SSRIs. Some people take them all month long, some (like me) take them only in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle (or up to 10 days before your period). The trick is, what SSRI works best for you? And can you get your insurance company to pay for it? My favorite SSRI is Lexapro. It manages my mood symptoms and gives me NO side effects. However, our insurance refuses to pay for it. I've tried Effexor, and it's OK but a few side effects. Last year, my Dr tried me on sertraline (like Zoloft) and that was AWFUL for me. That crap made me crazy. We're about to ask my insurance if they'll pay for Celexa, which is like Lexapro, just not as refined.
But, everyone is different. Have to work it out with your Dr.
I was diagnosed with bipolar four years ago and now that has been changed to a diagnosis of PMDD. Symptoms are the same for me, but the cycle and timing of the symptoms are key.
I have been on so many different drugs as the drs were trying to solve bipolar not PMDD. I have been on SSRIs for about four years, but always with a mood stabiliser too, so as I have stopped taking the tegratol I am hoping that the fluoxetine will now be able to work away on its own and help. I have also been prescribed progesterone which I have just started taking today but I am very worried as the book I bought "the PMDD Phenomenon' says that the justification for taking progesterone was based on older trials, and newer trials have found that there is no effect and it may even worsen the symptoms (oh my god!) .
Bless your heart, what a roller-coaster you have been on! I have heard so many stories like yours, and it makes me very disappointed in the medical community. I can see where they would hear "mood swings" and immediately go to Bipolar disorders; BUT with adult bipolar the swings don't happen within a month--it would be more like a few months of depression and then a few months of mania, or longer. Even "rapid-cycling bipolar" means only about 4 cycles in a year! So I wonder, where is the professional responsibility of these doctors to know what the hell they are talking about? Come on, docs! let's read an occasional current medical journal, whaddaya say?
Ok, so I live in the UK and I think I have PMDD. Very few doctors here know anything about this. Does anyone know which, if any of the drugs mentioned by everyone above are available in the UK? Ive heard of Fluoxetine, in fact I think I was prescribed it quite a while ago. Thanks in advance :)
i was prescribed fluoxetine which is prozac i havnt taken it & dont really want to, just wish there was another alternitive but i am waittng to get CBT [cognitive behavioural therapy].....fingers crossed as this is hell
I've just been prescribed fluoxetine (Lovan) today. Don't like the idea of it but am out of alternatives so have decided to give it a go. tomorrow is day one, and I'm going to try to commit to at least one cycle depending on severity of side effects if any. Fingers X'd - I'll let you know how it goes.
My daughter and grandson left for 10 days to go see her husband's graduation from Basic Training. They lived with me at the time. They weren't even gone for 4 hours and I became really emotional and couldn't stop crying. I had not idea why I felt that way. It lasted all day and all night. I didn't pursue it -just thought it was weird. The next year when she moved to Fort Lewis which was 300 miles away. A month before she moved I was crying all the time. I was even crying at work. I couldn't explain it. I was driving to Fort Lewis as much as I could. I was crying every time I had to leave. I cried, no- sobbed, all the way home. All 300 miles I cried hard. I didn't have a doctor at the time so I found one quickly. She doubled my Effexor after she asked me if I could move and be with my daughter and grandkids. REALLY? I then remembered the weird crying events from the past. I realized It must have been around my period. ... I went online and put in a few words in a search engine and PMDD popped up. It fit me to a T!! I asked my doctor if she would put me on YAZ because I thought I had PMDD. She said Yaz had nothing to do with PMDD. I soon sought a women's health care provider. She put me on Yaz. It worked but I was still having some depression. So she put me on OCELLA, the generic for YASMIN. This helped a lot more. My stupid pharmacy switched brands. I got so sick on the replacement, Zarah. I found another pharmacy with Ocella. Then they sent me a different generic, SYEDA, which gives me bad headaches and a couple of other issues. I recently lost my job of 17 years along with all of my medical. I can't find anyone who has Ocella on hand locally. If they do it costs like $80.00 for one pack. I take 4 packs for three months. I toss the placebos and go straight into another pack. If I had a job I could maybe afford it. But on unemployment I can't. I need to find something to help me. I think my body has gotten used to the Ocella anyway. I still feel like their is an impending doom lurking out there. Something from keeping me from being happy. My daughter's husband is stationed in South Korea and she lives locally so missing them is not an issue. I was looking for alternate help and found this site. Sorry this is so long.
But, everyone is different. Have to work it out with your Dr.
I have been on so many different drugs as the drs were trying to solve bipolar not PMDD. I have been on SSRIs for about four years, but always with a mood stabiliser too, so as I have stopped taking the tegratol I am hoping that the fluoxetine will now be able to work away on its own and help. I have also been prescribed progesterone which I have just started taking today but I am very worried as the book I bought "the PMDD Phenomenon' says that the justification for taking progesterone was based on older trials, and newer trials have found that there is no effect and it may even worsen the symptoms (oh my god!) .
Have to wait and see what happens I guess.