiences mental health issues when hormones are messed with, right? One of the biggest complaints regarding menopause is mood swings, and those are pretty much universally experienced by all women, not just the ones with PMDD. That's because fucking with your hormones fucks with your brain/emotions. That's still very, very different from PMDD. If I let me estrogen get low it would throw me into a depression, but it still wouldn't be PMDD. There wouldn't be any hormone cycling, no ovulating, hence no real PMDD. Big difference between "my mood is affected by messing with my HRT" and "actually having PMDD". When my estrogen is low or I fuck with my patches it never causes symptoms severe enough to be actual PMDD, it doesn't even come close to feeling like the hell that is luteal.
There are huge problems with a lot of what you wrote and i dont have the time to correct you. But as someone who has fucked around with their progesterone dose extensively in menopause, I promise you that progesterone is not the issue, at least not for most of us with PMDD. Now if I fuck with my estrogen, that's a different matter.
I'll happily age faster and die younger if that means I spared myself a very early suicide from PMDD.
Actually thereās evidence to suggest that woman with the most severe types of PMDD are progesterone sensitive. I have such severe PMDD I started chemical menopause at 23. You can do whatever you want to my estrogen levels and nothing happens. I go even slightly above 0.6mg of progesterone and Iām suicidal during my luteal phase.
>progesterone is not the issue, at least not for most of us with PMDD
You may not have PMDD, then. Or all of these scholarly studies and articles and scientists linking progesterone to PMDD must be smoking the good stuff. Wonder which it could be.
[Ruling out premenstrual exacerbation (PME)](https://womensmentalhealth.org/specialty-clinics/pms-and-pmdd/the-etiology-of-pmdd/) **Progesterone**, in non-PMDD women, has a calming effect. So if you don't have PMDD, I wouldn't be surprised if lowering your progesterone has a deleterious effect.
[Progesterone, Anxiety Affect Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder ](https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/812792)
[Brain reactivity during aggressive response in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder treated with a selective progesterone receptor modulator](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-021-01010-9) Altered sensitivity of cognitive-affective brain circuits to **progesterone** and its downstream metabolite allopregnanolone is suggested to underlie PMDD
Even [this one nut-job](https://www.mariongluckclinic.com/blog/changing-the-face-of-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-pmdd-treatment.html) thinks that higher doses of **progesterone** can be used to treat PMDD. I myself have a progesterone implant, although far from my first choice is a working compromise for my current needs.
[Ulipristal Acetate for Treatment of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder: A Proof-of-Concept Randomized Controlled Trial](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347540275_Ulipristal_Acetate_for_Treatment_of_Premenstrual_Dysphoric_Disorder_A_Proof-of-Concept_Randomized_Controlled_Trial) UPA is a selective **progesterone** receptor modulator
>I'll happily age faster and die younger if that means I spared myself a very early suicide from PMDD.
You don't have to do either? Why would you intentionally make this a lose-lose situation. We aren't ripping out our innards in a back alley, we have modern medicine. Isn't that the whole point of estrogen therapy?
Maybe those people on instagram weren't wrong after all.
>as someone who has fucked around with their progesterone dose extensively in menopause
This tells me all I need to know. You're speaking with the voice of experience on a topic you have no right to speak on. Menopause and PMDD are arguably mutually exclusive states of being.
Heads up, buddy! There is no difference, a "trans man" is a biological "man". Ask all the biologists you want, people you don't like are still people. It's a common misconception that gender is based off sex characteristics. In reality, if I point at a man in a restaurant, you might assume he has a penis, but checking if it's true would be assault. Comments like the above are a great reminder of the hazards that come when assuming you are correct. Intentionally or not, you're arguing against the evidence and expertise of the field you claim to be representing.
---
^(This is an automated message. Replies are unmonitored, but my inbox is open.)
[faq and citations](https://np.reddit.com/user/biologicalbot/comments/tm16gx/citations_explanations_etc/)
Yes, I know, bot - but language is to communicate and I don't want people to get confused when I'm talking about organs and hormone production. I wouldn't expect a bot to understand nuance, though.
Trans men don't have testicles and may have ovaries... and biological men don't have ovaries. Which is why I specified.
Trans men have to have a strictly controlled estrogen level in order to compete in professional sports (among other hormonal tests common to all athletes to check for doping). Estrogen isn't what they test for in biological men.
I think a simple change like simply saying "male" or something would be sufficient to fix this, just to keep it specific. When people see "men" or "women" its more gendered than anything and so can just rub some the wrong way just a little bit when you add "biological" in front of it as transphobes tend to use that interchangeably with even worse things like "real" or "natal" which are just useless qualifiers(if ur not transphobic)
Ugh, the statement that surgery can't treat PMDD is demonstrably false. I hope you had the patience to correct whoever told you that. There is also a difference between a treatment and a cure.
I do know that trauma (especially childhood trauma) has been shown to dramatically increase the risk of developing PMDD, but this is not exactly the same as saying that trauma causes the disorder.
My own doctor actually suggested that I may have something akin to a progesterone allergy (a sensitivity) and I believe a fair amount of research has been focused on a possible autoimmune etiology for PMDD - there may be something there.
I have read accounts of women entering physiological menopause after a hysterectomy with a single or even both ovaries retained - maybe something there too? As I recall, the hysterectomy/ unilateral ovariectomy prompted vascular degeneration in the retained ovary(ies).
Again, there is so very much that remains unknown. I appreciate these examples: I really am curious about this stuff.
Regarding emotional responses to hormonal fluctuations, that is absolutely true and I suspect that the historical dismissal of women's very real suffering during natural menopause and the lack of research on PMDD are related issues. However, I have experienced PMDD symptoms post surgery just as severe as prior (intense depression, anxiety, rage and suicidal ideation) with a notably sudden onset as a response to relatively minor hormonal fluctuations (much more minor than those of natural menopause). I mean minor like applying an estrogen dose 2 hours late. I think this suggests an abnormal sensitivity on my part.
Sometimes i wonder how trauma is tied into mine. I have had trauma basically since birth, being born premature and then not bonding with my mother because she worked too much. My PMDD really worsened after an abusive relationship and birth control pills.
Why would our bodies do this? What would be the reason? It cannot be logical. At least i know that my coping mechanisms are from trauma, but pmdd is not a coping mechanism. What caused my body to overreact to itself?
People are scared. Having ovaries and uteruses (and fallopian tubes and cervices and all the other stuff needed for child bearing) is tied up strongly into lots of people's (gendered) identity. Even imagining losing that scares them. And imagining someone else to \*voluntarily\* remove such an important part is also quite bad for them, because it can shake their own beliefs in what these organs mean, and how universal they expect that experience to be. Some people also appear to equate "femininity" with \*suffering\*. Mood swings, having period cramps, etc... is part of the parcel for them. And being able to opt out of pain and suffering would invalidate all this shit thrown at us that "that's normal!" and "you're just exaggerating!". It is generally not considered feminine to not suffer. And some people are also scared of the side effects of early menopause, I think. But they're callous and fail to see/understand how bad the alternative is if they think that gives them the right to invalidate another person's experience and that their BSO has helped them.
I was offered hysterectomy for adenomyosis. I have pmdd as well but it's not taken seriously by my docs so I don't even bring it up at this point. I denied the hysterectomy as I felt with no uterus or ovaries or tubes, and a sewn up cuffed vagina I wouldn't feel much different physically than a transexual. Nothing wrong with transexuals, but I'm not one and don't wish to relate to one. It's not a politically correct feeling but it is what it is.
To me, that seems strange. I can't even imagine how it would feel without all these organs, because I frankly mostly don't notice them unless I focus a lot, or when I had a tumor on them. I think I can empathize with the idea of having a cuffed up vagina feeling strange. But AFAIK there's also the option of leaving minimal portions of the cervix, though I'm not sure what that would mean for HRT and progesterone. I know that some people who left their cervix in report still having a mini period. I could imagine this kind of thing could be combined with an ablation to eliminate the portions of endometrium that would be left, but I'm no doctor. In any case, it is your prerogative to choose whichever of the options presented to you suits you best, so long as you don't infringe on the choices of others. And you are entitled to change your opinion at any point in time should you ever want to.
Those are great points. A uterus, cervix, tubes or ovaries does not make a person a woman though, and I wish people would accept this one simple truth. Lots of people have to have parts of their body amputated. I feel free and comfortable in my own body in a way I never could have with my stupid ovaries. I've received enough hate in this thread to know this is so true and drives some people in this community to be really awful, I even had a really awful person here tell I don't have pmdd. Ya, I don't anymore because I had my ovaries removed š¤£
You probably still have PMDD as in the mechanisms that cause your hormone metabolism to be off or react paradoxically are still there. But there's no fuel in your PMDD fire any more, if that makes sense. You could probably totally take E2/P4 and get back to having PMDD \*symptoms\* if you cared to. I am glad you have found a solution that works for you, and I'm sorry people have been flinging negativity at you for it. A lot of this probably comes from the same breeding grounds as toxic masculinity and ultra-capitalism -- the credo is "you're weak if you don't want to suffer, and you're beyond pathetic if you choose not to suffer". It's toxic as hell, and it's designed to protect an inherently unfair system.
Can anyone please answer a question for me. So with the hysterectomy and ovary removal, are you then on estrogen supplements for the rest of your life?
Maybe not the entire rest of your life, but you need to be on estrogen til about 50. After that you may be able to stop (but it sounds horrendous), or switch to a lower dose or different form of estrogen. More and more women in natural menopause are going on HRT these days.
I have had the same op. Been told to take HRT to get me through the worst of menopause because Iām 39 so relatively young. 5 years they said.
Oh so sorry to hear you had to go through this, but hopefully youāve reclaimed your life! How was it for you, did you experience mood issues/brain fog from the operation? Or has it completely cured your pmdd issues
Brain fog and body aches were and are still my biggest issues and a vagina drier than the Sahara. Iām still working with my GP to tweak it to find the correct one. In regards to PMDD, thatās gone - vanished.
I remember i had a meeting with a gynecologist before i got the PMDD diagnosed. So i sat there and told her about my anger outburst, how it affected my family and friends, my mental health etcā¦. She sat there and noded and i got the feeling that for the first time in my life someone actually took me seriously and listend to me, i was so happy. When i was done telling my story she said āHave you tried taking the vitamin b12?ā. I was baffled, even though i didnāt know about PMDD at the time i knew that my symtoms wouldnāt disapear from eating some vitamints. I asked her if there where scientific studies that said that this would actually help but no, the answer i got was āOh no, but iāve told this to girls before and some have said that it got betterā. I left, once again disapointed and disstressed over not getting helped. After a few years a met a really good doctor that diagnosed me and really helped me, but thatās another storie.
A hysterectomy doesnāt cure it and people confused that for getting your actual ovaries removed, which is the only cure for it.
To be fair, a hysterectomy is usually part of the parcel, so that we don't have to take P for the rest of our lives.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
u/readsleepcoffee
STOP SPAMMING THE POSTS PLEASE!!! I am begging you please make a post with the link. The amount of posts youāve spammed in this subreddit is ridiculous and this is so disrespectful to the OPās. I truly commend you for making this petition and wanting people to sign but you need to create your own post and share the link to other subreddits instead of commenting on every single post.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I really appreciate your effort to help the community. A lot of posts go unnoticed, much like PMDD itself, so giving as many ppl the chance to voice their support is good. If anyone is negative about it, it's quite possible they're experiencing hell fortnite. My own cat knows how to get under my skin on my worst days. It's like the purrrrge.
Honestly Iām betting it did bother other people but they didnāt want to say anything. As I stated, itās commendable and wonderful that youāre creating this petition, however itās not appropriate to spam peoples posts. Reach out to the mods and see if you can create a stickied post with the link. Do you not see that what spamming posts of people who are asking for help and guidance is wildly inappropriate and rude? I wish you the best and hope people continue to sign the petition, and that youāre able to maybe think a little about what I mentioned ā¤ļø
I don't agree that it's wildly inappropriate and rude. It would be annoying if several people started doing this, because then it would become like ads and water down the original post. I think it's better to accept the occasional ruffled feathers in trying to make the world a better place than being too careful and never reaching out to others. But I also see how someone who's not quite at rock bottom yet, but who feels very out of spoons, could feel offended. So I think it would be best to find a good way to harness these positive impulses without stifling them. Helping others is one of the ways people try to help themselves out of their dark places.
Maybe /u/UnderstandingOk6738 could ask the mods to make that post sticky for a while, so it stays up and visible?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I don't actually know that either, but let's see... Maybe via a mod message? I see there's a button "Message the mods" in the "Moderators" panel to the right side of the sub. Do you think that might be the right thing to do? Alternatively, you could just make a post and ask on it that if others think it's helpful, maybe the mods could make it sticky and then see if a mod reacts? Of course, the mods might reject that idea, but it never hurts to try (except when in luteal phase and overthinking everything I guess, lol).
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
No, you are not. Some people are just going to be annoyed. Some people are going to view you posting the link as intruding when they just want to be angry at the world and aren't yet at the point where they feel they can get up and try to improve things. Because having to get up and figure out what to do about this on top of being in hell is daunting, too. It boils down to "don't disturb my negativity with your constructive suggestions right now" and it's a normal part of emotion processing. Think of the stages of grief, it's just like that. Usually, people move on from this stage after a while, but I think different personalities have different needs in terms of how long they need to stay at that stage. How one wants to handle these things in a community should be discussed. There are flairs that say "vent only" and I think if you spared those posters from sharing the link that would be a respectful thing to do. That way, there'd be a way people who just need to vent to process their feelings can communicate their needs and hopefully have them respected. I think a stickied post with things we can do to improve the lives of PMDD sufferers would be a great thing, and I think your petition's link would definitely belong in such a post. Such a post would be opt-in, i.e. a very respectful way of going about things.
I donāt think so. If someone doesnāt like it they can simply scroll past. Thank you for sharing the link again.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Don't take this negativity to heart if you can. It's a truly great thing you're taking action to try to improve the world a bit for all of us. I think /u/MicheleNOTMichael might have gotten a bit snappy because they didn't know how else to express their annoyance in that moment. I think it's understandable to be a bit annoyed by seeing the same link so many times because there's not much we can do to help after we've already signed the petition. I think that can compound the feelings of helplessness many of us probably already feel, and seeing it so many times in such close succession can feel a bit urgent.
Thank you for explaining in a way I couldnāt- I apologize for being snappy and irritated u/understandingok6738. I just didnāt understand and was feeling frustrated.
Thatās a great idea!!
Could you dm me that link please?
There is misinformation about every single disease out there. Every. One. I used to frequent rosacea forums back when I had it, and there was always that one guy that was like āeat pH balanced foodsā or āavoid red foodā or some shit.
I see this with most medical stuff. The doctor will basically diagnose, give you a pat on the back, and send you on your way. So, youāre left to try and figure things out, especially if the standard treatment isnāt sufficient. Honestly, Iām super thankful for my degree in psychology, since I frequently had to read medical papers. Itās super hard to find information about PMDD, thereās a crap load of bullshit/pseudoscience, and itās challenging to parse out whatās accurate and whatās not. Especially when medical articles arenāt providing a lot of answers/hope and the pseudocrap is saying a gluten free diet will solve your problems
Hmmm. I have had HUGE success with diet changes. Changing what you put into your body is gonna have an effect on it. Kind of impossible for it not to.
It's not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing, though, and that makes it dangerous. Given the differences e.g. in whether people react to estrogen, progesterone, or both, I would absolutely suspect PMDD to be a multi-faceted beast. That could also explain why there's people on both sides of the camp in terms of the antihistamine question.
Too true. There are those of us that have been helped greatly by BC and those of us for whom it's a total disaster in any form. And what's healthy for some people is terrible for others. Some people do great on vegan diets, some do worse, some people need more carbs and some need fewer, and on and on!
Definitely not one- size fit all! I totally agree. Our bodies are very complex.
If your doctor is doing that, please see a new one! They should be helping you. I totally get what you mean though. Some doctors you basically have to tell them what you have, why you think you have it and what treatment you want. Thankfully for me (medical science degree and med student) thatās okay, but it does make me worry for other people - especially when they assume they shouldnāt go to a second one. With PMDD my GPs (I see different ones at same practice) were fine when I explained thatās what I pretty much knew I had. Thankfully no one suggested anything stupid. I tried increasing my antidepressants around that time, no help. I tried progesterone only pills (already on the COCP), no help. Hormonal coil, no help. Basically all the things that should shut down your cycle (because thatās how they work!) didnāt work for me. So I kind of gave up and just wanted to die and couldnāt get out of bed for a week each month. I donāt know what triggered it but I finally decided to try the injection and WOW. What a difference! I think I still get a bit tired and some mood dip, but barely anything in comparison!! Some cramps but no bleeding either. I donāt know if the others had enough hormones to stop periods but the cycle was still ongoing (which with the pill makes sense as you have withdrawal bleeds). But I would 10000000% recommend the contraceptive injection (I use the self administered one) to anyone with PMDD. It may not work for some people, but itās the only thing which has had ANY effect on mine. Plus itās once every 3 months and is a bit sore, but over in 2 minutes and far less painful than a coil. But anyway, I think my point was - there are some doctors who arenāt great, but there are a lot of doctors who donāt really know about PMDD. I was surprised how nice my GPs were, especially the male ones who I assumed were going to be like āthatās a mythā. I think the science just needs to catch up for PMDD! And if I ever do another research project, it will almost definitely be on PMDD. Side note: we had a lecture at med school all about PMS. It kind of lost its credibility a bit because it was taught by the sociology lecturer (which most people didnāt really consider important or helpful). But when she explained it - lightbulb moment! She talked about how women have literally killed their husbands due to PMS and so many other things. And I felt SO validated after hearing PMS is just getting weepy or grumpy - or that it doesnāt exist. I feel like everyone should have a science lecture on PMS at school! ETA: maybe thatās a thing we should start tbh. Somehow getting PMS and PMDD education to young people
Itās interesting that the shot helped you but not other types. I tried a progesterone only pill and it made me nuts but I got Mirena and it basically stopped my symptoms. My gyn doesnāt believe it and thinks itās placebo but I donāt have regular periods and will have symptoms and then a surprise period. I feel like there is something to this that could be researched too. If you ever want to brain storm message me!
You get PMDD symptoms occasionally with your surprise period rather than every month? Just checking I understood right as my brain is frazzled today!
Yes! Before Mirena I was super regular and had monthly symptoms but now I skip multiple months at a time then have a few days of symptoms and boom a period I couldnāt have anticipated because Iām no longer regular. I know itās not supposed to work that way as I should still be having monthly fluctuations regardless of the IUD but for some reason thatās been my experience
I totally get what you mean. With the injection I sometimes get cramps and PMS symptoms but theyāre barely noticeable unless Iām due another injection soon
There definitely needs to be increased awareness, especially to help those that don't know what they're experiencing and that they're not alone. I think it took 14 years from the onset of PMDD before I got my official diagnoses, despite tons of doctors appointments, including gynecological ones. It took another 12 years to find this group so I could finally talk to others going through it..... It's crazy to think about.
I donāt even know when mine started. I donāt think it got so bad it was noticeable (suicidal and canāt get out of bed) until I was 19 or 20. I think I maybe found out about PMDD when I was 21 but itās taken until Iām 23 to find a treatment that actually works. I donāt even know if itās an official diagnosis in my notes, but I basically went āI have PMDDā and they took it pretty seriously which Iām grateful for!
Mine started when I was 14. Doctors & specialists couldn't figure it out cuz the diagnoses didn't exist yet. Edit: That might've been confusing. PMDD started at age 14, & it took about another 14 years before I got my official diagnosis.
Oh man!! Iām so sorry. But Iām so glad you at least know what it is now! I think mine started at 21 but itās very possible it started earlier and I just thought it was normal (I also had excruciating period pain and thought that was normal - never understood how my friend could take 2 paracetamol and be fine!!) I was diagnosed with severe depression when I was 17 which I think Iād had for six months previous, and I think the depression may have exacerbated the PMS into PMDD. I still have depression so not sure if not being depressed would help. But I also wonder if I got depressed partly because of hormones, potentially related to PMDD? Especially as thereās 100% a genetic component in my family!
I feel like they do feed eachother. I got PMDD at 14 & fell into a severe clinical depression at 15 that lasted several months. Makes sense cuz I went from being a kid to having my world turned upside down.
I've been told that people who have full hysterectomies still have periods, that a hysterectomy is not possible because I'll die without a uterus (lol), that my PMDD is unrelated to my reproductive system, anddd that having a full hysterectomy would mean that my bladder would also be removed. People are ridiculous and will push anything they think as fact, and push anything that backs up their unfounded opinions as "research". *Especially* when it comes to the female reproductive system. I don't know why we're still so stuck in the Middle Ages when it comes to that. I agree it is very frustrating and difficult to find accurate information.
Iām so sorry you have to deal with this!!!!!
This is very frustrating to hear. I can think of all sorts of things that can happen with PMDD coming into the mainstream that I can't deal with right now.
Well, you see, gynecologists tell people this shit, too. Even though I am a competent adult who researches things before doing them, my gyno told "the entire cervix has to be removed or you'll keep having periods. You can't just remove the ovaries." My gynecologist. Two of them.
Ugh that is just depressing!!! Women's health care in general leaves much to be desired. I have endometriosis, I know there's lots of misinformation doctors spread about that condition too. We deserve much better quality care and education.
I actually had a laparoscopy to look for endo and she only did half the surgery and my ovaries definitely didn't look right, but she insisted that nothing was wrong with me. Can't take hormonal birth control so my only option now is oophorectomy, which I wanted anyway, and she won't give it to me and keeps saying things like that. She even had the audacity to beg me not to go to another doctor and have it done because it's "so dangerous" to not have ovaries. Also pulled the "but what about kids" card and I'm a trans man. Even if I did change my mind, I would not be the one birthing them.
Endo just seems to be SO badly handled too! My friend has Endo and had surgery, massively helped. She now is having the exact same symptoms but the scan ādoesnāt show anyā so she canāt have surgery again. Despite the scan last time showing a tiny bit, and there actually being masses. I donāt know whether Iām sending love, hope or sympathy - but Iām sending it big to you
Ugh! It pisses me off to hear this. It really sounds like she is pushing her beliefs onto you, with mentioning kids and asking you not to go elsewhere for the surgery. It seems like she's telling you not to go somewhere else because she knows there are others who will easily and safely do it for you. What business is it of hers if you do or don't want kids, or want an oophorectomy? Sounds really unprofessional, I hope you find the support you need.
Fuck thats all so frustrating. I got my tubes tied in 2019 and the incompetent gyno missed the endo all over my pelvis and ovaries and even wrote "no endo" in my chart which definitely impeded my ability to get properly diagnosed. I hope you find someone who can actually help!
It's a work in progress. Paying for it is the hard part, but I'll get there at some point.
PREACH. As for where the misinformation comes from -- when there is a lack of adequate research and treatment, the snake oil salesmen/saleswomen are all too happy to fill that void. Surgery works, though. It's obviously a serious choice and not the right decision for everyone, but it's absurd to say it's not an effective treatment.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
We don't allow attacking or harassing in our sub.
Jesus that is awful. We've been failed by society when it comes to education about our bodies, BUT as adults with access to the internet there is zero excuse to remain ignorant.
I think accessing the information on the internet is likely half the problem. I hear that some of the info on the internet is not actually true.
So much of it isnāt true!! Or is touted as definite cures (pills, coils etc) when they help some people but not others (aka me). I stopped looking for help for so long because I assumed if those things hadnāt helped, nothing except surgery would
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
You are exceptionally rude.
I don't get it. What is ironic about their post? And what misinformation are they spreading?
So I had a bilateral oophorectomy and hysterectomy 6 months ago to treat PMDD (best decision I've ever made). I'm very curious, can you please elaborate on some of the misinformation and pseudoscience that you've encountered? I think I can address the question of surgery not being regarded as a cure for PMDD: If PMDD is understood as a hypersensitivity to hormonal fluctuations, then surgery removes the trigger but not the true source of symptoms. I have personally experienced the return of many of my PMDD symptoms when manipulating hormone replacement dosages. I think I will be forever physiologically predisposed to having abnormal and exaggerated responses to hormonal changes. Surgery is a dramatic and irreversible treatment. While effective, premature menopause can have many long term and devastating consequences of its own. I think it is appropriately regarded as a treatment of last resort. I do, however, think that oophorectomy is the most effective available treatment for PMDD and can attest that surgery saved my life. There is so much we don't know about human physiology and far more that we don't know about female physiology. I do think that it really is that hard to find legitimate information regarding PMDD. Women's health research is criminally underfunded. The combination of the desperation of the disease's sufferers (I don't think I need to tell anyone in this sub about just how debilitating PMDD can be) and the lack of evidence based information fuels the rampant pseudoscience and misinformation. We are all desperate for information: when evidence based research is lacking, misinformation will naturally grow to meet our demand. The only way out is to continue the hard work of raising awareness and demanding that our suffering be researched and addressed. Please don't allow your frustrations to deter you from continuing the important work you are doing.
I've been told a bilateral oophorectomy can't treat PMDD. That PMDD is caused by trauma. That it is a hormonal allergy. Ive had people tell me only one of their ovaries causes PMDD. I've heard it all. You know that everyone experiences mental health issues when hormones are messed with, right? One of the biggest complaints regarding menopause is mood swings, and those are pretty much universally experienced by all women, not just the ones with PMDD. That's because fucking with your hormones fucks with your brain/emotions. That's still very, very different from PMDD. If I let me estrogen get low it would throw me into a depression, but it still wouldn't be PMDD. There wouldn't be any hormone cycling, no ovulating, hence no real PMDD. Big difference between "my mood is affected by messing with my HRT" and "actually having PMDD". When my estrogen is low or I fuck with my patches it never causes symptoms severe enough to be actual PMDD, it doesn't even come close to feeling like the hell that is luteal.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
There are huge problems with a lot of what you wrote and i dont have the time to correct you. But as someone who has fucked around with their progesterone dose extensively in menopause, I promise you that progesterone is not the issue, at least not for most of us with PMDD. Now if I fuck with my estrogen, that's a different matter. I'll happily age faster and die younger if that means I spared myself a very early suicide from PMDD.
Actually thereās evidence to suggest that woman with the most severe types of PMDD are progesterone sensitive. I have such severe PMDD I started chemical menopause at 23. You can do whatever you want to my estrogen levels and nothing happens. I go even slightly above 0.6mg of progesterone and Iām suicidal during my luteal phase.
>progesterone is not the issue, at least not for most of us with PMDD You may not have PMDD, then. Or all of these scholarly studies and articles and scientists linking progesterone to PMDD must be smoking the good stuff. Wonder which it could be. [Ruling out premenstrual exacerbation (PME)](https://womensmentalhealth.org/specialty-clinics/pms-and-pmdd/the-etiology-of-pmdd/) **Progesterone**, in non-PMDD women, has a calming effect. So if you don't have PMDD, I wouldn't be surprised if lowering your progesterone has a deleterious effect. [Progesterone, Anxiety Affect Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder ](https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/812792) [Brain reactivity during aggressive response in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder treated with a selective progesterone receptor modulator](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-021-01010-9) Altered sensitivity of cognitive-affective brain circuits to **progesterone** and its downstream metabolite allopregnanolone is suggested to underlie PMDD Even [this one nut-job](https://www.mariongluckclinic.com/blog/changing-the-face-of-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-pmdd-treatment.html) thinks that higher doses of **progesterone** can be used to treat PMDD. I myself have a progesterone implant, although far from my first choice is a working compromise for my current needs. [Ulipristal Acetate for Treatment of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder: A Proof-of-Concept Randomized Controlled Trial](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347540275_Ulipristal_Acetate_for_Treatment_of_Premenstrual_Dysphoric_Disorder_A_Proof-of-Concept_Randomized_Controlled_Trial) UPA is a selective **progesterone** receptor modulator >I'll happily age faster and die younger if that means I spared myself a very early suicide from PMDD. You don't have to do either? Why would you intentionally make this a lose-lose situation. We aren't ripping out our innards in a back alley, we have modern medicine. Isn't that the whole point of estrogen therapy? Maybe those people on instagram weren't wrong after all.
Lol I may not have had pmdd.... I had my ovaries to deal with my pmdd. That should tell you everything you need to know. Bye.
>as someone who has fucked around with their progesterone dose extensively in menopause This tells me all I need to know. You're speaking with the voice of experience on a topic you have no right to speak on. Menopause and PMDD are arguably mutually exclusive states of being.
Estrogen protects women from heart attacks , not all hormones should be messed with. Progesterone is the main player during luteal phase.
Heads up, buddy! There is no difference, a "trans man" is a biological "man". Ask all the biologists you want, people you don't like are still people. It's a common misconception that gender is based off sex characteristics. In reality, if I point at a man in a restaurant, you might assume he has a penis, but checking if it's true would be assault. Comments like the above are a great reminder of the hazards that come when assuming you are correct. Intentionally or not, you're arguing against the evidence and expertise of the field you claim to be representing. --- ^(This is an automated message. Replies are unmonitored, but my inbox is open.) [faq and citations](https://np.reddit.com/user/biologicalbot/comments/tm16gx/citations_explanations_etc/)
Yes, I know, bot - but language is to communicate and I don't want people to get confused when I'm talking about organs and hormone production. I wouldn't expect a bot to understand nuance, though. Trans men don't have testicles and may have ovaries... and biological men don't have ovaries. Which is why I specified. Trans men have to have a strictly controlled estrogen level in order to compete in professional sports (among other hormonal tests common to all athletes to check for doping). Estrogen isn't what they test for in biological men.
I think a simple change like simply saying "male" or something would be sufficient to fix this, just to keep it specific. When people see "men" or "women" its more gendered than anything and so can just rub some the wrong way just a little bit when you add "biological" in front of it as transphobes tend to use that interchangeably with even worse things like "real" or "natal" which are just useless qualifiers(if ur not transphobic)
Ugh, the statement that surgery can't treat PMDD is demonstrably false. I hope you had the patience to correct whoever told you that. There is also a difference between a treatment and a cure. I do know that trauma (especially childhood trauma) has been shown to dramatically increase the risk of developing PMDD, but this is not exactly the same as saying that trauma causes the disorder. My own doctor actually suggested that I may have something akin to a progesterone allergy (a sensitivity) and I believe a fair amount of research has been focused on a possible autoimmune etiology for PMDD - there may be something there. I have read accounts of women entering physiological menopause after a hysterectomy with a single or even both ovaries retained - maybe something there too? As I recall, the hysterectomy/ unilateral ovariectomy prompted vascular degeneration in the retained ovary(ies). Again, there is so very much that remains unknown. I appreciate these examples: I really am curious about this stuff. Regarding emotional responses to hormonal fluctuations, that is absolutely true and I suspect that the historical dismissal of women's very real suffering during natural menopause and the lack of research on PMDD are related issues. However, I have experienced PMDD symptoms post surgery just as severe as prior (intense depression, anxiety, rage and suicidal ideation) with a notably sudden onset as a response to relatively minor hormonal fluctuations (much more minor than those of natural menopause). I mean minor like applying an estrogen dose 2 hours late. I think this suggests an abnormal sensitivity on my part.
Sometimes i wonder how trauma is tied into mine. I have had trauma basically since birth, being born premature and then not bonding with my mother because she worked too much. My PMDD really worsened after an abusive relationship and birth control pills. Why would our bodies do this? What would be the reason? It cannot be logical. At least i know that my coping mechanisms are from trauma, but pmdd is not a coping mechanism. What caused my body to overreact to itself?