Recommendations to Help Me with PMDD/PMS .

Short term: hard as it is..cut down chocolate, coffee, white flour and sugar. ADD Essential Fatty Acids (FLAX, Vitamin E is recommended dose, Evening primrose, Fish (get the kind that do not cause bad odor like dr. weills or one at whole foods) Add
Magnesium and Calcium.
Diary all of your days each month, ups and downs, pay attention to when the shift starts, cravings, triggers.

Get enough rest. 10-20 minutes of sunlight with sunscreen.
EXERCISE to get your endorphins up.
B VITAMINS.

Long term, depending on your age, get a practicioner( not your standard doc) to do a full hormone panel, endocrine, adrenal, thyroid t-3) and you may need some natural hormone replacement.

Hang in there. Drink Calming teas. Get some time each day for your creative outlets even with little guy. Read, write, paint, dance, cook, something to let our the steam.

Glad you asked about this I.-- I reached a point where I had to seek solutions for this too (and that's when I found the term PMDD).

I just couldn't afford to go THAT crazy for 2 days EVERY month! It was negatively effecting my life and my relationships... so I know what you mean. :)

You already have some great responses, and I would add I find Google Calendar to be very helpful with keeping track of days/my cycle. I mark the day I start my cycle, as well as an "ETA" (expected time of arrival) that I program to repeat every 28 days (and then readjust as needed based one when it actually arrives). Anyway, it's online, no little notes to lose or calendar pages to flip back through...

Just being aware of it helps me-- that way I can at least realize ahead of time "ok, I'm crazy right now, and this is why" (I used to just always have the effects and not realize until afterwards! My friends and I always joke about how funny it is that something that happens every month, year after year, can still sneak up on us and trick us like that!)

I have also started taking Omega 3 capsules that contain Evening Primrose Oil, as well as a daily magnesium pill, and that has really helped.

There is also an essential oil you can get made from Chasteberry... I haven't tried it yet, but it came up in my research. You could look into it, or talk to someone at a natural food store about it.

I hope this helps! Good luck and keep us posted. :-)

Colleen nailed it! :) (And saved me a great deal of typing! LOL)

Hello I., I have also experienced PMDD for several years. I started out taking zoloft frm my OBGYN. After a year it waas not helping at all so I went to regular DR who prescribed my EFEXOR it did not agree with me. I also started going to a psychologist because I needed help and tools to deal w/this before I lost my mind. She reccommended I try Cymbalta and I did. It has been working well for me. If you have been on zoloft for more than 2 months and dont see results I would try someting else. Becase there are things that work to regulate our seritonin. I cant locate the book right now to tell you the author but I am sure if you search amazon or barnes n noble you will find it. The book i read was very helpful in that it helped me identify my feelings and that they were valid . I used to feel like I was going crzy because I new I was different but I did not know how to get myself back. I suffer alot from more depression issues now than the anger, yelling, short temper, agitation. I still seeem to suffer from low energy, not able to take on very many tasks with out feeling overwhelmed and like I want to sit on the floor in the closet. I have to say that counseling has made a big difference along w/my medication. I hope this helps for now I am willing to talk more if you need. It is a very lonely, frustrating place to be. But with support and people to talk it through it makes a difference.

STRENUOUS EXERCISE!!!!!!!! Cures almost everything.

Hi I.
I agree with some of the other posts, but would also add a few things. (I used to suffer from mood swings and depression as well) one.. possible for you to get more sleep (good sleep that is) I find this makes a world of difference, doesn't have to be a ton of hours, just solid for a few hours. additionally, I also take omega 3,6,9 and that does seem to help. but the biggest thing that has helped is I limit my sugar intake, rarely eat dairy, wheat and seldom ever drink (drinking def brings on depression for me)
lastly, I now make GREEN drinks every day, which have helped tremendously with my energy level and depression.
a green drink for me might include, kale, chard, blueberries, raspberries,orange, ground flax and hemp seed and even a few pieces of beet. basically whatever is in season. I blend all that up with some water (add ice into the mix and blend) that's if you want an icey type smoothie.. smoothies are a good way to get many vitamins rolled into one.. if you arent into green foods so much, by adding the fruit (of your choice) this helps to limit the green taste. believe me, I find this stuff really wks. you have to kinda play around with it all to find a smoothie that wks for you. you dont need to run out either and get some fancy mixer. I use my blender and it wks just as well. except that I don't add everything at once, I add as I go..
give it a try. I hope it wks for you. :)
best of luck