On Your Pre-menstrual “Week from Hell”! Get to Know PMDD!
We are all familiar with the term PMS — premenstrual symptoms and all that comes with it: the grumpiness, the cramps, the irritability, the moodiness, and ALLLL the chocolates! BUT do you know about PMDD?
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is considered a severe and more serious version of Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS). As we know, a lot of women battle an array of symptoms the week before their cycle, including moodiness, pain, cramps, emotional lability, and irritability. What a lot of us are not aware of is that a good portion of menstruating women experiences a much darker time during that week before their cycle. The gist of it, and to bring it closer to home, PMDD is all of the above… on steroids.
Whilst it is less common to encounter PMDD, it still affects about 10% of menstruating women. Manifesting with challenging, and often debilitating mental and physical symptoms. Some of the mental and affective symptoms we see with PMDD include mood swings, anger, irritability, a sense of hopelessness, anxiety, and self-critical thoughts. Physical symptoms seen in PMDD are varied and include changes in appetite, diminished interest in activities, decreased energy, bloating, changes in bowel habits, weight gain, joint pain, and sleep issues.
The “week from hell”, as typically described by these women, falls on the week right before the start of menses. During that week, symptoms are severe enough to interfere with these women’s daily activities and cause marked impairment in their work, school, and/or relationship with people around them. Once menses start, symptoms normally alleviate and continue to alleviate within the next few days after their menses are over.
Why is it important to talk about PMDD?
On the daily, intelligent hard-working women are forced by the feebleness of their bodies to regress and fall behind on their schoolwork, job tasks, and daily chores as a consequence of this disorder. Imagine falling behind on your task for one week, every month. How would you feel? This, in my opinion, makes PMDD a very important subject to discuss and raise awareness of. In Spain, a bill was introduced to offer women three sick days each month at half pay for menstrual ordeals. Not sure they went anywhere with that bill, but hey! At least they tried. As an unrecognized disability (yes, it’s a disability) that is affecting a big portion of our workforce, our mothers, sisters, wives, and friends, it deserves much of our attention and our compassion.
Yes, fluctuations in hormones throughout our menstrual cycle are very normal, however, there is a lack of awareness of how these fluctuations can affect our mental and physical status, especially with our men counterparts. There is a lack of awareness all around us, and men constitute at least half of our transactional day-to-day activities and communications. Maybe it is time to stop and ask why this person is not on top of their stuff today while she normally is. Just a little invitation for you to be curious.
Another issue we encounter as women with premenstrual concerns is the lack of recognition in our medical community of how debilitating these symptoms can be. Commonly misdiagnosed and mismanaged by medical providers, PMDD is normally a brushed-off medical problem.
We all got that “why don’t try to relax and use a heating bottle today,” am I right?
In the best of situations, we get the “pill” as a solution to the problem. And in the best of best situations, an SSRI might be thrown in the mix. While a very small portion of women see good results with oral contraceptives and/or antidepressants, not all do. In fact, in many, we see major complications of symptoms after initiating these medications, especially an aggravation of psychological symptoms is common.
What can we do about it?
Will I say that I know the solution to this problem? No. My main reason for writing about it today is to raise awareness and bring compassion to the next lady you may encounter as she transitions through her days from hell. Ask questions and try to place yourself in this person’s shoes. Would you enjoy having a week (or more in some cases) being robbed of you every single month of your menstruating years until you stop cycling (average menstruating years is between the age of 13 to 53 years old)? That is an average of 40 years. That is half of the number of years you spend here on earth! I am sure your answer is no.
So please, I plead you to be curious, to the least.
For women suffering out there, while I know there is not a magic pill that will take your pain away — I wish there is one, trust me. I was one of the victims of the viciousness of PMDD. However, I do know that modifying our lifestyle can help. Employing a physician who is educated on the matter and willing to look at your symptoms and treatment beyond what textbooks dictate is also something to consider. One trained in nutrition, herbalism, and lifestyle medicine offers the best avenues for PMDD these days.
In the meantime, blessed wishes to you as you figure your way out to coping and recovering.
