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My Monster
"I'm too young for this!" I cried out to my gynecologist six months ago.
"No, dear, you are not," she explained tenderly, "and you will continue to experience these sensations for many years, going away only after you reach menopause."
PMDD, short for PreMenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.
"No, dear, you are not," she explained tenderly, "and you will continue to experience these sensations for many years, going away only after you reach menopause."
PMDD, short for PreMenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.
She then reminded me that I had mentioned this problem at my previous year's exam but I did not consider it troublesome enough to require treatment. Did I still feel that way? I told her that the time from ovulation until bleeding is hell. I am unbearable to live with, words used by my husband, and I just want to lock myself in a closet until it's passed. That's when she nodded and wrote out a prescription for an anti-depressant, told me to get back to taking my vitamin supplements, start exercising again and she monitored me for a few months to be sure I did better. I am doing better.
To put this into layman's terms, PMDD is "supercharged PMS" that occurs between ovulation and menstruation. Of course, I couldn't be satisfied with just the layman's explanation so I did some investigating.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), published by the American Psychiatric Association, the symptoms are:
Quote
To be diagnosed as PMDD, at least 5 of the symptoms must be present in the two weeks prior to (late luteal phase) menstuation. I have 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. They happen every cycle and only for the two-ish weeks beginning with ovulation. Luckily, I don't have a monthly cycle. Mine's more like 6 weeks. So I typically get a month of relative bliss in between. Thank God!
There are a lot of naysayers who cry that PMDD is just a ploy by the drug companies to push up sales of antidepressants. I simply ask these people to look into history. This has been a recognized condition as far back as Hippocrates. But I waste my breathe on those people. And I won't waste time on them.
In a few days I will feel wonderful and happy. I'll barely remember how traumatic all of this is. It's as if there are two of me.
To put this into layman's terms, PMDD is "supercharged PMS" that occurs between ovulation and menstruation. Of course, I couldn't be satisfied with just the layman's explanation so I did some investigating.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), published by the American Psychiatric Association, the symptoms are:
Quote
- Markedly depressed mood, feelings of hopelessness, self-depreciation
- Suddenly feeling sad or tearful, with increased sensitivity to personal rejection
- Decreased interest in usual activities
- Lethargy, fatigue, marked lack of energy
- Accompanying depressive symptoms there is always the danger for suicidal ideation and behavior.
- Marked changes in appetite and cravings for certain foods
- Insomnia or hypersomnia
- Marked anxiety, tension, feeling of being keyed-up or on-edge
- Persistent or marked irritability, anger, increased interpersonal conflicts
- Feeling overwhelmed or out of control
- Subjective sense of having difficulty concentrating
To be diagnosed as PMDD, at least 5 of the symptoms must be present in the two weeks prior to (late luteal phase) menstuation. I have 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. They happen every cycle and only for the two-ish weeks beginning with ovulation. Luckily, I don't have a monthly cycle. Mine's more like 6 weeks. So I typically get a month of relative bliss in between. Thank God!
There are a lot of naysayers who cry that PMDD is just a ploy by the drug companies to push up sales of antidepressants. I simply ask these people to look into history. This has been a recognized condition as far back as Hippocrates. But I waste my breathe on those people. And I won't waste time on them.
In a few days I will feel wonderful and happy. I'll barely remember how traumatic all of this is. It's as if there are two of me.