I thought I had it for years, but I got off the pill after nine years of misery and my mood's been way less cyclically extreme, except for feeling stupid ambitious and the funniest person alive who spends a ton of money immediately before my period. Happens every time with a bizarre mix of on-off anxious hesitation. Then after a period I feel stupid and bad about all the things I bought/promised to do but not so heavy I can't rationalise and carry on. I think that's just PMS levels.
My physical symptoms are still shitty. I'm pretty sure all PMDD diagnosis and discussion is focused on the emotional swings though, and I remember a news article saying they feel better when the bleeding starts but that's the worst point for me. The fatigue stops taking me out, and sleep at night doesn't seem as far off, but the pain is unbearable and I get a good three days of never storing information I literally just heard. Listening to podcasts and lying down always helps in the moment but afterward I have no fucking clue what I just heard.
Also "breast tenderness" - bitch that pain shoots through my fucking ribs like pulling barbed wire that's wedged in my flesh. I have had dreams about getting my tits removed because of the pain and embarrassment my nipples cause me. Can't wear bra or pasties because they hurt but because they hurt they're gonna go hard and stick out even worse. Fuck you, nipples. Believe it or not it's been worse since I got off the pill - there was constant pain on it but turns out constant lowkey pain is just how my breasts are, but with a proper cycle I get treated to the extra nasty pain before each period.
Sorry I'm just using this to vent. I had a friend who
was diagnosed with PMDD by a professional and she steadily became super fucking weird. Said she screamed on the floor in delirious states (and not like making stupid repetitive noises to manage pain, no pain mentioned at all) and had spent six months with "no leisure time" because she was too sick to read/watch/play things she was reading about online. Would say we couldn't watch her favorite shows because it gave her anxiety. Got into breathless indignant rage over completely unpredictable things eg. she and her family weren't religious, but an otome game using names from Ars Goetia set her off about how disrespectful anime is to Christianity and Japan should not be allowed to touch it. Our friendship fell apart after she suddenly announced she actually hate
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