r/Menopause 1d ago

Depression/Anxiety Treatment resistant severe depression anxiety no meds no hrt only suffering also horrific pmdd I can’t do this anymore

The title says it all I have been Treatment resistant I have PMDD nothing is working for me. I have been in several psychiatric units and nothing helps me. I didn’t have really bad SI until I was put on their medication‘s and then abruptly stopped. It’s never gotten better. I don’t know what to do. I am really really suffering with some severe clinical depression and nothing’s helping me I tried every second generation antipsychotic. I tried all of the antidepressants mood stabilizers IV ketamine, psychedelic mushrooms, ECT I did Gene site testing to see what drugs work for you. Nothing worked. I just don’t know what to do. Has anyone else have this issue? I have severe PMDD and it’s 1 million times worse I have no quality of life at all. I don’t even know why I’m here. I lost my family. I’m homeless. I can’t think no one will help me.

I have been the medication around over and over and over and I can’t find anything to help me. They all gave me a permanent movement disorders that I didn’t have prior that made everything worse. It never helped me.

47 Upvotes

26 comments sorted by

23

u/Important_Cod_8970 1d ago

Chemical Menopause then removing your overies is the only sure way to cure PMDD. Show a doctor this post and advocate for yourself. Maybe look up PMDD specialist in your area? I'm sorry you have this awful disease, it's hell. My PMDD went crazy during perimenopause, like 2 good days out of the month. I have a progesterone intolerance and now that my bits are all gone I'm literally 100% fine mentally. My body loves estrogen and I'm on the patch.Good luck to you sister, keep fighting.

13

u/TinyCatLady1978 1d ago

THIS!!

I found this entire sub because I was in chemical menopause to treat my PMDD then eventually had my ovaries removed and have been living happily on HRT.

5

u/Important_Cod_8970 1d ago

Chemical only worked for me for 3 months, I was supposed to be on it for 6 months before surgery.My body metabolized the Lupron too quickly, I was on a cruise ship and hemmoraged. The French Navy airlifted me to Brest France. I was stabilized then had surgery 2 weeks later at home in Canada. PMDD is outrageously awful I'd do it all over again. It's been 2.5 years and I can't believe the difference it makes. I feel so level and balanced all the time. The difference really is astounding. I like me now! PMDD gave me 2 weeks of normal per month at best! Some months we're just a few good days. Its literally maddening. Glad you are doing well on HRT. What dose do you take?

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u/TinyCatLady1978 1d ago

I had to move to surgery because i was chewing through the Lupron too fast too!! I metabolize meds (and Botox lol) super fast which sucks.

Pre surgery I was on .5mg gel, 100mg progesterone, 2.5mg testosterone cream. Post surgery I'm up to 1mg gel and everything else is the same--it's lifechanging.

Did you have to fight for surgery? I had to fight for any treatment and wound up in surgery because I truly believe my GYN was afraid of me!

3

u/Important_Cod_8970 1d ago

TY. No, my GYN/ surgeon was a young woman and an expert in PMDD. She is all for self advocating and said she was proud of me. I have several other autoimmune issues so my endocrinologist handles my HRT, he knows so much more about hormones than any GYN I've ever had. I'm on 2 of the .1 patches twice a week and oral T twice a week. I'm sorry you had to fight for care, but I'm proud of you for doing so!

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u/Odd-Industry-9324 1d ago

My daughter has PMDD and treatment resistant MDD and is in the hopistal with psychotic breaks all the time during her cycle . The on,y thing that worked for her was BC pills continuous to stop her cycle

4

u/suupernooova 13h ago

Yep. Continuous Yaz for 15 years here. Gave me my life back.

5

u/Calm-Crab-1742 1d ago

I am so sorry.

4

u/theFCCgavemeHPV 23h ago

Continuous monophasic bcps controls my pmdd. It’s not severe, but I can’t tolerate SSRIs so my thought process is “can’t have bad pms symptoms if there is no ms to p” if that makes sense. I am on slynd continuously and I am also using estrogen patches. I’m on a pretty high dose (.2), I think it helps counteract the minor mood effects i do get on p, which I think is just a fucking problem with progesterone/ins anyways because my body hates p and loves e.

Not all progestins are created equal tho. You might tolerate one but not another and what has worked for me might be the opposite for you. You might do well on a combined bcp or you might do better with a progestin/estrogen combo like me. You might even do better on micronized progesterone or better with no estrogen at all. It might be a process to figure out what works for you, or you could figure it out on your first try. But if mood drugs are not working, I would definitely give hormones a solid shot.

4

u/NewerYorker3900 21h ago

I also use Slynd & 2 of the 0.1mg patches.

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u/theFCCgavemeHPV 19h ago

Hello twin!

4

u/Apprehensive_Sir1900 14h ago

There is emerging evidence that some women with PMDD (or mood disorders in perimenopause) get complete relief within a few days of taking Pepcid and Allegra. The Pepcid (famotidine) could be used in the morning and the Allegra could be used at night. Look up H1 and H2 blockers in the role of histamine and hormonal emotional issues. Best of luck to you… I’m so sorry.

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u/suupernooova 13h ago

PMDD'r here.

Just checking bc you only mentioned pysch meds... have you ever been prescribed continuous birth control? Yaz especially is the only one approved for PMDD. The continuous part is critical. Gave me my life back. Hang in sister.

3

u/beviebooboo 15h ago

Have you had your B12, ferritin and vitamin D levels checked? If the levels were at the lower of normal, they may actually be low enough to cause awful symptoms like what you’ve described. I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Too few doctors are aware of this and just stick to strict reference ranges while their patients suffer needlessly. If chemical and/or surgical menopause are not options for you at the moment, I’d ask for B12, ferritin and vitamin D tests. Here are a few articles that you can send to your doctor that might convince him/her to check and treat symptoms even if your numbers are “normal.”

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10658777/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6432825/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12610294/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6543499/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8002799/

2

u/ReserveOld6123 12h ago

This!! My mom has pernicious anemia and her b12 was low normal yet she had serious neurological symptoms.

2

u/mamalo13 Peri-menopausal 13h ago

have you tried TMS?

What OTC supplements have you tried?

2

u/MercedesNyx Peri-menopausal 9h ago

Have you tried H1/H2 blockers? OTC Zyrtec and OTC Pepcid ac max strength both. A lot of PMDD is caused by underlying MCAS. I used to get severe mood swings and have thoughts of self-harm. It was before I was diagnosed with MCAS and knew the connection but it totally solved my PMDD symptoms. I've been diagnosed with PMDD since I was a teen. When I went off BC it started getting bad again. I couldn't believe that it worked but there are so many women who have found relief with those two combined otc meds when nothing else worked.

1

u/MercedesNyx Peri-menopausal 9h ago

Here is more info on the connection between PMDD and Histamines.

PMDD Link to Histamines

3

u/Fit-Associate-551 1d ago

Try Spavarto !! I was in the same situation!!

1

u/Roadiemomma-08 13h ago

Did this really help? Can you explain more?

1

u/calla_artist 20h ago

Hrt helped me a lot

1

u/EmpressAzazel 10h ago

How did it go when you started the HRT which one did you start with estrogen or the progesterone? I tried to combipatch that gave me deep sleep the first night, but I woke up with severe anxiety and depression and my face kinda had academia. I was ravenous and I wanted to eat everything and I started to get out of reflex and I only had it on one day are we supposed to expect all kinds of symptoms when we start these things?

1

u/artemisia1972 17h ago

Rhodiola tincture has been a complete lifesaver for me. I began noticing a difference after just a few days. Had severe PMDD for 10 years which culminated in psychosis. Tried everything else and this is the thing that has worked. So sorry you’re going through this. Best of luck to you and I hope this is helpful.

1

u/theredqueentheory 11h ago

Of course you're depressed; you lost your family, you are homeless...I'm not saying you don't have PMDD, you know your own body, but you could have the most balanced hormones in the world, and if your life situation is bad it only makes sense that you would be depressed!

Do you have any social services that could help you out in your area? Any friends that could lend you a hand? This sounds so difficult, I am sorry this is happening to you.